• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, May 5, 2011

A new study, from Lucid Marketing with Moms.com, "How U.S. Moms Share & Spread Health Information," finds that 84% often share things via Email and 69% often share via Facebook, their top choices. Email and Facebook are also the places where they most often hear about the new things. Email (83%) and Facebook (76%). Only 65% choose Television.

Kevin Burke, founder of Lucid Marketing, says that "Moms are taking on more responsibilities than ever... including health-related duties... they need immediate solutions from trusted sources... and are turning to family, close friends and other moms.

Moms who share health information are sharing their knowledge and opinions about products and services with family, friends and other parents. These moms are connecting with the world outside close friends and family - a global community of tech-savvy moms who also are ready to share and listen. 

Motherhood in the U.S. has changed dramatically over the past several decades, says the report, together with the evolving role of women. Half of U.S. workers are female, and mothers have become the primary breadwinners in 40% of American families, according to 2009 data obtained by the "Shriver Report."  Notable statistics from that Report show that:

• 70% of families with kids include a working mother
• Almost 40% of working women hold managerial and other professional positions
• Women make 80% of the buying decisions in American homes

As the role of motherhood and the growth of technology intersect, the U.S. mom advertising market is undergoing significant change. Mothers don't have time to sit through a commercial on television, or are multitasking and don't pay close attention. Further, as technology advances, products like DVRs allow everyone to pick and choose what they're watching and when. And even when a mother views an advertisement from start to finish, there is a chance that she won't believe it. According to Yankelovich research, more than 75% of people believe that companies do not tell the truth in advertising. Moms are likely even more skeptical.

Word of mouth has always been a powerful means to share information, and that word-of-mouth community is rapidly expanding. Moms are reading and sharing on blogs, communicating through other social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter, and using search engines to find even more information.

Key points of an eMarketer study show the value of word of mouth when moms are passionate about a product or service:

•  63% of mothers studied said that after a brand conversation, they believe the word-of-mouth information they received was credible, compared with 61% of females in general and 53% of men
• 56% of moms studied said that after a brand conversation, they were likely to share that information with others, compared with 53% of females and 45% of men
• 55% of moms were likely to make a purchase after the conversation
• Moms mentioned more brands a week in their conversations, at 73 mentions compared with fewer than 65 among females and just 57 among males

Moms are using the Internet to communicate and socialize. According to the survey, moms spend time interacting on a daily basis by: 

• Checking email (98%)
• Visiting Facebook (84%)
• Visiting a news website (60%)
• Talking on the phone with a friend (60%)

... and learning about new things via:

• Email (83%)
• Face-to-face meetings (73%)
• Facebook (76%)
• Blogs (66%)
• Television (65%)

As moms acquire information, they share it with others. In the survey, a majority of moms exchange information through face-to-face conversations, email and Facebook. 

In this new reality of information overload, moms trust their friends but they also trust what they are reading online. According to the survey, when moms want advice on products and services that they purchase for themselves or for their family, they trust these three sources most: 

• Friends (76%)
• A search engine such as Google or Bing (55%)
• A website on the topic (50%)

The report concludes by noting that moms are taking on more responsibilities than they ever have, including health-related duties. They need immediate solutions from trusted sources and they are turning to family, close friends and other moms. And, they have thousands of additional mothers to share information with as technology has allowed their communities to expand. As the role of the U.S. mother expands, so do her needs to share, especially when it comes to health.

For more information about the study, and access to the complete report in PDF format, please visit Lucid Marketing here.