Commentary

Will Moms Shed Social Media Weight in the New Year?

Lose weight. Get organized. Spend less, save more. In 2015, will moms also resolve to trim the amount of time they spend on social media?

As an agency with expertise in marketing to moms, we sensed that a social media backlash was brewing. Turning those instincts into real insights, we surveyed more than 1,000 women with kids under the age of 18 at home. The results confirmed our hunch, with moms indicating they are becoming “anti-social media” or considering stepping away from online channels. In fact, more than half of moms (53%) say they are considering cutting back on social media because they are burnt out. For Millennial moms, especially, social media has become a love-hate relationship. The majority (60%) say they would like to take a break from social media and feel too much pressure to curate the perfect life through imagery and posts on Facebook, Instagram and other channels (61%). 

The top reason moms in general say they are sick of social media is people sharing TMI (too much information), while Millennial moms cite annoying invites and TMM (too much marketing) as their top reasons for fatigue.

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As a mother of three and a marketer, my personal take is that, in order to make social media a smart spend, brands need to stop selling and start engaging. And that involves thought, research and finesse – you can’t just throw content up on a channel and talk at people. If you are targeting moms, you need to consider the nuances across the target – a 46-year-old and a 26-year-old mom could both have a third grader. Overlay where she lives, whether she works and her ethnicity, and a brand should be looking at very different ways of reaching to her. 

For example, Millennial and African American moms prefer photos and videos, Gen X and Hispanic moms are more likely to respond to news-style content, and coupons and deals are most attractive to stay-at-home moms and Boomers. 

The more you can hone in on your mom target to create experiences on the right channels that are relevant to her and what she cares about, or even what she enjoys, the better. The game requests I receive on Facebook alone are enough to make me want to jump ship, and some days my news feed looks like a wall of digital FSIs. While we certainly agree that social media is integral to many successful marketing plans, it has to be done the right way and not necessarily the way the industry reports it – most marketing press would have you believe social media engagement is going to make or break a brand. What will make a brand is a product that delivers on its promise and a communication plan that reaches her where she is, in a way she likes. So many brands focus on inspirational content, which certainly has it merits. But many companies often miss the one factor that is equally impactful for all moms – humor. My personal mantra is that no one needs to laugh more than a stressed-out mom.

So what is this multi-tasking mother of three going to do in the New Year? Like other moms, hide the people in my feed that over-share, unlike brands that are spamming me with too many commercial messages, and use the medium the way I want to – to catch up with people, uncover new ideas and be entertained. Hopefully some brands will make me laugh along the way.

1 comment about "Will Moms Shed Social Media Weight in the New Year?".
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  1. Ron Pettengill from BlinqPhoto, February 2, 2015 at 1 p.m.

    Great article - sums up not only what I have been reading but more importantly what I have been hearing from Moms themselves. One close friend in particular with 3 children ages 16 -21 had the best line as it related to Facebook in particular - "I just want it to get out of my life." Given the use of FB by Moms this seems like a potentially dangerous trend/great opportunity. Most of the reasons given was around a lack of privacy & control when sharing things.

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