How Moms view their role as helpmates to kids and what it means to marketers.

With the magic of online marketing, social media and consumer-generated content, marketers have the opportunity to get over their fears of marketing to moms and do something they've never done before in order to get the results they've never gotten before.

The best way for anyone to understand someone else's perspective is to walk in her shoes. So, I donned a pregnancy suit.

Many brands and industries are leading the way in listening and engaging with moms, yet there are some industries that still prefer to engage primarily with men. I think it's easier for some industries to market to men as they don't require the same level of social engagement as women do. However, in case you missed the memo, moms control over $4 billion in annual spend.

Marketers may want to consider Mom Bloggers as front-line brand ambassadors who can alert them to any potential product or service concerns that can be addressed before the issue gains a viral buzz and becomes a larger public relations management crisis.

Word of mouth marketing is still alive and well in the offline world even though marketers have shifted their attention in recent days. The most successful marketers in the future will be those that identify the right mom influencer for their brand and facilitate bringing her online playground into her physical neighborhood.

Facebook is fertile ground for marketers to engage mothers and drive sales, but communication must be on moms' terms. While they don't have time for brands that don't get it, they embrace the brands that play by their rules.

Today's moms don't blame themselves when technology doesn't work, they blame the brand. Tech companies who take the time to understand mom and build products that empower her will earn a very powerful fan with a whole lot of friends.

While we laud the FTC for promoting transparency and any potential bias, their first change-up of the guidelines fall short. Here's why.

January presents the opportunity to evaluate the goals of the year past, test new initiatives in the coming year and re-evaluate insights of their target market. When it comes to mothers, I've tracked consumer behaviors that the team at BSM Media feels will lead to the "Mom Marketing Trends of 2010."