Motherhood in the Age of Social Media

While consumers of all ages and backgrounds engage in social media, Millennial and Gen X moms participate in specific social media behaviors that marketers and insights professionals need to understand.

FOR many moms, social media provides community and social interaction during a hectic and isolating season of life. It’s a place where they can turn to friends and strangers alike for crucial parenting advice, life hacks, and tried-and-true product recommendations as they navigate motherhood. Many even seek out information directly from brands on social media such as product details, promotions, and sales. In fact, Millennial and Gen X moms (those with children aged 14 or younger)


actually use social media at higher rates than their non-mom female counterparts
to obtain product and brand information.

As the graph below shows, about two-thirds of all moms (of children 14 or younger) “like” or “follow” products or brands on social media. This is especially the case for non-Hispanic moms, who are about twice as likely to do so as non-Hispanic non-moms: 66% versus 33% respectively. 

What moms think of products on social media

This indicates that moms are leaning on social media as a trusted source for product information beyond traditional media advertising and brands’ e-commerce sites. Brands that lack an accessible and descriptive social media page that showcases their offerings will be behind the curve with the many moms who rely on this source of product information.

More so than non-moms, most moms across segments like sharing their experiences and opinions about products and brands on social media. This is especially true for non-Hispanic moms, who again, are about twice as likely to engage in this way than non-Hispanic non-moms (63% versus 32%). Their difference with Hispanic moms (50%) is also statistically significant. If your brand wants to facilitate dialogue and shared experience on social media, then you should target those most inclined to participate: non-Hispanic moms followed by Hispanics moms.

What moms think of products on social media

You may be wondering which non-Hispanic segment(s) is driving the non-Hispanic mom over-index. We are too! So we’re going to be conducting research and digging deeper into the non-Hispanic moms group in 2020.

Both of the above data points align with trends we’re seeing on social media today. A growing number of moms are stepping into influencer roles to capitalize on the community and wealth of product recommendations they’ve accumulated through experience. For example, Claudia Felix-Garay (@thelatinamom), a Hispanic mom influencer with over 80k followers, Naomi Davis (@taza), a non-Hispanic White mom influencer with 463k followers, and Jennifer Borget (@jenniferborget), a Black mom influencer with over 90k followers all run accounts that evolved out of successful blogs. They write about their lives as mothers while also inviting readers to adopt aspects of their lifestyle by sharing what products they use and places they like to go. Brands that are interested in partnering with powerful social media influencers should consider moms!

As you head into the end of the year and prepare for your next social media push, remember to keep these stats (and moms!) in mind.  And keep an eye out for upcoming blogs on moms and our moms study coming out in 2020.

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