The BabyCenter® 2010 Mom Social Influencer Report” reveals five unique segments of social moms

18% of moms who use social media account for 78% of the influence

San Francisco, CA (June 14, 2010) — BabyCenter, LLC, the Web’s #1 global interactive pregnancy and parenting destination, announced today the results of its proprietary segmentation study, “The BabyCenter 2010 Mom Social Influencer Report,” revealing a clear view into the mindsets, behaviors and influential impact of five unique segments of social moms.  These segments are broken down into two categories: the Influencers, referred to in the Report as Field Experts, Lifecasters and Pros, and the Influenced, labeled in the Report as Butterflies and the Audience.  Even though the Influencers make up only 18% of social moms, they wield 78% of the influence and have a profound impact on the Influenced.

“Since 2006, the number of moms using social media has skyrocketed more than 500%. Now is the time for marketers to shift their mindset from social media to social marketing by gaining a better understanding of who the mom influencers are, where they live within social media and how to activate each segment to amplify their messages to a broader target audience.” said Tina Sharkey, Chairman and Global President, BabyCenter.

For this study, influence was measured by how often social moms post or comment on social networks (e.g. BabyCenter, Twitter, Facebook or blogs) and the size of their networks on these platforms. All five segments of social moms have distinct characteristics and behaviors consistent across the major social media platforms.

Meet the Influencers:

Field Expert: Stay-at-home moms with a topical focus on parenting

  • Who she is: A young but experienced stay-at-home mom who uses social media to share parenting advice, usually focused on a specific topic (i.e. raising twins, breastfeeding issues, caring for a special needs child), with a large network of moms who look to her for her hard-earned advice and recommendations. She is most active in parenting-focused social media environments like the BabyCenter Community where she shares in-depth mom-to-mom advice, wisdom and support.
  • Size and share of influence: Field experts make up 8% of social moms and have a 33% share of influence overall. They are most influential on parenting communities likethe BabyCenter Community where they have a 44% share of influence.

Lifecasters: Millennial moms who live their lives in public

  • Who she is: A millennial mom of young children who is always connected and communicating using social media.  She loves being the center of attention, has a strong need to stay connected and participate and thrives on being recognized as the go-to person on many topics, not just parenting. She is very active in social media, with a high number of comments and friends who look to her as an invaluable source of new ideas and recommendations.She is most active on Facebook where she posts frequently to her huge network of readers and “likes” her favorite brands. She’s also  active on Twitter and blogs where she shares everything from everyday occurrences and stories about her children to product recommendations, deals and coupons.  Although Lifecasters produce a high amount of seemingly lighter content, they are depended on by a large audience for relevant advice and product recommendations.
  • Size and share of influence: Lifecasters make up 8% of social moms and 34% percent of the influence overall. They are most influential on Facebook where they command 47% of the influence.

Pros: Mom bloggers who have turned their passion for social into a profession

  • Who she is: A self-employed Gen X mom with young children who loves giving well-thought-out advice and values recognition. She consistently pushes out entertaining and informational content to her enormous networks on Twitter and her blog, posting opinions and advice on a wide variety of topics including parenting tips and product reviews and giveaways. She does extensive research before making recommendations on a broad range of topics.  In many cases, she has been compensated in some way for writing about brands on her blog.
  • Size and share of influence: Pros represent 2% of moms in social media and have an 11% share of influence overall.  While they are incredibly influential individually, they account for a lower proportion of the influence overall due to their small size. Pros are most influential on blogs where they have an 89% share of influence and on Twitter with 69%.

Meet the Influenced:

Butterflies -Young professionals who put the social in social networking

  • Who she is: A mom-to-be expecting her first child who is very self-confident and loves social gatherings. Although she has a lot of friends online and in real life, her schedule is so tight that she tends to only post on important updates using  social media.She primarily uses social media platforms like Facebook to keep up with her many friends and be entertained. She also seeks advice about her pregnancy on parenting-focused social media networks, like the BabyCenter Community. She shares about her real life on Twitter and on blogs when she has a spare moment but generally tends to be more on the receiving end of advice and recommendations.
  • Size and Share of Influence: Although Butterflies represent 16% of moms in social media they only wield 7% of the influence overall because of their low level of activity.

The Audience: The largest group of social moms is listening and taking it all in

  • Who they are: This very large group represents the mom market, including a mix of moms at different stages, from expectant moms to moms of older children. These women have fewer online friends and comment less frequently in social media, but are still present and highly influenced by the other segments.Moms in this group use parenting-focused social media environments like the BabyCenter Community to find useful information, ask questions, get product recommendations or receive support. They use mainstream social sites to keep in touch with friends and for consuming entertainment. They are there to observe and obtain information – not to comment.
  • Size and share of influence: At 66% percent of moms who use social media, the audience makes up the largest group but wields little influence relative to their size at 15% overall.

Key highlights:

  • Motherhood is the #1 trigger for social media usage.  Pregnancy and birth triggered 94% of moms to seek out information and share opinions with others online.
  • The 80/20 rule never fails. 18% of social moms wield 78% of the overall influence.
  • Mom bloggers are effective but just the tip of the iceberg. Field Experts and Lifecasters actually make up 16% of audience and wield 67% of the influence.
  • Moms use different social sites to fulfill different needs. 91% of social moms use Facebook for socializing and 89% use BabyCenter for gathering useful information.
  • Social moms are most influential in their native environments. Pros have 89% of influence on blogs, Lifecasters have 47% on Facebook, and Field Experts have 44% on the BabyCenter Community.

The findings of BabyCenter’s “2010 Mom Social Influencer Report” are based on the results of a survey conducted by BabyCenter United States in March of 2010, combined with behavioral analysis of members of the BabyCenter Community.

About BabyCenter® LLC

BabyCenter® is the voice of the 21st Century Mom™ and modern motherhood.  It is the #1 pregnancy and parenting destination worldwide, reaching over 8 million moms in the U.S. and close to 19 million moms monthly in 22 markets from Australia to India to China.

In the United States, 7 out of 10 babies born last year were BabyCenter babies. BabyCenter is the world’s partner in parenting, providing moms with trusted advice from more than 100 experts around the globe, and friendship that is remarkably right for her needs at every stage of her child’s development.

BabyCenter’s industry-leading 21st Century Mom™ Panel, the largest in the U.S. and its 21st Century Mom™ Insights Series provide the world’s major marketers and institutions with proprietary research and a direct line to over 85 thousand moms.

The site has received numerous prestigious awards, including seven Webby Awards and four Mediapost OMMA Awards, and was listed on Advertising Age’s Digital A-List. BabyCenter is available on the Internet in eight languages and has mobile applications in English, Spanish, and Hindi.

BabyCenter LLC is based in San Francisco and is a member of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies. BabyCenter is a registered trademark of BabyCenter LLC.