If moms are a key element of your target audience for fundraising or communications, read on.

This article by Stephanie Azzarone, who blogs at Mom Market Trends, makes a key point.

When moms are looking for advice, including on potential purchases, they prefer to talk to peers rather than experts. And this conferring with peers — other moms — is occuring online … often in the context of writing and reading mom-blogs. Bottomline: moms trust moms … the bond is a shared lifestage. And mom-blogs (and social nets) increasingly connect them.

Consider …

 

  • There are 40 million moms with children under 18 in America
  • 35 million of them are online
  • 16.5 million online moms participate in the blogosphere as publishers or readers … that’s 41% of all moms

Stephanie cites research that indicates the top three online activities of Gen Y moms (20′s and early 30′s) are reading blogs, participating in an online community of moms, and creating and sharing their own video. And for Gen X moms (mid-30′s through 40′s), the top three online activities are using a photo site, rating and reviewing products, and shopping.

Just one more argument for shifting your marketing resources to online media — certainly to reach this demographic — and, within that space, to the more interactive social media. Of course, having this objective is one thing; figuring out how to get your nonprofit or cause into their conversation is the real challenge.

I came across this article via a new e-newsletter, Engage:Moms, which I recommend following if reaching moms is important to your mission.

Tom