Media Habits of Moms in 2013
It is that time of year when mom is on our mind–not just because of Mother’s Day, but also for the release of our annual Moms and Media report. Moms and Media 2013, taken from the Edison Research and Arbitron Infinite Dial series, will showcase brand new data about how moms are consuming various media simultaneously, and how they are increasingly reliant on their smartphones. In addition to those new data points, the report will also highlight the changes and trends we starting tracking last year on how moms use social networking, mobile devices and how much time moms spend with all forms of media.
Even before the release of this year’s report, there are some points we already know about moms from our previous research. For instance, we know moms are partial to smartphones. According to our Moms and Media 2012 report, 61% of moms owned a smartphone last year. We also know that Internet is essential to the daily life of modern moms, and that in 2012 they spent more than 2.5 hours per day online. Last year’s study showed that social media usage drove much of that online time, with 46% of social media moms saying they access those sites several times per day. Also in that 2012 data, we observed a heavy Facebook presence for moms, with 72% having a profile page on the site.
So, to recap the 2012 data: moms are connected, mobile and social. This makes them a driving force in advertising and marketing; and thus, a highly sought after target whose opinions matter… a lot. Since moms are so important (and it is their honorary month) we will once again put their habits in the spotlight with a live webinar to show key technology trends, media consumption, and other important mobile and social behaviors that moms in 2013 share.
Please join me on Tuesday, May 14th at 2:00 pm EST when I present Moms and Media 2013. Register today to find out how moms are using mobile devices, social networking and traditional media so that you can better reach this key demographic.
Click here to register for the Moms and Media 2013 Webinar.
The New Holiday Shopping Experience
The holiday season is often a mixed bag of fun and stress, with festive gatherings, decorations and finding the “perfect gift.” However, with the highs come the lows, including those dreaded trips to crowded stores with lists and coupons in search of the best deal. Today, mobile technology is changing that. For busy, smartphone Santas (aka parents), this approach could be true holiday joy.
Smartphone owners are tech savvy–they know what their technology can do and they embrace it, especially in high pressure situations. It is not surprising, then, that according to the 2012 Deloitte Holiday Survey, 68% of smartphone owners plan to use their devices for holiday shopping to enhance and improve their shopping experience. Sixty-two percent said they will use their phones to find store locations, 58% said they would do price comparisons and half of respondents said they would search for product information.
Retailers, too, are embracing the mobile shopping experience, with many adding Wi-Fi services in store to better allow for connectivity. In some cases, retailers are also using mobile technology to offer coupons and deals to shoppers who scan promotional barcodes. This is one way to engage the consumer in a way that is seemingly more personal. Anyone can clip a coupon from the newspaper, but to get that special deal, you need to know to scan the code with your phone. The customer has just become exclusive.
Through these efforts, the retailer ultimately wants to keep the shopper in their store and fight against showrooming – the process of browsing items on the shelf and then going online and ordering the item for a lower price. If the user’s mobile experience at a retailer is pleasant and memorable, the shopper is less likely to go elsewhere or pull up a rival store’s app while shopping in that store. The goal: to create a bond with the brand and a more loyal customer. For the shopper, these initiatives allow for a faster exchange of information about price, product features, ratings and availability. In some cases, the shopper can actually use their smartphone to check out and avoid long lines.
We know from our own research that smartphone ownership continues to rise, especially among moms. According to the Moms and Media 2012 report from earlier this year, 61% of moms own a smartphone, up from 36% in 2011. As we prepare to field the 2013 research after the new year, I have to imagine that number will climb even higher. As more moms adopt smartphones, the mobile shopping experience should also continue to evolve in order to serve not only that demographic, but all smartphone users. With the hustle and bustle of shopping, anything that makes the process more efficient will be accepted and utilized, particularly during the holiday season, leaving more time for baking and wrapping. Now if only we could have a smartphone fix for that too…
Dad is Dad, So Don’t Treat Him Like Mom
By: Melissa DeCesare, Edison Research
In my household, my children easily identify which parent will fill the current role that they need. Without directly stating it, my daughter leaned to my husband as the lead when it came time to ride a two wheeler, and he is also the preferred study partner for her tests at school. However, when it comes to solving a problem, picking out clothes or doing an art project, I am the chosen one. As two equal parts in the parenting whole, neither of us is better…just different and our children acknowledge that in their own way by their choice of interaction with us. This realization of difference between mom and dad is evident not only in our own households but also in the marketing world.
Dads are not moms and they do consume and behave differently with regard to technology and media. In the Edison and Arbitron Moms and Media 2012 report, we showed a few comparisons of moms and dads and as we get ready to honor dads on Sunday, I’ll highlight some notable reasons (beyond the obvious) as to why moms are moms and dads are dads. While they do share some commonalities, they should not be addressed interchangeably by marketers.
Dads have different social habits than moms
- -Dads are just as familiar with Facebook as moms, but are less likely to have a profile page, 60% of dads have a profile page vs. 72% of moms.
- -On average, dads check Facebook 2.1 times in 24 hours but moms check in about 4.7 times.
- -Well under a third of social networking dads, 28% check the sites several times per day compared to the 46% of their mom counterparts.
- -Almost half of Facebook dads (49%) are somewhat or very concerned about the privacy of their personal information on the site while 61% of moms on Facebook said the same.
Moms seem more mobile than Dads
- -More than half of dads have a smartphone at 56%, but moms are out ahead with 61% saying they own one.
- -Dads are less likely than moms to use their cell phone to social network, with 27% of dads saying they use it most for access to Facebook, compared to 41% of moms who said so.
- -Ownership of iPhone is lower among dads than moms at 20% and 25% respectively.
Dads view Internet video but don’t share
- -Dads spent an average of 5 hours and 12 minutes viewing video over the Internet in the last week; much more than moms who averaged about 4 hours and 22 minutes.
- -Right in line with higher Internet viewing, 52% of dads who access the Internet watched YouTube specifically in the last week compared to 46% of moms who access the Internet.
- -Even though dads have higher Internet video viewing, they are less likely than moms to share YouTube videos. About a third (34%) of dads who watched YouTube programming shared a clip in the last month. By comparison, 52% of YouTube watching moms shared something.
In some instances the marketing lines are getting a little blurry as more moms and dads share household chores and family tasks, but there is still something to be said for the differences we see, particularly in social media habits and with Internet video viewing. These differences can prove valuable when measuring ways to reach the target or finding ways to explain media consumption and behavior. Regardless of how important or equal these two groups are, as any child will tell you: mom is mom and dad is dad.
Moms and Facebook: If You Post It, They Will Come
Moms communicate…a lot.
They talk, they text, they post and most importantly they share. Marketers and advertisers bank on this to get their message or product out to the masses and when it’s done well, it works. How do they do it well? They create an experience that encourages interaction and leaves an impression so that the user wants to share it.
Radio stations can and should use this strategy to get more Moms to follow them on Facebook. There is a continuing trend of Moms following brands or companies on Facebook, with 41% currently doing so according to the 2012 Moms and Media report from Edison and Arbitron. However only 18% of those Moms follow any radio station on Facebook. Radio should not miss this opportunity.
When Moms post, all their friends see it, which translates into more attention to your station not only from partisans and cumers, but also from non-cumers who may just have to tune in to see what all that chatter is about. On average, Facebook Moms have 255 friends, and a whopping 76% have 100 friends or more. That’s a lot of chatter.
Moms are on Facebook, this we know. According to our 2012 data, 72% of Moms have a profile page on Facebook and of those, 47% are using the site several times per day, so there are multiple opportunities for Moms to make a stop at your Facebook page.
Since they are already in the neighborhood, give them a reason to come to your page. Taking comments from on-air discussions through your page is fine but don’t be afraid to put up some video of what was happening in the studio that morning, a touching tribute or a funny clip from a celebrity guest. These are things that will get a laugh or a tear, but either way they are more likely to live beyond the moment and be passed around. When you do post out of the box content, talk it up on the air to encourage more views and feedback; ask listeners to post their own similar stories or videos in response. The idea is to make it a two way exchange of information that will stay with the audience.
Moms continue to be of interest for their marketing pull and radio already has the formula to reach them. Radio has always been about emotion, interaction and personality and these traits are exactly what make for a great social media experience.
Moms and Media 2012: The Connected Mom
With Mother’s Day upon us, we are all about mom. Beautiful, strong, selfless and nurturing are all ways we can describe her. However, in 2012, let’s add a few more words to that description list: connected, social and mobile. These three words represent a modern mom, based on the newly released Moms and Media 2012 report from Edison Research and Arbitron.
The report, which is drawn from the 20th Edison Research/Arbitron Internet and Multimedia Research series, showcases how moms are using technology and consuming various forms of media. The data shows us that moms have some strong characteristics and tendencies that continue to take shape as they become more invested with smartphones, social networking and just getting online in general.
In the Moms and Media 2012 report, we see that over a decade, moms’ time with the Internet has soared and she is logging well over 2.5 hours per day online. By comparison, in 2002 she clocked in only 53 minutes. Technology allows Mom to use the Internet for almost everything: shopping, banking, social networking and looking up information not only for her but for the family.
Moms confirm what we assume from their heavy usage: that the Internet is essential to their lives. 58% of moms in this year’s study said the Internet is “most essential,” which is a giant increase from where it was in 2002, a mere 17%.
While online, moms are using social media–specifically Facebook. In 2012, 72% of moms have a profile page on Facebook, which is up from the 62% in last year’s study. Moms are still discovering Facebook, so this number will likely continue to grow.
Not only are moms registered with social media sites like Facebook, they are using them often. Our research shows that 46% of social networking moms use those sites several times per day. This trend has been consistently on the rise, especially with the increased popularity of smartphones among this target group.
Moms continue to flock to the smartphone, outpacing Americans 12+ in ownership. More than three in five moms(61%) own a smartphone, compared to 44% of total Americans 12+. Smartphones are becoming a necessity for moms and they continue to be a driving force in the sales boom for these mobile devices.
The complete presentation slides for Moms and Media 2012 can be viewed below, or Download Moms and Media 2012 from Edison Research here.
How the study was conducted
A total of 2,020 persons were interviewed to investigate Americans’ use of digital platforms and new media. From January 20 to February 19, 2012, telephone interviews were conducted with respondents age 12 and older chosen at random from a national sample of Arbitron’s Fall 2011 survey diarykeepers and through random digit dialing (RDD) sampling in geographic areas where Arbitron diarykeepers were not available for the survey. Diarykeepers represent 45% of the completed interviews and RDD sampled respondents represent 55% of the completed interviews. The study includes a total of 500 cell phone interviews.
