• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, May 18, 2011

According to a recent Nielsen Company study, 34% of American households are home to kids under 18, and modern moms wear many hats and play many roles.  These moms are 19% more likely than the general population to engage in social networking, and even more likely to become a fan or follow a brand (31% more likely), become a fan or follow a celebrity (24% more likely) and comment on others postings (27% more likely).  

Moms account for one-fourth of all video streams occurring on social networks, and are also more likely to post their own content:

• 37% more likely to post photos
• 25% more likely to link articles/videos
• 33% more likely to give status updates

Using the Internet for personal communication is also very high among mothers, with moms 37% more likely to send/receive invites online, 17% more likely to use instant messaging and 14% more likely to make/receive voice calls online.

Moms make up more than one-fifth of online video viewers and spent an average of 258 minutes viewing online video in March 2011.  Compared to the overall usage in the US, Moms spent 25% more time, about 52 minutes longer on average, viewing online video from Home PCs.

Moms can be hard to reach, says the report. In broadcast primetime, ad recall levels are 8% lower among moms 25-54 than non-moms of the same age and the general population.

The study found that the ads that resonate most with moms are often family- and convenience-oriented with relatable characters/situations, sentimental tonality and good natured humor. A heavy focus on products/services tends to reduce ad effectiveness among moms.  For moms, the 30-second sitcom (or drama) might just snag her much-divided attention.

Though households with kids under 18 make up a third of U.S. households, they are responsible for half of all purchases of cereal, juice, fresh meat and prepared food (dry mixes).  Moms also overindex for shopping for groceries online.

However, when it comes to general shopping online, they are on par with other online adults.

Moms are more likely to shop for media items:

• Books (11% more likely than the adult online population)
• Magazines (20%)
• Digital music (15%)
• Video games (7%).

On the flipside, they are 53% less likely to do investment shopping.

For the 2010-2011 season, reality TV programs have been the big winners among women ages 25-54 in broadcast primetime.  In fact, the top four broadcast programs women ages 25-54 watched were reality TV as were half of the top 20 shows watched by this audience. 

For more information about the Nielsen study, please visit here.