• by Payal Berning , December 16, 2011

Moms are in constant search for outlets that inspire their roles as mom and beyond. Earlier in 2011, the Moms Human Experience Center discovered the ironclad alliance that moms pledge to. Their promise includes to encourage and advise; to impart information and wisdom; and to exchange ideas that inspire creativity. However, while traditional search engines provide portals for moms to explore, there is a void in the virtual world for searchable idea sharing. Enter Pinterest.

Now there’s a space for their social inspiration

 “I pinned it.” Chances are if you are a mom you have heard this phrase in reference to Pinterest, a self-expression engine powered by its users. Members post images to the site that inspire them, as well as create and share collections across endless categories. The social-sharing site then collects the images, or pins, on "boards" that other users can follow and comment on. For example, a search for “playtime ideas” results in pages of pins including 101 things to do with your toddler to DIY craft ideas.

“Love it [Pinterest]! There are tons of pictures of anything and everything. I love daydreaming about future houses, finding new recipes (and trying them out), finding craft projects, finding school projects (we homeschool).”

From emotive aspiration to functional inspiration, Pinterest empowers moms with their user-generated content by saving them time, money and hassle—all commodities that mothers run scarce on. According to Comscore, there was an 1100% increase in unique mom visitors to Pinterest from May to October, 2011. On top of which, moms spend an average of 13.7 minutes per visit. 

Tapping into our social listening dashboard and online communities, we discovered what moms really think about Pinterest…and it seemed that the site was all the rage among moms as a source for ideas, ideas and more ideas.

“I love the variety of ideas.  Right now, we are looking into getting a media center, so I can type that in the search and find several ideas for both homemade and store bought centers.”

“I saw a Pinterest project where they framed a metal board and painted it, then stick magnets to all their eyeshadows, blushes, etc. to keep your makeup all organized and taking up only wall space.”

“I wanted to find cupcake ideas (for my daughter’s 3^rd birthday) for her party so I could make her day as special as possible.” 

So why are moms, the most time-pressed audience, drawn to Pinterest? 

Finding practical how-to’s and inspiration to be better mommies

Searching and receiving ideas just got a lot easier, and now moms are moving past Google, Facebook and Twitter to Pinterest, an engine of new inspiration. Need a healthy meal recipe for dinner tonight?  Wondering what a good Halloween costume would be for toddler girls?  Looking for inspiration on what color to paint the nursery?  It’s all available on Pinterest. 

“I founda queso blanco dip on Pinterest that is nothing short of divine), home solutions, wardrobe inspiration - Pinterest is nothing if not useful!”

Organizing her digital clutter

Pinterest is a virtual scrapbook for moms highlighting ideas that interest her, and her boards are virtual folders that structure clutter. It is the answer to moms’ chaos and organizational nightmares.

“Pinterest is basically an online pin board where you can save and organize links to anything you see around the web.  But you can also search Pinterest for other people's pins.  Just go to pinterest.com to request an invite.  And, while you're waiting, do some searches for baby Christmas pictures and prepare to become addicted.  =)”

The community moms trusts are telling her about it

Moms trust the advice of other moms. In only two years, moms are some of the most active users of Pinterest and they are spreading word of their new favorite site at a shocking speed. Their endorsement is the thumbs-up that others moms need to investigate and sign up—immediately!

“I don't have any idea about it till now. But after reading some comments in our discussion forum, i have got some idea. Can anyone send me an invitation plz...”

Pinterest and the Holidays

With the holiday season in full swing, conversations about Pinterest among moms are surging in the social space as moms are on the hunt for recipes, entertainment and even sharing their own holiday wish lists through their pins.

"I've got a bunch of recipes on Pinterest that I'd love to try out during the Christmas season. I've also got two snowmen ideas that I really want to make with the family as soon as we get enough snow."

“Got the idea for the tree-shaped paper chain on Pinterest, pinned from the blog, Make and Takes. Not only was it cute, but it also looked easy to make (hooray!). The supplies to make it are minimal (read: super cheap) and it doesn't take long at all.”

Even marketers haven taken notice and are reaching out to moms through Pinterest.  Wal-Mart ran a contest on Pinterest that invited entrants to create and tag a board that featured DIY holiday gifts using a brand sold at the retailer.

Pinterest is one of the first websites that has cracked the social curation code. Moms embrace the social sharing world and any site that makes their many roles easier to juggle. “Pinned it” is already set to be the new “Google it” with moms’ stamp of approval.