• by Maria Bailey , Columnist, July 17, 2015

Video, video, video. It’s a topic I’ve posted about often, perhaps at the risk of sounding like a broken record. (Would Millennial Moms even know what that cliché refers to?) However, a recent study illustrates again the overwhelming use of video among moms of all generations, with higher numbers among Millennial Moms who love the “customized” viewing options that are instantaneous, shareable, informative and portable. Moms are more videos than ever on their phones or mobile devices, tuning in to YouTube, Facebook, Amazon and Vine to name a few. 

• As the YouTube user base approaches one billion and YouTube celebrities are more popular than traditional television stars, 65% of Millennial Moms say they watch a YouTube video every week and 24% watch videos daily. 55% watch videos multiple times a week.

• Moms of all generations watch videos online at least a few times a week, with almost 25% of moms watching videos daily. 64% of Millennial Moms subscribe to YouTube channels, compared to 54% of GenX mothers. 

• When Millennial Moms upload their own videos to YouTube, content centers on family and special moments. Almost 35% of these younger moms upload their own video to YouTube at least once each month. 

• Product reviews and How-To videos are popular among moms, an important result for brand managers. “How-To” videos ranked second behind “Entertainment” as the top YouTube search categories for moms. 

• Amazon has also seen the power of video product reviews, expanding their “Video Short” content. In fact, when asked where they watch videos outside of YouTube, 86% of moms responded that they watch videos on Amazon.

• In addition to YouTube and Amazon, it probably won’t surprise you that Millennial Moms watch hours of video on Facebook. Beauty and fashion videos, funny or cute clips and music videos are the preferred content on Facebook.

Reaching moms through video is more important than ever. If your marketing strategy does not include videos, make the change now. Moms are looking for product reviews before they buy, and expect to see product videos on manufacturer websites as well as on the popular sites mentioned above. Even more valuable are product reviews by “real” moms. Don’t be afraid to ask social media moms and bloggers if they would record a short video. Many mom influencers are migrating over to video and also trying their hand at live broadcasting. You can experiment by expanding your request to bloggers to include a video that you can use on your social media outlets and vice versa. 

Populate your YouTube channel (get one if you don’t have one) with product reviews, how-to videos and relevant content. To get a feel of what’s out there, search YouTube channels, Facebook pages or popular Viners to gain a sense of who’s producing what in the realm of video. Finally, there are always new trends emerging in social media, particularly video. Periscope is a newcomer in live-streaming video, and an app that I love already. Stay tuned for updates as Periscope plays a big part in my summer plans.