Mothers have always been a wealth of information, and the Internet has made it easier than ever for mothers-to-be and new moms to learn and share everything from the tried-and-true to the latest and greatest in childrearing.

 

eMarketer reports that the power of word of mouth (WOM) is even more potent among new moms and pregnant women, than among women in general or other consumers. Seventy percent of pregnant and new moms say that they trust the information that they receive from other moms, and half state that they pass along that information. Nearly two-thirds of mothers (64 percent) ask other moms for advice before they purchase a new product, and a vast majority of female Internet users (87 percent) mention a favorite product in conversation. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) forward an email link to friends.

 

“These results are not surprising,” branding expert Michal Ann Strahilevitz, PhD, says. “First-time mothers are of course nervous about the new and precious responsibility that awaits them. They see other moms as experts. Way before the Internet, even before written communication, women in a variety of cultures were educating and advising each other on the art of raising children.”

 

Strahilevitz, a marketing professor at San Francisco’s Golden Gate University, says that mom-to-mom communication is simply easier and farther reaching today. “Word of mouth being spread among expecting and new moms is definitely not new. It is just that the Internet makes it easier, and allows women from all over the world who might never have been able to connect with one another before the Internet to communicate, share, discuss and advise,” she explains.

 

As a result, mommy bloggers have become big buzz in the online world. Colleen Padilla, founder of www.classymommy.com, a website dedicated to mom, dad, and baby product reviews and news, says that the Internet has given a previously invisible population a platform. “Social media has given a voice to moms, a powerful buying segment. It used to be isolating to be a mom, especially a stay-at-home mom, and now they can network throughout the country and the world, asking questions like, ‘How can I get my baby to sleep through the night?’” Padilla says.

 

Padilla, a mother of two, was inspired to create Classy Mommy when she took a six-month maternity leave and found herself craving intellectual stimulation. Trading in her Cornell-earned MBA for a “Master of Baby Administration,” she says, Padilla is now a stay-at-home mom whose site “has taken on a life of its own.”  Padilla’s heart is as big as the mommy trend—100 percent of affiliate marketing revenue is donated to charity, and she regularly holds other charitable events on the site benefiting such causes as Project Peanut Butter (feeding starving children in Malawi, Africa, www.projectpeanutbutter.org) and breast cancer survivors.

 

“It can be so overwhelming to be a pregnant first-time mom,” Padilla tells demo dirt. “You walk into Babies ‘R’ Us and there are so many products, you can’t believe that a little eight pound baby needs all of these things!”

 

The guidance provided by the online mom network, Padilla explains, is invaluable. “Moms instinctively trust other moms. When I review a product, they know I am just another mom, that the review is not just a produced commercial, that these recommendations come from real people.”

 

Safety concerns and going green, two issues which often work hand-in-hand, are big in mommydom. “Green is a big trend, and now with the product safety concerns about BPA, moms want to learn more about where to find safe baby bottles, as well as paraben-free sunscreen,” Padilla states.

 

One of the biggest developments as a result of the mommy trend, Padilla adds, is the “outreach from big companies who want to develop a relationship with moms.” Johnson & Johnson recently invited mom bloggers to Camp Baby, a networking event for online mommies to connect face-to-face.

 

Like Strahilevitz, Sandra Gordon, author of Consumer Reports Best Baby Products 2007, says that moms have always trusted in the power of word of mouth, but today there are more and more issues for mothers to face. “I think WOM has always been prevalent among moms, but perhaps even more so now because we're dealing with so many questions, from what to buy and how to get into the right preschool, to how to find your child the best tutor and where the best birthday party venues are,” Gordon explains.

 

While it may be tempting to follow well-meaning advice when checking out baby products, Gordon advises parents to consider individual tastes and needs. “With baby gear, WOM can be powerful, but I'd caution parents to ask themselves: ‘Does this advice make sense for me?’ she tells demo dirt.  “If your good friend who lives in New York City recommends a stroller, for example, and you live suburban Connecticut, that advice may make absolutely no sense for you, since your lifestyles are completely different. But because your good friend said the stroller was great, you can find yourself buying it.”

 

Before she began writing about baby products, Gordon says, she herself fell into that very trap. “After I bought the WOM stroller, I thought, ‘Why did I buy this one?’ I really needed something much more rugged and outdoorsy. But by then, it was a done deal, and I was stuck with it.”

 

The baby bottom line? Gordon urges parents to think before they shop. “Don't forget to run WOM advice through your own filter, rather than just blindly following it, and go through your own fact-finding mission by say, doing side by side product comparison tests in the store before buying recommended baby gear,” she advises. “With other stuff, like who are the best tutors in your area, or where are the best birthday parties, get several opinions before acting. If the same advice keeps popping up, you've probably got a winner.”

 

"Moms rely heavily on each other for advice, support, and help with the unending juggling that our busy lives demand," Jeanne Hurlbert, PhD, professor of sociology at Louisiana State University, says. "Social networks are as critical for managing our personal lives as they are for negotiating career ladders—and many moms know that well, although they may not recognize that this is ‘networking.’ But it is, clearly, an important use of social networks. ‘Mom culture’ emerges from these networks."

 

Hurlbert also runs Optinet Resources, LLC, a group that helps entrpreneurs build social networks (www.optinetresources.com). As a busy mom herself, she understands the importance of WOM. "Faced with the competing demands of multiple roles, moms need efficient ways to gather information and make decisions. One of the best sources for that information is other moms, the ‘mommy network.’ So, just as business people turn to trusted colleagues for information on potential hires or service providers, moms look to other moms they trust to get everything from pediatricians to schools to babysitters," she explains. 

 

"Because the stakes are high—finding good schools or physicians or childcare is vital to your child’s welfare—moms are particularly likely to seek the opinions of people they trust, who have experience with these entities," Hurlbert maintains.  "That’s a key reason that word-of-mouth plays such a vital role in ‘mommy culture.’ This way of garnering information through social networks is also efficient:  As our lives become more hectic, these kinds of network referrals become even more important."

 

Book author, blogger, and mother of two tween boys Jen Singer, whose site www.mommasaid.net, launched in 2003, was named a Forbes.com Best of the Web for Parenting Blogs, says the online network is the proverbial "back fence" of yesteryear. “Imagine the back fence where your mother used to talk to the mom next door. They shared advice, tips, recipes and consumer reviews. (‘The kids just love those Pop Rocks!’)” Singer says.

 

“Now imagine the back fence is as long as the Internet, where moms can talk to dozens, hundreds, even thousands of moms around the world,” Singer adds. “They share advice, tips, recipes and consumer reviews. (‘The kids just love their Heelys!’)”

 

“Mothers are doing what they’ve always done—sharing information about what to buy or not buy. Only now they have the power of blogs and social networks like Facebook and My Space behind them, and it’s driving consumer demand worldwide,” Singer maintains. “A positive mom review on Yahoo or Amazon can influence other mothers to buy your product. And a negative review can spell disaster. The Internet has shifted the power of advertising from the manufacturer to the consumer’s word of mouth, and for moms, it’s here to stay.”

 

Where did the obsession with mommies and babies, maternity chic and designer baby togs, come from? “It all started way back in 1991 when Demi Moore posed nude for the cover of Vanity Fair. She changed the shape of motherhood,” Singer contends. “We went from pregnant women wearing those dresses with those giant bows and wearing overalls—looking like giant toddlers, really—to being super-chic-Christina-Aguilera-in-high-heels, and perfectly coiffed.”

 

Baby bump watches, articles on celebrities reclaiming their pre-pregnancy figures, and chatter over unique baby names have all contributed to the trickle-down fascination with all things baby. “We have become hyperfocused on pregnancy as though every pregnant woman is our business,” Singer tells demo dirt.

 

With all that pressure, Singer adds, women need support and encouragement. “Motherhood has gone a bit insane over the last ten years. The parenting bar has gotten so incredibly high you can’t reach it. You end up with two kinds of moms: the Super Mom and the Slacker Mom,” she explains. “Sometimes people just give up and become Slacker Moms. One is not good for the mom—the Super Mom suffers from burnout—and the Slacker Mom is not good for the kids.”

 

Singer is the author of You're a Good Mom (and Your Kids Aren't So Bad Either): The 14 Secrets to Finding Happiness Between Super Mom and Slacker Mom. She also writes the Good Grief! blog about parenting tweens for GoodHousekeeping.com

 

Like fellow mom blogger Padilla, Singer applauds moms’ powerful collective consumer voice. “Never underestimate the power of a mom with a blog, because other moms blog about that mother and so on and so forth, across the community. The Internet has given moms the power to change products, or to replace a product with a better one,” she says.

 

“Mothers are so persistent and prevalent on the Internet because of the emotions surrounding children. Emotions drive the mommy culture. It’s a momma bear with a keyboard,” Singer concludes. “It gives us a power that we didn’t have before to make life better for ourselves in the long run.”