Newswise — Today’s moms know that time is their most precious commodity. School, homework, activities, dinner and bedtime make for a grueling schedule that most moms have to face on a daily basis.
One solution to help with the burden — and to help moms not pull out their hair — is to become more organized and use technology to make life easier. Social media can help the stressed-out and overworked mom, said Jennifer Regina, an adjunct professor of marketing in the Rohrer College of Business at Rowan University (Glassboro, N.J.) and founder and CEO of The Marketing of Everything (Washington Township, N.J.).
According to The NPD Group, 79 percent of moms with children younger than 18 actively use social media, Regina said. They rely heavily on blogs and Facebook to decide what to buy and what brands to promote through their word-of-mouth channels. Additionally, 55 percent of moms have purchased a product because of a blog, and 40 bought a product because they saw it on Facebook.
“Word of mouth is critical for moms making purchases,” Regina said. “The first place moms will go to are other moms in order to come up with the brands or products they should be considering in their product choices.”
Social media, she said, have provided the platform that has allowed those word-of-mouth referral to flourish. For example, Regina said, CafeMom is one of the largest resources for moms with any questions on a multitude of topics.
For the mom who has a very mobile lifestyle, social cell phone applications have been developed to make even life’s milestones easier. Pregnant women can use Mom 2 Be, which is a pregnancy app that tracks the baby’s progress through statistics and even allows the mother-to-be to share tri-semester information with friends and family.
Every mother needs help in the kitchen, Regina said. The Mom’s Shopping List cell phone application allows anyone to quickly create a shopping list.
Some fun mobile applications are available. The first is the Ask Mom app. This will not only entertain kids but also provide great conversation starters. It covers cute questions that kids would ask their mom. “Even if a child can’t read, the application allows him or her to tap on words, and the question is read out loud,” Regina said.
Another favorite app is Sit or Squat, which provides a very important service: help for moms to find the nearest bathroom for their toddler who is participating in toilet boot camp.
Two others cell phone applications provide organization and security for moms. Evernote allows moms to organize, store and transfer important family information, and the Sprint Family Locator app allows moms to use interactive maps to track their kids with real-time locations. “Every mom deserves the peace of mind of knowing where their kids are with a little help from technology,” Regina said.
NOTE: You can follow Regina at her blog at http://themarketingofeverything.blogspot.com or her company website at http://www.marketingofeverything.com.
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