We’ve warned you about taking Mom for granted!

A few times, in fact. And no… your mom doesn’t have us on payroll. This is our nagging, not hers. Because it’s not just your own mother you need to show some consideration. (Although you should do that, too.) It’s ALL moms.

A recent study by ABI Research, reported at MarketWatch, is predicting over 550 million people will reach social networks from their mobile phones in 2011.

Sounds impressive, huh? There’s more. They also predict that by 2016, that number will increase to over 1.7 BILLION.

In other words, over two-thirds of the global user base of social networks will use smartphones and other mobile handsets to access the services.

Interesting, right? But what does that have to do with Mom – yours, ours, or anyone else’s?

We’ve pointed out before that moms are the fastest growing demographic for smartphone technology. We also highlighted a Pew study that found 69% of online women use social media. So… more moms are using (or getting) smartphones, and more women are on social media.

But there’s more. (Can you handle it?)

AdAge reported a BabyCenter study of mobile moms. They found that 68% of respondents use their smartphones while shopping, and 46% say they prefer to get their product information at that time.

Oh, we’re not done yet.

MarketWatch reports on another study focused on moms, this one released by Disney Interactive Media Group. Of the moms they surveyed, 91% use a mobile device, with 44% using a smartphone.

Today’s moms are adopting emerging technologies at an impressive rate to help manage their families’ busy lives and use as entertainment platforms with their kids…  For digital marketers who are trying to reach moms, we believe this second wave will help them better understand the shifting behavior.

Among the household-related activities these moms handle online:

One last study to mention. (Aren’t you glad we search for all this stuff so you don’t have to?)

MediaPost reports on their proprietary survey of Generation Y moms, “Digital Eve-olution”. They found that 46% of respondents expect businesses to update their Facebook page daily, and 64% expect a response from brands within 24 hours. (Read: They want to be brands to engage!)

They also found that 52% of these Gen-Y moms report downloading more mobile apps than they did last year. (We’d like to remind you that the number one social media app across all platforms IS Facebook.)

Mom – yours, ours, and everyone else’s…

The fastest growing smartphone demographic. The majority users of social media (especially Facebook). The (generally speaking) modern hunter-gatherers who venture out to procure whatever the family needs — and who do so with their smartphone in hand…

And the primary decision makers, in control of up to $5 TRILLION in annual spending.

The fact is: Women are now more important in making purchase decisions than ever before and are in fact, the most important consumer for businesses to target.

You shouldn’t take your mom for granted because… well… she’s your MOM. (And we hope you didn’t actually need us to remind you.)

You shouldn’t take anyone else’s mom for granted (including ours) either, because they are your customers

…or they could be, if you make the effort to connect with them.

And if your own mom isn’t your customer… well, you must’ve taken her for granted after all.

(We suggest sending her flowers, stat. You can do it online. From your smartphone. And comparison shop before you place your order…  Just like Mom.)