To connect or promote?: An exploratory examination of Facebook pages dedicated to moms

•Explored stated purpose of Facebook pages and posts designated for moms.•Sampled Facebook pages for moms reflect a purpose of conversation and discussion.•Sampled page posts reflect an informational/promotional purpose.•Implications for incongruent messages from page and post purpose.•Baseline data for future studies regarding Facebook and moms who use the site.

Mothers are increasingly using Facebook for a variety of communication functions. As an initial step toward understanding how mothers use Facebook, this exploratory study examines the types of messages mothers receive from Facebook pages solely designated for them. Using a content analysis, twelve Facebook pages and 526 administrators’ posts were analyzed. The majority of pages identified purpose as conversational/ discussion starter, while the majority of administrators’ posts were coded as informational/promotional. The discrepancies between the pages’ and posts’ purpose are considered. Directions for extending the research examining mothers and social networking sites are also suggested.