For a brief time this afternoon, the words “social media” were a Trending Topic on Twitter. Why? Two articles were being widely circulated. The first was coverage of Forrester Research’s estimates that spending on social media marketing will grow to $3.1 billion in 2014. In other words, more will be spent soon on social media marketing than for email or mobile. (Still only a fraction, though, of the spend for search or display advertising.)

The other buzz surrounded the news that the number of moms using social media regularly has grown from 11% in 2006 to 63% today, a 462% increase. The research came from BabyCenter LLC, which runs several parenting Web and community sites, in conjunction with the firm NovaQuant. Their research also found that 44% of those surveyed used social media for recommendations on brands and products.

Neither story should be a surprise to anyone halfway familiar with social media. Businesses are adopting social media strategies at a dizzying pace. And it’s no secret that women over 25 are flocking to Facebook. (See chart mentioned in Tuesday’s post.)

I can confirm those numbers just among moms I know. That two-thirds of moms on Facebook figure rings true among my own circle of friends and acquaintances.

What does all this mean? Do you really want to ignore moms in your business? It’s just more evidence that professionals and small businesses better get together their social media plans. Or your competitors will leave you behind.