New research proves a theory I have long held, thaat blogs are more influential to consumers than social sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Blogs Outrank Social Networks for Consumer Influence: New Research explains the phenomenon:
"The latest findings from Technorati’s 2013 Digital Influence Report show that “consumers are turning to blogs when looking to make a purchase.”
In fact, blogs rank favorably with consumers for trust, popularity and even influence."
Bloggers influence what people buy. This is not a surprise to me. Reading a blog is like talking to a friend. Whether it's gossip, sharing stories about the family, or saying "Hey, I tried a great ice cream place that just opened up" blogs are informal and newsy. Friendly.
Blogs are not pushing a hard sell.
Most people don't like a hard sell.
I read a blog every day called Big Mama Hollers because the author is also an adoptive mom. She's also an avid gardener and a vegetarian. She has influenced me greatly. I have stopped drinking sodas because of her. I have stopped keeping quiet about finding incredible deals at yard sales and Goodwill. I don't care what anyone thinks about it. I like to buy organic seeds, Seeds of Change. Cindy has been able to raise 39 children as a single mom because she is VERY smart about money and finding deals.
I value her advice very much.
Even if Cindy just does a short post that has a link to something, I almost always click on the link. I know she has a good reason for posting it.
A blogging "community" of folks who read your blog may be a small community, but it can have a big influence. Going back to the article, "Over half of consumers surveyed agreed that smaller communities have greater influence on a topic than larger ones."
So business owners, take note. Writing a blog is like getting a couple minutes' of your target audience's undivided attention. It's a mighty opportunity to reach out to them.
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