The writer and marketer must do lots and lots of things to keep their head above the marketing waters. And, those marketing waters are constantly moving. How do you keep up? And, what are the most effective marketing strategies to use?
Since the game is always changing, it’s important to keep up with marketing trends. One useful tool for this is Technorati’s 2013 Digital Influence Report.
According to their new report, which is based on “over 6,000 influencers, 1,200 consumers, and 150 top brand marketers,” blogs are now heavy hitters with consumers. Blogs are regarded as trustworthy, they are popular, and they wield influence over consumer buying decision making.
So, to answer the title question: Yes it is.
To further validate the importance of blogs, the report shows that blogs have more motivational buying power than Facebook (FB). That’s pretty amazing since FB is the top social network brands use to create visibility and develop relationships with consumers. In other words, brands use FB more than other social networks and they put more budget dollars into it than other social networks.
Reviewing the Technorati Report, Social Media Examiner explained that the reason blogs are so influential is because “bloggers tend to be very honest and sincere in their reviews of products and services. They talk about both negative and positive aspects of a brand, and in doing so become a trusted source of information. Trust drives action, and thus consumers look to bloggers before they buy.”
The study also showed that FB cornered 91 percent of brand presence, while Twitter cornered 85 percent.
Another important finding of this study is that over 50 percent of consumers feel that smaller communities offer more influence. Even new sites were trusted over social networks.
Summary of Findings
From this study it would seem that people like connecting with other people, not crowds. They like the personal relationship, the kind of one-on-one relationship that social networks don’t necessarily offer.
While the study focused on brand marketers, the results are applicable to your author or freelance writing site. Knowing that people in general trust blogs and look to them for information along with help and guidance to make purchasing decisions is powerful.
It’s understandable that this information may not be interesting to most. You may not care about knowing which social network is more popular with the heavy hitters or the percentage of marketing budget dollars brands spend on social networking. But, having proof that you’re not blogging in vein should put a smile on your face.
Take advantage of this knowledge. Blogs matter. They’re important and can be influential. Keep blogging!
Article Source: http://www.karencioffiwritingandmarketing.com/2013/08/online-marketing-is-blogging-worth-time.html
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I hope you found this information interesting and helpful. Too advanced, not enough, just right? I’d really love to know, so please leave a comment – good or bad.
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Karen Cioffi, the Article Writing Doctor
Prescription for Your Content Marketing Needs
Content Writing Training for Small Businesses, Solopreneurs, and the Freelance Writer
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8 comments:
Good to know, Karen. Sometimes I've wondered, but I do see some benefit from the various blogs I guest for.
Karen, I think your article was just right.
It was a good refresher for writers/authors who have not kept up with blogging or thought other platforms were better.
I liked how you talked about the trust factor as people get to "know" you they are more apt to trust you.
By the way, there is nothing worse than a blog that isn't regularly updated. It's like no one's home and so you leave.
Heidi, yes, there are a number of benefits to blogging. This definitely makes it worth the while.
Kathleen, developing relationships and trust with your readers is an essential factor of online marketing. A primary way to do this is blogging. There are though other strategies that should be use with blogging, like social media marketing, search engine optimization, and so on.
Good analogy on the blogs that aren't kept up. Once you know they're not maintaining it, you just leave, usually never to come back.
Great info Karen. Are you aware of any data on the impact of how often a blog is update? Also data on the difference between group blogs and personal blogs? Thanks.
Mary Jo, blogging consistently is the important thing. Two to three times a week should be fine. Even if it’s once a week, again, the important thing is consistency and quality.
In regard to group or personal blogs, it shouldn’t matter. It’s the quality and consistency of the posts that matter to search engines. Individual sites like Seth Godin and Jeff Goins do exceedingly well. The possible benefit of group blogs though is frequency and variety.
Hope this is helpful!
All the info is helpful, Karen, including the info in the comments. Thanks for always staying one step ahead. It keeps me on my toes!
Linda, I'm so glad my posts help you with your marketing!
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