MediaVision Blog : Search Engine Marketing

In today’s market, blogging is very important to businesses and individuals. Bloggers can be anyone you know personally (friends, family, or colleagues), and/or anyone you know virtually (online contacts). Businesses generally rely on blogging to promote certain products or service, and also to get a sense of what the general public thinks about what they offer. Individuals rely on blogging to voice their opinions on certain topics, services or products they deem important or appropriate. So in this sense, can the influence of bloggers be discounted?

A recent study by Pollara, a Canadian research firm, reported that popular bloggers have less influence than the input of family or friends. Pollara polled 1100 adults, and 80% said they might consider buying products recommended by someone they know personally. A mere 23% said they might buy products recommended by popular bloggers. Robert Hutton, executive vice president and general manager at Pollara, said: “This shows that popularity doesn’t always equate to credibility.”

Lisa Barone discredits Pollara in “Social Media Is Where The Conversation Starts”. She says that the statistics produced by Pollara are absolute rubbish. According to Barone, the lack of background information on the 1100 adults that were polled is laughable. She claims that bloggers will shy away from punting their commercial brands so as to maintain their blogging credibility. Barone says that Pollara is missing the bigger picture: “I don’t think you can say that bloggers and other social media powerhouses aren’t influencing people. They’re the ones starting and keeping those conversations going.”

Jennifer Laycock suggests that blogging and social media is essential for promoting products in her blog entry called: “Is the Influence of Bloggers Overrated? Umm….No.” Laycock refers to studies that have shown how regular people trust bloggers more than company ads. She mentions how bloggers are considered to be third party sources, and, as long as their views are not the result of payments, their posts are deemed as nothing more than unbiased commentary on products. People tend to trust family and friends a lot, credible bloggers a bit, and company ads the least. Thus, companies want bloggers to talk about their products or services, as bloggers have more “e-street cred” than the companies have.

In another study by Pollara, the majority of the 1800 adults polled considered social media important for sharing their opinions on products, services, organisations, and brands. Whether in the form of a blog, a forum, or an all-out social network, people gather online to discuss and gain insight about certain companies and share experiences with their “friends”. Pollara found that 59% of those 18-to-34 year old contributors considered social media important in learning about products, services, organisations, and brands. That represents almost half of the key demographic. Can Pollara really believe that social media doesn’t affect their buying choices?

Marshall Kirkpatrick writes that the greatest flaw in the Pollara study is that it focuses on buying products, when in actual fact blogging and social media is more about opinions and experiences than it is about conversions.

Marketers need to change their mindset, from being bottom line based, to address more about how the client got to the buying point. Online conversations give credibility to services or products. Most probably, these conversations are due to a blogging or social media site. Can we still say that blogging and social media can be neglected in business? I think you know the answer (a simple, yet emphatic, no).