Marketing in the Blogosphere
From The Yaffe Center
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| - | Thanks to the blogosphere, customer perceptions of brands are more meaningful now than ever. | + | Thanks to the blogosphere, customer perceptions of brands are more meaningful now than ever. As mentioned above, more than 80% of bloggers blog about brands they love or hate. (Technorati 2008) |
The effect of these reviews and opinions is then magnified through traditional online search: “Bloggers publish their personal recollections of product experiences and service interactions regularly, while search engines index and serve them up, right next to content from publications like Brandweek, community-edited Wikipedia entries, and your meticulously search-optimized corporate Web site.” (Kim, How to Connect with Bloggers 2008) | The effect of these reviews and opinions is then magnified through traditional online search: “Bloggers publish their personal recollections of product experiences and service interactions regularly, while search engines index and serve them up, right next to content from publications like Brandweek, community-edited Wikipedia entries, and your meticulously search-optimized corporate Web site.” (Kim, How to Connect with Bloggers 2008) | ||
Revision as of 08:16, 16 May 2011
This page is under construction
Contents |
Acknowledgements
This page is largely adapted from "Joining the Conversation: Marketers, Meet the Blogosphere" written by Elizabeth K B Smith as a student at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business.
What is the Blogosphere?
“[B]rands make up a major part of bloggers' online conversations. More than four in five bloggers post product or brand reviews, and blog about brands they love or hate.” (Technorati 2008)
Although many definitions of (we)blogs exist, the most basic explains that a blog is an online platform that enables one to write without format constriction, word choice, or topic; it can be updated as frequently as wanted and is generally displayed in reverse chronological order (Wikipedia n.d.)
Blogger community thrives on reciprocity, trust, transparency, and authenticity.
Who is Blogging
25 million bloggers and 104 million blog readers in the US (eMarketer 2008)
"As early adopters, bloggers spend twice as much time online as U.S. adults 18-49, and spend only one-third as much time watching television. While they are online, bloggers are participating in an average of five “Web 2.0” activities such as RSS and Twitter. Bloggers are important to watch, as they are generally the first ones to use new web applications, and are highly influential in speeding adoption." (Technorati 2008)
Although bloggers themselves may be early adopters, their readership (at 50% of the 200 M US online population) is not necessarily as innovative . The popularity of blogs has increased significantly over the past several years, with 346MM people worldwide reading a blog in the past month (about 34% of worldwide internet population) and 184MM reporting that they have started a blog (18% of worldwide internet population). (Technorati 2008) Similarly in the US, eMarketer reports 104MM blog readers (54% of US online population that read once a month) and 25.2 MM (13% of US online population) bloggers in May 2008. (Technorati 2008) Moreover, eMarketer expects readership in the US to reach 145.3MM (64% of US Online population) and the number of bloggers to be 34.7MM (16% of US Online population) by 2012 (see charts below). (eMarketer 2008)
To better understand the discrepancy in blog readership as compared to blog writers, it is important to analyze the behavioral segments across social media. Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff’s “Social Technographics” studies are particularly insightful when reviewing levels of participation in social media and are currently regarded as the most complete framework for reviewing this phenomenon within Web 2.0 literature. (Reviews of Groundswell) The Social Technographics Ladder below illustrates the degrees of activity from participants across social media. Ranging from inactivity (“inactives”) to hyperactivity (“creators”), the largest group (48%) of US online adults are “spectators,” meaning they “consume what others produce.” (Li and Bernoff, Groundswell:Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies 2008, 45)
Because they are interacting with a range of brands and products, as opposed to bloggers who may focus their writing on one product category or topic, these critics illustrate a more holistic view of a target consumer across various participation points in the blogosphere. Furthermore, this group has shown considerable growth in participation from 2007-2008, indicating that the fear of participating has dissipated and/or that more sites are providing the infrastructure to facilitate these types of discussions (i.e. comment text boxes, 5-star rating systems, emails directing consumers to review a product they just purchased, etc). Specifically, from 2007-2008, the number of critics posting ratings/reviews grew 69% and those commenting on someone else’s blog grew 34% (see table below). Interestingly, critics have the option of remaining anonymous or posting with a profile that obscures their identity. Whereas maintaining a consistently credible identity is critical to the success of a blog (as discussed later in the paper), anonymity is acceptable for a critic . Thus, the reward value of being a critic is much higher than the perceived risk of participation which begins to explain the significant growth of critic activities as compared to creator activities illustrated below.
Segmentation of Bloggers
"Bloggers are not a homogenous group, but they are an educated and affluent one: three out of four U.S. bloggers are college graduates, and 42% have attended graduate school. They skew male, and more than half have a household income over $75,000." (Technorati 2008)
Traditional segmentation, such as geographic segmentation, loses relevance with respect to bloggers as they lack geographic homogeneity. More relevant segmentation should focus on the personality, wants, desires and needs of the blogger/blog and the topics covered within the posts. Similarly, when conducting research and/or focus groups, marketers should include questions to determine how vocal each participant is and the extent to which he/she participates in social media.
| Demographics | U.S. Bloggers
(N=550) | European Bloggers
(N=350) | Asian Bloggers
(N=173) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 57% | 73% | 73% |
| Age: 18-34 years old | 42% | 48% | 73% |
| Age: 35+ | 58% | 52% | 27% |
| Single | 26% | 31% | 57% |
| Employed full-time | 56% | 53% | 45% |
| Household income >$75,000 | 51% | 34% | 9% |
| College graduate | 74% | 67% | 69% |
| Average blogging tenure (months) | 35 | 33 | 30 |
| Median Annual Investment | $80 | $15 | $30 |
| Median Annual Revenue | $200 | $200 | $120 |
| % Blogs with advertising | 52% | 50% | 60% |
| Average Monthly Unique Visitors | 18,000 | 24,000 | 26,000 |
Types of Bloggers
- Personal: blog about topics of personal interest not associated with your work
- Professional: blog about your industry and profession but not in an official capacity for your company
- Corporate: blog for your company in an official capacity
| Demographics | Personal
(N=1015) | Corporate
(N=156) | Professional
(N=590) | With Advertising
(N=695) | No Advertising
(N=595) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 64% | 70% | 72% | 66% | 66% |
| Age: 18-34 years old | 52% | 45% | 48% | 53% | 45% |
| Age: 35+ | 48% | 55% | 52% | 47% | 55% |
| Single | 36% | 24% | 31% | 34% | 34% |
| Employed full-time | 52% | 51% | 55% | 49% | 56% |
| Household income >$75,000 | 37% | 49% | 42% | 40% | 37% |
| College graduate | 70% | 74% | 74% | 69% | 72% |
| Average blogging tenure (months) | 35 | 35 | 38 | 35 | 33 |
| Median Annual Investment | $100 | $200 | $150 | $100 | $0 |
| Median Annual Revenue | $120 | $250 | $300 | $200 | $0 |
| % Blogs with advertising | 53% | 64% | 59% | 100% | 0% |
| Average Monthly Unique Visitors | 12,000 | 39,000 | 44,000 | 46,000 | 4,000 |
Needs-Based Segmentation
The following provides a non-exhaustive needs-based classification of bloggers. It is worth noting that two functional needs are common to each of the types of blogs:
- The need to have an infrastructure that facilitates open and frequent comments; and
- The need to make money from advertising.
| Needs-Based Segmentation
(non-corporate bloggers) | Functional Needs | Emotional Needs | Self-Expressive Needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business:
Categories include business finance, economy, entrepreneurs, investing, personal finance, real estate, and stocks and bonds | Need to publish/discuss latest trends in business
Need to have infrastructure that facilitates open and frequent comments Need to make money from advertising | Need to feel that he/she has authority and others are listening (i.e. commenting frequently)
Need to be provocative in promoting new business theories/research | Need to link to as many other “official” business sources as possible to build credibility
Need to aggregate the most important business news and provide “expert” commentary Need to be cited in “traditional” media sources (i.e. WSJ, NY Times) to build credibility |
| Technology
Categories include computers, consumer electronics, gadgets, internet, science, web 2.0 | Need to receive/purchase new technologies before they are released (beta stage) to the general public
Need to have infrastructure that facilitates open and frequent comments Need to make money from advertising | Need to be connected to product managers at technology companies to get the “inside scoop” | Need to be revered as the preeminent source for tech information—need to be the “insider” |
| Entertainment
Categories include celebrity gossip, gaming, movies/film, music, TV, Theater | Need to be the first to break the story
Need to have most provocative storyline/photos Need to have infrastructure that facilitates open and frequent comments Need to make money from advertising | Need to be a permanent site in readers’ daily activities.
Need to avoid being “trendy” to become official entertainment news source. | Need to maintain sensationalism and “hot” factor in readers’ minds
Need to have the glitz and glamour |
| Politics/Current Events
Categories include conservative, liberal, foreign policy, homeland security, independent, international policy, social policy | Need to have access to federal and state government officials
Need to have infrastructure that facilitates open and frequent comments Need to make money from advertising | Need to be the source for all political news
Need to be the first to break current events | Need to be the voice of a particular political party
Need to be top of mind for by- the-second news Need to be cited in “traditional” media sources to build credibility |
| Lifestyle
Categories include architecture, art, auto, fashion, food and wine, health and fitness, home and garden, literature, parenting, pets, travel | Need to have connections with early adopters and trend-setters in major cities
Need to have infrastructure that facilitates open and frequent comments Need to make money from advertising | Need to associate with particular niches to get insider’s view of trends
Need to be the official “street team” to find the hippest, new spots before anyone else | Need to lead a niche/genre of lifestyle topics (i.e. fashion, eco-friendly, etc) |
| Sports
Categories include baseball, basketball, cycling, football, golf, soccer, hockey, tennis, fantasy sports | Need to have connections with athletes, broadcast networks, fans and universities
Need to be aware of and cover fantasy sports Need to have infrastructure that facilitates open and frequent comments Need to make money from advertising | Need to be on top of the biggest upsets, rivalries, anywhere with emotion surrounding sporting events
Need to understand sports’ history and player statistics | Need to capture fans’ obsession with their favorite sports teams
Need to understand the nuances of a particular sport and convey appropriate strategies for winning |
Blog Metrics
Some quantitative measures exist to determine the influence of a particular blog. While many measurement tools exist, ranging in price from free to expensive consulting services, (i.e. Google Analytics, Nielsen Buzz Metrics, Technorati, BuzzLogic, TNS Cymphony, etc), the majority of them focus on the following tracking methods: number of links back to a particular blog, number of users who have a direct feed to that blog (i.e. RSS), page views, unique visitors, time spent on the page, frequency of posts of a particular topic, and more subjective measures like post quality. (Advertising Age n.d.) Blogs that do well in these measures can actually appear above official product pages in search results from sites like Google.
Marketers and Blogs
Why Marketers Should Work with Blogs
“Companies must understand the gap between what they believe their brand is providing and what consumers say the brand is providing. . . .A brand is no longer owned by a company—it is owned by customer perceptions.” (Ellington 2008)
Thanks to the blogosphere, customer perceptions of brands are more meaningful now than ever. As mentioned above, more than 80% of bloggers blog about brands they love or hate. (Technorati 2008)
The effect of these reviews and opinions is then magnified through traditional online search: “Bloggers publish their personal recollections of product experiences and service interactions regularly, while search engines index and serve them up, right next to content from publications like Brandweek, community-edited Wikipedia entries, and your meticulously search-optimized corporate Web site.” (Kim, How to Connect with Bloggers 2008)
While creating and maintaining a blog is mostly a trend for early adopter adults, 21% of US online youth between the ages of 12-17 are actively blogging; this not only indicates their comfort with the technology, but also their millennial desire to express themselves. As Peter Kim asserts, “youth blog because it’s fun and allows for self-expression;” 63% of US online youth 12-17 agree that “I blog to share my thoughts/feelings with friends and family.” (Kim, How to Connect with Bloggers 2008) Similarly, 73% of US youth blog because “it’s fun” and 56% blog because “it is something else their friends are doing.” (Kim, How to Connect with Bloggers 2008) Furthermore, eMarketer estimates that as the millennial generation ages, they will continue to be active participants in the blogosphere – by 2012, 34.7M US adults will have a blog, 145.3M will read blogs (54% growth in both bloggers and blog readers from 2007 to 2012). (Verna 2008) This significant growth over the next five years should incentivize marketers to start participating now so that the millenials will grow up communicating with their brands across the blogosphere. That is, kids are blogging and will likely become adult consumers who are blogging. Marketers should strive to become a part of this generation’s conversations rather than interrupt them.
Blog Sponsorship
Using the segmentation above, marketers can more effectively understand where their target customers converse in the blogosphere. However, given the thousands of blogs incorporated in the segments above, the task of finding the right bloggers with whom to partner for a campaign can still be daunting. To more effectively navigate this space, there are a couple of social media marketing firms who have built a specialty in partnering companies with influential bloggers.
Many genres of bloggers, similarly, have begun organizing into larger associations that welcome affiliate marketing programs. Affiliate marketing is an online advertising method that allows several brands to partner with bloggers or individual websites to attract a more relevant audience. When a blog reader clicks on the affiliated brand’s link, the blogger receives a commission for hosting the advertised link. (Wikipedia 2009) Thus, the main cost for marketers is the commission for the click through, which is typically either a flat fee or a percentage of the final sale, depending on the contract. While affiliate marketing programs allow marketers to connect to specific bloggers and blog readers (some bloggers even feature posts dedicated to their affiliate partners), this type of advertising is less conversational and organic than being mentioned in a product review post, for example.
In order for the relationship to be successful amongst the sponsoring company, the marketing firm and the blogger, all parties have to be as transparent as possible. From a marketer’s perspective, Randy Mountz, VP of Sales for IZEA, a social media marketing company, confirms that transparency is one of the most important characteristics of a successful social media marketing campaign. (Mountz, VP Sales, IZEA 2009) In fact, IZEA and Forrester have encouraged marketers to engage in “sponsored conversations” (see chart below) after the recent success of IZEA’s Kmart campaign. (Corcoran 2009) Forrester defines “sponsored conversations” as: “A marketing technique in which marketers provide financial or material compensation to bloggers in exchange for their posting blog content about a brand.” (Corcoran 2009) Although Forrester analyst Sean Corcoran admits that sponsored conversations are controversial because they “threaten bloggers’ reputation for independence,” he asserts that they will not disappear. He claims that “bloggers want to get paid and marketers want to pay them.” (Corcoran 2009) Although not every blogger blogs for monetary compensation, this is a need that pervades the blogosphere, as indicated by the segmentation table earlier in the paper.
| Public Relations | Advertising | Sponsored Conversation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is it? | Attempts to influence bloggers in your space by providing relevant information (e.g., press releases, sending product for review) | Paying for ad space within a blog to reach the target audience (e.g., display ads, sponsorships) | Paying bloggers to create transparent and genuine content about the brand (e.g., sponsored posts, spokesbloggers) |
| Objective | Buzz | Reach | Buzz |
| Benefits | *Genuine
| *Controlled message
| *Genuine
|
| Challenges | *Hard to get noticed
| *Not conversational
| *Lack of message control
|
| When to use it | You have a product or service that actually interests bloggers. | You need to reach in appropriate contexts to augment your media buy. | Your brand is unlikely to interest bloggers without an additional incentive. |
In the case of “open/unpaid” reviews, bloggers select the review opportunities themselves through platforms provided by BlogHer/IZEA or comparable companies, or through direct contact with marketers. Generally, the payment for these reviews is free product, some other form of information or a guest spot on a marketer’s corporate blog. Again, there is no guarantee that the product reviews will be positive, but there is generally an understanding that the bloggers will write something about the brand on their blog. However, these bloggers do not sign any contract with marketers; thus there is an inherent risk of little or no return in this type of relationship with bloggers. Sending free product or product information bears small to no cost to marketers though, making the “open/unpaid” reviews an attractive campaign option.
EcoStore USA is an example of a company that has built a marketing strategy relying mostly on open/unpaid reviews. While the case will be described in more detail later in the paper, one of the co-founders of EcoStore USA, Lyne Downing, explains that as an entrepreneur, she could not “spend a lot of money on traditional media.” (Downing 2009) Instead, she initially hired a PR firm to listen to what her target audience (young mothers, parents-to-be concerned with their environmental impact) was saying in the blogosphere. While the company’s recommendations to contact twelve mommy bloggers were a good start, she felt that talking to only these bloggers was insufficient; she had to start a blog herself and talk to the mommy bloggers . After finding several mommy bloggers who were interested in eco-friendly products, she began shipping samples to them and encouraging them to write reviews of EcoStore’s products. She mentioned that while initiating this relationship was an important first step, it was even more important to continue listening and conversing with these mommy bloggers. She confirm that this reciprocal relationship is the best way for EcoStore’s message to be spread transparently and authentically.
Successful Blogosphere Marketing
"Interruption marketing is giving way to a new model that I call permission marketing. The challenge for companies is to persuade consumers to raise their hands - to volunteer their attention. You tell consumers a little something about your company and its products, they tell you a little something about themselves, you tell them a little more, they tell you a little more - and over time, you create a mutually beneficial learning relationship. Permission marketing is marketing without interruptions." (W. C. Taylor 2007)
Advertising should not interrupt the reader's visual experience of the blog. That is, it should be consistent with the content of the blog (in terms of look and feel) and should blend with the aesthetic tone of the page. Some existing systems make in-blog advertising easy for the blogger, which increases the likelihood that a blogger will incorporate your ads. For example, with a 72% market share of search ads, the Google Ad Sense network is the most prevalent across the blogosphere. (Garner 2009) Blogging platforms, such as Blogger, provide users the HTML Ad Sense widget to post on their blog with a mouse click. The ad network then searches the blog for relevant terms and serves ads based on the blog’s content. Although Google and the blogging platform retain a portion of the revenue from clicked ads, bloggers do receive a portion of that revenue for hosting the ads on their blog. The ease of this system fulfills one of bloggers’ basic functional needs – to make money from advertising.
As The New York Times reported in 2008:
"J. C. Penney and Crate & Barrel sell their furniture and offer decorating tips next to posts on Ms. Armstrong’s conversations with her 4-year-old daughter, Leta. Walgreens promotes its photo printing services next to pictures of the family dog. And the W Hotel chain of Starwood brags about its Internet-friendly rooms on the Dooce (pronounced deuce) home page. These advertisers are eager to influence the 850,000 readers, mostly women, who avidly follow Ms. Armstrong’s adventures. Although Ms. Armstrong will not disclose exact numbers, Dooce’s revenue this year is on track to be seven times its size in 2006, according to Federated Media, which sells ads for the blog." (C. C. Miller 2008)
Blogs can also be encouraged to incorporate technology that allows readers and bloggers to share the blog across a variety of social networking sites, thus organically extending the reach of any blogosphere marketing.
Best Buy in general participates heavily in the blogosphere both internally and externally. Judge himself maintains a blog and participates in Twitter: www.barryjudge.com and @BestBuyCMO. Other employees of the company are encouraged to blog as well, provided they follow the standards set by the company regarding not releasing proprietary information. Best Buy also gained recognition for its “Blue Shirt Nation” blog (www.blueshirtnation.com) in Li and Bernoff’s Groundswell case study. Blue Shirt Nation is an internal social network for Best Buy employees that allows them to “feel empowered, connected, and more committed on a day-to-day basis.” (Li and Bernoff, Groundswell:Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies 2008) Interestingly, the social network first grew out of offline conversations and social activities with the “blue shirts” (those that work in their retail stores). Two marketing VPs then transferred that excitement online to develop the network as it exists today. While the network has improved employee morale and has produced many internal innovations, Best Buy has not developed a comparable platform to engage its consumers. Judge asserts, however, that this type of platform is on his strategic agenda and consumer electronics consumers should see something involving the Geek Squad brand later this year or in early 2010.
ROI of Blogging
Practices to Avoid
Bloggers' Trust Issues
Credibility
Bloggers have also proven to be dedicated to their craft over time. Technorati’s research indicates, “Bloggers have been at it an average of three years and are collectively creating close to one million posts every day.” (Technorati 2008) Bloggers commitment to reading others’ blogs, commenting, writing and updating posts frequently serves to build their credibility in the blogosphere. Similarly, over time bloggers have become savvier with internet technology (tagging, embedding files, incorporating links to other blogs, etc.), enriching the experience of blogging as well as reading. (Technorati 2008) Linking to other blogs and tagging, furthermore, exponentially expand bloggers’ networks generating a series of strong and weak ties across the blogosphere that can further be leveraged to build influence. (Granovetter 1973)
Another way bloggers build credibility is through mentions in “traditional” media outlets. For example, many of the most popular product-focused blogs, like Engadget and TechCrunch, have also gained notoriety by breaking the first reviews of new products, which are cited in established media outlets like The New York Times. (Granovetter 1973) Furthermore, many of the top blogging sites, like The Huffington Post, have also broken stories faster than traditional media outlets increasing their credibility and commitment to a new form of journalism. (Verna 2008) Indeed, traditional media coverage is one of the fastest ways for bloggers to gain exposure and credibility.
In some cases, context provides credibility. For example, in the case of user-generated reviews, many sites like Amazon require that reviewers create a profile and login to comment on products. This provides a reader with more context to the review which facilitates increased relevance and sorting ability. As the above needs-based assessment reveals, blog readers must feel some emotional/functional/personal connection to the blogger/commentator through the context in which a review is generated (i.e., providing a rating of a product without a context is not enough for readers). It is important that reviewers identify themselves and add commentary so readers can determine to what extent the authors' opinions mirror their own. This context also provides a level of transparency to the reviews. For example, Bazaarvoice, an Austin, Texas based firm specializing in Consumer Generated Content, “has found that online products supported with a high number of customer reviews experience higher increases in sales conversion and other key performance metrics than those without.” (Ellington 2008) That is, the performance of a product is related to its number of customer reviews (both positive and negative), and an increased number of reviews leads to decreased variance in the results of those reviews, which in turn leads to an increased perception of truth and trust for the assessments of the product.
Transparency
Implicit in the arguments above is that US online consumers are more skeptical of paid advertisements because they recognize that the ad is trying to sell them something, regardless of whether that person is interested. Furthermore, the recipient of the message did not ask to be served the ad, nor does he/she necessarily have a relationship with the vehicle/person presenting the message. The recipient of standard online ads (banners, display, rich media, etc) can thus ignore the ad, navigate to another page or close his browser. However, product reviews encapsulated in a blogger’s post must follow a different decorum if the blogger is to retain his readership. Moreover, it is paramount that bloggers announce when they have received products for free or payment for a product review. The relationship between blogger and reader is founded upon transparency, and the blogger has a responsibility to communicate any products or payment they have received for a review.
Bloggers Jon Eick (SoGoodBlog.com) and Danielle Smith (ExtraordinaryMommy.com) both contend that not only are they completely transparent in their reviews, but they also only review products that are relevant to their lives. Smith suggested, for example, that since her children do not use baby slings any more, she would decline the opportunity to review one. In essence, just as marketers strive in developing their brands, bloggers build trust through consistency, credibility, transparency and authenticity. Only by incorporating these characteristics can bloggers cultivate a loyal following.
As mentioned above, some user-generated reviews achieve transparency and increased credibility by requiring reviewers to provide create a profile and identify themselves when reviewing products.
Influence
Even more so than bloggers themselves, critics could potentially turn into the most influential brand advocates across blogs and user-generated reviews. (Li and Bernoff, Groundswell:Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies 2008, 43). Because critics comment on blogs, they are an important part of the blog conversation. In fact, critics can be even more influential than bloggers themselves because they react and keep the conversation going. There is a critical difference between critics and bloggers: Whereas maintaining a consistently credible identity is critical to the success of a blog, anonymity is acceptable for critics.
With respect to influence, Jon Eick, Online Brand Manager for New Media Strategies and Owner of SoGoodBlog.com, whose blog led to an ongoing relationship with the VP of Kraft marketing, says:
Some blogs (e.g., Entertainment, Politics, or Sports blogs) require breadth of coverage to gain and maintain readership. In these cases, teams of writers are often tapped to maximize blogs' breadth of coverage.
Traditional media plays a large part in increasing the influence of blogs. In particular, as blogs break stories, traditional media channels can blow these stories up, bringing the story to the general public. Jon Eick's blog demonstrated this phenomenon with a story involving a Washington, D.C. Papa John's store, which ran a promotion denigrating Cleveland Cavaliers player Lebron James. Eick's blog posts were picked up by traditional media, leading to a Cleveland-based boycott of Papa John's and an apology and temporary promotion from the company. While Eick admits that Papa John’s decision “was clearly in reaction to the overwhelming media coverage that followed my blog post,” he does believe that “media coverage would have never been developed if I hadn't been so relentless in pursuing the story.”
Indeed, with respect to influence, Forrester’s Peter Kim found, “Both adult and youth bloggers are more likely than their peers to tell others about the products that interest them,” both through their blog as well as offline. (Kim, How to Connect with Bloggers 2008)
From a marketer’s perspective, blogs seem to assist the most in differentiating products from one another. Hence, all else equal, it makes sense that personal recommendations and reviews would be one of the most important features of blogs.
User-generated reviews lead readers to "broaden the product search and supplement research with professional reviews." (Mulpuru and Hult 2008) Interestingly, these professional reviews are likely to be found on “influential” blogs that have developed a reputation over time for their extensive knowledge of a particular subject (see: Apple Insider, Dooce, Gizmodo, etc). This is perhaps one of the strongest intersections between user-generated reviews and blogs. While consumers will also seek reviews from friends and family, Consumer Reports (although they are not free online) and more traditional media sources (on and offline), it is important for marketers to understand the strength of influential bloggers in this respect. Thus, reviews and ratings need to be read within the context of the product, the personality of the reviewer, and the overall experience in aggregate to be influential.
In some cases, companies themselves have taken up the mantle of providing forums for ratings, reviews, and ideas for new products. These forums strive on constructive criticism as a vehicle to improvement. For example, Dell began IdeaStorm and Starbucks developed MyStarbucksIdea.com to allow consumers to rate existing products, share ideas for new products and then allow the community to vote on those new ideas. Moreover, as Jeffrey Grau from eMarketer asserts, “even poor reviews can be helpful. Sometimes they are used by retailers to drop flawed or unpopular items or to persuade manufacturers to make product improvements.” (Grau 2008)
A caveat of positive reviews from bloggers, five-star ratings systems and/or traditional media, however: they should not be taken as a “silver bullet.” (Grau 2008) Mulpuru and Hult argue, “Consumers triangulate to form educated opinions on products, looking for expert opinions to validate various perspectives. While nearly two-thirds of online shoppers claim that a positive review will increase the likelihood that they will purchase a product, 35% report purchasing indifference to favorable assessments.” (Grau 2008) Moreover, it is important to understand the context of these studies as they are surveying online shoppers rather than shoppers in general. When researching a purchase, consumers consult a variety of sources--blogs and user-generated reviews are just a couple that combine with traditional advertising, offline word of mouth, in-store experiences, etc. to form a purchase decision. (Horrigan 2008)
DSW (Designer Shoe Warehouse) provides an example of how they have developed their five-star rating system to specifically highlight features of the shoe as well as offer a personal connection between the shopper and the reviewer. Moreover, by using the phrasing “xx% of customers would recommend this product to a friend” (italics mine), they subtly increase the relevance and engagement of shoppers—the reviewer would not just recommend this shoe to anyone, they would recommend it to a friend.
References
- Advertising Age. Power 150. (accessed February 2009).
- BuzzLogic. "Blog Influence on Consumer Purchases Eclipses Social Networks." Buzzlogic.com. October 28, 2008. http://www.buzzlogic.com/press/news.html?postdate=1225203064 (accessed March 13, 2009).
- Corcoran, Sean. "Add Sponsored Conversations To Your Toolbox; Why You should Pay Bloggers to talk about your Brand." Forrester Research. March 2, 2009. (accessed March 3, 2009).
- Downing, Lyne, interview by Elizabeth K B Smith. Co-Founder, CMO/CSO (March 5, 2009).
- eMarketer. "Blogs Key for Customer Communication." eMarketer. December 29, 2008. (accessed March 13, 2009).
- Ellington, Jessica. "UGC, CGC: the hot new buzz words both online and off." Retailing Today, December 8, 2008: 5.
- Garner, Rob. "Google Ups Share of Search To 72%; Yahoo, MSN and Ask Continue To Tank." Media Post Search Insider. March 11, 2009. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=101971&passFuseAction=PublicationsSearch.showSearchReslts&art_searched=ad sense market share&page_number=0 (accessed March 30, 2009).
- Granovetter, Mark. “The Strength of Weak Ties,” The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 78, No. 6 (1973), pp. 1360-80.
- Grau, Jeffrey. "Consumer Interactions: Social Shopping, Blogs and Reviews." eMarketer. April 8, 2008. (accessed February 2009).
- Horrigan, John B. The Internet and Consumer Choice: Online Americans use different search and purchase strategies for different goods. Washington D.C: Pew Internet and American Life Project, 2008.
- Kim, Peter. "How to Connect with Bloggers." July 23, 2008. (accessed January 2009).
- Li, Charlene, and Josh Bernoff. Groundswell:Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies. Boston: Harvard Business Press, 2008.
- Mulpuru, Sucharita, and Peter Hult. "Myths And Truths About Online Customer Reviews." Forrester Research. December 23, 2008. (accessed February 25, 2009).
- Reviews of Groundswell can be found here: http://www.forrester.com/Groundswell/reviews.html. Similarly, Li and Bernoff consistently receive reviews of 8 or higher on the Social Technographics articles they have written for Forrester Research. Forrester has implemented their studies across several other authors as well using it as the prevailing framework for assessing participation in social media.
- Miller, Claire Cain. "Woman to Woman, Online." The New York Times. August 13, 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/14/technology/14women.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=dooce&st=cse (accessed March 30, 2009).
- Mountz, Randy, interview by Elizabeth K B Smith. VP Sales, IZEA (March 12, 2009).
- Taylor, William C. "Permission Marketing." Fast Company. December 18, 2007. http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/14/permission.html (accessed March 16, 2009).
- Technorati. State of the Blogosphere 2008. December 2008. http://technorati.com/blogging/state-of-the-blogosphere/ (accessed January 2009).
- Verna, Paul. "The Blogosphere: A Mass Movement from Grassroots." eMarketer. May 2008. (accessed February 2009).
- Wikipedia. "Affiliate Marketing." Wikipedia. April 17, 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affiliate_marketing (accessed April 17, 2009).
