Marketing in the Blogosphere

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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?

Size of the Blogosphere (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.

Why People Blog (Kim, How to Connect with Bloggers 2008)

Interestingly, the number one reason adults (65%) blog is to “share my thoughts and feelings with family and friends;” yet, 57% of US adults also say that they blog “to share experiences I might not do in person or on the phone.” While blogging is a public forum, these adults imply that they believe that blogging allows them some protection or anonymity that they cannot experience either in person or on the phone. This insight, however, counters Danielle Smith’s assertion that consistency, transparency and authenticity are what drive engagement. Therefore, to solve this paradox and translate this into useful information for a marketing manager, one may assume that bloggers create a new personal brand through their blogs. As Smith asserted, her offline friends do not participate in social media at all, yet she manages to find thousands of other women online that are conversing through social media. While this does not necessarily mean that Smith maintains separate personalities in her off and online worlds, it does suggest that incorporating social media usage can be an important characteristic in segmenting various markets.

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)

Geographical Distribution of Bloggers, Technorati, "State of the Blogosphere 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.

**Global Snapshot of Bloggers, Technorati 2008**
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

Source: Technorati 2008

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

**Segment Snapshot of Bloggers, Technorati 2008**
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.

**Source: Categorical information derived from Technorati classifications, March 2009**
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

Traditional media campaigns favor reach and ad response metrics to determine how successful a campaign was. However, the blogosphere incorporates metrics such as: relevance to readers’/bloggers’ lives and/or content of the blog; trust of the company/brand/product; engagement, and the buzz that the campaign generates (i.e. how many other people have talked about it across the blogosphere including Twitter “Tweets”).

Marketers and Blogs

Why Marketers Should Work with Blogs

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

Types of Paid Advertising on Blogs, Technorati 2008

Successful Blogosphere Marketing

Marketers should not only be aware of the type of participants in this space, but they should also understand the context in which readers interact with the blogosphere. According to a recent eMarketer report (see chart at right), the majority (48%) of those reading blogs do so for entertainment. That said, marketers should think about the mindset of blog readers when crafting marketing communications. Campaigns should not interrupt readers, but rather should collaborate with them, employing a similar tone to that of the blog. As Seth Godin, a Web 2.0 marketing expert, explains:

"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.

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.

Consumers Choose Word-Of-Mouth Over Mass Media

Readers and consumers assign credibility to blogs. As Forrester’s Kim asserts, “[US online adults] trust individual opinions over mass advertising. . . . Today’s consumers prefer a more conversational approach, turning to recommendations and reviews from people they know for making purchase decisions”—33% of US adults online agree that, if limited to one source, a recommendation from a friend/family member would be the most important. (Kim, How to Connect with Bloggers 2008) Another eMarketer study confirms Kim’s suppositions, stating: “As they conduct their research, the critical first-step in the purchase decision, surveys show that consumers assign more credibility to the opinions of other consumers than to paid experts or sell copy.” (Grau 2008)

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.

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:

I would definitely consider myself an influencer for a few reasons: 1) I have broken several stories that have reached the mainstream media, 2) I have drawn widespread attention online to previously unnoticed stories, 3) Most of the major food and marketing blogs check my site regularly so they are aware of what stories I'm driving at any given time, and to make sure they don't miss interesting angles to stories that I've noticed that others have not realized yet. 4) I've been quoted in mainstream media sources as background info for their stories - the fact that my blog is cited or quoted as opposed to any other random blog or person says something about its impact/influence.

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)

References

eMarketer. "Blogs Key for Customer Communication." eMarketer. December 29, 2008. (accessed March 13, 2009).
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).
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.
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).
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).