Technorati released its 2013 Digital Influence Report and the findings about blogs are very interesting. The importance of blogs when it comes to branding, SEO rankings and communicating with markets has been recognized for a long time. However, some of the new statistics reinforce the importance of blogs used in online marketing campaigns.
Blogs are the Third Most Likely to Influence a Purchase
Blogs came in as the third most likely type of site, after retail sites and brand sites, to influence a person’s purchasing decisions. Your blog can serve as a tactic to help persuade your market to make a purchase by including product reviews, service descriptions, user testimonials and product videos.
It’s interesting to note that blogs were proven to be more influential than social networks, which include comments and posts from some of the most influential people in a person’s life.
Blogs are Slightly Less Trusted Than Social Media Sites
Interestingly, social media sites outrank blogs as the most trusted type of website. While blogs are more influential, a person’s peers are deemed more trustworthy. However, the difference is small, so brands can still use blogs to create a reliable source of information that can help them reach their marketing goals.
Blogs are Shared from Very Frequently
When we think of sharing content we generally think of social media sites. Technorati’s report shows that blogs are the third most shared from type of site after Facebook and YouTube. Businesses can take advantage of this by using their blog as a channel for link bait and as a means to create buzz and drive traffic.
There are several more valuable statistics about blogging and social media in Technorati’s report. If you’ve ever wondered if your blog is a useful tactic or if you want new insight on how to use it to its fullest potential, these findings could be very helpful.