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Apr

3

High blog traffic doesn’t translate into influence, just good source of information


From Media Online:

According to a new study from Canadian research firm Pollara, self-described social media users put far more trust in friends and family online than in popular bloggers, or strangers with 10,000 MySpace “friends.”

Of more than 1,100 adults polled in December, nearly 80% said they were very or somewhat more likely to consider buying products recommended by real-world friends and family, while only 23% reported being very or somewhat likely to consider a product pushed by “well-known bloggers.”

“This shows that popularity doesn’t always equate to credibility,” said Robert Hutton, executive vice president and general manager at Pollara. “Marketers might have to reconsider who the real influencers are out there.”

This makes total sense to me, and the article goes on to state other assertions that, if you’ve been in the trenches of blogging for a while, you will also recognize as being basically true.

Last piece I’ll graft that supports how important social media and blogs are as a source of information, if not influence:

Another key finding by Pollara is the sheer number of consumers sharing their opinions online. In a similar study of some 1,800 adults, Pollara found that the majority considered social media channels–whether blogs, social networks, or community forums–important for sharing their thoughts on products, services, organizations, and brands.

Pollara found that 57% of those 18-to-34 deemed social media tools very or somewhat important for sharing such opinions online.

What’s more, 59% of respondents considered social media very or somewhat important in learning about products, services, organizations, and brands.

Overall, social media remains chiefly a mode of communication and personal expression, rather than a source of credible information. A full 68% of users employ social media tools to connect with friends, while 44% use them to be heard.

Notably, more users believe online forums are a reliable source of information than those who do not–44% to 15%–demonstrating the unique market position held by popular voter-based recommendation sites likes Digg.com and Yelp.com.

 

 

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 7:54 am April 3rd, 2008 in Blogging, Media, Poll, Social Issues, Tech 

Comments

2 Responses to “High blog traffic doesn’t translate into influence, just good source of information”

  1. 1 Military report: "Hiring a block of bloggers to verbally attack a specific person or promote a specific message may be worth considering" | Writes Like She Talks on April 3rd, 2008 8:45 am

    [...] guess they haven’t heard about the Pollara report that says bloggers don’t really influence anyway, they are just a source of [...]

  2. 2 Ben Keeler on April 3rd, 2008 12:58 pm

    That seems right to me.

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