Blogs can be used to engage consumers.
Canadian small business owners have a number of ways to reach consumers - they can do so through the radio, print materials or the web. But if entrepreneurs want to maximize their customer influence and actually change the way that people perceive their products and services, they should consider taking up a blog.
According to a new survey from Ketchum and BlogHer, a growing number of consumers are engaging with brands through blogs. Four out of 10 consumers (40 percent) said they regularly read blogs, which has grown from the 37 percent who did so last year. To put it into perspective, that's upward of 50 million consumers monthly.
Blogs directly influence purchase decisions
When it comes to researching products or services, blogs are often the first place that consumers stop. A growing population of online consumers takes these blogs seriously when they are trying to decide if they want to make a purchase.
As many as 53 percent of consumers trust the information and advice they receive from blogs with which they are familiar. Moreover, this number is even higher among active blog readers - 88 percent take the opinions of blogs to heart when it comes to doing product research.
More than half of active blog readers (53 percent) say they have even made a purchase based on the recommendation of a blog. While this number is smaller among the general online population, nearly one-quarter (24 percent) still said they took a blogger's opinion into consideration when making a purchase.
There are a number of reasons why consumers follow the advice of online blogs. "I was satisfied with the results of past product purchases based on blog recommendations" was the most common rationale among 48 percent of consumers, while 42 percent said, "I feel I know the blog writer like a friend." Other reasons include bloggers having similar tastes as the reader or knowing a lot about the person writing the blog.
Depending on the products consumers are researching, blogs could have a bigger or smaller impact. For example, more than one-third of consumers (35 percent) turn to blogs for consumer electronics recommendations. Other popular product categories include computer hardware/software, movies, clothing/shoes and television shows. Depending on what a business sells, the mileage with their blogging efforts may vary.
Leveraging blogs
If Canadian small business owners are interested in starting their own blog, the first step is to integrate it into their website. A blog should be easily accessible from the front page of a website, and if entrepreneurs really want to generate traffic, they should stream their blog updates to their front page.
Blogs are not simply just for regurgitating company PR, however. A personal, conversational tone is needed when entrepreneurs are blogging. They have to sound enthusiastic and human if they want to get any sort of a following. They also need to make their readers a regular part of the conversation by encouraging them to comment and then responding to their posts.
Companies should also foster relationships with consumer bloggers, as these are the ones who will have an influence over buying decisions. By sending them free products to review or talk about, business owners can boost publicity in a way that it is both cost-efficient and effective.
