Introduction
In 2013, the most influential channels for shaping opinions and decisions of the consumer. Blogs were shown to be more influential than social networks but brands invested more into these social channels. 30.8% of people surveyed site Facebook as influential, and 27% for YouTube and LinkedIn. Blogs ranked as the third most influential digital source.
Top 5 services that influence purchase:
- Retail stores.
- Brand sites.
- Blogs.
- Facebook.
- Groups and Forums.
Social Media and Brands
When it comes to brands, how do consumers use their social media?
- Facebook, YouTube, and Pintrest: learn about the product and service.
- Instagram and Twitter: keeping up with a brands activities.
Not many consumers use social media to provide feedback, join a community of fans, make purchases, and complain. Brands are now spending 3 quarters of their digital budget on display ads, and only 10% on social channels.
Relying on Blogs
86% of digital influencers surveyed publish blogs, and 88% of that number blog on their own behalf. These influencers use Facebook and Twitter the most out of all the social networks. They measure the success of their blogs usually by page views on their blogs and websites. Their second most valued measure of success is their follower level. The most attention is gained from their amount of Facebook likes and number of Twitter followers.
Reflection
It is not surprising that blogs influence consumers purchase decisions way better than social media. Most new brands coming out now are mainly using social media to promote their brand. Blogs improve S.E.O. better than social networks by being primarily text based and bloggers becoming natural link-builders. These blogs add a personal touch for the consumer. One blogger or company is directly communicating to consumers on an unfiltered level.
Blogs also help build brands in several ways that benefit the companies:
- It helps differentiate your brand from other brands.
- Focuses your companies message on your target audience.
- Shows credibility.
- Creates strong customer loyalty.
Posting updates on social media versus blogs is also way different and explains why blogging is preferred. On social media, updates usually contain a short message followed by a picture or a video to better explain the update. Blogs let the writer go into more detail about the update and gives the writer an opportunity to add deeper insights into your brand. The writer usually has 400 to 600 words per blog, giving them a lot of room to properly explain what they are all about as a brand.
The main reason why blogs are preferred and are personally better is because posting on social media is like foreign land. Social networks can mess with who see’s what when it comes to your blog and the one posting has no control over that. When it comes to blogging, your content is on your own turf. A blogger can post as much or as little content as they please and people come check out the blog for you and what you are offering.
My take on Digital Influence: Blogs Beat Social Networks for Driving Purchases Article
