so b summit media 2 26 09

THE STATE OF THE BLOGOSPHERE

Presented By: JENNIFER MCLEAN, TECHNORATI

Forget the word consumer

The majority of internet users are participating and producing content

The new influencer is EVERYONE

“Consumer content generation is only increasing and happening faster. This isn’t going away… Pretty much everyone is a media outlet now… In a few years, there may be no better way our brands go to market than social media.”– Jim Cuene, Director of Interactive, General Mills

SOCIAL MEDIA CHANGES EVERYTHING

Content >> Conversation

Consumption >> Participation and creation: blogging, twittering, commenting, networking

Centralization >> Fragmentation, relevance, immediacy

Authority >> Authenticity, relationships and trust

Gatekeepers >> Open distribution and massive content proliferation

SOCIAL MEDIA CHANGES EVERYTHING

Social networking

= Sharing and communication

Online journals = Sharing and life-casting

Blogs = Information and influence

BLOGS ARE MEDIA

• The numbers show a medium that’s here to stay

• Read Blogs• 346 million WW | 60.3 million or 60% US | 17.8 million or 66% UK

• Write Blogs• 184 million WW | 26 million or 26% US | 4.3 million or 25.3% UK

– Universal McCann (March 2008)

WHAT IS A BLOG? THE LINES CONTINUE TO BLUR

• As the space grows, the lines continue to blur– Larger blogs take on more characteristics of mainstream sites– Mainstream sites incorporating styles and formats from the blogosphere

• 95% of the top 100 US newspapers have reporter blogs1

• Wikipedia– A Blog (a contraction of the term "Web log") is a web site, usually maintained by

an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order.

– The Blogosphere is the collective community of all blogs. Since all blogs are on the internet by definition, they may be seen as interconnected and socially networked. Discussions "in the blogosphere" have been used by the media as a gauge of public opinion on various issues.

WHAT IS TECHNORATI LOOKING AT AND WHY?

• Blogging is everywhere • The story now is about the Active Blogosphere

– The ecosystem of interconnected communities of bloggers and readers at the convergence of journalism and conversation.

– Trends, stories and behaviors influence mainstream media and the rest of the blogosphere

– What is a relevant media experience?• The 2008 State of the Blogosphere Report

– Blogger survey• Random sample from more than 1.2 million bloggers who have registered

with Technorati• Skews heavily to the active blogosphere

– Technorati index data

ALL BLOGS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL

133 million blog records indexed by Technorati since 2002

7.4 million blogs posted in last 120 days

1.5 million blogs posted in last 7 days

Top 100 blogs by Technorati Authority

76,000 blogs with Technorati Authority of 50+

Technorati Authority is the number of blogs linking to a website in the last six months. The higher the number, the more Authority the blog has.

900,000 blog posts in 24 hours

WHO ARE THE BLOGGERS?

• Two-thirds are male• 50% are 18-34• More affluent and educated than the general population

– 70% have college degrees– One in three earn 75K+– One in five earn 100K+

2008 State of the Blogosphere | Blogger Survey


• Bloggers responded from all six continents and 66 countries

– 43% of respondents live in the US

– 72% publish in English • (survey was only provided

in English)

AROUND THE WORLD



Polly Arenberg

compare to behavioral data

PERSONAL BLOGGERS(79% of total)

PROFESSIONALBLOGGERS

(46% of total)

BLOGGERS SELF-IDENTIFIED AS PERSONAL, PROFESSIONAL, OR CORPORATE

CORPORATEBLOGGERS

(12% of total) CORPORATE: blog for your company in an official capacity

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

Segments are not mutually exclusive

Corporate bloggers:•69% are also personal bloggers•65% are professional bloggers

Professional bloggers:•59% are also personal bloggers•17% are corporate bloggers

2008 State of the Blogosphere | Blogger Survey2008 State of the Blogosphere | Blogger Survey

BLOGGING IS A SERIOUS ENDEAVOR

• 1 in 4 blog 10+ hours per week• Only 15% spend less than 1 hour per week• 1 in 4 have help• More than half of respondents have had more than one blog• Non first-time bloggers contribute to four blogs on average• Average blogging tenure is three years• 47% of corporate, 39% of professional and 30% of personal bloggers

have created an in-person or online event for their readership• Half attract more than 1000 unique visitors per month

– 42% use more than one analytics provider– Only 1 in 20 don’t know their traffic


EXPERTISE AND SELF EXPRESSION TOP THE REASONS FOR BLOGGING

PERSONAL SATISFACTION IS KEY SUCCESS METRIC FOR 3 IN 4 BLOGGERS

Average success metrics: 4


TOPICS ARE DIVERSE


“Other” blog topics include: 2008 election, alternative energy, art, beauty, blogging, comics, communication, cooking/food, crafts, design, environment, internet/Web 2.0, Jamaica, media/journalism

• Average # topics blogged about: 5• One-quarter blog about 1-2 topics

only

HIGHER AUTHORITY BLOGGERS POST AND USE TAGS MORE FREQUENTLY

43% of the top 100 bloggers post 10+ times per day

2008 State of the Blogosphere | Technorati Index

2008 State of the Blogosphere | Technorati Index

BLOGGERS ARE SOPHISTICATED WITH THE USE OF TOOLS

Average # activities conducted to attract

visitors: 5

BLOGGERS ARE SAVVY IN GENERATING TRAFFIC

More sophisticated:•Use more tools on average•57% have had a readership event (vs. 32% overall)•More likely to sell through an ad network:- 15% online ad network (vs. 8%)- 19% blog network (vs. 10%)•More likely to have affiliate ads (48% vs. 35%)

HIGH REVENUE [Top 10% in revenue]

Blogger Highlights

$19,000 average annual revenue78% male (vs. 66%)42% self employed (vs. 22%)60% professional (vs. 46%)19% corporate (vs. 12%)

Require more resources and invest more:•Spend more time blogging:

- 81 monthly blog posts (vs. 37 overall)- 57% spend more than 10 hours per week blogging (vs. 24%)

•Average annual investment is $7,400 (vs. $1,600)

BLOGGERS SPEND 3.5X TIME ON THE INTERNET COMPARED TO TV

Online adults 18-49 years old. Source: Nielsen Media Research, April 2008 2008 State of the Blogosphere | Blogger Survey2008 State of the Blogosphere | Blogger Survey

BLOGGERS ARE ACTIVE WEB 2.0 PARTICIPANTS

Average # of Web 2.0 activities: 5


BLOGGERS’ INFLUENCE IS MOVING BOTH WAYS

• 71% of Bloggers say they are getting taken more seriously as sources of information

• More than half view blogs as equally valid sources as traditional media

• 43% get more news and information from blogs than other media sources

• 61% say they are most influenced by other blogs as a source of information on brands, products and services


BRANDS PERMEATE THE BLOGOSPHERE

• Even professional bloggers write about brands, music, movies and books that they love (or hate)

– 4 out of 5 bloggers post brand or product reviews– 37% post them frequently

• Company information, gossip and every day retail experiences are fodder for the majority of bloggers

– 90% blog about brands– 80% blog about experiences in store or with customer care– 60% blog about company information or gossip they hear

• Brands are reaching out to bloggers– One-third of bloggers have been approached to be brand advocates


RETAILERS IN THE BLOGOSPHERE

• Be Transparent: WalMart – Multiple fake blogs including “Wal-Marting Across America”

• Employees as Brand Champions: Zappos– Customer reviews on every page– 13 blogs including CEO and COO– Twitter: 400+ employees on twitter, CEO: 106,000+ followers

• Let Bloggers Share in Your Success and Make it Easy: Amazon– Amazon Associates is one of the most popular affiliate programs with

bloggers• Easy to use, wide variety of products, multiple ways to integrate from links to

actual stores

YOUR BRAND IS IN THE BLOGOSPHERE

…whether you want it to be or not

• The game has changed: blogs are media

• While you cannot control how your brands are represented in blogs, you can create a strategy for the blogosphere

• There is no one way to engage

• Don’t wait for a crisis to get started

MARKETERS’ IMPLICATIONS: BEST PRACTICES

• Listen– This is not a problem to solve but an unprecedented opportunity to truly

know what people think– Know who is blogging about your brand and what they have to say

• Go where your audience IS– Blogs are where you find influence. – Even if a blogger has a relatively small number of followers, the level of

influence and trust is exponentially higher than mass destinations– From display to conversational media to self serve CPC

• Ignite or enable a conversation around your brand, topics that surround your brand, passion points for your audience

MARKETERS’ IMPLICATIONS: BEST PRACTICES

• Be authentic– What worked 10 years ago with traditional media does not translate

directly to the blogosphere– More authentic approach needed than traditional one-way PR

communications• There are no secrets in the blogosphere• Word of mouth is instant and global

• Actively contribute to the conversation– Provide products and samples to bloggers– Share product news and company developments– Conduct interviews and hold conversations regularly with bloggers

29

BLOGGERS’ IMPLICATIONS: EVOLVING YOUR BLOG

• Corporate blogs still nascent – figure out right approach for yours– Strike the right tone – Create air of openness and dialogue

• Learn from successful bloggers:– Post frequently– If you can’t post frequently, post regularly– Be part of the conversation: contribute, comment, link– Use multimedia tools– Use multiple methods to drive traffic– Hosting an online (or in person) readership event

“The world is in the middle of an ongoing conversation. A marketer’s challenge and job is to enter that conversation.”– John D. Hayes, CMO, American Express

THANK [email protected]

so b summit media 2 26 09

Technology

corporate personal bloggers

firsttime bloggers

total professional bloggers

total corporate bloggers

number of blogs

exclusive corporate

reporter blogs

larger blogs