For those who still want to argue against the influence of women on the future and their impact online, check this out :
“…42 million women in the United States (roughly 53% of the 79 million adult women in the United States who use the Internet) participate in social media at least weekly. As they spend more time with social media, women are spending correspondingly less time with traditional media: 39% less on newspapers, 36% less time reading magazines, and 30% less time watching TV.” (source)
…
“The women who post to blogs are the most actively engaged. They spend the most time online. Over 80% also participate in social networks like Facebook, and over one third of bloggers also participate in Twitter. But more to the point, those who blog are more likely to be tech savvy, on the leading edge of trends, and invest time searching for new products online.” (source)
These stats are the result of a survey conducted by Blogher in March 2009. We already know that more women are online than men. And now we know how engaged they are in the online space and how influential they can be on each other: women reported that they are significantly more likely to make a purchase decision based on customer experiences reported on blogs. They are relying on blogs for information on politics and news, technology/gadgets, cars and business/career/personal finance. They are relying on their social networks for social activism, sex/relationship/dating, entertainment and shopping.
Any marketer targeting women should be leveraging the influence of blogs and social networks to communicate brand and product messages, as well as news and information.
- Provide a forum for these women to speak to each other and to you about the brand/products/news.
- Communicate back and worth with these women.
- Reach out to them in their world. Show that you are paying attention and that you care what they have to say. Ask for their opinions.
- Monitor what they are saying and address issues and concerns. Or reward them if they are brand ambassadors.
Our next SWIM session focuses on the blogosphere and we would like know a little bit more about Arkansas bloggers. If you are a blogger and live in Arkansas, please email Emily (ereeves@stoneward.com) and I will respond with a link to our short survey. Thank you.
I have finally spent some time trying to understand Tumblr and how I might use it. I kind of love it. Lance Turner has been a fan for a while. I thought maybe I already had too many places to share, but it turns out there are a lot of things I bookmark and like, but aren’t really relevant for Ms. Adverthinker, Facebook, Twitter, or my other blog (soon to be revealed). Tumblr seems like it will be a catch-all for all that other stuff (to those that care, of which I think there are few).
Tumblr is a blogging tool that is easy to use: you don’t have to know CSS to change the link colors to pink (of course) or even have to know how to use any kind of basic word tool. You just click a button representing the type of content you want to post and Tumblr makes it exceptionally easy. I have tested the Tumblr application on the iPhone, and it too, is ridiculously easy. For those just starting out with blogging, this is the perfect tool.
I am still experimenting with content, but you can check my Tumblr page out here. So far, I am only following two others on Tumblr: Lance Turner and Robert Blake (I particularly like his post: The Men and Woman You Should Be Following on Twitter).
Women are social and love to share information. They are the gatekeepers for almost all purchase decisions for their families and they advise their friends on their purchase decisions. So it makes sense that women would be attracted to blog-writing as a way to spread “word-of-mouth” experiences and information. According to a recent article in AdAge:
“…more than one-third (35%) of all women in the U.S. aged 18 to 75 participate in the blogosphere at least once a week. And that number increases if less-frequent visits are factored in. Of those women who are online any amount of time, 53% read blogs, 37% post comments to blogs and 28% write or update blogs, according to the study.”
Why do they blog?
“For fun (65%)
To express themselves (60%)
To connect with others (40%)
As a personal diary (34%)
To give advice or educate (26%)”
Why do they read blogs?
“For fun (46%)
To get information (41%)
To stay up to date on family and friends (36%)
To stay up to date on specific topics (34%)
To connect with others (28%)
Entertainment (26%)”
