Friday, March 23, 2012

Blogger Nation: It's Their (Online) World

by Ashley Haugen



A report published by NM Incite in early March shows us the blogosphere is heating up. Mommy- and Daddy-bloggers, DIY'ers, publications and corporations are hopping on sites like Wordpress, Blogger and Tumblr with unprecedented verve. Of particular focus are consumer-generated blogs, which have had a strong upward trend since 2006, according to the U.S. Digital Consumer Report of The Media; Q3-Q4 2011

The sheer growth in the volume of blogs is impressive. By the end of 2011, NM Incite (a Nielsen/McKinsey company) had tracked over 181 million blogs around the world, up from 36 million in 2006. 

Combined, the three major blogging platforms -- Blogger, Wordpress and Tumblr, in that order -- account for 80.5 million unique views in October 2011. (You can compare this with Facebook for some insight, which had 139.1 million unique views that month.) 

So why are blogs so popular? Are bloggers becoming an accepted and credible part of online media? Even if individual blogs don't have a big audience, combined they add reach to marketing campaigns. Especially women bloggers, who represent a desirable audience for advertisers. Approximately one in three bloggers are mothers, with a select few even having hundreds of thousands of dedicated followers. Blogs are increasingly becoming a great resource for those seeking advice, inspiration, news and content.

Whether it's writing for a large company or blogging away the sweet details of baby's first steps, blogging is a great way to set up a strong online presence. Here at Axiom we work closely with bloggers to make sure our messages are reaching the right audience. After all, blog readers in the U.S. represent 53.6 percent of internet users, according to eMarketer. Both blog readers and writers are an influential lot, and their success is only poised for growth as more marketers tap into their power.