Women bloggers – now controlling your brand
In the US, brands have long since recognised the power of female bloggers. But only now is the rest of the world waking up to this lucrative phenomenon. And it’s rapidly changing the rules of advertising, marketing and even brand management.
Women bloggers are the new advertising heavyweights. They control a huge audience – a whopping 36.2 million women actively participate in the blogosphere every week.
And a survey published by BlogHer this year revealed that around 50% of women consider blogs a reliable source of advice and information and are directly influenced by blogs in their purchase decisions.
So how are brands reacting? Businesses now send promo items to bloggers in an attempt to win their favour. Even Wal Mart publicly admits working with a team of female bloggers to promote the company.
My advice: take a more deliberate and inclusive approach to women bloggers. They can make or break your product’s success in the female consumer segment, so find out what they’re saying about you. If you decide to actively engage with them, read the blog to understand its editorial agenda before approaching the blogger.
The times are a’ changing. Women have long since established themselves as the stronger sex and influential consumers. And now they are ruling the blogosphere too. A safer option than letting us men lead the way…
Interesting comments, Martin. Here’s a recent development in the advertising power of female bloggers.
High street fashion chain H&M has recently taken a very direct and deliberate approach. They are not only using selected blogs to keep up to date with the ever-changing trends in the street, but also to promote their collections. They are buying the entire advertisement experience of specific blogs.
In May, they bought the entire advertisement surface on 17-year-old Swedish high school student Kenza Zouiten´s blog for their bikini campaign. Why? The blog has 28,000 readers every day.
This move shows a wider trend. H&M and other fashion companies are now investing their advertisement budgets in teenage bloggers instead of the media-generated female websites and glossy magazines. Quite simply, they offer more authenticity and individuality.
Date: August 12th, 2009 at 12:16 Name: Sofie Holstein