Blog readership in the United States is very healthy.
As of 2007, there were 215,088,545 Americans (representing 71.4% of the US population) online. Of that segment, 48% (about 103,242,502) were online “Spectators” (including those who read blogs) in 2007 according to “Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies.”
How does that data translate in terms of consumer-buying behavior? Recently, the Opinion Research Corporation released the results of a survey indicating that “nearly two-thirds (61%) of respondents reported consulting online reviews, blogs and other sources of online customer feedback before purchasing a new product or service, with search engines being the preferred method of conducting the research.” In addition, 83% of those surveyed said that online reviews and product evaluations had a direct impact on their purchasing decisions.
If you own a business and you want to stay “open” for business, you need to consider the implications of these trends. At one time, it was okay if your website was like the Sun – the center of your online universe. Today, your website needs to be more like Jupiter – massive in size – in terms of its online pervasiveness…with its multiple moons representing different facets of social media, including blogs. And Jupiter’s super-strong magnetic field would represent your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts and your website’s interactive elements.
So what or who now holds the distinction of representing the Sun – the center of your universe? Your existing and prospective customers, of course.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Nice writing style. I look forward to reading more in the future.
I like your analogy with Jupiter, seeing that Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. Blogging is definitely the way to go for online networking, and the expressing of ideas, such as what you are doing.
Thanks Dan. I like your blog’s focus on better serving customers…the folks who truly represent the center of our online universe. P.S. I wonder where the photo of your blog’s image header was taken?
Kenneth, I am finding that the use of metaphors and similes (like your reference to Jupiter) is very helpful in communicating with my clients who are new to the social media sphere. So I thought I’d try it here on my blog. Your comment is valued. Thank you.
Great post, JP. With all the cool social media tools out there, customers don’t care what you have to say about your widget, we want to know what everyone else is saying about it. Word of mouth, whether online or face-to-face, has a strong impact on purchasing behavior.
trainingtime…I agree with your comment and I appreciate your blog’s focus as well. Social media marketing applies to b2b as much as b2c. Do you get the feeling that b2b companies are lagging behind the b2c companies when it comes to adoption? I value your insight. Thanks.