Study: Blogs influential during customer purchasing decisions
Half of respondents to a survey conducted by BuzzLogic and JupiterResarch said that they find blogs useful for product or service pre-purchase information.
Of those respondents, 56% said that they consider blogs with a niche focus and topical expertise key pre-purchase sources, according to the “Harnessing the Power of Blogs” study, released October 28. Of responding blog readers, more respondents (14%) said that they trust reader comments posted on blogs than blogs covering specific products or services (11%), professional topical bloggers (10%), social networking Web sites (7%), or blogs at a familiar media brand (7%).
“Blogs are moving mainstream, and they are maturing as a marketing vehicle, and that’s a really good thing,” Valerie Combs, VP of corporate communications at BuzzLogic, told PRWeek. “[The study] is really enforcing that blogs are influencing purchasing decisions, and PR folks are going to be held more and more accountable to make sure they are driving results…and fine tuning the messages to reach [blog readers].”
