It’s one thing to hear that working with bloggers is a great way to spread news about your business and products, but it’s another thing to understand why it works. Many businesses have always relied heavily on traditional marketing methods. However, businesses that have connected with bloggers are now building long-term relationships after seeing strong results from their efforts.
Here are four reasons why Australians bloggers are good for SMEs:
1. Women love to talk
Women love to talk and they’ll do it wherever they are. Recent research revealed Australians were the biggest users of social media in the developed world, with a phenomenal 10.6 millions users on Facebook and millions more on platforms like Twitter, Blogspot and LinkedIn. However, even more interesting was the fact the majority of Aussies online were women.
Earlier this year Nielsen found that of all the internet users in Australia:
- 73% read reviews, discussions and comments on brands, products and services at some stage. 26% do so on a regular basis.
- 46% have clicked the Facebook Like button for a brand/organisation. 17% do so regularly.
- 43% discussed or commented on a product, service or brand. 13% regularly do so.
- 42% have interacted with a company through social network sites and 15% do on a regular basis.
- 33% posted reviews on products or services, with 7% doing so regularly.
- 59% have watched a product-related video online and 30% have listened to an online review of a brand, product or service.
2. Women bloggers are taking Australia by storm
There are more than 3,000 mummy bloggers in Australia and that number continues to grow. Add to that, thousands of beauty, fashion and lifestyle bloggers and you have an army of voices sharing their opinions, including what they think about your business. When potential customers are researching within your field or your business specifically, these blogs are often where Google leads them.
3. Women bloggers are building communities made up of your target market
Bloggers aren’t just ‘writing on the internet’, they are forming communities. As they blog, they reach thousands of other women just like them who are interested in their thoughts and opinions. According to the BlogHer 2011 Social Media Matters Study, bloggers have more influence on purchases than celebrities.
4. Women bloggers want to work with brands and have a particular desire to support small business owners
Big business has started to realise the potential offered by bloggers for word of mouth marketing and are starting to connect with bloggers. However, for many women it’s SMEs they’d love to support. They see SME owners as being people just like them, trying to make a mark in a competitive industry. They want to do what they can to support your enterprise, especially when there’s a clear connection between your company or products and their blog, family or interest.
Case study: Truth About Mummy
Melbourne mum to three and Truth About Mummy blogger Caz Filmer decided earlier this year to run a Christmas campaign to support the work-at-home-mum market.
“I passionately believe we should be supporting mums who are being creative and striking out in the world of business while raising their children,” Filmer said. “Don’t you think it’s worth looking at their products and seeing if they can meet our needs before we march ourselves off to the department stores? I do and I’m willing to put my blog behind this statement.”
Over the past few months, Filmer has promoted several SMEs, including Koolaman Designs and Little Bubz and Beyond.
