The Power of Her Blog
It’s the time of year for conferences, I’m heading off to an enviable one in Europe’s Mediterranean next Friday with some of Australia’s leading consumer electronics retailers. We will be hearing from global speakers in retailing and new technology including the CEO of Zappos.com.
But one of the world’s most powerful conferences was held in New York just over a week ago has flown under the radar in our Southern Hemisphere. It was the BlogHer conference and it was designed for the 42 million American women who blog, tweet and update their social networks every week.
Yes, that figure is 42 million and according to BlogHer research, about 55.6 million American women read blogs monthly, and more than 20 million women write blogs or post to someone else’s.
For many Australian business executives, who are still trying to talk (in some cases scream) at women through the traditional mediums of print, radio and television, it’s difficult to grasp the scope of that number. It is after all, double the size of our population.
And if you think that trend isn’t occurring in Australia, then think again. Women who blog are the strongest growing edge online (women over 45 is the fastest growing demographic on Facebook).
In Australia, there are a huge number of women who blog and I’m happy to be one of them. Already this morning I have tweeted across three twitter accounts, updated my Facebook Fan Page, written this blog, replied to posts on previous blogs, all before 7am.
Research on the women who are blogging refute the notion that blogs are just an online diary. In fact, they act as a thermometer that records the issues that matter most to her. Women are blogging to express themselves, for fun, and to connect with others, according to BlogHer research. And they are also using their voices to successfully build their businesses and in some instances in countries in the Middle East they are risking their lives by talking about the repressive conditions in their countries.
The recorded instances of women exercising their power through blogs is also growing, and Motrin, a leading brand of ibuprofen, was forced to pull an ad that mocked mothers who carry their babies in slings when women voiced their concern by tweeting.
This year the BlogHer conference was sponsored by 100 brands, a 60% increase over 2009 at a time when the US continues to be mired in recession.
The thinking behind this level of support is simple. US marketers know that women control 85% of buying decisions and they are eager to connect with her. They know that women trust the women in their online communities and to become part of the conversation, sponsors provided product samples and paid the cost of the conference.
If you want to be part of this world, it’s simple: start blogging.