Get our RSS feed
Search BizReport
News by Topic
Marketing
- Advertising
- Search Marketing
- Email Marketing
- Loyalty Marketing
- Mobile Marketing
- Social Marketing
- Viral Marketing
- Trends & Ideas
Beyond Marketing
BizReport : Social Marketing : April 08, 2008
Pollara: Influencers may not be influencing
A recent study from Canadian research group Pollara may have some social marketers rethinking their game plan. According to the study, the so-called Influencers of social media may not be as good at influencing other users as originally thought.
According to the research, those active in social networks say they trust the opinions of friends and family (80%) more than the opinions of popular bloggers or vloggers. Only about 20% of study respondents said they were influenced by popular bloggers.
"This shows that popularity doesn't always equate to credibility," said Robert Hutton, executive vice president and general manager at Pollara. "Marketers might have to reconsider who the real influencers are out there."
This research doesn't mean, however, that pay-to-blog ad resources should be ignored. There is still value in the number of quality links to marketer websites and product pages. However the real influence of the bloggers should be questioned. It could be that the links they provide are much more helpful than the blog-posts they write for the product.
Though the influencers may not be having a huge impact on product sales, that doesn't seem to be slowing them down. According to the study more than half of the respondents said that social tools (blogs, communities and social networks) were very important in their daily lives, especially when it comes to researching products.
Subscribe to BizReport
Latest Headlines
- Jivox sees strong growth in video for small businesses
- How to target the affluent through social media
- UpSellIt's Chatty Ads Could Increase ROI
- Report: Worldwide UGV revenue to surpass $1.1 billion
- Online newspaper readers consume politics, jobs information
- Survey: Rich Media Ads to reach $2.7 billion Euros
- YouTube introduces buzz targeting
- Online advertising CPMs falling
Featured White Papers:
Extraordinary Customer Service
Is Your Customer a Satisfied Customer? Learn the Best Practices For Improving the Customer Experience. >>
Search Engine Optimization and Pay-Per-Click: A Holistic Approach
Learn how pay-per-click (PPC) and natural search engine optimization (SEO) can work hand in hand to help your business better connect with new customers. >>
12 SEO Campaign Killers
Learn what not to do when launching a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaign to attract more visitors, leads and sales. >>
Social Media Marketing: 12 Essential Tips for Success
Learn how to effectively engage customer communities with a new, social marketing mix. >>
Featured Magazines:
Successful Promotions
Shows you how effective imprinted promotional items can be for any kind of campaign. >>
Featured Research
- Search Marketing Benchmark Guide 2008
All new practical, fact-based search marketing data on what works and what doesn’t - essential for search marketing (PPC & SEO) budget planning.