BlogHer just released the The 2011 Social Media Matters case study. It’s the fourth annual Social Media study, providing a definitive view of how women are using blogs, social networks and technology in 2011. Below is a slide share and other valuable information from the post.
Women who read blogs routinely trust implicitly the advice and recommendations they receive, especially if it is from a blogger that they follow on a regular basis. We find this is true in every study conducted over the past four years and the effect never diminishes. In this year’s Social Media study, 88% of the active blog readers in the total U.S. general population trust the information they get from familiar blogs. Asked why they have this level of trust, nearly half (48%) say it’s because they had made purchases in the past based on blog recommendations and were satisfied with the results. Over 50% of the active blog readers in the general U.S. online population have made a purchase based on a blog recommendation. That number jumps to 80% in the BlogHer network community. The top categories where BlogHer users turn to Blogs for reviews include Food/Beverage (67%), Clothing/Shoes (67%) Movies (62%), and Cosmetics (59%). In the general online population, the #1 vertical for Blog reviews is Consumer Electronics.
via BlogHer.