Blogs have been popular for a long time, but blog advertising has not. Early on, advertisers were wary of associating themselves with the sometimes-inflammatory content of the new media form, and even two years ago blog advertising made up a meager 2 percent share of online revenue. New research, however, suggests that marketers who take a pass on blogs may be missing a good way to sell their products. JupiterResearch, conducting a study for ad network BuzzLogic, found that half of blog readers say they find blogs useful for purchase information, and more frequent blog readers trust them more than social networking sites for influencing purchase decisions. Fifty-two percent say blogs played a role in the critical moment they decided to move forward with a purchase, and half of frequent blog readers have taken action after viewing an ad on a blog. Blogs are also being used for more than just information gathering; they’re also bridges. Nearly 40 percent said they prefer blog links over search engines for discovering new blog content. Rob Crumpler, chief executive officer at BuzzLogic, talks to Media Life about advertisers’ changing attitudes toward blogs, their influence over purchases, and what categories they exert the most power over. 

 
What did you find most interesting or surprising about this study?
 
That consumer search behavior is changing. The study revealed that blogs actually beat out search as a navigation tool for readers who consume blogs more than once a month. This says a lot about how an increasingly large part of today’s web audience consumes information online.
 
People are not relying as heavily on traditional search as a means to direct where they spend time. Today’s web is more of a connected, exploratory experience. This represents a huge, untapped opportunity for advertisers to leverage new behavior patterns and better match relevant advertising with user intent.
 

What’s the most important thing media buyers and planners can take from it?
 
What we’ve found is that where the reader-author relationship is the strongest, your media buy will have the most impact. That means media buyers and planners need to understand where readers are most engaged and map campaigns accordingly to drive the most efficiency for their dollar.
 
The reality is, blogs have matured as marketing vehicles.

Readership on blogs is growing sharply, spiking 300 percent since 2004. But beyond the sheer numbers, the beauty of blogs is that they engender personal relationships with readers.

Blog content has more influence on purchase decisions than social networks do, and half of frequent readers have taken action on an ad when reading a blog. It’s simply the better path to a more engaged user.
 

As you mentioned, you found that readers are strongly influenced by blog content when it comes to purchase decisions across a number of categories. Why is that? And which categories?
 
Blogs are an alternative to traditional media in terms of news, insights and information. People want to create their own media universe of authors they trust. A portal or traditional news web site is taking the form of millions of everyday people who have built credibility on niche topics -- hobbyists, aficionados, industry people, freelancers, consultants. These bloggers may not be famous or command 100,000 page views a month, but readers trust them and their recommendations.
 
We see this dynamic as the strongest in technology, as it relates to both consumer gadgets and enterprise software. But it goes beyond tech to entertainment, sporting goods, travel, automotive, health and apparel. These are all areas where consumers are influenced by blog content when it comes to what they buy.
 

You also found that blogs play a key role in ushering readers to the point of an actual purchase. Again, how does that occur?
 
Due to the socially charged nature of both the editorial and the platform, blogs are uniquely able to help shorten the gap between the research phase and actual purchase. Because blogs contain so much useful information and are rich in links, they are very much woven into a reader’s research on any company or product.
 
When search is used, blogs almost always appear within, and sometimes dominate, the results. And blog links make it easy for readers to navigate sources – be that between blogs, from blogs to other content sites like YouTube, or from blogs to a site where they can transact.
 

How has that changed over the past four years?
 
Blogs have evolved from an early-adopter phenomenon to a sizable media force with major marketing power. Blog readership and participation has been steadily growing year over year, but consumer use of social media technology in general hit the roof this year.
 
Consumers are simply getting more comfortable. Forrester Research put out a study, separate from ours, that found that the number of people who posted online reviews and comments now represents more than one-third of U.S. adults, and two in three U.S. consumers view social media. People are now accepting blog content as part of a regular online experience.
 

How much have blog ads risen in the past four years?
 
Over the past four years, bloggers have become extremely savvy in their ability to monetize. Today’s blogger understands the importance of ad placement, share of voice and performance. This has created more of a symbiotic relationship between blogger and advertiser, enabling ad penetration on blogs to become much more widespread.
 
And today’s readers are responding favorably, especially when compared to other ad environments. For frequent readers, ads on blogs are on par with search results. This says a lot given the incredible success of paid search advertising.

We also found that readers trust ads on blogs more than they do social networks. This begs the question of whether consumers are in a commercial state of mind while visiting a social networking site.
 

The conventional wisdom used to be that advertisers were nervous about appearing on blogs because the content was somewhat unpredictable. Which brands are most likely to advertise on blogs and why?
 
As more eyeballs shift away from traditional “safe” media, more brands are learning how to not only navigate but thrive in this media environment. For some brands, it’s a no-brainer. Your audience is simply not hanging out in traditional areas of the web.
 
This is true for brands in various entertainment categories like music and gaming. Travel and fashion are also huge categories where consumer-generated media carries a lot of influence and readers are also easily able to convert to a sale online.