Blog

He Blogged, She Blogged

When it comes to men and women, who blogs better? Moreover, how do men and women approach blogging? People all have their reasons for engaging in social interaction, and when it comes down to it women are more likely to blog for social and emotional interaction than men.

A recent Entrepreneur.com article mentioned a study that found more than 36 million women blog every week. Almost 50 percent of those women said that blogs influenced their buying habits. Some women even said they were so committed to blogging that they would give up PDAs and alcohol to continue doing so.

More than half of all bloggers in North America are women. These women tend to write more and longer than their male counterparts. Strangely enough a recent study out of Great Britain noted that the most influential bloggers tend to be white American males. This study also found that women were more interested in the social aspects of blogging, while men care more about new information and opinion.

Women blog because they want to share their own experiences and understand the lives of others. Women also place a higher value on reader feedback than male bloggers. In general, women are thought to be more social creatures than men. So what does all this mean?

Even though some may suggest that white American males are the most influential bloggers, many people would disagree. What does influential really mean? From a woman’s standpoint influential may mean building and nurturing relationships, from a man’s point of view it could mean where to find the most recent technical information, or the most informative product review.

Women also care about these things, but instead of a cut and dry list, or set of instructions, they want a story—a story they can relate to, written by an author who cares about hearing a reader’s feedback.

Popular blogger Karen Czajkowski began blogging several years ago during her struggle with infertility. Her blog, The Naked Ovary (now Cheek), attracted so much attention it was eventually getting thousands of hits per day. In her blog Czajkowski discussed her daily life, her attempts to get pregnant, and she and her husband’s eventual adoption of a baby girl. Czajkowski’s day to day updates of her emotional and physical struggle were something women could relate to. Her blog became so popular that it was featured in Sleep is for the Weak, an anthology of superb mommy blogging, edited by Stacy Morrison, editor-in-chief of Redbook.

It’s important to mention the popularity of Czajkowski’s blog because it brings to mind the infinite marketing possibilities afforded by popular blog sites. Let’s consider advertising and marketing and their relationships to blogging. Blogs were once considered to be the opinions of novices. For years most people, including myself, didn’t believe blogs were legitimate sources of information. But people have always been slow to accept new forms of technology and the resulting communication that accompanies them. Sooner or later even the most vehement anti-bloggers must accept the new form of media.

Would I go as far as to say that women more readily accept technological change than men? No, I wouldn’t—but, I will say that it seems like women currently have the edge on blogging and the social marketing that is certainly becoming more common on blog pages.

More people are reading blogs and this means that more marketing professionals are paying to advertise on blog sites. A recent TechBlorge survey showed that more than 43% of blog visitors indicated they had noticed advertisements on blog websites, rising to 61% among those aged 18 to 24.

Marketers want to build relationships with consumers and women bloggers want to build relationships with their readers. The women blogger/marketing equation can be a powerful tool in reaching consumers.