There are 700,000 small business bloggers. At least, that is what Warrillow & Co. says, in its most recent weekly newsletter.
What’s more, these business bloggers shop online, and they network with one another online in fourms and discussion boards where they share information about suppliers. They are also a bunch of data hounds who are more likely than non-bloggers to read trade publications and visit industry websites.
I’d say that just about describes most of the business bloggers I know.
In short, they are highly influential among others in their peer group. Smart companies that sell to small businesses have caught on to the fact that they must court small business owners who frequent blogs, because their opinions are respected, and they know how to be heard.
While when we started we never intended to build it, http://www.merchantcircle.com decided to launch a blogging capability for small merchants based on them asking for new ways to communicate.
I have to say, I did not believe it when my product people came to me with the idea, but the feedback has been great as we prepare to take it live.
I’m a business owner and blogger who’s very influenced by the experiences and recommendations of my online peers. But that won’t stop me from conducting my own research.
Learning about products and services that satisfy other business owners is just the beginning. I review pros and cons before deciding the next step.
Online influences are very strong. Companies that understand this and provide great service will capitalize quickly.
You make a great point, Shirley.
By the way, I did not mean to imply that bloggers can be “bought off” and that others will follow like lemmings. Not at all!
Just that this idea of vendors realizing they need to have their target audience talking about them, is a rather new idea for some companies. It is definitely a trend out there that I am observing.
I don’t know about “influential” but I’m a brick and mortar business owner, a virtual business owner, an active member of the local business community and a blogger. I have seen things change after I blog them and have watched my viewership rise. But I don’t consider myself influential by any stretch. I’m just a guy who like to express himself. Oh, but yes, I do spend allot of time and money online. (So much so that I had to remove my computer from my home office or I would be on 24/7/365. blush)
David, I know what you mean about the 24/7 part. 😉
Regarding the Web, when I think of how many people I have “met” online, it is positively astounding. What an incredible networking tool.
Also, when I stop to think about how I learn of many new products and services — especially small bits of software — it is almost always through blogs or discussion boards. If it were not for blogs and discussion boards, I do not know how I would learn about them.
It’s going to be very interesting to see how large companies attempt to `manage` brand image now that we live in the blogging era. The democratisation of the media is a fascinating trend.
At my blog (Business Blog Wire), I write about business blogs. I’ve noticed that many of my readers are the smart, “highly influential” types you mentioned. It’s challenging to lead a conversation with such intelligent folks, but I am happy to try. I especially agree that most small business bloggers are “data hounds” – knowledge is power, right?