Women Trust Blogs

A just released survey, conducted with Compass Partners LLC, illustrates several surprising new trends in social media, specifically that 36.2 million women in the U.S write and  read blogs every week and approximately half consider blogs a “highly reliable” or “very reliable” source of information and advice.

The 36.2 million women who actively participate in the blogosphere is comprosed of 15.1 million who publish at least one post a week and 21.1 million who read and comment to blogs a week

The survey data indicate American women are drawn to participate in the blogosphere primarily because it provides access to the content they want, when they want it. Survey results also indicate that the blogging community’s fundamental trust in one another has contributed to its rapid growth.

“Several recent surveys indicate that our trust in institutions is declining. We are losing trust in the government, politicians, the media and many corporations. But as it turns out, we trust each other,” said Elisa Camahort Page, BlogHer co-founder and COO. “The blogosphere is increasingly becoming the digital ‘kitchen table’ where individuals can sit down to have an authentic conversation about all the topics that affect their daily lives – from household products to presidential candidates.”

There is some interesting data in this survey. It shows that if you marketing to women that having a blog should be an integral part of your online marketing campaign. When 50% of the women surveyed say blogs influence their purchase decisions, reaching out and interacting with the top bloggers in your space will probably result in increased sales.