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Women Prefer Blogs/Facebook To Twitter

Losing interest in traditional media

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Women keep their personal lives and business lives very separate when it comes to social media, according to the 2009 Women in Social Media Study by BlogHer, iVillage, and Compass Partners. While women consider blogs great sources of information, especially regarding purchases, the vast majority of women use social networks solely for keeping in touch with family and friends.

Over half (55%) of the women surveyed in said they participate in some kind of blog activity (publishing, posting comments, reading), and 53% use social networks.

But here’s the kicker: Women use social networks in the purest sense only; 75% use them to keep in touch with friends and family, and not so much as information sources or for making purchase decisions. That’s a major insight considering this is the half of population making 85% of purchase decisions in the US.
Woman Blogging
In contrast, women rely more on blogs for the business of life, and are twice as likely to use blogs than social networks as an information source (64%), for advice and recommendations (43%), and opinion sharing (55%). Women are 50% more likely to use social networks merely as a means of keeping in touch.

A third of those participating in social networks are loyal to just one and do no other social media activities on a weekly basis. There are likely infinite reasons for that, but it sheds a rather harsh light on why only 20% of women appear to use Twitter.

It could mean that most want all of the networking under one roof for convenience, and only desire one-to-many communication if it involves people they know and trust. It could also mean that Twittering is still considered a medium for celebrities, politicians, and digital hipsters; the survey found that women who themselves blog are significantly more active across all forms of social media.

"Bloggers have a broad reach in the social media population and the survey demonstrates that women who blog are the most actively engaged social media participants — constantly seeking out new ideas and ways to share their opinions about those ideas," said Susan Wright, president of Compass Partners.

And other women are listening, perhaps more than they are to traditional media. Thirty percent are watching less TV, 31% are listening to less radio, 36% are reading fewer magazines, and 39% are reading the newspaper less. 

Numbers like that indicate a huge shift in the media landscape: the sex making the most purchase decisions are rejecting traditional media in favor of online sources. Forty-five percent of women in the survey said they decided to purchase an item after reading about it on a blog; among the women in the more digitally savvy BlogHer network, that number is 85%.

Women bloggers are twice as likely to share a positive purchase experience on blogs and/or message boards and about 40% more likely to share a negative experience. So it’s a good idea to be very, very nice to women bloggers, especially since they are likely to carry significant influence with non-blogging women.

"At a time when the economy is top of mind for more than 70 percent of these active social media participants, women who blog are turning to online resources, including blogs, to help them make their day to day purchasing decisions," said BlogHer cofounder Elisa Camahort.

The results of the survey are concluded according the answers of 2,821 women in the general US population, 1,008 women in the BlogHer network, and 788 women in the iVillage network.  

 
 

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There are 52 Comments. Add Yours.
  1. Like (0) Dislike (0)
    Susan

    As a woman internet marketer I found the information very interesting since I happen to like Twitter. I just wish more people would use it the way it was intended as a micro blogging platform and not a contest to see who can get the most followers by following everyone else.

    I’ve also been very slow to get into the social networking thing since after I set up a myspace page all I got was a lot of spam. However I’ve been blogging for a couple of years and this morning I bit the bullet and joined facebook.

    Reply
  2. Like (0) Dislike (0)
    kirsten

    Six weeks ago I launched an experimental Twitter Soap Opera titled, Chicago to Coronado. The story is about a Chicago to Coronado Transplant – a former marketing girl thrust into a world of Navy Seals, lust, love, Island life, small town politics, murder, mystery…even puppies. It’s the anti-Sex in the City.

    Chicago to Coronado has 4,000+ followers on the main storyline (@kirsteno) and another 4,000 among the various cast of characters (@mattclaymore – for the military, @nadodeeogee for pet owners, @chicagoceochick for small biz owners, @thegrannyflat for history buffs…..). The most for any Twitter novel to date.

    90% of the Soap’s followers are women.

    It’s one way to reach women on Twitter…..

    Chicago to Coronado, the Twitter Soap Opera, also has its own Facebook Group, Vimeo Channel, and Flickr page. I’m open to advertisers.

    Reply
  3. As a virtual assistant recently certified in Social Media Marketing, I can tell you that I spend most of my time on Twitter. I think there are many women in business who would agree, so this article surprises me. I would also wonder when this survey was done, since Twitter’s numbers are way up from what they were – an increase of nearly 1400% since last year. As someone who is constantly trying to keep up with all in social media, Twitter provides the most current information in the quickest timeframe. I blog, but not as often. I also am on Facebook, but not as often. And if you want the latest in news, weather, celebrity status, recipes and Oprah – you’ll also get that faster on Twitter.

    “The results of the survey are concluded according the answers of 2,821 women in the general US population, 1,008 women in the BlogHer network, and 788 women in the iVillage network.”

    These results tell me that these women surveyed in the “general US population” are not business owners and read blogs for stories and shopping. If you are a woman in business and are not using Twitter, you’re missing a valuable opportunity to connect.

    Reply
    • Like (0) Dislike (0)
      Guest

      These results tell me that these women surveyed in the “general US population” are not business owners and read blogs for stories and shopping. If you are a woman in business and are not using Twitter, you’re missing a valuable opportunity to connect.

      Ok, if that is true, doesn’t that mean if someone wants to sell for women only better use blog? Anyway, this is a good survey as it tells where to target customers.. that is women. :) did that make any sense? no? ok.

      Reply
  4. Like (0) Dislike (0)
    Bella

    I use Twitter and it appears that much more than 20% of the community is female.

    I’m female and I prefer Twitter for business and personal. I just don’t mix the two, I keep separate accounts.

    Reply
    • Like (0) Dislike (0)
      Lee Price

      You are missing the stat here. The article doesn’t say that 20% of Twitter users are female. It says that 20% of females use Twitter!

      Reply
  5. Interesting stats… I’d like to know what demographic was surveyed. Was this only women who use the net? As “55% of the women surveyed in said they participate in some kind of blog activity” seems pretty high, if not.

    Reply
  6. Like (0) Dislike (0)
    Leanne

    I’m a woman in business and I find Twitter to be a great way to be completely ignored by my peers. It has been a complete rat race, one where if you weren’t on board in the beginning, you are not likely to be welcomed into a conversation going on between other people.

    As far as being a so-called “great business opportunity”, I have over 800 followers, most of whom I do not know and suspect are following me simply so that I follow them – for what I’m not sure – who don’t EVER act on any of my tweets.

    The most click-throughs I’ve ever received on one single Tweet – offering free stuff, mind you – is about 29. 29 of 800 followers clicked through? That indicates to me that Twitter is a complete waste of time. I get more business and reaction through personal relationships on my blog and FB.

    If I need to learn something, I google it, I’m not likely to hop on Twitter and hope that someone is talking about what I want to know.

    Twitter = time suck for a business owner.

    Reply
    • Hi Leanne
      You’re not alone, blogging is the way, simple to control and get messages across. My blog site is the third best for referring traffic to my website.

      Patrick

      Reply
    • Like (0) Dislike (0)
      Guest

      Leanne, that was a good one.. well said. :)

      Reply
  7. Personally we enjoy engaging our followers, we chat sometimes about commercial things, idea, concepts, and other times just general chit chat, but it lets us engage ourselves fully!

    Reply
  8. I prefer the kind of media that can be trusted and costs far less than engaging a PR consultant. Blogging is a favourite of mine, I have control over content and cost. And it works for me.

    Reply
  9. Like (0) Dislike (0)
    Rhonda

    I market, prefer blogs, and I *really* don’t like Twitter!
    Facebook? Again, not so much.
    I have to agree with Leann. My time is much better spent NOT tweeting, twerping,or being twitterpated.

    Reply
  10. Interesting this insistence on One or Other, as though these platforms are mutually exclusive.

    I just went to my Facebook page, and there’s another 100 pieces of junk application invitations. Some use these to build relationships, I understand. To me they are a sham substitute for meaningful engagement.

    The difference between those who find Twitter useful and those who don’t, probably stems largely from the choices one makes in who to follow and what actions one takes to engage. It is easy to engage if you wish to. It does require being active and participating. Yet even the wallflowers have the choice to be entertained by selecting people to follow who are interesting and have something worthwhile to share.

    If you follow people whose tweets you don’t value, and have no engagement with your network, look to what actions you are taking.

    In this case, it is All About You.

    http://twitter.com/lindyasimus

    Reply
  11. Like (0) Dislike (0)
    Amy

    I use twitter to talk to friends and even make friends not to buy things or sell things. I use blogs and forums to get info for shopping. I am actually surprised forums have not been mentioned.

    Reply
  12. Like (0) Dislike (0)
    Ejvind

    I think there is much more use for blogs, then facebook, and the very least is twitter.

    I am a man, so this goes not only for women :-)

    Reply
  13. Telegraph, telephone, tell a woman! Just because women use social networks in the purest sense only; meaning 75% of us use them to keep in touch with friends and family, and not so much as information sources or for making purchase decisions doesn’t mean we arent’ influencing each other’s decisions on what to purchase. We value our friends recommendations and opinions and experiences and believe me this comes up in casual conversation. What we purchase is very much influenced by our casual conversation. As a woman and web site owner of safety and security products using Twitter, FaceBook and others, this is a great way to socially market to women!

    Reply
  14. Like (0) Dislike (0)
    AliH

    Seems I’m one of those ‘unusual’ women then…

    Personally, I don’t use these things for spending decisions, work or personal. Anyone pushing tweets out that are clearly marketing driven tend to be ignored. I’m not using it for that, and I’m not interested.

    Reply
    • Like (0) Dislike (0)
      Guest

      When I get on a business network, I expect it to be purely business and although I love to get close to people I come to trust & we become friends, I am not looking for romance or flirting or cyber sex. That pisses me off! How dare anyone come up on my site naked and showing me what he thinks is God’s gift.

      When I am on Social networks which I only do because Facebook gets so much exposure, I don’t like to play games and give hearts, and be a vampire. I just want pure social interaction with males and females. I have a job, a family, keeping fit, etc. I don’t have time or the desire to play games. I am a fun, scathingly witty and outgoing, but that is not my kind of fun. Verbal banter, simple chatting is what I am seeking when I am on the social network.

      If I am looking for romance, which I am not, I wouldn’t use a network to find it.

      Reply
  15. Yep I do prefer blogs & Facebook over Twitter ANY DAY. I’m just SICK OF TWITTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply
    • Hello,

      Every ons there, I love blog in face book because I love face book net work This is good source to get Good Information through face book social net work.

      Reply
  16. Like (0) Dislike (0)
    Aftercancer

    Well this is completely unscientific but I was in a meeting with about 20 women yesterday (25-50 y.o.) and a third had never heard of twitter and the other two thirds, minus one, thought trying to do anything on twitter was like watching a child with unmedicated ADHD. Just my small sample.

    As for me, twitter is nice to drop a quick hi or to use on my phone with a small group of people in a large place.

    Reply
  17. I totally agree with the stats here since they reflect my own personal preferences as far as social media are concerned. I prefer keeping my personal and private lives separate and use Facebook mainly to keep in touch with my family and friends. I use Twitter and blogs for professional purposes.

    Reply
  18. Well, why would I not lose interest? The traditional media holds my values as worthless so why should I continue to look to the traditional media for ANY information?

    The traditional media wanted Obama elected. Well? Happy? The traditional media, when not proclaiming my complete and total ignorance and irrelevancy, wishes to lay at my feet the guilt of every single evil in the world. Yes, I am a mostly white, Christian, conservative, capitalist gun owning American who believes that babies are a good thing.

    Chris Matthews talks about getting a tingle in his leg when Obama speaks, 90210 is horrifying in its accepted morals, and the only network that even has an appreciation for the fact that I have a say and vote with my pocketbook is labeled as a possible terrorist sympathizer by the rest of the networks along with my father, who is a returned veteran. Why? Simply because he is a returned veteran.

    The traditional media has not only lost my interest, but has engendered my opposition by trying to tell me not just what is occurring, but how I ought to view it and what my opinion should be.

    As for making buying decisions, seeking out the blogs related gives not only a review of the products and services offered, but we also see what moves the company is making in other areas, such as politics and social issues. For instance, the comment, “YOU PEPSI DRINKER!” is now an insult for me and a growing number of friends because of various social causes they support, though it is always good for a laugh, too. Yup, I miss Mountain Dew but I switched to The Real Thing because of how I view the companies various stances. Besides, Vault has more caffeine.

    Very informative post. I did not know that women make 85% of purchases nor that they prefer blogs. Serious stuff needing serious thought. I appreciate it.

    Tim

    Reply
    • Like (0) Dislike (0)
      Pat

      You sound more than just white, you sound like a gun toting american whom is part of the problem. Don’t seem to like a president that is black, or are you just scared that this one might actually fix a few problems.
      You sound like a racist act like a simpleton I am scared for the future because of people like you.

      Don’t know women make up the majority of purchase decisions hmm do you think they should not vote either?

      Take a long hard look at yourself!

      Reply
  19. Like (0) Dislike (0)
    Tony

    If these figures are correct for the US, I wonder what women are doing in the rest of the world. I also wonder if the particpants in the survey were women who are tech knowlegeable, and also their age range. These facts could change how each business person interprets the information for their business purposes.

    Reply
  20. Women are the shoppers and for any ecommerce business to ignore that is just insane. I blog, facebook and myspace and many others things before i even consider twitter. If your targeting customers, why do i want my marketing mixed with, just dropped my kid off at school, dog took a dump in the kitchen or everybody look, here’s the greatest twitter marketing tool ever. Please, give me a break.

    Reply
  21. I actually like Twitter over Facebook. On Twitter I get more B2B connections and the tweets are funny and short. On Facebook suddenly people from high school found me and I had to make my profile private. I was thinking that I hadn’t joined Classmates … so why all this sudden interest in finding me if we went to high school together? I thought Facebook would be a great way to promote my blogs and connect for business purposes HA!
    I found the ‘look for people who once lived by me’ aspect of Facebook annoying since I am not interested in locating people like some high school class reunion online. EW…ok double EW. Hello, if we really were friends then I still know you.
    Add just hang me right now to stop the suffering so I don’t have to see anymore “I am leaving for my gym class…. we’re driving to Lake Tahoe … I’m diapering my baby’s pink bottom and he has a rash … Junior has a runny nose I better take a picture … I just paid for my son to take private race car lessons see the photos … and here is my daughter cutting flowers in the backyard …. my dog just farted, here’s my play by play” comments on Facebook. I am shuddering just typing that.
    Sorry I don’t know who you have in Twitter, but I don’t get that same useless Facebook update drivel there.
    My teenage son and his friends like Myspace for the music and creating custom backgrounds, so I am not hanging there since teenagers already fill my offline space.

    Reply
  22. Like (0) Dislike (0)
    Guest

    I prefer Twitter
    http://twitter.com/dubaiflowers

    Reply
  23. Like (0) Dislike (0)
    Guest

    Personally I think these statistics are very skewed as the majority of the women surveyed were in some sort of network or another and there was no demographic breakdowns. This tells me that women in these networks might follow the body of the results but for the majority of other women I just find it highly unlikely that marketing in facebook, Twitter or Blogs does anything other than inform a select few. I find the networks fun but this obsessive notion that they are the end all to you marketing woes is laughable. I agree that there will be some loyalty to the die hard who promote and believe in these networks but the funniest thing is that the ones who are truly making money out of the social networks are the ones who teach others how to use the social networks or the ones who promote the social networks. Sue, I will now hear the odd story of how many contact sna clients “you” have go but if you really took a honest survey, on how many real paying clients came out of facebook and Twitter to YOUR business, then I’d either be proven wrong or right in the fact that these arenas are a monumental waste of time for business aspects. I know many rely on Blogs and it is the “in the know” crowd that uses them so they are not a waste of time just like it is not totally a waste of time with social networking
    but forgetting and not balancing all levels are marketing is cutting your chances for real growth.

    Reply
    • Like (0) Dislike (0)
      Guest

      Wish I read your first before I ranted away….. Promotion of these sites are a great cottage industry…It will just be a fad that will be replaced by the next in thing….Develop your own blog and get that indexed….I do think that many in the network will support others so there is some market but I too find it odd that the promotion of these sites is mainly by biased writers. As you said, it’s all about agenda

      Reply
  24. Like (0) Dislike (0)
    Sarah

    I find Facebook more interactive than Twitter although I do use Twitter for marketing. It just that I like something that offers me more connections rather than in about a hundred characters or so.. Still Twitter is useful in its own way..

    Reply
  25. There may be a few women who disagree with that.

    Cheers
    Find Trusted Tradespeople

    Reply
  26. Like (0) Dislike (0)
    Guest

    I have a lot of fun in my 30 minutes a week or so with Facebook but using these social networking sites for business is a complete waste of time. Do you know how stupid you look to a prospective clinet with posts like ” I need my morning coffee”…..or ” I am so hungover”…Granted there are those in your same ilk that think this is a the where-all for networking and might support you but I wouldn’t hire some twit who shares their child’s first bowel movements to the world no matter how great they might be. The networks do raise some thinking among legitimate clients so the ones who play it smart might succeed. We all need a balancing act as there is no magic wand in attracting business. You can only piggy-back off these sites for so long but if you have no substance in your website or true marketing plan you can sustain growth. And I do mean a well built site, not some template piece of crap or a $399 special that looks a fancy word doc. The bottom line is you get what you pay for…Get a good site, your own blog professionally made and start a good balance of marketing…You can two twit till your blue in the face but as i said I wouldn’t hire you just on those merits

    Reply
  27. Like (0) Dislike (0)
    J. Davis

    I agree that Facebook is too much like Classmates. I like Twitter more for the camaraderie with people with similar interests. We share stuff just like office workers do; restaurants, news, likes, photos, etc. You can remain anonymous if you want and just share your Twitter name with your regular friends if you want.

    So far there have been no rude/ignorant comments coming at me like on other social networks. And if anyone does get rude I can block them.

    I guess I like the challenge of expressing myself in so few characters. Kinda like a game.

    I also have a separate account to promote my blog with Twitter and I think it works better and more easily than other methods. I like how the URL shortners and wordpress plugins work so well with Twitter to make it all fairly effortless.

    I think the early adopters of twitter were mostly web designer/promoter pro types, many who work alone in their home office, like me. These people are still mostly men. As twitter gets more mainstream, I think women will like it just as much as men if not more.

    Reply
  28. Like (0) Dislike (0)
    Amy

    Of all you people who tweet for marketing please give me some sort of survey on whether you have actually made a client from any of this. This is just more versions of the spoiled brat society we live in that we expect to just post some nonsense and have people come flocking to our business. Maybe an Active Rain or Linked In which are not so convoluted with silliness might bode a better market for business but I have to agree with an earlier posting in that there is too much absolute garbage on these sites to take them seriously. I am a business woman and a very successful one who wouldn’t take a second look at any business offering from 90% of those who write the most inane and ludicrous things on the same wall they are trying to attract potential clients to. I have a few minutes of weekly fun chatting with some friends on these networks and finding some old friends, shar8ing a little of my life without exposing myself to scrutiny. For businesses, either keep your profiles respectful or actually go out and work the pavement in marketing yourself in all avenues.

    Reply
    • Like (0) Dislike (0)
      snipe

      Amy – although I don’t use Twitter for marketing, I have picked up several clients from Twitter. I do no market myself, nor even imply that I am looking for work on Twitter. From my own (anecdotal) research, it seems that people often find me via Twitter, end up on my blog, follow me on Twitter, and between my industry-related tweets and my blog posts, come to the conclusion that I have something of value to offer. But that’s the thing – I’m not hawking my wares – I’m just talking to people. It usually actually starts off by people needing help. They ask me how to do something, try it, it’s too hard (or they don’t have the time/resources), then they pay me to do it for them. Mind you, I help people because I enjoy it – but back when I offered free open source image gallery software, I landed quite a few clients from that. I gave them something of value for free, and the product) help, software, etc) was reliable, so the next time they needed something similar, I was in the forefront of their mind.

      Reply
  29. Like (0) Dislike (0)
    Amy

    Ok David, since you seem to be a man of great prose and elaborate explanation, explain to me as a seemingly know-it-all the basis of linking. You pomposity is actually amusing so I would love to hear about how successful you are in this one venue? My staff ran a very successful SEO-eMarketing program and we did balance the work in many aspects of Internet Linking. We also did rogue studies on the value of Social Media and business relations and found for our demographic target market, there was a 4% response rate. Our Market consists of women 35 and older and in this group there was a overwhelmingly reluctance to respond positively to this media. We did a cross the board survey with over 1400 responders. Our best efforts came from linking building and raising our Google rankings for basic generic keywords and also using a fine balance of PPC, industry and specific manual submissions and also many other traditional SEO uses including newsletters and our own blog updated frequently. All I am saying Davey is that you need balance. It is clowns like you that make these assumptions about people and processes that just reinforce the opinion that SM are filled with “some” wanna-be business people who have no class or dictum on how to handle this new venue. Read a few other posts here and see if my way of thinking is out of line.

    Reply
  30. Like (0) Dislike (0)
    snipe

    I don’t think it’s a matter of picking one over another – Facebook, Twitter and blogs serve different purposes, and women (people, in generally, really) use the bits of each that they like, depending on what they’re trying to do.

    I’m on Facebook, I blog and I’m on Twitter. I would never dream of blogging on Facebook, and I wouldn’t post the same links and photos to Twitter as I do to Facebook. I have control over who sees what on Facebook, so it’s easier to feel like you’re in a more intimate space. My Twitter profile is open to the world, so there is less personal information posted, but it’s more conversational.

    If you come off like you’re trying to use Twitter as a way to make money (directly or indirectly) it will not work. People see right through it, and won’t take action on anything you post. There is also a high signal-to-noise ratio – tweets get missed, and unless your tweets are consistently compelling enough for people to add you to a group in their twitter client that is a higher priority than the other noise, your tweets will not even be seen by most of your followers. And if you’re pitching your product or service constantly, you are NOT providing anything consistently valuable.

    Connecting with people – you’re doing it wrong.

    It’s not the medium guys – its your old school technique failing in the new school.

    I follow around 2k people, and around 2k people follow me. Only the ones that actually engage me directly and consistently end up on a filter list in Nambu that makes sure I read every one of their tweets. You get what you give on Twitter. It’s that simple.

    I don’t know that the numbers cited in this “study” are particularly meaningful without more of a breakdown and clarification, but it’s interesting, even if on an anecdotal level.

    Just my two cents.

    Reply
  31. Like (0) Dislike (0)
    Guest

    As one russian writer Sergei Dovlatov said – if woman just doesn’t like shoe laces of your shoes – whatever facts you tell her, just will consider you are wrong, or just won’t listen. I, personally (female) – don’t like how twitter look like – design, layout, whatever you call it. Facebook is much more inviting.

    Reply
  32. women (or atleast the women i know) see twitter as a “look at me” type of tool. Where as Facebook is used by them to actually communicate with people they care about.

    I actually agree that Twitter is nothing more than a tool for attention seeker, but heck i’m on it all the time.

    Reply
  33. I think I’m one of those women who prefers blogging and facebook rather than twitter. I used twitter in social networking and I know many people find Twitter very productive but more often I find it as a waste of time.

    I agree with Susan Wright’s statement; it’s one of the reasons why women preferred blogs and facebook.

    Reply
  34. Like (0) Dislike (0)
    Guest

    Twitter is waste of time

    Reply
    • Like (0) Dislike (0)
      Guest

      I would have to agree. Twitter has only gotten to where it is because web owners are using it to try and drive more customers to their sites.

      Mark
      http://www.controldatainc.com

      Reply
  35. I would say that men go on more to make money, where as women to make connections. Doesn’t surprise me in the least. I would say most of my blog visitors, at least in the main category would tend to be women. Males only on the business related blogs. Thanks for the study, interesting info.

    Reply
  36. I have long been a fan of Facebook and love its functionality…I have played around a little with Twitter but it just does not seem to hit the right note with me.

    Reply
  37. Like (0) Dislike (0)
    adam

    Daisy’s psychic line
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    Reply
  38. Like (0) Dislike (0)
    Cassie Hicks

    How interesting this blog is, but, still I’m looking for a Chicago soap opera blogger who can take my three favorite topics a lot seriously than the ones from Chicago Now. Are there any by any chance?

    Reply

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