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Now with a new survey on Media Influence, bloggers can no longer revel in the belief they exist in a vacuum where they can make fun of just about anything and get away with it.

You did this?

It seems some loose-lipped consumers ratted bloggers out as “significantly influenced…purchase[s].“  Way to go.  Now, our phones will ring with PR folks calling to pitch us the latest and greatest tech gear.  Heck, there is even the chance some of us will be swayed with free trips and prizes.  (Can you otherwise explain Robert Nelson’s refusal to grill Microsoft on their upcoming Surface Phone?)

Did what?

The report found:

  * Consumers who rated online blogs and reviews highly tend to be younger (18 to 34 years old) and have average or higher than average incomes.
  * Television, newspapers, and direct mail advertisements were among the most influential traditional media for recent mobile phone buyers.
  * 26.3 percent of consumers surveyed indicated they prefer to purchase mobile/wireless phones online instead of in person/at a store.
  * Survey respondents also revealed product reviews, user comments, and blogs significantly influenced other consumer electronics purchases.
  * The price of a cell phone was widely considered to be a less important buying factor than rate plans, coverage area, and mobile phone product quality.

The new “experts”

Essentially, the study found blogging has become our collective, coveted word-of-mouth advertising.  As marketers will tell you, nothing is as powerful as word-of-mouth (except a logo change, Memorex).

The Media Influence on Consumer Choice survey was conducted by Ad-ology Research.  These are you folks you need to be leery of.  I think the TV, newspapers and direct mail industries may have had some influence on this survey.  My direct mail goes straight in the recycle pile as does all those telephone company offers that fall out of everything.  Who is reading that stuff?

But seriously, I can’t think of the last electronic purchase I made that I didn’t search for a review or blog report, can you? 

Read [New Business Hunter]

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