After reading Bethany’s
dissertation research on The Influence of
Beauty Blogs, it got me thinking about how reading and writing a blog has changed how I shop. Gone are the days when
on a whim, I would just chuck something in pretty packaging into my basket or I
would stick to old faithful products like they where the only options on the
shelf. Sure, this still happens from time to time but when I shop consciously I can see a massive
difference in my post-blogging shopping habits.
How many of your purchases are influenced by what you’ve
read on a blog or watched in a YouTube haul video? Come on now, don’t be shy,
my hand is raised high here too. When I look through my beauty bin and make up
bag I see a lot of items and brands in there that chances are, I would never
have considered purchasing if it wasn’t for what I’d been reading online.
Beauty blogs, YouTube channels, Instagram, even Pinterest
pretty much influence everything I buy, from gifts for loved ones to luxuries
for myself. Heck, if I see enough dazzaling reviews for a high end product, that
alone can be enough to justify the splurge! In the past I’d have gone off the
price tag alone and no matter what the sales assistant said, my purse would
have stayed firmly shut!
Let’s say I’m in Boots and I’m looking for a new shampoo, so
I pick one up and read the back, to me it sounds pretty good and I hover the
bottle over my basket. My phone comes out of my bag, I type the name into
Google with review tagged on the end
and I hit search. Scrolling past Amazon reviews and comments on the brands
website I go straight to a .blogspot url. Hey, this blogger kind of sounds like
me, she too has long thick hair, but she didn’t fall head over heals in love
with this shampoo. OK! I hit the back button and try the next one. 5 minutes
later and half a dozen reviews under my belt I put the shampoo back down, it
didn’t work for the bloggers, chances are it won’t work for me…What’s that I see at the end of the aisle? Wasn’t Zoella
talking about that exact brand recently? I reach for it and the cycle
continues.
Sound familiar?
Bloggers give us what the brands generally can’t. They give
us a personal touch. We know the ins and outs of our favourite bloggers, we know
what similarities we share, so if the shampoo worked for them, chances are we
think it will work for us. Of course, it could still turn out to be the worst
purchase we ever made, but we don’t feel as bad about it. After all we made our
choice based on the reviews we read and listened to.
It’s all well and good reading the back of bottles and looking
on the brand websites but we want advice from someone we trust. Brands are realizing what power and influence a blog can
have and getting a big time blogger on your side could be just the sales
boosting ticket they’re in need of!
It’s not just about buying things on recommendations of
bloggers either! If you yourself write a blog and you see all the other bloggers
in your niche writing about a certain product, I know I for one am more
inclined to go check it out to be sure I’m not missing out on anything. More
often than not I look at an item, event, even a meal on a menu and instantly
think, I can blog about this.
We all say we’re individuals, we make our own choices, etc
etc, I know, I say it myself too – who wants to admit they’re a sheep in the
flock? But we all have the tendency
to follow the flock without even realizing it!
None of this is a bad
thing. In fact for us bloggers I think it’s a good thing. For those of us
who are in it for the long haul, not just the freebies, it gives us some
recognition as to how powerful our words can be and, credit where credit is
due. Most of us bloggers blog because we can’t help it. We have this need to
get our words and thoughts out there, to help others and share our adventures.
We will talk about products and places with no PR involved. We’re talking about
things we genuinely love (or loathe as the case my be!) and what brand doesn’t
love a little free press?
Blogs and blogging clearly influences how I shop, so how
about you? Do you buy things based solely on blog recommendations? Or are you
buying with the intent of writing a kick ass post with pictures to boot? Let me
know in the comments below!
Until next time,
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI used to write for DooYoo, wow that feels like a life time ago! I can' remember the last time I went on there! I've noticed their reviews don't rank as high in the search engines all that often anymore too.
DeleteNuxe and Kiehls are on my one-day-I'll-buy list too!
Sarah :)
I've found since reading blogs I love a lot more of the stuff I buy as I tend to steer clear of things people aren't to keen on! In a way it has saved me money but the extra purchases of hyped products balance it all out haha xx
ReplyDeleteColeoftheball
Same! I have a lot more products rolling around drawers than I ever used to since I started blogging!
DeleteSarah :)
I won't have my phone with me when I shop (I hardly ever use that thing anyway) so I wouldn't be able to check the reviews then are there. But yes, reviews do influence what I buy. But my own blog does most of all because I'll be thinking, hey, could I write a post about that? So yes, I would have to say so xD And Pinterest... definitely. Just. Yes xD
ReplyDeleteCheck out my review and giveaway: http://olivia-savannah.blogspot.nl/2014/08/legacy-glow-book-review-giveaway.html
I am always planing a blog post for whatever I put in my basket lol, it must be a bloggers thing haha!
DeleteSarah :)