랭키닷컴의 블로그 연구분석에 따르면 블로그 참여자는 남녀 비율이 6;4 정도입니다.
그런데도 각 커뮤니티의 상위 블로거는 여성의 비율이 월등하게 높습니다.이러한 현상은 블로그가 이제까지 커버하지 못했던 공감.동감.이라는 정서공유를 나눌 수 있는 것은 여성의 장점이기도 합니다.이러한 장점은 블로거간의 관계를 증진시키는데 한 몫을 함으로써 관계자산이 극대화 되는 블로그에서 능력이 최대로 표현되게 됩니다.가정에서 구매결정권이 대부분 여자에게 있다는 점을 감안하면 블로그에서 여성인력을 통한 입소문 마케팅은 엄청난 파괴력을 가졌다고 할 수 있습니다.

입소문 마케팅으로 블로그의 장점

1.블로그는 끊임없는 상호교류로 이루어지는 조직임으로 시더(“공통적인 가치관이나 공감하는 사람에게 소문을 전파하는 사람. seeder 씨앗을 뿌리는 사람)와 글을 읽는 블로거간의 신뢰도가 높습니다.

2.한명의 블로거는 50-200 명의 방문객이 있거나 관계가 밀접한 소수의 구독자를 가지고 있어 전파력이 높습니다.

3.타겟마케팅이 가능합니다.관련있는 상품이나 서비스에 관심있는 블로거를 통할 수 있습니다.

4.소문을 트랙백으로 모아 부정적인 소문을 걸리고 양질의 긍정적인 소문으로 피드백 할 수 있습니다.위와같은 과정을 통하여 블로거에겐 트랙픽 증가를 가져오게 되어 상호유리한 WIN-WIN을 가져 올 수 있습니다.(모은 정보를 자사의 홈페이지에 올리면 네티즌과 블로거 모두에게 널리 알릴 수 있어 일석이조입니다.

5.블로거는 체험을 다양한 커뮤니케이션 수단으로 사실감 있게 표현할 수 있어 독자에게 강한 인상을 심어 줄 수 있습니다.

위와같은 장점으로 인하여 블로그에서 입소문 마케팅으로 팔 수 있는 상품은 다음과 같습니다. 1.감성이나 체험을 나눌 수 있는 상품이나 서비스 2.복잡하거나 선택이 어려운 귀중한 상품이나 전문적인 서비스 3.기호식품 4.혁신적이거나 최신상품 5.문화상품이나 콘텐츠 등에서는 입소문 마케팅과 함께 블로그 마케팅이 가능한 상품이라고 할 수 있습니다.

엠마뉴엘 로젠이 보는 구체적인 상품
1. Automotive
Expensive, exciting and visible products have a better chance of being talked about, so it comes as no surprise that people talk about new cars. But they also talk about where to buy them. Fifty seven percent of customers of one car dealership in California learned about the dealership by word of mouth. "This is not unusual," says Jim Callahan of the Dohring Company, which conducts surveys for hundreds of car dealerships around the country every year.



2. Consumer Electronics
People love to talk about new things, and the consumer electronics industry provides us with a constant flow of innovative products. The key word here is New. Today, digital cameras are a hot topic but one can expect fewer people to talk about them as the novelty of the product wears off and people begin to spread buzz about a new gadget.



3. High Tech
A lot of high-tech buzz in recent years has focused on the Web. For example, a 1999 survey sponsored by Priceline.com shows that on-line shoppers on average told 12 other people about their experience with on-line purchases. The extensive buzz about high tech products is also driven by their complexity which makes them difficult to evaluate. Talking with current users of a certain software package helps customers reduce the risk associated with the purchase.



4. Entertainment
The Blair Witch Project earned $50 million in its first week through on-line and off-line buzz. (The film's web site got 21 million hits before the movie opened.) Fifty three percent of movie-goers rely to some extent on a recommendation from someone they know, according to a study by Maritz Marketing Research. No matter how much money Hollywood pours into advertising, people frequently consult with each other about what movie to see.



5. Fashion
Social learning plays a major role in the way fashion spreads (I call this visual buzz). More than half of the respondents who were asked by market research firm Yankelovich to specify sources of information about new styles, said they learn about fashion by observing what others are wearing.



6. Health Care
Health is obviously a high-priority topic for most of us. By asking around, we reduce the risk of getting a second-rate doctor or getting stuck with a physician we don't like. Seventy percent of Americans rely on the advice of others when selecting a new doctor, according to Maritz Marketing Research.



7. Publishing
When personal experience is needed to asses a product or a service, buzz can be expected. This affects several sectors like the travel and entertainment industries. What's interesting about the book publishing industry is the role played by resellers in spreading the word about a new book.



8. Travel
Forty three percent of people surveyed by the Travel Industry Association cited friends and family as a source for information about places to visit or about flights, hotels or rental cars.



9. Toy and Games
Children tend to socialize more and be more influenced by their peers than their elders. As a result they seem to talk more about products. From Beanie Babies to Nintendo, word of mouth has always been the driving force behind successful toys and games.



10. Consumer packaged goods
Do people actually talk about things like soap, detergents or toothpaste? They do. Of course, the discussion about Colgate is not as intense as the discussion about Harry Potter, but there's definitely constant exchange of information about these products, especially when they are new.



저자 : 엠마뉴엘 로젠
1990년대 후반까지 나일스 소프트웨어에서 마케팅 담당 이사