Those of us within the blogging community are aware of just how varied and vibrant the community is, both in our blogging topics and our interests. Now, with the first BritMums blogging survey, we know more than ever what interests parent bloggers as well as who they are. It’s a picture that shows mum bloggers at the forefront of the social media revolution, with an eye toward the future. (Click through for some groovy charts.)
Listen to some quarters of the mainstream media and you could develop a picture of mum bloggers as stay-at-home saddos without real-world friends, neglecting their families in favour of writing self-obsessed online journal entries and tweeting with anonymous “friends”.
We don’t have to tell you this, but you can’t believe everything you read. At the end of 2010, we surveyed 317 BritMums members and developed a clearer picture of this fast-growing, dynamic blogging community which not only puts paid to some of the stereotypes but reveals why mum
blogging is one of the most defined and inflential blogging tribes in the UK.
The survey reveals:
* Contrary to the image of all mum bloggers as not engaged in the world of work, 84% of respondents had a career before they started blogging and 68% still have a job or run their own business.
* Social networking is a cornerstone of their blogging life. They mostly define blogging as a hobby (82%) but it entails spending more than 7 hours a week on social media. (96% use Facebook and 81% use Twitter.) Compare that with the 2 to 3 hours they spend on traditional media each week, including newspapers, magazines, radio and TV.
* BritMums bloggers mostly identify as being middle class (67%) and the majority are aged 30-39 years (55%) or 40-49 (30%).
* Far from being an “old trend”, mum blogging continues to gain steam - something we see in the number of new members joining BritMums every week. Thirteen percent have been blogging for fewer than three months, 26% have been blogging for up to a year, and 34% have been blogging for 1 to 2 years. More than a quarter, or 27%, have been blogging for three years or more.
What we blog about
Unsurprisingly, parenting and children rank highest on topics to blog about. But lifestyle (71%), food (46%) and travel (32%) are hot topics as well.
Mum bloggers are also looking to the future by interacting with brands - one of the ways that blogging is becoming sustainable.
More than half of respondents do reviews and 31% more want to. Most bloggers are open to working with brands, if the situation is right: 55% are interested in advertiser and sponsor relationships and 35% would consider it.
Overall, the survey revealed the BritMums community to highly connected, mature, and commercially aware bloggers with a range of interests that expand beyond the “mummy” realm.
They are not just mums, they are not “merely” mum bloggers. They are a force to be reckoned with.
DETAILED RESULTS
1. You are
2. How old are you?
3. In which region do you reside?
4. Did you have a career before you started blogging?
5. Do you currently have a job or run your own business?
6. Are you a single parent?
7. What social class do you most closely identify with?
8. How long have you been blogging?
9. Why did you start blogging? Tick all that apply
10. What do you write about? Tick all that apply
11. Do you blog anonymously or under a pseudonym?
12. Do you publish photos of your children?
13. How do you view blogging?
14. What social media do you use?
16. How much time do you spend on social media per week?
17. Has this increased or decreased from last year?
18. How much time do you spend on traditional media each week? (eg, newspapers, magazines, radio, TV
19. Do you do reviews on your blog? Would you like to?
20. Are you interested in carrying advertising on your blog or working with sponsors?
