June 2009

Blogger Survey 2009

FINLAND

Survey Methodology

2

• Text 100 conducted the survey based predominantly on relationships with technology, news and lifestyle bloggers across 21 countries. This is the report for Finland;

• Text 100 was responsible for respondent identification and recruiting, while Aha! Research programmed and collected responses via an online survey, analyzed, and reported the results;

• A total of 24 surveys were analyzed.

• Note that for some questions the sample size is small and should be interpreted with care;

• All surveys were offered in English;

• Survey period: April 6 to May 11, 2009.

Bloggers’ interest in contact with PR people

3

Bloggers generally welcome contact from PR firms or a corporation

to provide information, comments, and suggestions. Bloggers in

APAC are slightly more welcoming than their counterparts in the

USA and Europe

(2008: 66%)

Q.1: Do you welcome any contact from Public Relations (PR) firms or any corporation to provide information, offer comment or suggest people

you might be interested in talking to? (n= APAC:233, EURO:189, USA:27)

93 %87 % 89 %

APAC EURO USA

Bloggers’ past contact with PR people

4

Bloggers report that contact initiated by a PR firm or corporation

varies from 70% in APAC to 100% in the USA

(2008: 66%)

Q.2a: Have you been contacted by any Public Relations (PR) firms or corporations in the past 6 months about areas you have been focused on

or are interested in? (n= APAC:233, EURO:189, USA:27)

70 %

86 %

100 %

APAC EURO USA

Bloggers’ interest and past contact with PR people (Finland)

5

All except two of the bloggers in this survey welcome contact from PR

firms or corporations to provide information, comments, and suggestions.

67% of respondents

have been contacted

in the past 6 months

Welcome any contactfrom PR firm?

Past 6 months contact?

Q.1: Do you welcome any contact from Public Relations (PR) firms or any corporation to provide information, offer comment or suggest people

you might be interested in talking to? (n=24)

Q.2a: Have you been contacted by any Public Relations (PR) firms or corporations in the past 6 months about areas you have been focused on

or are interested in? (n=24)

Yes92 %

No8 %

Yes67 %

No33 %

6

Q.2b: How frequently have you been contacted any Public Relations (PR) firms or corporations in the

past 6 months? (n= APAC:163, EURO:163, USA:27)

Frequency of contact

Almost all surveyed

bloggers (96%) in the USA

get contacted by PR firms

or corporations once a

week or more often. In

Europe (65%) and Asia

(36%) bloggers get

contacted once a week or

more often

Once a

week or

more often6%

19%

63%

4%

10%

11%

14%

23%

15%

12%

13%

7%

31%

18%

4%

13%

8%21%

7%

0 %

10 %

20 %

30 %

40 %

50 %

60 %

70 %

80 %

90 %

100 %

APAC EURO USA

Less than once every two months

Once every two months

Once a month

Once a week

More than once a week

Daily

More than once a day

6 %

38 %

38 %

19 %

0 %

10 %

20 %

30 %

40 %

50 %

60 %

70 %

80 %

90 %

100 %

More than once a day

Daily

More than once a week

Once a week

Once a month

Once every two months

Less than once every two months

7

Past 6 months contact?

Q.2b: How frequently have you been contacted by any Public Relations (PR) firms or corporations in

the past 6 months? (n=16)

Frequency of contact (Finland)19% (n=3) got

contacted more than

once a week

Yes67 %

No33 %

8

Q.3a: Please indicate to what extent you prefer each of the following means of contact from PR firms or corporations on a

scale of 1 to 7, where 1 is “Very low preference” and 7 is “Very high preference” (n= APAC:233, EURO:189, USA:27)

Q4: Do you indicate your most preferred form of contact on your blog? (n= APAC:233, EURO:189, USA:27)

7-point scale where 1=“Very Low preference” and 7=“Very high preference”

Preferred means of contact

52 %57 %

30 %

APAC EURO USA

About half of bloggers in APAC

and Europe indicate their

preferred means of contact on

their blog

Email is the most

preferred means of

contact with bloggers,

while SMS and IM are

least preferred. APAC

bloggers seem to be

more flexible in their

preferred means of

contact

3,4

3,8

3,9

4,1

4,1

4,3

4,5

5,7

1,7

2,4

2,8

3,3

3,8

4,1

4,1

6,0

1,6

1,9

3,0

3,0

3,0

3,0

3,6

6,3

0,0 1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 5,0 6,0 7,0

SMS

Instant Messaging (IM)

Telephone

Social networking invitation

Micro-blogging

Comment on blog

Face-to-face

Email

USA

EURO

APAC

Mean score

on 7-point

scale

9

Q.3a: Please indicate to what extent you prefer each of the following means of contact from PR firms or corporations on a

scale of 1 to 7, where 1 is “Very low preference” and 7 is “Very high preference” (n=24)

Q4: Do you indicate your most preferred form of contact on your blog? (n=24)

Email is by far the most preferred

means of contact among bloggers

7-point scale where 1=“Very Low preference” and 7=“Very high preference”

Preferred means of contact (Finland)

Any indication of

preferred means of

contact shown on

their blogs?

62% of bloggers indicate

their most preferred form

of contact on their blogs

Mean score

on 7-point

scale

1,9

2,5

3,3

3,5

3,6

4,6

4,9

6,0

0,0 1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 5,0 6,0 7,0

By SMS

By instant messaging

By telephone

By social networking invitation

By micro-blogging platform

By face-to-face meeting

Comment on your blog

By email

Contact required before information distribution?

10

Q.5: If a PR firm or corporation with whom you had no prior contact wants to send you their press releases or other information, do you prefer them to contact you

first to introduce themselves, or just send you their information without an introduction? (n= APAC:233, EURO:189, USA:27)

Q.6: How important you feel it is to have a face-to-face meeting before receiving information from a PR agency or corporation with whom you have not worked with

before? (n= APAC:233, EURO:189, USA:27)

In APAC, 88% prefer an introduction before

receiving information from a PR firm or

corporation with whom they have not had prior

contact, compared with only 41% in the USA

88 %

77 %

41 %

APAC EURO USA

4,1

3,02,8

APAC EURO USA

Introductory face-to-face meetings with new

contacts are more important in APAC than in

Europe or the USA

Contact required before information distribution? (Finland)

11

Q.5: If a PR firm or corporation with whom you had no prior contact wants to send you their press releases or other information, do you prefer them to contact you

first to introduce themselves, or just send you their information without an introduction? (n=24)

Q.6: How important you feel it is to have a face-to-face meeting before receiving information from a PR agency or corporation with whom you have not worked with

before? (n=24)

83% of bloggers prefer to be introduced before

receiving information from a PR firm or corporation

with whom they have not had prior contact How important is a face-to-

face introduction meeting?

Opinions among bloggers

are fairly neutral though some feel

strongly that it is not important to them

On a 7-point „importance scale‟, the

mean is 3.42 which indicates that the

average opinion is neutral

Prefers introductio

n83 %

Prefers no introductio

n17 %

Interest in selected types of content

12

Q.8a: Now let‟s talk about your preferred content for your blog. For each of the following types of content, please use this scale

where 1 means you are not interested at all and 7 means you are very interested in this content.

(n= APAC:233, EURO:189, USA:27)

7-point scale where 1=“Not interested at all” and 7=“Very interested”

3,5

4,4

4,6

4,7

4,4

4,8

5,2

5,0

5,5

5,3

3,1

3,9

4,3

4,2

4,8

4,7

5,0

5,4

5,2

5,6

3,5

3,8

4,3

4,3

5,2

4,7

5,6

5,0

5,0

6,0

0,0 1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 5,0 6,0 7,0

Corporate news announcements

Long-term and strategic related content about corporations

Event announcements

Competitive product analysis

Product announcements

Market trend and forecast/analysis

Interviews with key people

Products to review

Opinionated responses to your blog posts

Research, insights, new product development news

USA

EURO

APAC

Mean score

on 7-point

scaleThe most preferred content by

bloggers is news of new product

development and products for

review, as well as feedback from

readers and interviews with key

people.

Bloggers show the least interest

in corporate news

announcements

Interest in selected types of content (Finland)

13

Q.8a: Now let‟s talk about your preferred content for your blog. For each of the following types of content, please use this scale

where 1 means you are not interested at all and 7 means you are very interested in this content. (n=24)

7-point scale where 1=“Not interested at all” and 7=“Very interested”

Opinionated responses, products to review, and interviews, are the most sought

after content type while corporate news announcements is of least interest

Mean score

on 7-point

scale

3,4

4,0

4,1

4,3

4,4

4,7

5,1

5,5

5,6

5,6

0,0 1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 5,0 6,0 7,0

Corporate news announcements

Long-term and strategic related content about corporations

Event announcements

Competitive product analysis

Product announcements

Market trend and forecast/analysis

Research, insights, new product development news

Interviews with key people

Products to review

Opinionated responses to your blog posts

14

Q.9: How frequently have you used each of the following content formats on your blog over the past 6 months?

(n= APAC:233, EURO:189, USA:27)

Content format: Frequency of usage

15 %

16 %

34 %

41 %

88 %

13 %

26 %

43 %

44 %

88 %

15 %

15 %

37 %

37 %

74 %

Audio podcast

Video podcast

Video streaming

Charts and graphs

Photographs

USA

EURO

APAC

Photographs are the most

frequently used content forms

while podcasts are least

frequently used

% who used

“a few times a

month” or more

frequently

15

Q.9: How frequently have you used each of the following content formats on your blog over the past 6 months? (n=24)

Photographs are the most frequently used content type with 79% of bloggers using

them a few times a month or more. Video or audio podcasts are used less than a few

times in the past 6 months by most of these bloggers

Content format: Frequency of usage (Finland)

4 %

33 %

4 %

13 %

21 %

29 %

8 %

17 %

17 %

17 %

8 %

8 %

17 %

25 %

17 %

17 %

4 %

8 %

17 %

4 %

75 %

75 %

42 %

21 %

0 % 10 % 20 % 30 % 40 % 50 % 60 % 70 % 80 % 90 % 100 %

Audio podcast

Video podcast

Video streaming

Charts and graphs

Photographs

Daily Few times a week Few times a month Few times in past 6 months Less often Not at all

16

Social Media Releases

48 %

38 %

26 %

APAC EURO USA

Social Media Releases (SMRs) have

highest awareness amongst APAC

bloggers (48%)

4,8 5,05,3

APAC EURO USA

Among those aware of SMRs,

effectiveness evaluation is on the

positive side (7-point

“effectiveness scale where

7=Very effective)(note: small USA sample size)

Q.10a: Have you ever heard of a Social Media Release (definition provided in the questionnaire? (n= APAC:233, EURO:189, USA:27)

Q.10b: How effective do you think Social Media Releases are as a means to keep you updated on corporations? (7-point scale)

(n= APAC:112, EURO:72, USA:7)

17

Social Media Releases

Q.10c: Compared with a year ago, to what extent are companies using Social Media Releases to communicate with you and other bloggers?

(n= APAC:112, EURO:72, USA:7)

68 %

63 %

57 %

APAC EURO USA

Bloggers generally experienced an increase over the past year

in the usage of SMRs by companies to communicate with them

(note: small USA sample size)

18

Social Media Releases (Finland)

12% (n=3) of the surveyed

bloggers are aware of

Social Media Releases

SMR Effectiveness

Among those 3 bloggers who

have heard of SMRs, 1 feels

SMRs are a very effective means

of keeping them updated on

corporations(note: small sample size)

Compared with a year ago, 2 of

the 3 bloggers experienced an

increase of SMR usage by

companies wanting to

communicate with them(note: small sample size)

Q.10a: Have you ever heard of a Social Media Release (definition provided in the questionnaire? (n=24)

Q.10b: How effective do you think Social Media Releases are as a means to keep you updated on corporations? (7-point scale) (n=3)

Q.10c: Compared with a year ago, to what extent are companies using Social Media Releases to communicate with you and other bloggers? (n=3)

Yes12 %

No88 %

33 % 33 % 33 %

0 % 0 %0 %

5 %

10 %

15 %

20 %

25 %

30 %

35 %

Increased significantly

Increased somewhat

Remained unchanged

Decreased somewhat

Decreased significantly

19

Q.10d: In the past year, how often have you taken elements (video, quotes, pictures, links) from a Social Media Releases to use in your own blog postings?

Q.10e: In the next year, how often are you likely to use elements from a Social Media Release for use in your own blog postings?

(n= APAC:112, EURO:72, USA:7)

Use of SMR elements

Past year usage

(often / very often)

Next year intent to use

(somewhat / significantly more often)

26 %

15 %

0 %

APAC EURO USA

64 %61 %

43 %

APAC EURO USA

Usage of elements from SMRs in the

past year is highest in APAC

(note: small USA sample size)

Intention to use elements from

SMRs in the next year is high in

both APAC and Europe

(note: small USA sample size)

20

None of these 3 bloggers frequently took

elements such as videos, quotes, pictures and

links from SMRs to use in their own blogs.(note: small sample size)

Two of the 3 bloggers said they will use

SMR elements more often in the

coming year, while 1 said less often(note: small sample size)

Q.10d: In the past year, how often have you taken elements (video, quotes, pictures, links) from a Social Media Releases to use in your own blog postings? (n=3)

Q.10e: In the next year, how often are you likely to use elements from a Social Media Release for use in your own blog postings? (n=3)

Use of SMR elements (Finland)

Past year

usage

Next year intent

to use

0 % 0 %

33 % 33 % 33 %

0 %

5 %

10 %

15 %

20 %

25 %

30 %

35 %

Always Very often Sometimes Rarely Never

0 %

67 %

0 %

33 %

0 %0 %

10 %

20 %

30 %

40 %

50 %

60 %

70 %

Significantly more often

Somewhat more often

Same as in the past year

Somewhat less often

Significantly less often

Popular blogging subjects

21

Q.11: Which of the following subjects do you normally blog about? (Select all that apply)

(n= APAC:233, EURO:189, USA:27)

“Computers”, “technology” and “Internet” are the most

blogged about subjects

APAC

15 %

16 %

20 %

27 %

27 %

31 %

41 %

42 %

45 %

52 %

61 %

67 %

Science

Gaming

Government & Politics

Business and finance

General News

Current affairs

Media

Brands / marketing/ media

Entertainment / Arts/ Music

Culture and Community

Internet / Web 2.0

Computers and technology

17 %

17 %

18 %

23 %

27 %

28 %

31 %

43 %

45 %

50 %

74 %

83 %

Current affairs

General News

Government & Politics

Science

Entertainment / Arts/ Music

Gaming

Business and finance

Culture and Community

Brands / marketing/ media

Media

Computers and technology

Internet / Web 2.0

4 %

4 %

7 %

11 %

11 %

15 %

22 %

26 %

26 %

52 %

67 %

78 %

General News

Science

Government & Politics

Current affairs

Entertainment / Arts/ Music

Culture and Community

Brands / marketing/ media

Gaming

Media

Business and finance

Internet / Web 2.0

Computers and technology

EUROPE USA

Popular blogging subjects (Finland)

22

Q.11: Which of the following subjects do you normally blog about? (Select all that apply) (n=24)

The Internet is the most blogged about subject among these bloggers

% who normally blogs

about each subject

8 %

8 %

8 %

17 %

21 %

29 %

33 %

42 %

42 %

42 %

50 %

79 %

0 % 10 % 20 % 30 % 40 % 50 % 60 % 70 % 80 % 90 %

Current affairs

General News

Government & Politics

Science

Gaming

Entertainment / Arts/ Music

Business and finance

Brands / marketing/ media

Computers and technology

Culture and Community

Media

Internet / Web 2.0

Importance of various information sources about corporations

23

Q.12: Please indicate how important each of the following sources are for information about corporations? Please use this scale

where 1 is “not important at all” and 7 is “very Important”. You may use any number from 1 to 7

(n= APAC:233, EURO:189, USA:27)

7-point scale where 1=“Not important at all” and 7=Very important”

“Other bloggers”, “Corporate websites”, and “RSS feeds” are the surveyed bloggers‟

most important sources of corporate information.

Traditional media is of less importance

APAC EUROPE USA

4,0

4,1

4,4

4,6

4,7

4,8

4,8

4,9

4,9

5,4

Television

Social bookmarking sites

Magazines

Newspapers

Micro-blogging sites

Corporate bloggers

Social networks

Corporation websites

RSS Feeds

Other bloggers

3,0

3,9

3,9

4,3

4,4

4,6

4,8

4,9

5,3

5,8

Television

Social bookmarking sites

Magazines

Newspapers

Social networks

Micro-blogging sites

Corporate bloggers

Corporation websites

RSS Feeds

Other bloggers

2,8

3,1

3,4

3,6

4,0

4,7

4,7

4,9

5,2

5,4

Social bookmarking sites

Television

Micro-blogging sites

Social networks

Corporate bloggers

Magazines

Newspapers

RSS Feeds

Other bloggers

Corporation websites

Importance of various information sources about corporations (Finland)

24

Q.12: Please indicate how important each of the following sources are for information about corporations? Please use this scale

where 1 is “not important at all” and 7 is “very Important”. You may use any number from 1 to 7 (n=24)

7-point scale where 1=“Not important at all” and 7=Very important”

“Other bloggers” is the most important source of information

about corporations. Traditional media is of less importance.

Mean scores

on 7-point

scale

2,8

3,8

3,9

4,1

4,3

4,6

4,9

5,0

5,3

6,0

0,0 1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 5,0 6,0 7,0

Television

Magazines

Social bookmarking sites

Newspapers

Micro-blogging sites

RSS Feeds

Social networks

Corporate bloggers

Corporation websites

Other bloggers

25

Time spent blogging

APAC bloggers spend the least amount of time

blogging while USA bloggers spend the most

Q.13: How much of your working week is spent blogging?

(n= APAC:233, EURO:189, USA:27)

18%

18%

40%

24%

31 %

13 %35 %

21 %

More than 16 hours 9 to 16 hours 4 to 8 hours Less than 4 hours

41 %

22 %

30 %

7 %9+ hrs /

week:

36%

9+ hrs /

week:

44%

9+ hrs /

week:

63%

APAC EURO USA

26

Time spent blogging (Finland)

33% of the bloggers spend more than 9 hours of

their working week blogging

Q.13: How much of your working week is spent blogging? (n=24)

Finland

More than 16 hours21 %

9 to 16 hours13 %

4 to 8 hours29 %

Less than 4 hours38 %

9+ hrs /

week:

33%

27

Micro-blogging

Q.14a: Micro-blogging sites such as twitter, Plurk and Fanfou are increasingly popular alternatives to blogging (and social

networking). Do you use a micro-blogging site? (n= APAC:233, EURO:189, USA:27)

Q.14b: IF YES: Since starting to use a micro-blogging site, has your blogging… (n= APAC:177, EURO:153, USA:22)

76 %81 % 81 %

APAC EURO USA

81% of bloggers in the USA and

Europe use micro-blogging, compared

with 76% in APAC

The impact of micro-blogging on

normal blogging is the highest in

APAC (29%) and Europe (27%) where

bloggers reported to be blogging more

as a result of their micro-blogging

29 %

27 %

18 %

APAC EURO USA

n=18

28

Micro-blogging (Finland)

75% of bloggers use a micro-

blogging service such as twitter 23% 39%

About 1 in 4 (23%) of these bloggers think that

micro-blogging has increased their normal blogging

Q.14a: Micro-blogging sites such as twitter and are increasingly popular alternatives to blogging (and social networking).

Do you use a micro-blogging site? (n=24)

Q.14b: IF YES: Since starting to use a micro-blogging site, has your blogging… (n=18)

Yes75 %

No25 %

17 %

6 %

39 %

33 %

6 %

0 %

5 %

10 %

15 %

20 %

25 %

30 %

35 %

40 %

45 %

Significantly increased

Somewhat increased

Neither increased nor

decreased

Somewhat decreased

Significantly decreased

29

Honoring an embargo

All bloggers (100%) in the USA would honor the

terms of an embargo placed on a story idea or

announcement, compared to only 90% in Europe

Q.15: If offered a story idea or announcement under embargo (that is, the material is sent to you in advance of when the organization

wants it in the public arena, and advise a time and date after which it can be used), would you honor the terms of the embargo?

(n= APAC:233, EURO:189, USA:27)

97 %

90 %

100 %

APAC EURO USA

30

Honoring an embargo (Finland)

All except 2 of these bloggers would honor

the terms of an embargo placed on a story

idea or announcement

Q.15: If offered a story idea or announcement under embargo (that is, the material is sent to you in advance of when the organization

wants it in the public arena, and advise a time and date after which it can be used), would you honor the terms of the embargo?

(n=24)

Yes92 %

No8 %

31

Acknowledging sponsorships

Q.16: There has been some discussion in the blogosphere regarding bloggers making positive posts in return for some sort of

compensation. Some say that ethically, bloggers should acknowledge that their blog or post is „supported‟, while others disagree.

Do you agree, or disagree, that bloggers should acknowledge corporate sponsorship for: (n= APAC:233, EURO:189, USA:27)

Bloggers in the USA are more likely to agree that they should acknowledge that their blog or post

is „supported‟ when making positive posts in return for some sort of compensation

71 %74 %

85 %

64 %

81 %

89 %

68 %

80 %85 %

58 %

80 %

89 %

0,0%

10,0%

20,0%

30,0%

40,0%

50,0%

60,0%

70,0%

80,0%

90,0%

100,0%

APAC EURO USA

Product reviews Advertorials Posts that support a blogs advertisers Incentives or gifting to report

32

Acknowledging sponsorships (Finland)

Q.16: There has been some discussion in the blogosphere regarding bloggers making positive posts in return for some sort of

compensation. Some say that ethically, bloggers should acknowledge that their blog or post is „supported‟, while others disagree.

Do you agree, or disagree, that bloggers should acknowledge corporate sponsorship for: (n=24)

These bloggers generally agree that they should acknowledge that their blog or post is

„supported‟ when making positive posts in return for some sort of compensation

50 %

54 %

46 %

50 %

21 %

21 %

33 %

29 %

25 %

4 %

13 %

13 %

4 %

8 %

8 %

4 %

13 %

4 %

0 % 10 % 20 % 30 % 40 % 50 % 60 % 70 % 80 % 90 % 100 %

Advertorials

Product reviews

Posts that support a blogs advertisers

Incentives or gifting to report

Strongly agree Somewhat agree Neither disagree nor agree Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree

33

Indication of association with blogged about entity

Agreement is highest in the USA that bloggers should

always clearly state their employer or association if

blogging on issues or topics that relate to their businesses

Q.17: there has been some discussion in the blogosphere regarding corporate bloggers that don‟t clearly indicate their association

with an enterprise or organization. To what extent do you agree, or disagree, that “bloggers should always clearly state their employer

or association if blogging on issues or topics that relate to their businesses?” (n=449)

75 %

87 %

96 %

APAC EURO USA

34

Indication of association with blogged about entity (Finland)

Most (84%) agree that bloggers should always clearly state

their employer or association if blogging on issues or topics

that relate to their businesses

Q.17: there has been some discussion in the blogosphere regarding corporate bloggers that don‟t clearly indicate their association

with an enterprise or organization. To what extent do you agree, or disagree, that “bloggers should always clearly state their employer

or association if blogging on issues or topics that relate to their businesses?” (n=24)

63 %

21 %

13 %

0 %4 %

0 %

10 %

20 %

30 %

40 %

50 %

60 %

70 %

Strongly agree Somewhat agree

Neither disagree nor

agree

Somewhat disagree

Strongly disagree

84%

Lisätietoja:Kimmo KuokkaText 100 Conexiokimmo.kuokka@conexio.figsm +35840 574 1532

Blogger Survey 2009

FINLAND

June 2009