Credibility Of Blogs Research Articles

Analysis of the Influence of Blog Content on Brand Awareness in the Digital Age: A Case Study 99.co Indonesia

In today's digital era, property search has changed to be easier and more efficient with the presence of the internet and online platforms. Property sites in Indonesia that are present in Indonesia have utilized e-marketing strategies to increase brand awareness. However, 99.co face challenges in building strong brand awareness. This study aims to investigate the effect of blog use on brand awareness 99.co Indonesia by examining credibility, believeable, unbiased, and trustworthy variables. This study used a quantitative approach with a sample of 400 respondents selected by accidental sampling. Data were collected through an online questionnaire and analyzed using linear regression. The results showed that the credibility, believeable, unbiased, and trustworthy variables of blogs significantly affected brand awareness. Trustworthy has the strongest influence followed by unbiased, credibility, and believeable. These findings provide insights for 99.co and similar platforms to continuously improve the quality of their blog content to strengthen brand awareness in a competitive market.

What Works in Blog Marketing? Firm Created, or User Generated In 2.0 Web: Evidence from a Developing Country

This study provides insight on how the firm-created communication and consumer-generated communication messages through blog does, influence the perception of consumers and is a source of lifelong learning. This research also assesses the difference in perception of male and female based on their interaction with blogs. This research also investigates whether there is a notable impact of age factor on the consumer perception and how does information available through blog influences their perception formation. An online survey of one hyndred eighty one respondents from Pakistan analyzed statistically. Results suggested that firm created communication material on the blog, user-generated blog communication material, blog credibility, and trending brands on blogs are some of the factors related to blog marketing that influences the consumer perception about the brands. No significant relationship found between blog rating and complete product information availability on consumer perception whereas Blog credibility and trending brands on blogs positively affects the consumer perception about brands.

Avoidance of sponsored posts on consumer-generated content: a study of personal blogs

PurposeThis study aims to conceptualise and empirically examine how blog users engage with the sponsored posts on consumer-generated content, specifically blogs.Design/methodology/approachThis paper empirically tested the proposed hypotheses using the structural equation modelling using a sample of 399 blog users.FindingsThe need for cognition, perceived interactivity and perceived credibility of blogs has been found to directly influence consumers’ attitude towards blogs. Innovativeness has been found to have a weak negative link with the attitude towards blogs. Blog users were more favourable towards the sponsored posts if the blogs were more interactive. Attitude towards blogs has been found to mediate the relationship between users’ perceived interactivity and their avoidance of the sponsored posts and also between perceived credibility and avoidance of the sponsored posts on blogs. The most significant finding of this study is that the positive attitude towards a blog results in a higher avoidance of the sponsored posts.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focuses on the sponsored posts on blogs. It does not look at other forms of advertising on blogs such as banner ads, or other forms of consumer-generated content.Practical implicationsMarketers and bloggers should carefully consider the suitability of the sponsored posts on blogs as they risk alienating the regular users of the blogs. Sponsored posts which are perceived as honest reviews (as opposed to paid advertorials) might be more acceptable to blog users.Social implicationsThis study highlights the importance of credibility of bloggers to blog users. There are some serious ethical issues related to the sponsored posts which have not been discussed here but need to be examined further.Originality/valueThis study represents one of the first attempts to conceptualise and empirically examine how blog users engage with customer-generated advertising – sponsored posts. It contributes to marketing literature by enhancing the understanding of how consumers perceive consumer-generated content and more specifically, with regard to consumer attitudes towards online consumer-generated advertising. This study enhances the theoretical and empirical knowledge on how consumers react to advertisements on social media, with important suggestions for future research and implications for practitioners.

Antecedents of consumer attitudes’ toward corporate blogs

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the antecedents of consumers’ attitude toward corporate blogs. The antecedents include credibility, involvement and attitude toward the corporation. Blog is one marketing communications tool that has seen considerable growth in the past few years. Understanding the antecedents of attitudes toward corporate blogs may benefit practitioners responsible for communications strategies.Design/methodology/approachA pilot study was conducted to address any issues with the survey or stimuli. The main study involved 219 participants that viewed a corporate blog in a lab and then completed a survey. The data were analyzed using moderated regression.FindingsThe results show blogging involvement, blog credibility and attitude toward the corporation are related to attitude toward the corporate blog. Corporate image consistency did not moderate the relationship between attitude toward the corporation are attitude toward the corporate blog.Research limitations/implicationsThis study used a convenience sample thus reducing the generalizability of the findings. The stimulus was limited to a well-known electronics firm. The findings may differ for other product categories and organizations.Practical implicationsMarketing communications strategies are becoming more dependent on social media to reach target audiences. When using social media, organizations should focus on building credibility of their blogs. Social media strategies should consider target markets that are more involved with the specific social media.Originality/valueThis study examines the importance of involvement, credibility and attitude toward the corporation in the context of corporate blogging.

Approaches Adopted By Users To Evaluate Blogs: Case Study of Banaras Hindu University

This paper examines the criteria and indicators that blog users consider important for evaluating the quality of blogs, and develops a user-centered framework for evaluating quality by conducting user surveys and post-survey email interviews. The personal characteristics that affect the users’ choices of criteria to evaluate the quality of blogs are examined as well. Keeping the objectives into consideration, to acquire users’ criteria for assessing the quality of blogs, the questionnaire was used as the instrument of the study. Descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, an independent t-test, and a one-way ANOVA were employed to analyze data from the user survey. From an extensive literature review on the quality of information resources a list of common quality indicators was compiled. The collected quality criteria and indicators were transformed into hypothesized frameworks not tailored to any specific domain or demography. In order to gain better insight on the evaluation of blog quality and to identify the criteria that people consider crucial when evaluating the quality of blogs, online and face-to-face survey to rate the importance of indicators on a five point scale ranging from 1 (not important to all) to 5 (extremely important) was used. The sample included Banaras Hindu University faculty and staff members. The study's findings include 1) the criteria that users consider important when evaluating the quality of blogs are content quality, usability, authority, and blog credibility; 2) the indicators that blog users consider most important for evaluating the quality of blogs are understandability, accuracy, believability, currency, ease of use, and navigation; and 3) gender, education level, age, profession, purpose of use, and specific interests affect the user's choices of criteria for evaluating the quality of blogs.

Sidedness, commercial intent and expertise in blog advertising

Currently, the internet is the main product information source for many consumer goods, mainly because of the irruption of consumer reviews based on blogging. Messages placed on them are usually perceived as a reliable and independent source of information, compared to traditional advertising. Also, blogs are websites that have a high personal nature perception. Using a 2×2×2 factorial design, this study seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of blogging commercial messages, measuring the influence of the message sidedness, communicator expertise and advertising intent and tests their influence over advertising effectiveness (measured as credibility and behavioral intention). Results show the relevance of using two-sided messages, expert sources and unbiased (non-sponsored) messages in terms of increase blog credibility and behavioral intention toward the reviewed product. Interactions of the variables are also examined.

Is Your New Product Really Boosting our Sales? An Econometric Model to Quantify the Cannibalization Effect

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More than popularity matters: How would voters like to get social networking with candidates?

An online survey was conducted to assess motivations for using, reliance on, and perceived credibility of political blogs and microblogs during both the Taiwanese general election of 2009 (the blog epoch) and the presidential elections of 2012 (the microblog epoch). Results indicated higher reliance on and motivation for using political blogs than microblogs. Blogs were also perceived to be more credible than microblogs. Respondents who primarily engaged in blogging for information purposes were more likely to judge candidate blogs as highly credible, whereas interest in entertainment emerged as the strongest predictor of the perceived credibility of microblogs. This research also provided quantitative evidence showing how users viewed blogs and microblogs differently in the context of political campaigns. The aim is to explore the pros and cons of blogging and microblogging as a tool for political communication.

Blog Credibility: Examining the Influence of Author Information and Blog Reach

Literature on blog credibility shows that blog readers find blogs more credible than the mainstream media, whereas it is just the opposite with the general audience. Using three experiments, the present study examines the influence of two factors: identity of the blogger (journalist blogger vs. nonjournalist blogger) and reach of the blog (low vs. high) on blog credibility. Findings show that in the case of the general audience, the journalist blogger was perceived as more credible. Of interest, results also show that reach of the blog-influenced blog credibility only in the case of the nonjournalist blogger. Implications are discussed.

Credibility in the blogosphere: A study of measurement and influence of wine blogs as an information source

AbstractUncovering what drives the consumer to action is of interest to academia and industry alike, and the advent of social media has added a confounding layer to the consumer decision process. In some ways, it has changed nothing, and in other ways, it has changed everything. Information is at the heart of decision making, and blogs offer a plethora. A positive evaluation of credibility (believability) will ultimately determine its usability for decision making. Using centered resonance analysis of wine blog writers and readers focus group data, this study attempts to address the full range of blog characteristics (subsequent scale items) that can be evaluated for credibility, anchoring them to the relevant research streams of media, website, and word of mouth. Structural equation modeling of viral blog and Twitter survey data is used to test the hypothesized scale with three dimensions—site, message, and source—for validity and also evaluate the credibility influence on behavioral intentions as mediated by trust. Evidence suggests that the author (source) is central to credibility evaluation. The data also support the influence of wine blog credibility perceptions on trust, which leads to following wine blog recommendations and continuing to participate with the wine blog. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Perceived credibility of blogs on the internet – the influence of age on the extent of criticism

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe a study that examined the perceived credibility of blogs on the internet and the medical information published in them as perceived by the readers of these blogs.Design/methodology/approach – A total of six blogs each with two posts were constructed, one on conventional treatment and the other on an alternative treatment of diabetes. In total, 361 participants viewed one blog each and filled in a questionnaire of the perceived credibility of the blog, the author of the blog and its message.Findings – The results of the study indicate an attitude of scepticism and/or criticism of many aspects of the information in the blogs, together with the growing use of blogs to find information on medical topics. It seems that users apply scepticism as a way to deal with the lack of certainty as to the credibility of the information in spite of their desire and readiness to use this information.Research limitations/implications – The users who took part in the experim...

Interacting is believing? Examining bottom-Up credibility of blogs among politically interested Internet users

This study examines how politically interested Internet users perceive blogs as a credible source of news and information. More specifically, this study aims to identify a new possible factor that has a moderating impact on blog credibility assessment in the collaborative nature of digital media circumstances. This study found that blog credibility was predicted by the interaction between blog reliance and online news activity, indicating that those who more actively interact with news and with other users judge blogs as more credible than those who do less so. Implications of the findings were discussed for future research.

Science blogs as competing channels for the dissemination of science news

Research has already highlighted the strained relationships between scientists and journalists. Scientists generally criticize journalists for being over-simplistic, while journalists criticize researchers for being non-communicative. However, with the advent of Web 2.0, some researchers became more communicative by creating their own blogs. This article explores the various channels used for the dissemination of science news and how journalists and scientists who blog see each other. First, the study interviews science journalists in Belgium and France, to examine the criteria that they use to evaluate the credibility of science blogs. Second, interviews conducted with science bloggers reveal the reasons that prompted them to create a blog, and, if applicable, why they have become disillusioned with science journalism. This article discusses the online relationships between science journalists and science bloggers. The findings of this study show that science journalists do not generally see science blogs as valuable sources of information. At the same time, it confirms that some scientists use their blogs to circumvent traditional media.

Understanding customer experiences in online blog environments

Blogs have recently become an influential medium and have demonstrated enormous marketing power. Consumers can freely conduct ongoing information searches through this new channel. However, the credibility of blogs plays an important role in creating opportunities for positive customer experiences that can shape consumers’ product/service purchase intentions and decisions. In light of this observation, this study proposes a theoretical framework that delineates the relationship among information credibility, customer experiences, and purchase intention in the blog environment. Data collected from 468 subjects in specific corporate blogs provide support for the proposed model using partial least squares (PLS). The results indicate that information credibility is critical for facilitating customer experiences, which, in turn, is necessary to enhance purchase intention. Additionally, greater involvement with blog significantly increases the effect of customer experiences on purchase intention. The detailed theoretical and managerial implications are presented.

Credibility in Context: How Uncivil Online Commentary Affects News Credibility

In the new media environment, hard news stories are no longer found solely in the “A” section of the paper or on the front page of a news Web site. They are now distributed widely, appearing in contexts as disparate as a partisan blog or your own e-mail inbox, forwarded by a friend. In this study, we investigate how the credibility of a news story is affected by the context in which it appears. Results of an experiment show a news story embedded in an uncivil partisan blog post appears more credible in contrast. Specifically, a blogger's incivility highlights the relative credibility of the newspaper article. We also find that incivility and partisan disagreement in an adjacent blog post produce stronger correlations between ratings of news and blog credibility. These findings suggest that news story credibility is affected by context and that these context effects can have surprising benefits for news organizations. Findings are consistent with predictions of social judgment theory.

Blogs of Information: How Gender Cues and Individual Motivations Influence Perceptions of Credibility

This study examines how gender cues influence perceptions of credibility of informational blogs. Using 2 experiments for data collection, this study manipulated the gender descriptors of a Weblog authors and had participants rate the overall perceived credibility of 1 of 3 blog posts. Male authors were deemed more credible than female authors, and main effects were found for information seekers, who found the blogs more credible than noninformation seekers. Implications are discussed.

Believe it or not: Credibility of blogs in tourism

This study examines the use of blogs as a means of tourism marketing communication. Using a scenario-based approach, an online experiment was conducted to test whether consumers perceive corporate and personal blogs to be credible sources of information and to compare the perceived credibility of blogs to that of traditional word-of-mouth. The findings suggest that while consumers do not generally equate the overall credibility of blogs with that of traditional word-of-mouth, some consumers do appear to attribute similar levels of authoritativeness, a dimension of credibility, to them.

CEO blogs: credibility issues

The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework and examine critical factors that are likely to influence credibility of a CEO's blog. These factors are categorised not only in terms of the degree to which they are controllable or uncontrollable but also whether or not the CEO may have realistically perceived control over them. The proposed framework for assessment of CEO blog credibility is discussed and practical guidelines provided for top managers on how to assess which factors are pertinent for their circumstances. In the conclusion of this paper, a step-by-step programme for assessing credibility of a CEO's blog is outlined.

In this issue

In this issue

How Much Do They Think It Affects Them and Whom Do They Believe?: Comparing the Third-Person Effect and Credibility of Blogs and Traditional Media

Using an experimental design, this study investigated third-person effect and media credibility as a result of media attribution. Specifically, we compared third-person effect across four media sources: personal blogs, media blogs, online news, and print newspaper. Overall, participants exhibited third-person effects equally across the mediums. Third-person effect regressed with credibility.