Social media is still relatively young in comparison to other media but its relentless growth in pure numbers means that it now occupies a healthy spot in most communications plans. The numbers are only one part of the equation especially as the influence of social media on purchasing decisions by men and women becomes clearer.

A recent study by our international partners Ketchum and the Nielsen Company in the US brought this to start reality with a clear indication that Women turn to Social Media to share opinions, seek recommendations before product purchases.

The report called BlogHer-iVillage 2010 Social Media Matters Study gives some great insight into the frequency of use and influence of social media.

According to the study 73% of online women are now active social media users, engaging weekly or more often with top social media platforms.

One of the results that surprised me was that blogs are second only to Internet search as the preferred media source for product purchasing information for BlogHer Network users. This is especially interesting as many claim the death of blogs in favour of more nimble platforms such as twitter.

Some of the key finding were:

• Blogs dominate the attention of BlogHer Network users (96% read blogs weekly or more often)
• BlogHer users are significantly more active with all three top social media platforms vs the average woman online (Blogs, Facebook, Twitter)
• Message boards/forums are second only to conversations with friends and family as the preferred source of product purchasing information for iVillage community users
• Among the iVillage community, 73% say that they are sharing topics on message boards/forums that they would not share on social networks. Of those, Relationships (61%), Health (45%) and Work-related (39%) issues were the top topics they would not share on social networks
• Over one third (33.6%) of iVillage community members post on message boards/forums every day

The study shows that women rely heavily on both blogs and message boards when seeking advice and recommendations (Blogs: 21% of the total U.S. online population, 63% of the BlogHer Network; Message Boards/Forums: 38% of the total U.S. online population, and 92% of the iVillage community), particularly when looking for information to help guide purchases of new products (Blogs: 22% of the total U.S. online population, and 59% of the BlogHer Network).

The message for brand managers is clear, not only is social media becoming increasingly important in terms of eyeballs but that it has an important impact on how consumers make up their minds on a product.

The Executive Summary of the 2010 Social Media Matters Study can be found here: