Nearly half of all US bloggers have written about a health-related topic at least once, and three in five of those write primarily on the subject, according to new research by Envision Solutions, a healthcare marketing communications consultant. According to my math, that’s almost one in three bloggers that claim health topics as a niche for their blog.
A few interesting statistics to come out of the report:
- Numbers: Over 13 million Americans wrote at least one health-related post in the seven months between February and August 2008.
- Diversity: Nearly three in five health bloggers are female, and nearly two in five are either African-American or Hispanic.
- Age: Half of all health bloggers are aged between 18 and 34.
- Motivation: A third of those surveyed said that they blogged to educate others, while one in five did so primarily to market themselves or their services. 10% were trying to advance a cause, and 7% were using the blog as some kind of self-help for their medical condition.
There seemed to be an increase in the commercialization of blogs, with 46% of healthcare marketing professionals claiming to have been contacted by the PR company for a product or service, up from 29% in 2006, while over a third said they had placed ads on their site, up from just over a quarter two years ago.
When it comes to the credibility of bloggers, which is arguably more important in a field such as health than some other niches, four out of five bloggers said that a person’s background was more important than what advertising they had on their site. Three-quarters said that they believed other bloggers disclosed any conflicts of interest.
Do you blog on a health-related subject? Are you a health professional or is it more of a hobby, or a subject you have some personal involvement with? How much trust would you put in those blogging about health, and how do you assess their credibility? Does it differ from someone blogging about technology, or cooking, or knitting, or… Share you thoughts below.
