This weekend, Wendy and I spent some intense days at the Type-A Mom Conference in Asheville, NC. We went not as bloggers, but as researchers, looking to learn and gather in-person insights from this group of individuals that is very often a very valuable information source for us. And gather we did.

Part of our intent was to begin the necessary digging to discover more about the relationships formed among women online, and more specifically, to understand the nature of influence across and within the hundreds of micro-communities that are emerging.

As social media researchers, this is what we believe: those with the loudest voices, in any community (whether we’re talking dieters, environmental activists or moms focusing on issues pertaining to babies) discussing your brand, are obviously worth tuning into because of their influence. I.e., if one of these prominent voices announces to the world that there’s lead in the paint used on your widget (regardless of if the statement is true or not) –  you’ve got more of an immediate problem than if a single blogger with three followers does the same. Clearly. However, there’s also enormous value in listening to the voices that may not seem as loud.

There are two particularly notable points we’ll make about this latter group. First, looking only at the number of followers a single blog has can be enormously deceiving in determining its value for businesses and brands. For instance, if the individual is expressing the same opinion given above pertaining to lead paint – and it’s the same worry being expressed by others within a defined time period, you could have a legitimate concern worth addressing. Viewed in context to how  a single voice reflects what others of a similar profile are saying; collectively, the single voices can be early indicators of trends and potential concerns among one’s core consumers. This information potentially  can help companies develop new products and services, or hone existing ones; squelch rumors before they balloon and lead to real problems; or better profile the various consumers they are, or should be, engaging with.

Second, as social media continues to evolve, we are witnessing the emergence of micro or niche communities, what some are referring to as tribes. For marketing purposes, understanding how these niche groups organize and inter-lock will become increasingly important. Thus, the individual blogger with a small, but active band of friends becomes more valuable to marketers.

This issue of micro or niche communities was a recurring one at the conference. And we expect this to continue to be the case beyond Type-A , for many, many months to come.

-Angela

** The trip to Asheville was insightful, thought-provoking, exhausting –  and fun! On the way back home, Wendy and I discovered the Pink Cadillac Diner. Just when our hunger was reaching dangerous levels (Could that really be King Kong a few feet from the hood of our car? Actually, it could… and was.), a round of hamburgers and coffee saved the day. Don’t judge. Who orders salad at a diner?

Wendy plus coffee.

Ditto Angela.