The latest blogging statistics are out, and one DIY retailer is aware of them. A recent study shows how powerful a business blog can be:
- 80% of blog visits are new (awareness)
- 53% more traffic (awareness)
- Posting every day generates 4x more leads (consideration)
Nearly seven million people are blogging now; 12 million through social networks. And interestingly, most bloggers are women. Keen to these trends, Michaels, North America’s largest arts and crafts specialty retailer, recently expanded its Michaels Makers blogger program.The maker movement, which is about combining creation with inspiration, began in the early 2000s and has spread globally.
The Michaels Maker program features bloggers who participate in monthly craft challenges and share inspiration and simple project ideas that anyone can make. They even launched a program hashtag (although I would have used a lowercase “w”): #MadeWithMichaels
Coinciding with this, the company kicked off at the first-of-its kind Michaels Makers Summit that brought together 50 top DIY and lifestyle bloggers. Held at a Northern California mountaintop retreat in late July, served as a community-building event for the Michaels Makers to focus on getting back to the basics of celebrating creativity.
“Our Michaels Makers Summit was the largest-ever craft retailer event of its kind. We brought the top DIY digital influencers together in an incredibly inspiring natural setting to further energize their creativity,” said Michaels Executive Vice President – Marketing, Steve Carlotti. “In our increasingly digital world, bringing these makers together face to face was powerful – we came here as individuals, but we left as a creative community.” The DIY craft giant is embracing online education, as well.
Four classes from the Michaels Makers Summit are available to users. The online classes are taught by leading experts and presented by Michaels’ education partner Creativebug.
So get crafting and start sharing, and you, too, can reveal your projects on Michaels’ social channels.