Food blogging in Australia, the Future

By Thang Ngo

The following is an extract of the “mobile blogging” session I presented at last weekend’s annual food bloggers’ conference, Eat Drink Blog 2013.

In 2007, Nokia was the dominant maker with 40% share of the world’s  mobile phone market and 55% share of smartphone market.

The iPhone dominates the smartphone category, but that wasn’t always the case. The first generation iPhone launched in June 2007, just over six years ago. In 2007, Nokia was the dominant maker with 40% share of the world’s mobile phone market and 55% share of smartphone market.

How quickly things change.

The rise of food blogging in the past three years has been dramatic. Chatting with fellow delegates at Eat Drink Blog 2013, lots are telling me they are in much greater demand.

What’s behind the rise of the food bloggers?

In an opinion piece for ABC’s The Drum, Noodlies, Sydney food blog reckons it’s linked to the rise of the internet. Traditional media such as the Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Telegraph, The Age, Herald Sun etc never used put their food content online. As internet popularity soars, punters are using Google to research restaurants and it’s food blogs which come up on these online searches.

But that’s changing. In the past two years, traditional media, bleeding from double digit declines in circulation, are taking online more seriously. News Ltd  have since launched taste.com.au and Fairfax goodfood.com.au. Newer players have emerged as online food giants like Urbanspoon, Broadsheet, Timeout, Yelp and more.

chur burger

 

Recently, I “Googled” Chur Burger, the most blogged about restaurant in Sydney, and no food blogs appeared in the top 10 searches. This is despite just about every Sydney food blogger (noodlies included) have blogged about the popular burger joint.  The top results were: Chur Burger’s website, facebook page, Urbanspoon, Yelp, Broadsheet and Time Out reviews.

If you think so what? Check your traffic data. In noodlies’ case two thirds of my traffic comes from search, the vast majority from Google.

Mobile is the future

…two in five noodlies readers are consuming my content via a mobile device.

And how are noodlies readers consuming my blog? 40% of them are coming to noodlies by a mobile device, that’s a smartphone or tablet. Yes, two in five noodlies readers are consuming my content via a mobile device.

In the video below, noodlies asked industry experts to talk about the future of blogging and media consumption including Travis Johnson, MD of MNET, Australia’s largest mobile app developer, Sarina Ballauf, Associate Digital Director, UM, currently Australia’s most awarded media agency and Victor Corones, MD of Magna Global, a leading strategic media investment company. These experts are part of the Mediabrands group. I work for UM which is part of this group.

Take a few minutes to watch the interview – it’s real food for thought.

Yes, mobile, video and screens are the future. In fact, according to research conducted by Google, 88% of media interaction by Australians are via a screen-based device, with mobiles being the most popular.

What are the implications?

In the brave new digital world, things change quickly, Nokia was a dominant force over six years ago. Today, it’s struggling for relevance. Bloggers are popular, for now…

Here are some thought for bloggers:

  • Mobile friendly: is your blog mobile friendly?
  • Copy length: think short, sharp content that immediately grabs attention
  • Layout: think mobile screen when you think about ‘above the fold’ – how much of your blog can visitors see on the first screen? Is it interesting or compelling?
  • Video: does video compliment your content? Tip: if you have an instagram or Vine account, embed videos into your blog – that way you have video content without additional effort

Don’t be complacent

Stand still and you’re going backwards.

The world and consumers are moving at an incredible pace. And it will only get faster. Stand still and you’re going backwards. Here are some tips:

  • Think differently: to stand out
  • Keep updated: with media and consumer trends
  • Your smartphone is both a media creation and a media consumption device: use it to take photos or film videos. Don’t forget, more and more of your readers are coming from a mobile device
  • Live and immediate: consider innovative tools like Rebel Mouse, which will help you to pull together live tweets and instagram into a page on your blog. See noodlies Eat Drink Blog 2013 page.

What did you think?

  • Do you agree with this post?
  • Do you have any other suggestions and thoughts?
  • What do you think the future holds for bloggers and traditional media?

Share your thoughts with the community by leaving a comment below.

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Featured image courtesy of Kittikun Atsawintarangkul, FreeDigitalPhotos.net