MarketingVox shares the results of a new study conducted by KnowledgeStorm and Universal McCann that focuses on the role of blog content in influencing purchasing decisions of IT professionals. While it should come as no surprise that IT professionals are turning to blogs on a more regular basis to help them keep up with the latest news and trends, the extent to which they place trust in the content of those blogs tells a lot about the direction that blogging is headed.

While 8 in 10 IT professionals read blogs, only half are reading them at least once a week. What that in mind, more than half (53%) claim that what they read in blogs has an impact on work-related buying decisions. That's a pretty hefty number, showing that blog writers are not only being recognized as a source of information, but also as a trusted source of advice.

The news is good on the viral front as well. The study says that 70% of IT professionals will go to the effort of passing blog content along to colleagues at least once a month.

Just goes to show that even if you aren't taking the time to be a blogger yourself, you need to consider how you can approach blogs to gain coverage of your products and services.