First up - are you talking internal or external? Let's assume you mean external, for this answer.

I don't think external blogs are necessary, but they can be very important and useful. Especially if your target market contains a lot of blog-friendly individuals. Blogs allow you to build a two-way relationship with your customer in a relatively low effort way for you and your customer). They also allow you to communicate with customers in a way that puts them back in control (unlike junk email for instance)).

Examples/applications/reasons to invest time in a blog could include:

Building a relationship/affiliation with customers. Focus your blog on their needs, and feed them information that they find useful - so they have a reason to visit your site/remember your name. E.g. a domestic appliance manufacturer that offered a podcast series with advice for new mums.

Gathering information for your next product/service: used a lot in companies that supply software but why should they be the only beneficiaries? Pose questions or scenarios, ask for input from the people who actually use your stuff, talk back, implement at least some of the suggestions. This will make them happy! At least, it makes me happy when companies interact with me like this.

Keep your customers informed. If your product/service changes or evolves alot, try a blog alongside your current email/newsletter notification. Depending on your target audience, you may find many customers prefer subscribing to a blog than getting emails. You might find you get more takeup of whatever you are offering...this is a personal and non-scientific view, but when I get email from a supplier it tends to go in the file and forget folder. It's interrupting other more important stuff. When I turn to a blog, I am in a receptive mood. I have already stopped what I am doing. I am offering you my attention...all you have to do is grab it!

Some small business blogs I subscribe to (as a customer) include:
http://www.37signals.com/svn/
http://www.mindmeister.com/home/news
http://www.pokelondon.com/

Ok, these are all a bit 'new meedja' (that's down to my job I'm afraid) - but they give you examples of the kind of things people use blogs for.

posted March 20, 2007

If anyone knows why blogs are important and why Search Enginge Optmization is important, it's Raphi Salem.

posted March 20, 2007

based off of my blogging for the last 10 months (believe me, I didn't want to do it!):

Are the necessary? I'd say it depends on your customer. I have a website service and communicate with my customers via the blog. I also market through blog techniques (read: not necessarily on my own blog). There is NO WAY I would be were I am today without my blog. Other sites use their blog very effectively to get that "community" that every MBA student is told to develop.

Top 3 reasons for me blogging:
1. networking with others in and out of the space I'm in
2. marketing (as mentioned above)
3. develop credibility as a thought-leader

Tools?

I don't know - I guage my daily signups and if they start to slip I got on a blog marketing campaign. I'm sure the sophisticated folks out there would have better info on this.

Links:

• http://www.JibberJobber.com/blog
• http://www.JibberJobber.com

posted March 20, 2007

It is a combination of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and branding. If you put meaningful content in your blog, and lightly market it, people will link to it. It will also show up in various blog searches and RSS feeds if you enable them.

It is also an informal way of letting your customers (including potential customers) know what's going on and at the same time an oppertunity to position yourself as an expert in the field to them.

posted March 20, 2007

Emily's answer is to the point on the first two questions. As far as your question about the metrics to measure the ROI of blogs goes, I would make the following comment:

Blogging, unlike telemarketing or direct marketing, is still in early stages of adoption within the business environment as a tool for marketing. As such, the metrics and tools for blogging are still being developed. However, some of the metrics you can look at are:
- subscribers
- trackbacks
- comments
Each of these tell a different story. Subscribers are truly interested in what you have to say. Trackbacks shows that your posting is being used to either make a point or influence others. Finally, comments are from visitors to your site and as Emily pointed out, allows your visitors to interact with you. Each of these metrics by themselves probably will mean less. But, together, over time, will give you a good idea of how your blog is influencing others. I would take this a step further and ask my sales and customer service teams to talk up the blog and also track any referrals that might come via the blog.

Regards,
Dilip

posted March 20, 2007

I think blogging is a good way to develop a closer relationship with your customers. I never have liked the term "blog" but whether you call it a "blog" or weekly/daily news updates it serves the purpose of providing an appearance of activity and if done right, competence.

Many small to mid size businesses have websites that appear to be there just to act as a portal to a telephone number or an email web form to request more information. That is unfortunate because your website is a great opportunity to generate interest and build up your company relatively inexpensively. Today a small company can be indistinguishable from a large one where the web is concerned.

I am absolutely turned off when I go to a company website to find more information and I have to jump through hoops or wait till someone gets back to me. If you can't present yourself or your products well through your company website then why should I expect more in person? I suppose that is the key advantage to blogging. You have the ability to project a persona. Your only concern should be that you not drive customers away in the process.

That said, the metrics you would use to determine ROI for a blog would be the same that you use to tell if your your web presence is effective. Measure the hits and conduct surveys of your existing customers and potential customers.

posted March 20, 2007

Hey Andrew
As far as blogs, it does depend on who your audience is. Right now, user generated is a huge buzz word-what does it really mean for a business? What it means is that you can talk directly to your customer, which allows you to become more likeable and trustworth, and people do business with people they know and trust.
A good example is Mr. Marriot. He is blogging now-his first blog in Jan of 2007-he had 136 comments. Now, not only can he see what others want-and who doesn't want to suggest an idea or opinion directly to the CEO, but there were several conversations started amongst his viewers, so now he can also step back and see what they are talking about with EACH OTHER.
Maybe I am rambling, but I think a blog gives your audience an opportunity to get to know you better, as well as being able to learn from them too.
And I agree with Emily and Dilip as far as the ROI with tracking the traffic to/from your blog.

posted March 20, 2007

1. Search engine optimisation.
2. Search engine optimisation.
3. Search engine optimisation.

Links:

• http://locris.com

posted March 20, 2007

I agree with Stuart's answer. Search Engine Optimization!!! I would also suggest you build a MySpace and BuzzNet page for your company. This sounds crazy, but I've done it and the traffic really increased due to the reach of these huge websites. As for the Blog, if you use a free tool, like WordPress, for instance, you can post on your Myspace or Buzznet page and then automatically post it to your blog. No retyping or copy and past required. Also, I would highly suggest a WordPress blog, which is free, because you can easily customize it to your look and feel of your website with no coding knowledge required, they have a great interface for that.

Google is now indexing blogs and a good content rich blog will will surely boost your traffic 50% or more. Be sure to keep it free from sales hype and just stick to industry topics in general. You want as many people to "subscribe" to your blog as possible as this is a good way to push very subtle sales pitches out to a willing audience.

In the days of spam filters and content filters, I find email marketing is not as effective as it once was. A good blog however, will generate highly qualified leads and, as Stuart pointed out, increase your rankings in major search engines.

Here is a great example of a B2B blog from an enterprise software company (that provides email software!!) http://emailmarketing.silverpop.com/

Links:

• http://emailmarketing.silverpop.com/

posted March 20, 2007

I don't think the size of your company is the issue as much as what audience your company is trying to reach and with what message (basic marketing premise). If your market and influencers are people that don't use computers, a blog may not be your best investment. That being said, I'd be willing to bet that some of the people you need to reach (even if it's not customers, but other stakeholders and influencers) would be more reachable using blogs than other media. And if not now, soon.

One of the most unique aspects of blogs is that it humanizes a company's market face because blogs are (best) not written by anonymous marketers or spinsters, but by people with faces, personalities and opinions. Of course this can cut both ways, but most "corporate" bloggers are skilled netiquette practitioners and do a fine job moderating their communciations. The bottom line of this dynamic is that, in addition to being a new medium to get the messages out, the messages go out from your company with a different, more sincere, quality. We all know how important it is for a company to earn the trust of it's customers and stakeholders, and blogs can be a great way to facilitate that trust.

That's all the rationale for outbound blogging. Rationale for simply engaging in blogging (i.e., top three reasons for business person to spend time blogging), can also include professional development. There was a time where execs went to the Chamber of Commerce meeting and line workers hung out at the bar over a beer to catch up with the 'best practices' in their respective trades. In today's busy and geographically dispersed world, there's a little less of that kind of professional kitbbutzing going on. Blogging is a great way for a professional to stay plugged into the people and ideas that will help keep him/her sharp in their profession. And compared to running all over town in meetings, it's relatively easy once you've integrated your 'blog time' into your day (kindof like you do with email).

Bottom line for me:

1. Communicate with your market (customers and stakeholders) with a new 'voice', sincerity and quality of message.
2. Reach an audience which is moving to the 'blog' channel rapidly (esp. younger people).
3. Stay sharp as a professional (in terms of what you know, who you know and who knows you).

Also, regarding ROI. You'd have to pay for the study, but Forrester just did some research that might be useful. Also, I ran across this Enterprise 2.0 list of research sites recently that might be useful.

Forrester Rsch: http://blogs.forrester.com/charleneli/2007/01/new_roi_of_blog.html
Enterprise 2.0 studies: http://fastforwardblog.com/2007/03/14/more-enterprise-20-studies/

Good Luck!

posted March 20, 2007

For me the benefits of corporate blog are:

- Establish an ongoing two way dialogue with your customers
- Be considered a thought leader in your industry
- SEO.

For a detailed understanding of the benefits of corporate blogs, I suggest you talk to John Cass, Author of the book, "Strategies and Tools for Corporate Blogging." due out next month.

Warren S also suggests this expert on this topic:

• John C

posted March 20, 2007

The value of a weblog comes down to several highly situation-dependent factors: what you have to say; how valuable that is to your potential customers and business partners; to what degree that target audience is online, and how likely they are to find your site in the first place; and how authoritative and personable a face you can put on your business when you write.

A well-written, knowledgeable weblog can provide a crucial advantage to a business trying to distinguish itself in a competitive online marketplace. But a weblog can also be a waste of money for a business with few online customers, or in a line of business where there isn't much relevant expertise to share.

Whether it makes sense to spend your time blogging is also completely situation-dependent: It comes down to whether you have something valuable to say on an ongoing basis, and whether you will reach more people that way, more efficiently, than through other means.

You can measure ROI at least partially by traffic to the weblog and, depending on the business, conversion rate. A smart web application will be able to track how many weblog visitors view additional pages on your website or perform other actions there (e.g., use your contact form, or make an online purchase).

posted March 20, 2007

Apart from SEO I feel there are six big reasons for a business person to spend time on blogging.

1) Extremely cheap exposure for you company
2) An increase in industry knowledge
3) A proactive form of reputation management
4) Network with peers in your industry
5) Improving you brand
6) Proactively answering customer queries/concerns

Online marketing is the easiest advertising medium to measure ROI.

Define you action (number of users, number of e-mails through the website etc.) any of these actions can be tracked and reported with a decent web analytic package.

Some good blog links
Blog - http://www.andyredfern.co.uk/
RSS - http://feeds.feedburner.com/AndyRedfern-NewMediaSpecialist

posted March 21, 2007

1. Hyperlinks
2. Building personal brand
3. Networking/interacting with customers

Links:

• http://duckdown.blogspot.com

posted March 21, 2007

I have both internal and external blogs, and they serve different purposes. The external blog is obviously more generic, without specific company information, but it offers me an opportunity to share my ideas and questions with other professionals in the industry. The internal blog allows me to pontificate on what specifically we're working on and connect with others in the company. I also find it a good way to track the research I'm doing and projects I'm working on.

posted March 21, 2007

Corporate 'blogs are unique in that they can very quickly foster community, a sense of joint ownership and generate valuable feedback on any given product or service.

There are now ways of measuring the ROI of business 'blogging, which helps marking departments include 'blogging as a peer marketing activity.

For more information, follow the resources included.

I hope that helps!

Links:

• http://myblah-blah-tech.blogspot.com/2007/02/value-of-business-blogging.htm...
• http://www.betterbusinessblogging.com/

posted March 21, 2007

First is SEO-- Google loves fresh relevant content
2nd- Answer yor customers biggest questions, and since mine spend large $$ buying at a distance, calm their fears
3rd- it may, in time, create an expert, you. More and more MSM outlets turn to bloggers (they are are so easy to find) for quotes and comments -this is ALSO excellent for SEO

Links:

• http://www.charlottecommunities.net

posted March 21, 2007

I have beaten this concept into the minds of several small business. PArticularly in relation to their website, which in the main are static content. THis means that no-one ever has a reason or inclination to come back to them.

In comes the blogs. Don't use that term. Call it "words of wisdom" from the CEO/CTO etc.

By building a mini-editorial, you can impart a small part of you knowledge/understanding/strategy to your client base, as an indication of the quality of relationship and wisdom that you and your organization can provide them. It's a teaser, a giveaway, but a) it let's them know what they will get, and b) gives them a reason to "stay in touch".

Of course, avoid boring, repetitive, or totally unrelated stuff... Do that on myspace...

posted March 21, 2007

The most successful blog I've had is using it internally for distributing project management updates, meeting agendas, etc to a specific lo-tech/disorganized team. I set the blog up so that every post would also email a group of people and I posted to the Blog by sending it an email... so it was basically business as usual.

This solved an annoying issue where every week people would be wasting time trying to find emails or asking me to resend things. It only took a couple of reminders (per person) before the worst offenders went to the Blog instead of to me for these trivial things.

Metrics... well, a small team generating 2-3 requests for resending information per day, plus the chit chat that surrounded each request, it saved me a minimum of 15 minutes per day. Multiply that by two (me and the person requesting) is 30, then by 5 days of the week and we're looking at 2.5 work hours a week. And who knows how much time these folks were wasting looking or asking other for the email they misfiled/deleted before coming to me!

posted March 22, 2007

We started a blog a few months ago to update our customers about some projects. The response were very positive and the number of interactive readers grew every week. We learned that a Blog, besides the offical 'news section' is a very fast and flexible tool to communicate with a target audience. Meassure the ROI of a blog just like the Event, DM and TM channels.

posted March 23, 2007

For exposure in your industry (http://www.phoneplusmag.com/blogs/peertopeer/) so that you look like an expert.
So prospects and clients have an idea of what you do, how you think, and what ideas you have (especially for consultants).
To communicate with clients and prospects in place of (in my case) a newsletter.
And SEO is just the effect.

Links:

• http://www.marketingideaguy.com/news/

posted March 23, 2007

Q: DO I(/My BUSINESS) NEED A BLOG?

A: Do you want people to know that you are smart and write well? Do you want them to know you have an eye on industry news and work hard to keep abreast of it? Do you want them to know you can see the significance of ideas, synthesize them with existing knowledge in your sector and apply them to making business more effective? Do you want more publicity and viral marketing of your ideas and products? No? Okay then, no blog for you.

(c) 2007 Pistachio Consulting

posted March 25, 2007

John Cass just recently completed a new book about Corporate blogging, which will come out in April. I would recommend connecting with him for any question regarding blogs for your company.

posted March 26, 2007

Andrew,

Are blogs becoming a necessary business tool for the small to midsize business?

I believe they are because in many cases it's expected just like a website. When someone finds out you're in business, they often ask... "What's your website." Blogs are becoming the same way.

What would be the top 3 reasons for a business person to spend time on blogging?

1) Keeping Relevant, up to date content in front of your readers
2) Branding yourself as a resource/expert
3) Unlike, the posts with Search Engine Optimization. It depends on how you define that. It's never about the search engines. It's about the end user.

What are some of the tools/metrics to measure the ROI that a blog brings to a business?

1) Stat reporting just like on a website
2) Knowing how many readers you have by using a tool like Feedburner

Regards,

David

posted March 26, 2007

Your first question: "Are blogs becoming a necessary business tool for the small to midsize business?"

Short answer: No.

Small to medium business can make money without a blog just like they can do business without an ad in the Yellow Pages. And, depending on your business, it may not be helpful to do so — especially if you are not committed to the idea. (What's worse, having no weblog for a small business, or a shoddy weblog woefully out of date and obviously dispassionately cared for?)

But is it a useful tool for the small to medium business? Yes.

Again, depending on your business and your commitment to the weblog as a function of your online presence. If you never post new articles, if you never approve comments, if you never reply to comments, if you never upgrade from the out-of-the-box design, you'd be better off waiting until the blogging vision sticks.

Why? See...

Your second question: "What would be the top 3 reasons for a business person to spend time on blogging?"

The "top three" reasons will differ from company to company, based on an individual corporation's need. But here are some possible benefits from creating and maintaining an active weblog:

• It pushes content to the user, rather than waiting for the user to come to you. (If you use both RSS feeds and email newsletters, that is.)

• Pushing content to the user helps maintain loyalty.

• Provides a public and transparent feedback loop, especially useful when you respond positively to potentially negative feedback.

• Has the potential to increase revenue due to increased traffic, increased customer loyalty, and improved mind-space persistence.

• Improves or establishes your reputation online — unless, of course, you mangle the blog, ignore it, or abuse it.

• Makes your product releases, updates, news, etc., part of the "long tail" of content your company offers to search engine users.

• If your blog is about the industry you are in (or are targeting) rather than specifically about your company, you have the potential of getting your brand and services/products in front of eyeballs who might not have considered you otherwise. Especially if you write with a compelling "voice."

Some of these benefits can be gotten through offering good content on your website and via newsletters. Blogging is just another tool.

A company won't die without blogging, and a bad blog will harm your reputation. But a good blog can help. Just remember, though, there is a cost — somebody has to write the content, and that isn't necessarily cheap.

For the commenters who write that it's all about search engine optimization — I don't disagree that SEO will help. It will, and I highly recommend optimizing your site and weblog for search engines. But, really, they are not the top three considerations for blogging — optimizing a blog for search engines really should come *after* optimizing it for you and your audience.

I bail out on blogs that are primarily optimized for search engines. Search engines don't subscribe to blogs, people do. And search engines don't buy products and services. People do.

Regards,

Rich
rich (dot) tatum (at) tatumweb (dot) com

Links:

• http://tatumweb.com/blog/2007/03/12/39-blogging-tips/

posted March 26, 2007