In 2006 Debbie Weil‘s successful “The Corporate Blogging Book” was published. Robert Scoble and Shel Israel published “Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers”, and everyone was talking about “conversations” and “blogging”.
That same year I co-authored a book on what back then we called “blogging for business” for a local provider of consumer-oriented blog platforms and started a “blogging for business” service. The following year, the market was flooded with books on blogging, such as John Cass‘s “Tools for Corporate Blogging” as well as dozens of others. However, by then everybody was working on the “next big thing”. I remember a friend saying in 2008, “blogging is so 2007, it’s online video now”.
Fast-forward to 2011. Despite the masses of books, blogs, articles and opinions on blog marketing, I find that many companies have no blogs. And this in a social media marketing reality in which blogs play a crucial role. One can say six years is not a long time. However, in the fast-evolving digital world, it is an eternity.
Several reports have shown that blogging is used less in the business world than we think. So, blogging is all but “so 2007”. Obviously, the question is if you really need a blog. New ways of sharing content and conversing emerge but blogs are common-place and the platforms are so mature that they really can benefit most businesses in several ways.
Blog marketing facts: missed inbound marketing, PR, SEO and conversation opportunities
A report by Econsultancy and Big Mouth Media (an LBi company), the “Social Media and Online PR Report”, end of last year showed some remarkable figures (most of the respondents were from the UK, followed by other European countries and next the US).
The report found that 48% of the surveyed companies have a “corporate blog” or a “branded blog”. That is less than half and for the others it is a missed inbound marketing opportunity, even without talking about earned and owned media.
The survey further found that 45% of companies use “blog relationships” as part of their online PR activities and that 43% started online conversations that made use of user-generated content or social media. That is less than half as well.
The possibilities of blogging are definitely not being put to optimal use. A lot of companies have no blog. Almost no company has a blog that is more-or-less independent of its own brand, and even in the use of “blog relationships” there is much room for improvement. It’s strange since blogs are ideal for conversations but also for PR, SEO and so much more. Is the fear of comments or the lack of proven ROI still withholding us? Or is it a lack of strategy, creativity and even customer-centricity?
How consistent and customer-centric is your blog?
Moreover, it appears that companies that do blog could do it much better, including in terms of the consistency between their blogs and their market messages. According to a study by Burson-Marteller (see slideshare presentation below), almost three quarters of blog posts do not reflect the company message.
Naturally, it does not always have to do so, but in branded and corporate blogs content consistency between blogs, social media, email, SEA, advertising and other forms of marketing is very relevant in these multichannel times. The link between blogging, community marketing and other forms of marketing (SEO, email, conversion) is often neglected. And consistency is key in both brand experience and conversion.
This is unfortunate because blogs are real social media hubs and cornerstones of inbound marketing. However, more importantly, blogs are read. eMarketer estimates that more 60% of American Internet users will read a blog at least once a month by 2014.
Note that this percentage reflects the whole Internet population. Clearly in several industries, especially those where the (prospective) customer makes intensive use of online resources and interaction channels in his buying journey, blogs are consulted much more.
This is especially true in various B2B sectors like marketing, services and ICT. And let’s not forget that blogs are “read” more in specific demographic and other segments.
Blogs also offer new touch point opportunities by linking them with your email marketing programs, integrating them in lead management processes and using them for bidirectional customer engagement, resulting in business goals ranging from customer satisfaction to conversion. It’s really not only about conversations, engagement, transparency and community. It’s about what you and your visitors want it to be. Finally, it’s about how you use the input you receive in a cross-channel and data driven way to create new ways of interaction and user engagement.
A customer-centric and collaborative blog strategy
The blog marketing priorities mainly revolve around strategy, planning, collaboration and value, both for visitors and your bottom-line. Without strategy and planning, any form of blog marketing is doomed to fail. The same goes for content, interaction and relevance, which, in the end, is what blogging for business is all about.
Some claim blogging is “dead” (always the same old story) due to the arrival of new publishing models, micro-blogging, Facebook pages, some social media evolutions, etc.
So, is blogging (and blog marketing) dead? The question (that is so often asked) shows a lack of daily marketing experience and a clear black or white way of thinking among those who ask it.
Obviously, there are new alternatives popping up every day but for most businesses blogging is just only growing up. Strategies and goals are often missing as is a cross-channel and customer-centric blogging approach with content marketing best practices.
Blogging is far from dead. It probably will one day, I have no crystal ball. However, now it is still very much in demand. If not, I wouldn’t get questions on how to start doing it or how to do it better every day.
Any marketing and business purpose can be addressed by blogs. They are only limited by your creativity, collaboration and organization, cross-channel thinking and customer-centricity. All we have to do is look further than just “the conversations”.
About J-P De Clerck
