2/2/2007
Does a Business Blog Take Too Much Time?
One comment I hear on a regular basis from people considering a business blog is that it will take too much time. While I wouldn’t dispute the notion that a blog takes time, the question is, how much is too much?
Outside tech industries, blogs are unfamiliar marketing territory. When a business owner or CMO says a blog will take too much time, I think he/she is expressing one or two underlying concerns–
1. ROI for a blog is doubtful and/or unquantifiable; and/or,
2. Writing every day is mentally draining, unpleasant work.
When it comes to measuring ROI, blogs are not much different from other forms of advertising, marketing and public relations. Calculating ROI for a print ad, a newsletter, a sales brochure, or even a pay-per-click campaign is an inexact science at best. Yet, companies continue to engage in these activities, often on a large scale. Companies may have a person or an entire department dedicated to creating and implementing advertising, marketing and PR programs. Why? Because companies see value in communicating with customers, strengthening relationships with customers and adding value to the customer experience even when the effects cannot be precisely measured.
So I think business blogs present a problem not because of the time commitment they represent, but because they are unfamiliar. As companies learn more about how effectively blogs can build customer relationships and fill a variety of essential customer support functions, they realize that blogging should be an integral part of any balanced marketing program. And, there are plenty of metrics a business can–and should–monitor on its blog to gauge its performance. For example–
1. Number of subscriptions;
2. Quantity (and quality) of customer comments;
3. Page views;
4. Inbound links;
5. Search engine rankings on target keyword phrases;
6. Technorati and/or Alexa rankings; and,
7. Advertising revenue from affiliate programs, etc.
Tracking these items over time provides a reasonably accurate picture of readership and value. Certainly, business blogs provide a clearer picture of readership and reader reaction than print ads or sales collateral.
The arduous task of writing? Let’s take that up after the Super Bowl!
Have a wonderful weekend!
One Response to Does a Business Blog Take Too Much Time?
The article is good. Online marketing is one of the best way in the present world as the web visitors has increased all over the world. Online marketing is now the easiest way to earn the dollars but devoting time and interest. Compensation is based on either number of visits (Pay-per-click), registrant (Pay-per-lead),
or commission for each sale (pay per sale affiliate program).