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Blogging ROI Proof is for Pansies

Healthy debate is good for Corporate Blogging. However, it highlights the challenge that blog evangelists are facing when educating marketing folks and CEOs. Most people aren’t buying the coolaid without some Forrester report that undeniably proves ROI for corporate blogging. Proof is for pansies (smile).

No - proof is great. Last July we published findings of a 72 page Corporate Blogging Study that surveyed over 90 bloggers about what they’re getting out of blogging. This year we’re working on a new blogging study with Dr. Walter Carl and his students at Northeastern University.

Anyway, if a company wants a simple answer for how and why they can institutionalize blogging, they’re not going to get it waiting around for proof about how other companies are doing it. Lazy marketing directors and their CEOs want to take their budget and spend it on a guaranteed return. I’m a lazy CEO too. I’d love to spend short money on big return. Show me something other than blogging that can help me get better search engine rankings and links, and boost sales, improve thought leadership, extend traditional PR and generate press coverage, strengthen relationship with my customers and help me build better products.

The thing lazy people have trouble with is that successful blogging is an oblique way getting potentially fundamental business returns. It takes a while to understand why this is true and it also takes an investment of ones time and money to develop a viable case for institutionalizing it or not. I am certain that blogging is not right for every company. However, companies just need to explore their potential opportunity and develop a justifiable strategy before they hold their nose.

Remember that it took mainstream corporate America’s marketing departments several years to realize the value of search engine marketing. Does that mean that pay per click advertising was not effective before the days of enlightenment? No. Advertising in Google and Yahoo was really cheap in 1999 (about .05 cents per click), but arguably just as effective. Since 1999, CPC rates have increase at 35% per year. Over the last four years, the big advertising budgets poured into search. Average search advertising CPCs are up around $1.61 today. Need proof for that. Check out Google stock market valuation.

The point here is that blogging strategies are new and different. Blogs deliver a lot of intangible benefits. It’s kind of like the old case for PR vs. advertising. Editorial coverage in a trusted media is more credible Advertising is spin. There are not many college courses in Blog Marketing now just as there weren’t many courses in online marketing back in 1995 or even in 2000. Blogging and podcasting is the new new thing. Savvy businesses that want to see what it can be all about for them need to weigh investment and risks vs. rewards and make a call.

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