Measuring the Efficacy of your Blog

Corporations are starting to ask the question of if they should blog. The answer may be yes or no, but convincing the boss usually takes some kind of ROI statement that can be tracked over time.

How do you measure a blog's effectiveness?
Zachary Rodgers of Clickz says it's not just traffic to the site, and he turns to Henry Copeland of BlogAds fame for answers.

The debates over the numbers and the technical aspects are fairly straightforward, but they miss a deeper debate that's going on over the nature of blogs and the communities that form around them. According to some blogging and ad sales experts, the marketing value of a media buy on blogs may be obscured by traditional reporting metrics.

Henry Copeland runs the BlogAds network, which sells advertising on a number of influential blogs, including DailyKos. Copeland, one of the first people to package and sell ads in the blog environment, argues against the notion that measurement of a blog buy should resemble that of a traditional site buy.

"Most of the stuff that goes on in blogs is currently unmeasurable...which is to say the buzziness of it," he said. "We started doing this because we think blogs are uniquely influential. In the long run, if bloggers are going to get premium value for their ads, you want to move beyond a CPC or even a CPA environment. You want your media buyers to understand that something sold to an influential is better than something sold to some guy in Wooster, Ohio (which I can pick on because it's my hometown.)"

So if the guy responsible for figuring out how to measure effectiveness doesn't have the answer yet, how can a corporate blogger sell the idea to the metrics-hungry boss? The answer lies in a tried and true sales strategy: Focus on the value, not the money.

Selling Blogs as a Tool not a Destination
When blogs are used in place of websites or as an "alternative" media to the corporate website, they should be tracked using traditional web metrics like traffic, response rates, and as the origin points for sales. If your company is using the blog as a destination, then by all means track it's success as a destination.

When your company, department, or position does not easily lend itself to selling a product or service, there are still ways to convince the higher-ups of the merit of posting to the blogosphere. The blog is a tool for changing perceptions. To pitch that, your ROI Statememt should reference these three points.

Return #1: Publicity
It's okay to admit it - the purpose of starting a blog is to get your name and your brand out there. Publicity can be tracked using inbound links, especially blog "influentials," major media publications, and trade publications in your particular field. Reporters look for good material, and if your writing is up to snuff, you might find yourself quoted in the next issue of Your Industry Weekly. You should exercise caution here, but positive media exposure is always a good selling point.

Search Engine Ranking:
Active participation in the blogosphere, from links to carnivals to traffic to comments improves your search engine ranking. This is true for everything you write, but it's also true for everything negative said about your company. It's a big world out there. Type your company name in a popular search engine and click on the first ten or so entries, skipping your own site. These 10 sites are what people are using to instantly evaluate your company reputation. Keeping a steady blogging presence pushes positive news up the Search Engine Rankings. Presenting and Before and After Google Cache of searching your name is a powerful visual reminder of what it takes to brand yourself online, as well as the dangers of allowing someone else to define you.

Community Response:
The success of your blog is no different than that of non-corporate blogger. Blogging is about personal expression, and without reader feedback, blogging is rather meaningless. What successful bloggers quickly find is an online community springs up around specific topics. If you join a community of like-minded bloggers, you'll be more likely to have information, readers, and the attention you need to keep going. A blog without a community is worthless, so get to work understanding what other pioneers, supplier, competitors and consultants have joined the revolution. The community is where you will get your best ideas, and your best criticism. Sell the community by referencing specific ideas, links, and leads you gain from being part of a group of people in your niche (and remember to give back if you know what's good for you).

Conclusion.
Starting a blog in the corporate world should be a joint function of Public Relations, Marketing, and even Employment (think employer brand). These departments can utilize the blog url to push messages, track customer and candidate response, and even evaluate the online reputation of your company. Blogs, and bloggers, are uniquely qualified to get raw and unfiltered information to corporate bosses.

When selling your blog idea, use all of the tools at your disposal. Blogs are not meant to be websites - they're meant to be conversation starters with your consumers. Measure their worth by the quality of the conversation, and that blog will be a success.