What’s Your Blogging ROI?
Our guest blogger today, brand catalyst Nina Burokas, looks at the blogging question every business owner needs to be able to answer.
What’s your blogging ROI?
And does it really matter?
Biz Blogging…WORKS. It is of…MONUMENTAL IMPORTANCE. (Or can be.)
- Tom Peters, Foreword to Naked Conversations
Last year, ProBlogger picked up a conversation thread off Debbie Weil’s BlogWriteforCEOs and proclaimed “Blogger achieves 5000% ROI from Blogging”(!!), sparking a conversation – and controversy – that continues today. Calculation details aside (the data cited actually translate into a 500,000% return) ProBlogger’s conclusion that a compelling ROI is the best argument for business blogging still applies. And is still contentious.
In The Corporate Blogging Book, Weil finesses the issue, arguing that although blogs exist in a digital realm often associated with metrics, the medium requires a different measure of value: ROB or return on blog. ROB is “all about connections, conversations, discovery, information, word-of-mouse, leverage, amplification and efficiencies.” Although she gives equal time to metrics, her point is simply that the true bottom line may not be search engine rankings, unique visitors and conversions but the fact that blogging solves a central problem: “the human desire – and business need – to connect.”
To blog or not to blog? In business today, that is the question.
- Daniel Pink, Review of The Corporate Blogging Book
Whether you think in terms of ROI or ROB, it’s a topic that is evergreen in its relevance to both organizations and individuals. One of the current methodologies being debated on conference podiums and in posts is Forrester’s Benefit/Value/Metric framework, highlighted in Charlene Li’s launch post and detailed in The ROI Of Blogging: The “Why” And “How” Of External Blog Accountability and “Calculating The ROI Of Blogging: A Case Study, A Look At The ROI of General Motor’s FastLane Blog” publications. The objective, in brief, is to factor in potential benefits, costs and risk factors in order to quantify the business impact of an external blog initiative.
A question, via comments, regarding the ROI of Li’s blog provides perspective on the grey area of the intellectual property and brand value in a medium that spans the individual and corporate arenas. Li’s response: “I’m not at liberty to discuss it in detail as Forrester is a public company and the information would be material.” From the individual perspective, this raises a few issues with regards to ownership and brand management.
With all of the congratulations and, again, controversy, surrounding “Top X” lists – i.e., Power 150, Top 20 PR PowerWomen and, most recently, the W List (now a wiki and on Facebook) – it struck me that this would be an opportune time to poll individual bloggers on the question of ROI – from both a corporate and personal perspective. Since I was profiling a Power 150 Marketing blogger for my Living the Brand column, I incorporated ROI and IP ownership questions into the interview. For example, “Has your blogging translated into increased market value or revenue for you personally or for an employer?”
The interview will appear in the November issue of Personal Branding magazine, but there’s no need to put the conversation on hold. If you’re a blogger (or are evaluating a personal or corporate blogging initiative) – weigh in with your perspective. What’s your blogging ROI?
So for me ROI is this: increasing Knowledge (for free), advancing Career, connecting with smart + talented people, staying on top of the industry
- David Armano, Logic+Emotion (via Rolling Talks)
Nina Burokas is a brand catalyst with a passion for people, communications and life. She writes the Living the Brand column for Personal Branding magazine, the Technically Speaking column for WITI’s Savvy magazine and blogs at Better Living through Brand and Branding Personal.
Tags: blogging-ROI, Charlene-Li, David-Armano, Debbie-Weil, Forrester, metrics, Nina-Buroka, PowerWomen, ProBlogger, Tom-Peters, W-List
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POSTED IN: Blogging, Branding, Corporate, General, Marketing, ROI, Risk Management
9 opinions for What’s Your Blogging ROI?
Valeria Maltoni
Aug 29, 2007 at 7:49 pm
ROI as return on involvement allows you to hone your value props and flesh out your brand — personal and professional. Investment is blogging terms means being involved with your readers and your topics — leaning forward, proactive, engaged.
The side commitment is one of time and attention where quality and clarity shine. Why is this form of self publishing gaining so much attention? And a corollary need for definition? It creates a new space, a laboratory of ideas where you and your readers can build something together — co-owned as energy.
The return is where ideas meet execution. Whether that be being a more effective writer able to articulate a point well or finding the momentum to start a business and anywhere in between, the energy fueling the action was developed in that exchange. The shift in thinking occurred there.
Business MetaBlog » Blog Archive » Return on Blogging
Aug 30, 2007 at 2:07 am
[…] and Blogging looks at Blog ROI. Interesting for those who are into blogging as a […]
Dan Schawbel
Aug 30, 2007 at 5:27 am
The reason for this is that you are making new contacts, building a community and opportunities that might lead to business deals or partnerships.
Valeria Maltoni
Aug 30, 2007 at 12:25 pm
In addition to the comment left last night (not published) — sharing knowledge and experience and learning by testing ideas.
Des Walsh
Aug 30, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Valeria
Comments on this blog are moderated and there can be timezone differences which may make the approval process seem longer than it needs to be - but I do need some sleep at night :) As you can see, the earlier comment has been published.
Geoff Livingston
Sep 1, 2007 at 2:46 pm
ROI for corporations must be measured in several ways.
One: Brand perception (before and after market research serves as a benchmark)
Two: Opportunities resulting from conversation, including traditional media opportunities, speaking engagements, increases in return sales (loyalty), and new opportunities.
What measurement is not: Page hits, # of friends, a place on the ranking du jour.
Measurement in a marketing sense must always be tied back to hard results. Otherwise a corporation will not invest.
Geoff Livingston
Sep 1, 2007 at 3:34 pm
I should also add that these results are the by-product of being a valuable, contributing member of the community, a la Valeria’s initial comment. Businesses that engage in social media with the sole intent of making media will find themselves in a very hard conversation indeed.
Valeria Maltoni
Sep 3, 2007 at 3:47 pm
Des:
Sleep should be a required activity for all :-) I could not remember exactly my earlier comment… glad I did not repeat myself.
27 Resources for Evaluating Blogging ROI - KoMarketing Associates
May 15, 2008 at 3:00 pm
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