Why You Should Have a Blog

Neville Hobson is a British communications expert who has more than twenty-five years experience in public and media relations.  His blog is located at NevilleHobson.com.  On Friday, Neville posted some interesting statistics on blog usage by businesses in the UK.  Granted, most of our readers reside in the United States, but Great Britain's use of the social media seems to be very similar to the usage in the US.  At any rate, here are some highlights of the survey for your consideration.

The survey was conducted by a company called Loudhouse and included 300 companies.

• 50% of companies are involved in blogging.
• 64% of company blogs were started in the past six months.  To look at it another way, only 36% of companies have been blogging for more than six months proving once again that at Tacony Corporation, we're on the cutting edge.  (That's called "Shameless Self-Promotion, but it's also another good reason to have a blog.)
• 86% of companies report that their blog has generated either "moderate" or "significant" business opportunities.
• One in three blog visitors will access a blog daily. 29% will visit weekly.
• Two thirds of businesses believe that blogs are becoming more influential as an information source.
• Nearly one half (46%) believe that blogs can drive future business opportunities.

Some of the top uses for blogs?

• To get feedback from customers (66%)
• To develop new business/drive sales (55%)
• To get information to customers quickly (42%).

Our recent survey told us that many of you have a hard time getting everything done every day.  A blog can be time-consuming, especially at first.  On the other hand, there are tools available that make blogging very simple to do and there are ways to get around the time issue.

First, as the Loudhouse survey shows, about 1/3 of blog visitors only visit once a week.  A weekly blog may be all you need, especially to start.

Second, you don't have to be the company blogger.  A trusted, creative employee could be your best choice.  A blog post can be saved for your approval prior to posting.  You may also have a family member who would be happy to contribute by writing a weekly blog.

Finally, if you can get your readers to start commenting on a regular basis (hint, hint), then you job becomes that much easier.  There are a number of good books available on blogging and a ton of resources on the Internet to help you get started.