All you want to do these days is blog, blog, blog

Interesting study out of eMarketer and published recently in B2B : "34% of U.S. companies currently use blogs for marketing purposes."*

In fact, the study states that blogging activity will rise to 43% by 2012 (excluding microblogging and social network activity).

Why? As stated in the study, more companies view blogging as an effective means of supporting key marketing functions (brand building, lead generation) and as a way to enhance customer support/service.

I also like to think of blogs as an excellent "equalizer" of brands. Where one company may have the financial resources to pour into an integrated campaign (PR, print advertising, SEM, direct, etc.)...another in the same market space may not.

Blogs level the playing field by providing companies large -- and small -- with an opportunity to develop an incredibly personalized marketing tool without the need to overinvest in terms of hard dollars. Can you spend thousands of dollars developing a customized, interactive corporate blog? Of course. Must you? No.

Just consider:

Tone. Particularly important if blogging is used to support branding activities. The most basic rule of branding is that the brand personality must be present and consistent throughout all communications. Consider the tone of your brand and execute it consistently within your blog posts.

Objectives. Be clear about what you hope to gain from your blogging activities at the outset. If your blog is intended to support branding activities, to present the essence of your company's brand, it may not be realistic to expect leads from your posts. (It may happen of course...it just may not be an expected outcome.)

Demand Gen. Do you have a clear picture of how your blog will fit into or support your demand/lead generation activities? Are all demand gen activities working together in terms of timing and message? What are your key performance indicators for your blogging activity -- and are they realistic given the other components of your program?

If the blog is intended to deliver leads, is the content fully in tune with your target audiences? Use keyword research tools to help understand what terms your target audiences are searching for and how you can organically include them in your posts.

Have a plan for where the blog will take your visitors after they've read your content.

If the blog supports other efforts (ex. serves as a call to action) make sure the transition from that tactic to the blog is logical.

Of course there are more things to consider when preparing to launch your blog, or improve your current efforts. These are just food for thought.

How can blogging benefit your top-line objectives?

*Source: "Study says more companies blogging," B2B, Posted 10/20/10