Measuring the effectiveness of a corporate blog

If blogs are going to be an important part of the marketing and communications mix, then there must be some way of evaluating their returns. Heidi Cohen, a professor of Direct and Interactive Marketing at NYU has written some ideas on how to evaluate corporate blogs. The first step in the blog evaluation process must first of all be determining what the blog is expected to do. Cohen has a list of communication objectives for a corporate blog:

1. Establish expertise - Blogs can be used to raise credibility of a company in its field.
2. Create alternative media - Blogs can be established as a media outlet in their own right as a value-added corporate service or a product by itself.
3. Extend corporate communications - Blogs enable companies to present a human face and voice to the public.
4. Build community - Blogs can grow groups around a technology or issue related to the company’s product.

What Cohen leaves out at this point is the crucial part of first establishing the target of the blog communication. Without knowing that in clear terms, the objectives and their measurements lack meaning. Because blogs communicate on a personal level, they must show some return in terms of increase in brand awareness, brand prestige or credibility, likeability of the brand or understanding of the message. Cohen’s idea of return on investments revolves mostly around mainstream media effects.

Jul 23, 2023 by Tim Yang Trackback
Filed in: Blogging
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