Quick Deployment and Low Cost
Unlike traditional websites, blogs are quick to get up and running and the content is flexible and accessible. Blog software is cheaper to install and maintain than many knowledge-sharing programs, and it’s extremely simple to use.
Easily Integrated into Existing Marketing Plans
Blogs can be easily incorporated into existing web, PR and marketing activities. Traffic, visitor activity, and feedback can be easily measured for ROI purposes.
Pure Simplicity
The simplicity of blogs make them influential. Their non-technical nature has allowed mass mainstream audiences to become fully involved with Internet communities for the first time. It’s as if ‘techy’ layer of the web has been removed.
Bypass Spam-Filled Email
A new corporate blog also can augment e-mail newsletters in a more engaging way and bypass spam issues and filters that traditional e-mail delivery mechanisms face.
Blog Use will Increase, Thanks to RSS and My Yahoo!
The beauty of RSS (or Really Simple Syndication) is that it makes it actually feasible to follow and read hundreds of blogs. Yahoo!’s integration of RSS feeds means that adding a blog to your My Yahoo! page can be as easy as clicking on a button. Also, as users come across a posting in Yahoo! search results, they can also add the blog to their content pages with just a click.
Blogging Activity Reaches Influential, Young Users
Blog use has grown significantly in the past year — online consumers who regularly read blogs increased from 2% in 2003 to 5% in 2004.
- Young adults read blogs three times more frequently than older adults. Not only are young adults more likely to read blogs, but they are also nine times as likely to have their own personal blog.
- Blog user demographics make them an attractive target. Blog users — online consumers who read and/or write blogs — are more likely to be male, affluent, and broadband-connected.
- Blog users consider themselves to be opinion leaders. Compared with all online consumers, blog users are much more likely to view themselves as leaders.