Whether you implement an external business blog or an internal company blog, the following indicates several pluses to implementing them.

1. 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.

2. Easily Integrated into Existing Marketing/Communication 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.

3. Simplicity
The simplicity of blogs makes 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 the ‘techy’ layer of the web has been removed.

4. Bypass Spam-Filled Email
A new company 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.

5. 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. Despite the low usage, Forrester believes that consumers who use blogs are becoming an increasingly attractive target group for marketers because:

  • 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. Young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 make up 25% of all adult bloggers but only 9% of the general adult online population. As they age, these young adults will bring their blogging habits with them into the mainstream.
  • 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. And blog users have these attractive demographics despite being significantly younger than non-bloggers.
  • Blog users consider themselves to be opinion leaders. Compared with all online consumers, blog users are much more likely to view themselves as leaders. Interestingly, consumers who write personal blogs are not more likely than regular blog readers to believe this.