Forrester´s new study investigates risks and ROI of blogging

The report, entitled “The ROI Of Blogging: The “Why” And “How” Of External Blog Accountability” is based on results of research by a team led by Forrester’s Charlene Li, a Harvard M.B.A graduate, who interviewed businesses that already had blogs.

by Helen Leggatt

Participating Fortune 500 companies included Wells Fargo, Dell, Southwest Airline and Sun Microsystems, amongst others.

Steve Rubel, senior vice president in Edelman’s me2revolution practice and a recognised expert in conversational marketing, was given an exclusive look at the report. “In Forrester’s interviews, the most frequently mentioned benefits of corporate blogging were: greater brand visibility in mainstream media on the Web, word of mouth, improved brand perception, instantaneous consumer feedback, increased sales efficiency and fewer "customer service-driven PR blowups", he writes in his popuar blog, Micropersuasion.

“By going through the exercise of defining and quantifying the benefits, costs, and risks of a blog, you’ll be educating your C-level executives while also demonstrating the discipline that they expect, ” said Li.

The research spawned a second report, “Calculating The ROI Of Blogging: A Case Study - A Look At The ROI Of General Motors' FastLane Blog”, in which Forrester uses the processes outlined in the initial report to calculate the ROI of the GM blog.

The report may be purchased online for $379.00.

Tags: blogs, brand management, General Motors, ROI

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