Corporate Blogs: Measure Their Value!

Media placements. Like traditional PR efforts, blogs generate media placements. Though these don't readily translate to financial numbers, at a minimum you can monitor for the quantity, media format, quality, brand, and reach. Based on your specific business needs and culture, establish a method to assess these factors value. (Check out this site for insights on evaluating PR.)

Alternatively, assign a dollar equivalent for placements using the outlet's ad rates as a guide. This assumes the value of editorial and advertising media impressions are similar. Many PR professionals don't approve of this approach as they believe it undervalues editorial endorsement. Further, they claim it doesn't take into consideration quality differences in placements (e.g., a technology mention by Walt Mossberg in "The Wall Street Journal" versus a minor mention buried in Yahoo!) and whether it's on message. While I appreciate their perspective, companies need a way to assign a value to placement results. Ad cost equivalents are a good starting point.

Direct revenues or traffic. When the objective is to grow a business or create an alternative media venue, new leads and ad revenue can be tracked directly. Blogs drive site traffic in a trackable manner, such as the GoDaddy Super Bowl ad discussed on GoDaddy CEO blog.

Consider discreetly and judiciously placing offers in your blog. Use a unique URL, and they're measurable. Readers received a special NetFlix offer on Steve Rubel Micro Persuasion blog, for example. If the blog is the only component of the mix that changed during this period, any sales left can be attributed to it.

Improved search rankings. Because blogs are spidered by search engines, monitor links and trackbacks for measures influencing branding and revenues. Many companies pay for search placement, so assign an equivalent dollar amount based on average placement cost or by use of a search engine calculator.

Brand effect.Use surveys to monitor consumer perception of your brand and company before and after blogging. In some businesses, a percentage point change in mind share has a dollar value, making this calculation relatively straightforward. If not, create an equivalent metric based on the amount of marketing investment needed to achieve similar results.

Increased buzz. Monitor improved consumer perception. This can translate into increased sales using word-of-mouth measures or surveys. Like other branding efforts, give an approximation for sales lift. At a minimum, you know what it would cost to drive equivalent buzz using another format.

Promotion generation. Consider the value created by similar promotions, such as a microsite or guerilla marketing effort, as a measure.

from Corporate Blogs: Measure Their Value!