While most companies in the US and the UK regard blogging as an important new communication medium, most are not monitoring the online conversation and have not adapted their corporate communication strategy to include social media elements such as an effective Internet marketing strategy.
- Almost 89 percent of U.S. respondents and nearly 83 percent of U.K. respondents believe blogs are an important digital communication
- More than half of all respondents admitted that no one is blogging on their or their clients’ behalf (U.S.: 64 percent, U.K.: 64 percent)
- Most respondents confess they or their clients don’t have an official blogging policy in place (U.S.: 87 percent, U.K.: 82 percent)
- One third of companies claiming to have a blog say it is written by the company’s CEO
- 63 percent have not adapted their communications strategy to include proactive outreach to blogs, message boards, and other forms of digital medium
- Among both countries, respondents consider the ability to share information quickly and broadly as the most important consideration for blogging (U.S.: 84 percent and U.K.: 74 percent)
- 63 percent of U.S. respondents feel lack of credibility as the major down side of blogs; while U.K. respondents prefer other forms of communication to reach audiences (63 percent)
- Most respondents (78 percent for U.S. and U.K.) believe that the public relations department should handle fallout from bad news breaking in the blogosphere
- 49 percent of respondents don’t monitor blogs
Quotes: “We’ve seen a few examples of PR departments and agencies putting both their traditional PR feet in their social media mouths. It’s way past time that companies make social media and online PR training a priority. Business blogging is an important communication medium, It’s not going away. Markets are conversations. Learning to participate in the conversation effectively is a vital PR skill today.” Sally Falkow, President of Expansion Plus, and the official blogger for Bulldog Reporter
“Originally, the purpose of this survey was to compare and contrast blogging communication practices in the U.S. and the U.K. and identify best practices,” said Steve Cody, managing partner and co-founder of Peppercom. “Surprisingly, what was revealed was a level playing field across both countries where a select few are diving into social media, but most are hesitant to start the process. The data suggests that the lack of blogging policies speaks to the fact that social media is not being taken seriously at a strategic level by corporate executives.”
“Ultimately, what this survey revealed was a need for communication professionals in both countries to step up to the plate and start integrating blogging practices into their strategic approach,” said Jacki Vause, managing director of Peppercom’s London office. “No one is denying the power of blogs. Now is the time to employ them or risk losing PR’s place at the table when it comes to these types of decisions.”
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Sally is the author of Website Content Strategy blog: Information about the shifts in media consumption and the use of
technology in marketing and PR so business can stay in touch with
their rapidly moving audiences.
