Sigh, each new PR opportunity always seems to bring us back to one of our biggest problems-measurement.
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But the posts below on aggregators and the Edelman/Intelliseek white paper remind us of the need for a broader view of ranking and rating blogs, as well as a qualitative approach to determining their importance and influence.
The quantitative measurements-traffic levels, inbound links and posting frequency-are certainly one approach, but keep content quality in mind. Numbers, including traffic levels and RSS feed subscriptions, can be misleading. Unfortunately, many race to use this measurement because it is easy to come up with and it eliminates the immediate need to actually read the blog they are analyzing.
Remember that most blogs are providing niche content. This means smaller, more targeted audiences with people that are more likely to listen are visiting. Be sure to go one step further in your analyses of which blogs are important to your clients/industries.
Blogs are the Dais of the Internet
Instead of comparing a blog’s influence to a number not unlike a trade magazine’s circulation, you should dig deeper. It is understandable that this occurs. Print media are still trying to bolt this metric onto their online offerings…and after all, this is push-button PUBLISHING.
But perhaps we should instead consider a blog to be a presentation at an industry trade show. People are showing up to a blog, or a presentation, as they have an expressed interest in this content. Not to mention, a few hundred folks attending a presentation can be pretty impactful.
Blogs are the dais of the Internet. Is your audience listening?
Kevin Dugan is the author of the popular Strategic Public Relations blog. Kevin is Director of Marketing Communications for FRCH Design Worldwide.
Visit Kevin’s blog: Strategic Public Relations.
