Proof that Blogs Work

History and purpose:

Blogs, or Weblogs, first emerged in 1997. In just over a decade, they have transformed from personal journals to reputable news and commentary sites with highly-focused, highly-engaged audiences. Peter Shankman, author of Can We Do That?, a book about effective PR strategies, said recently at a PRSA-Philadelphia meeting that blogs and other social media tools are sounding the death knell of the newspaper critic, because those seeking information about restaurants, films or books are increasingly likely to trust the opinion of those in their community over the opinion of those outside it (1). This sentiment was echoed in an ID Magazine review of the Newseum in Washington, D.C., which noted the strangeness of a museum devoted to journalism at a time when traditional media was being “humbled by the online insurgency," and stated that “the death notice you won’t find [in the museum]—yet—is that of professional news organizations at the populist hands of bloggers. For now, the Internet receives asterisk billing, lumped in with radio and TV…" (2)

Changing the way we communicate:

Whether serving as news sources or as marketing tools, blogs are changing the way we communicate. Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff write in their book, Groundswell: “You cannot ignore this trend. You cannot sit this one out," further noting that social media initiatives such as blogs, along with an overall sense of technology awareness, can “fundamentally change how your company relates to its customers."(3) Take, for example, the recent news that John McCain barely knows how to use a computer and never uses the Internet. A poll conducted around the time of this revelation revealed that McCain’s polling numbers were declining sharply amongst young—and increasingly influential—voters. (4)

Case studies:

As much as the lack of a Web presence can hurt an organization, a strong Web presence can help it exponentially. The Blendtec Corporation was faced with quite a dilemma in 2006 when trying to launch their Total Blender Line: how to convince the public that their blenders—the most mundane of household products—were not only exciting, but that they were worth upwards of $500 each. Enter Will It Blend?, a video blog (vlog or v-log) featuring the charming, if offbeat, Tom Dickson blending every consumer product imaginable, from old credit cards to brand new iPhones. Since the launch of Will It Blend?, Blendtec’s sales have shot up 574 percent (5) and Dickson has become an Internet celebrity, even appearing in Weezer’s latest music video, “Pork and Beans." (To thank the band, he tried blending their new CD along with an unopened can of pork and beans. Unsurprisingly, he succeeded.)

A strong Web presence in the form of a blog can lead to incredible success. Arianna Huffington was already a well-respected columnist and political commentator when she launched the Huffington Post in May of 2005. The site has since made Huffington a household name and is the most linked-to blog in the world according to Technorati, as well as the most-visted news Weblog according to Alexa Internet and the most influential blog in the world according to The Guardian (6). Approximately eight million unique visitors log on to the Huffington Post per month (7)—nearly three times (8) the number of people who would have seen Ms. Huffington on one of her many appearances on NBC’s Meet the Press.

As these examples show, the efficacy of blogs as alternative media sources and effective marketing and branding tools is becoming ever clearer. In early 2008, Rob Covey, the managing editor and creative director of National Geographic Magazine Online, announced MY SHOT, an on-line feature allowing Web site visitors to engage personally with its pre-existing YOUR SHOT service—a service that increased National Geographic’s Web traffic from 140,000 page views per month to nearly 14 million (9). Increased traffic with a participatory Web presence, such as a blog, is becoming a hot topic in business and technology reporting and has already been covered extensively in respected print resources such as The New York Times, which in late 2007 referred to blogs as a “low cost, high return marketing tool that can handle marketing and public relations, raise the company profile and build the brand." (10) The newspaper itself hosts sixty blogs.

What makes the blogs so successful? Word of mouth, or the “groundswell," as Li and Bernoff call it. It is this “rapid, spontaneous growth" (11) that, as Shankman put it, can make “a story in a blog with 3,000 readers more effective than a story in a newspaper with a circulation of over one million." (12) The explanation for this is the overall engagement of blog readers or core influencers. With as many blogs as exist on the Internet, readers can pick and choose and become loyal to one specific site—a site they trust, read thoroughly, take note of, and forward and recommend widely, hence becoming “peer promoters" who function as the new spokespersons for a niche market.

Shankman, Peter, “Using Social Media to Grow Your Business.” Speech delivered 17 July 2008 in Philadelphia.
McKee, Bradford. “This Just In.” ID Magazine, 27 May 2008. Online at: http://www.id-mag.com/article/just-in/.
Li, Charlene and Bernoff, Josh. “Strategies for Tapping the Groundswell: Leverage Social Technologies.” Groundswell. Harvard Business Press, 2008.
Thompson, Krissah Williams. “Young Republicans, Blue About the Prospects Ahead.” The Washington Post. 22 July 2008. Online at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/21/AR2008072102654_pf.html.
Shankman, Peter. Phone interview conducted 15 July 2008.
Wikipedia. “Huffington Post.” Available online: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huffington_Post.
Blodget, Henry. “Huffington Post Traffic Blowing Doors Off.” Silicon Alley Insider. 11 February 2008. Available online:
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/2/huffington_post_traffic_blowing_doors_off.
“Meet the Press tops ratings again.” 9 August 2007. Available online: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3403149/.
“National Geographic Magazine to Introduce ‘MY SHOT’—New Tool for Individualized Web Pages—At ‘Magazines 24/7,’ MPA’s 4th Digital Conference.” Press Release. 27 February 2008.
Alboher, Marci. “Blogging’s a Low-Cost, High Return Marketing Tool.” The New York Times. 27 December 2007. Available online: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/27/business/smallbusiness/27sbiz.html?scp=23&sq=marketing+blog&st=nyt
“Word and Terms in the News.” Newsweek. 21 August 2007. Available online: http://www.newsweek.com/id/35219.
Shankman, 17 July 2008.