What’s the ROI on blogs?

Maggie Fox, October 3 2006

A question I get often, and to which I usually answer, “What’s the ROI on lunch? What’s the ROI on a really positive interaction with a consumer?” In other words, we don’t expect to measure the ROI of other relationship-building activities, why do we feel the need to do so for blogs?

However, I must confess it’s a somewhat dissatisfying answer for both me and, I suspect, the person at whom the retort is aimed. After all, blogs are media. And we all know media need metrics to justify their existence (and get a budget).

Luckily, Charlene Li at Forrester Research is working with her colleagues to quantify the benefits of blogs. And she’d like your help. A strongly recommended read for anyone trying to make the business case for blogging (which seems to be just about everyone I speak to these days!)

Update: a nice piece of further analysis on this topic (and some more wonderful buzzphrases we must now all remember) from Ken Newsome.

And finally: a big “HEY!” to everyone I met at today’s Media in Canada Forum. The roundtable on corporate blogging went well and I hope all participants found it useful. I’d love to hear your feedback on how the conference went and what you’re taking away!