5 (free) tools to measure the success of a corporate blog

Here are five tools (via Stephan Becker) to measure the success of a corporate blog. A measurable ROI is a key driver for the launch of any corporate (or CEO) blog, so these are useful - if not definitive. The comments are mine:

1. Google Analytics

I love Google Analytics (it's free, BTW). Great for looking at visitor stats (unique visits, time on site, etc.), geography (what countries are your visitors coming from) and - perhaps most useful - sites that are referring traffic to your blog. These referring links give you a heads-up on where your blog is being mentioned in mainstream media or by other bloggers.

2. RSS Analytics

He cites FeedBurner. Use it to find out how many folks have signed up for the email updates for your blog (note: you can see the actual email addresses) as well as  how many have subscribed to your RSS feed.

3. Number of podcast and videocast downloads

Useful only if you are posting videos and/or podcasts to your blog.

4. Links pointing to your corporate blog

Type this into Google's search box: link:mycorporateblog.com

So for example: link:fastlane.gmblogs.com  (2,350 links) or link:blogs.sun.com/jonathan (9,080 links).

Stephan doesn't mention Technorati rankings but for what it's worth, GM's Fastlane blog ranks (as of today) #10,781 on Technorati and Jonathan Schwartz's CEO blog ranks #766 - out of over 100 million blogs. (This blog currently has a Technorati rank of #7,823.)

5. Number of Comments

This metric is always tricky as it's somewhat unpredictable. Remember that the ratio of lurkers vs. readers can be as high as 90:10 (only 10 percent leave Comments). So there is no exact science to evaluating your number of Comments.

Stephan makes a good point: "Controversial or ‘hot’ topics are more likely to generate feedback just as much as well thought through and professionally written blogs." In other words, you often don't know what will ignite commentary from your readers. In addition, it depends how tech or blog savvy your readers are.

Yes, I know that sounds impossible to some... who is *not* blog savvy these days?? You'd be surprised. It's often necessary to educate your readers on how and why to leave a Comment. A well-written Comments Policy (links to policy for Sony's new Electronics Blog) can do just that.

Useful Links

Top 5 sources to measure the success of your corporate blog by Stefan Becker

Blog Writing Tips from Lorelle VanFossen

5 Tips to Run a Corporate Blog from Steve Rubel (on Wired's Wiki)

Try Zuula for blog search

I almost never comply when someone asks me to recommend their product/service. But this one is cool. Boris Simkovich, CEO of ZuulaCorp, emailed out of the blue to tell me about Zuula, his new search engine with a dedicated "blog" tab. Zuula also searches the Web, images, news and jobs.

It returns results from nine different blog search engines, including Technorati, IceRocket, Feedster, Blogpulse, Sphere, Bloglines, Blogdigger and Topix.

Lifehacker recommends it.

10 Ways Blogs Are More Effective Than Message Boards

The perennial question surrounding blogs vs. message boards (aka discussion forums) is one worth revisiting. Namely:

Blogs vs. message boards

• how are blogs different?
• why are they better??

My post today is the result of a gentle prod from a fan of The Corporate Blogging Book. Ryan writes:  "Let me start by saying I loved your book..." (Note: always a good way to start an email to an author.) He asked that I not reveal his full name or his company. Suffice it to say he's a would-be corporate blogger working for an established B2B company in a scientific field.

He writes:

"... there is one criticism that I haven't been able to come up with a convincing argument against. No one is fighting me on this, but I feel I need to overcome this criticism for my own piece of mind.  How does a blog differ from a discussion board that is moderated and updated by one (or a group of) individual(s) in a company?"

Then he answers his own question:

"The reason I ask is because we have had discussion boards...and while they have had mild success, they aren't really shattering or changing our industry, marketing, sales, customer support, etc. People say, “I don’t see how it is different. These forums are conversations too….probably a better platform than a blog which is very one-sided.” I think the registration requirements and the dependence on a message board community is a key element that prevents message boards from taking off. Admittedly that is one of the major reasons I think our boards have struggled to be successful."

Here's my take on the pros & cons of blogs vs. message or discussion boards. They are specifically written with big companies in mind, where control over "the message" as well as maintaining decorum are often a concern.

10 Pros for a Blog:

1. Blogs have one publisher who controls what is published on the blog
2. Comments from readers can be pre-screened and even blocked (i.e. not published) if they are deemed inappropriate
3. Good blogs have a distinctive voice and personality
4. That voice tends to make good reading and to invite a real "conversation" with readers
5. A blog gathers steam, gains traction and can get better and richer over time
6. Blog entries are easily searchable (by date and category/topic)
7. Individual blog posts are findable on Google (each has its own unique URL)
8. RSS (i.e. a Web feed) is a highly efficient way to read updates to a blog
9. Blogs don't require registration and logging in (a stumbling block - or an irritant - for some users)
10. Blogs can host other (compelling) forms of social media, including video clips and  podcasts

10 Cons for a Message Board:

1. Message boards are a free-for-all
2. No one is in charge so there is no one dominant or distinctive voice
3. Discussions tend to be in the form of Q & A rather than a conversation
4. No one talks about the "personality" of a message board
5. In general, message boards are useful but not "compelling" or "must read's"
6. Message boards work *if* enough people in your intended audience participate
7. They sometimes suffer from overzealous (i.e. annoying) participants
8. Or... just as often... from not enough participation
9. Having to log in to post to a message board can be a pain
10. Comment threads let you dig down into a particular discussion BUT you can do the same thing on an individual blog post that has multiple comments and trackbacks

(Note: can message boards be RSS-enabled - ?)

Useful Links & a Chart

DeathMatch: Bad, Bad Leroy Blog vs. Mean Mr. Message Board (Lee LeFever)

Read Dave Pollard on the pros & cons of blogs vs. wikis vs. discussion boards, etc.

Lee LeFever's excellent chart below. Also read his blog entry on message boards vs. Weblogs.

Something cool you can do with your name in a Comments link

I betcha never thought of this. Typically, when you leave a Comment on a blog post, you link your name back to your blog or Web site.

When Brand Autopsy's John Moore left a comment here recently (thanks John!), he linked his name to a PDF with information about his Brand Autopsy marketing practice.

Clever, huh?!

P.S. It's easy to do this. You just gotta know the complete Web address for the location of the PDF on your site or blog. In John's case, it looks like this: http://brandautopsy.typepad.com/BrandAutopsyBackgrounder.pdf

He entered the above in the "URL field" when leaving his comment.

Have you thought about using video clips in your blog?

I just watched the funniest video clip starring Steve Crescenzo, a corporate communications guru who also writes a very funny blog, Corporate Hallucinations. It's a Rocky take-off (the 1976 movie starring Sylvester Stallone) set to the theme music, showing Crescenzo running, stopping to drink a beer, running, etc. etc., finally running up the steps... and collapsing in an exhausted heap.

He teaches advanced writing workshops for Ragan Communications. The mini video, accessible via this link through Ragan's home page, is a promo for his workshops.

Well the guy is just... funny. And the clip is very effective as a marketing strategy.

I was thinking today about how your personal appearance can be so much a part of your schtick if you're a speaker or presenter. Steve is a big guy and he's bald. It works perfectly - even for a corporate audience. I wish I were something... more distinctive than the woman you see at left. (Yes, that's me. My daughter says I look like a car salesman in the color version of the photo.)

I'm currently working with a tremendous speaking coach, Clarice Scriber, to take my speaking skills to the next level. It's humbling, a little painful... and fascinating (in a weird way) to watch yourself on video and realize how many ways you can improve your delivery. (Clarice insisted I tape a recent speech I made to IPRA/PRSA-NCC.)

But I don't think bald will do it...

Useful Link

Speaking of Ragan, I'm running a workshop on Corporate Blogging 2.0 [scroll down - last item on the page] at Ragan's mega 15th annual Corporate Communicators Conference in Chicago on Thursday, April 27, 2006. Give me a holler if you're in Chicago and want to meet up for a drink the evening of Wednesday April 26th. You can email me at wordbiz(at)gmail.com.