Washington Post article on Business blogging

I read an article in the Washington Post last week titled "Marketing Moves to the Blogosphere: Business Model Shifts to Engage Customers Online." I had it bookmarked and went to comment on the article today, but the functionality was disabled. I sent an email to the writer, and am anxious to hear the reasoning behind that, but I doubt I'll get a response. This article was originally published on Aug. 25th... only 8 days ago. I assume that happens after an article reaches a certain point of "untimeliness", but I'm not even sure if I agree with that. Why wouldn't you allow user feedback 6 months after an article was written - is it no longer relevant?

Anyhow, I found the same article republished at the Hartford Courant, under the title "Businesses See Blogs As Good Public Relations", and they had their comment function active. Here was my comment to the article:

I'm a big fan of Debbie Weil's blog, and her insights on corporate blogging. However, I have to disagree with her statement that "using a blog as a business strategy is that usually you cannot connect the dots directly from blogs to revenue."

That is absolutely true with traditional blogging platforms and strategies. However, with a platform that is designed for corporate blogging, allowing multiple people within an organization to create content, and organizing that content for Search Engine Optimization, it is very much a tangible, measurable marketing method.

Like Mr. Williams stated, blogs are a great way to put a human face to a brand or institution. However, a corporate blogging strategy can have a clear ROI just like a website, Pay-Per-Click campaign, or other digital marketing activity. My company, Compendium Blogware, specializes in corporate blogging solutions, and has several case studies and Whitepapers that prove this with real client data.

I encourage anyone interested in exploring the tangible "connecting of dots" from blogs to revenue, to visit www.compendiumblogware.com or read my personal blog at http://blogging.compendiumblog.com/blog/blogs-as-a-marketing-solution.

Eric Romer
Business Dev. Manager
Compendium Blogware