Is Blogging Dead or Are Companies Not Trying Hard Enough?

I agree with the last commenter

There's no way to say blogging is dead. Do agree with you Gini. It is not that you have contents on your blog even if everyday you have updated it. It doesn't end there. There are many things to consider before you get results with your blog. As they say content is King. Yes it is, as long as you produce quality contents, useful coupled with right practices -  BLogging will surely bring wonders to you.

I agree with you that blogging is not dead. Yes it is labor intensive, but it does pay all. Not everyone uses Facebook or Twitter in business. I think it is harder to attract users to your site if you are business and you use Facebook. Corporate clients will read a blog before going to Facebook. Facebook is more interactive to one's personal posts.

 @thomasoutt Beverly Sills said "There is no shortcut to success." That still applies, even to blogging.  Blogging seems so easy, but it is a lot of work.  Therein lies the rub. 

Blogging isn't easy it also require time and planning like you have to do for a business.

RT @Soulati Is Blogging Dead or Are Companies Not Trying Hard Enough? http://t.co/JIPOavlR via @ginidietrich

"It’s hard to generate good content even once a week" yet gurus teach to blog once or more a day everyday, probably because they want to kill the competition. Btw adding to that numbers the blogs opened everywhere in the world just to make money (which they don't) explains first why there are so many and second why so many close. So it's not always bad that many blogs close their doors.

Then for the theory that blogging is dead could be just a move to push FB, Twitter or Tumblr or where most of those "make money blogging" guys have moved. Or it's just sensationalism. ;)

Great and timely post.   After re-branding my company, I have started blogging over the last two months.  I am definitely trying to put up great content and not sell.   Mainly using a "case study" approach and providing food for thought.   And, you are correct, it is difficult to continuously post great content.   Insurance is not a sexy topic, but I'm trying!  :-)   Thanks Gini!

I'm not as consistent about my blogging as I could be. But I would never eliminate it from my strategy. That sounds insane to me. Whenever someone says "I closed my blog and I'm relying on Facebook, and Twitter instead." I hear "I closed my own store and hope that Walmart and Amazon will move my product and services for me."   

Nice post @ginidietrich ! Keeping content flowing is tough, but new tools and new tactics like curation are making it easier to stay relevant and informative, even on those occasions when ideas or time are running short. I think the bogosphere is definitely evolving with more migration to what you could call social blogging.

ROI is such a lovely word. But sometimes, quite deceptive. Especially when it's used as a platitude. [grin]

I have observed that the ROI of traditional paid advertising and marketing campaigns can be equally (or more) difficult to prove than paid and earned online campaigns. Sometimes, it depends on the business or industry. Sometimes, location or region.

There are ten thousand platitudes and then there are results.

There's no better bon mot than, I have seen with my own eyes. I'm sure you have too.

My favorite anecdote is 100s of millions of dollars spent on tv advertising with a global, super agency, glowing polls, surveys and imaginary that gush about the ROI, and then a five year industry member conclusion that sales had not increased one cent for all that spend.

Mission, situation, market, budget, goals, short term results, and long term results - these are the plain-spoken terms that dictate strategy. Whether or not a blog fits into your strategy requires individual reflection. But I find it difficult to believe a blog can't deliver strategic, long term value to industry leaders.

Here's another view:

Spent a lot of this evening talking with someone on twitter on "mommy bloggers" after a local scandal (really bizarre stuff).  I asked who actually reads these blogs, and the response was that it's mostly other bloggers trying to get themselves notices via comments so that people will visit them, etc.  So the contention is that most blogging is nothing more than a sub-culture.

This makes sense to me, in large part because I never (and I do mean never) cross paths with any of the bloggers who talk about their personal lives (mommy or otherwise).  People on the 'net who are "real" and are interested in, say, good conversation come from a very different place - and are much harder to find.  Barataria has been around for 5 years and is now in a place where it has decent traffic - but is still soundly beaten by the online version of any newspaper, including the Bemidji Pioneer.

So if most blogging is just a sub-culture, it may well not be worth the time for most businesses.  They'd have to break out of the usual BS and find their real customers and not the wannabee reality show contestants who think "blogging" is about their own narcissistic shortcomings.

Something to think about.

Blogging has to be done well to be effective, and that information is severely lacking.  My gig (well, the best paying of the gigs I get) revolves around teaching people how to be as effective as possible with their time.  My biggest problem is the deep and wide culture of mis-information about what blogging is all about and how to use social media.  Most of my time is spent dispelling nonsense.  

The problem is that a lot of charlatans have polluted the field and convinced people that the social media / blogging world is narcissistic crap that takes insane amounts of time.  The people who have pushed this view are much louder than those of us who know what the Hell we are talking about - and tend to get the attention of legacy media such as teevee, etc.  

If done properly, blogging should not take that much time and can, indeed, be farmed out pretty cheaply if necessary.  It can and should be evaluated for its ROI, and my clients are all very happy on that score.  But far too many people have been ripped off and have a bad attitude for a very good reason.

It crosses my mind that those companies should outsource their blogging to actual bloggers who know how to do it, and then run with the leads.

Mmmmm......blogging. An introverted extroverts dream. I would think the biggest issue corps would have is the almighty acronym.....ROI. Gasp! Guess that's the stats you cited. Ahem, 77% is more than a passing grade to me. I have no idea. I'm still just a spec on the wall of the big bad blog world. Scary stats tho.

@hollisthomases Couldn't agree more! And now if I can just focus on doing some posts of my own. LOL! Thanks for the RT!

Just my luck; just about the time I get the hang of this thing, that damn horse dies right out from under me.......I have a face for blogging though, so I hope it sticks around.

Where I have fallen woefully short is not supporting @LanierUpshaw's blog enough. You would think my tired ass could at least do one post a month, right? I keep telling myself I will do a better job, but it's kind of hard to support them when it's all about me, huh? I don't want them horning in on my popularity........sheeesh.........

One thing I have found through blogging is, I really do like to write. It has opened some doors for me to meet some incredibly talented people so that can only make me better I suppose. 

I will not abandon Lanier's blog; going forward my commitment is to do at least one post a month. Of course, they might ask me to stop if the only thing I can write about is me so we'll have to see how that goes...........

Blogging is king, long live blogging..............

 @rudee And...if Facebook dies, so does your community.

 @ThomasOutt  Exactly! There is no overnight success. It all applies. Blogging IS a lot of work.

 @BSEindia This is very true.

 @BSEindia Yes, it's definitely like a business. You have to have a vision and know what you're trying to achieve.

 @CesLSU AND you're commenting, too! I'm so proud!!

 @Tinu HA! Great analogy!!

 @ChrisBradley Really great point about curation. If balanced with original content, it works really well.

 @Faryna That's the biggest thing that bugs me about the ROI discussion. It's now SO MUCH easier to measure our efforts, yet everyone claims it can't be done. I think that's just pure laziness. It can be done. And it's not hard.

 @wabbitoid You cross paths all the time with people who talk about their personal lives. You probably just aren't aware of it.

 @wabbitoid It's definitely a subculture here in the comments. Everyone has personal jokes with one another, which I love. But comments account for less than one percent of our readers. We gain not only credibility and awareness from blogging, but also new clients.

 @wabbitoid I enjoy your quips, Wabbitoid. I don't always agree, but I do enjoy them. Cheers!

 @wabbitoid I agree with you about all the noise and people talking about stuff they don't really know. BUT. It takes an inordinate amount of time to keep this blog going. I personally spend 10-15 hours a week on it and Lisa probably spend 20-25 hours. It's a full-time job. It's naive to think it doesn't take a lot of time.

 @wabbitoid I agree social is like a bazaar. You get all kinds. And the wild-eyed, fortune tellers tend to attract the lionshare of attention with their mumbo jumbo.

 @Julie | A Clear Sign There are definitely pros and cons to that, as well. Not in the company's voice, who manages the community, etc. But I have no qualms writing blog posts for clients IF they approve them and add their own voice.

 @Julie | A Clear Sign Yuppers.  I do it for cheap, too.  :-)

 @rdopping ROI is precisely the issue for most companies. Well made blogs do work, but they work very slowly. I've been at it a long time, and I pick up a lead here and there, but there are much more effective channels for lead generation. For instance, if I go to a cocktail party, I'm more likely to make a connection that generates work for me. No joke. 

I recently wrote a piece about the ROI of blogging and why I am laying off AdPulp at this time, and focusing more on my company's blog instead. 

http://bonehook.com/2012/04/17/blogging-isnt-poetry-its-a-means-to-an-end/

 @rdopping I also see you're hanging out around here today! And you're right...the mighty ROI. No one knows how to measure this stuff. It kind of makes me nuts.

 @bdorman264 You kill me! LOL! 

So why is it you can write for your blog, but not the business one?

 @bdorman264 How are you deciding on topics for the Lanier Upshaw blog? I know with that sort of thing I find it helpful to decide on a monthly topic. That's my two cents...Feel free to throw them into the nearest pond or fountain. :)

 @ginidietrich You know I love your material!  You are in my circle of trust!

 @ginidietrich I am going to do it on my husband's company website - interview him and get his thoughts and simply do the writing for him.  He is a contractor and I am not - but I do hope it will create engagement and give him something important that he doesn't currently have.  Of course, I have easy access to him so I can bug him for all of the right answers, so it's not quite the same thing :)  I understand what you are saying about ownership and engagement in their own voice.

 @David Burn You make some excellent points. I haven't been at blogging for more than a year so I don't consider myself qualified to comment but I can say this. I have been in the A+D business for 20yrs and it is quite clear to me that building relations opens doors.

Is that not what THIS is all about?

Yeah, I love it here. Soooooooo, much interesting stuff. Mitch Joel was wrong. IT IS fun to comment and engage.......

 @ginidietrich Because it takes all my creative efforts, just to post twice a week. That's why I have such a difficult time even doing a guest post, which is somewhat akin to me writing for our corporate blog.

It's really a matter of commitment and priorities. With my blog, I know no heavy lifting is required and I don't have to give it too much thought. With the crop blog I have to pay attention a little bit more.

HOWEVER, and don't cast it in stone yet, but there is a good chance I will be over at the corp blog more than at my incredibly popular personal site in the near future. I don't know how well I can deal with the crickets though....:). 

 @ginidietrich  @bdorman264 imagine having to suppress Bill's wit and self depreciating I mean deprecating humor for a blog. Seriously do you know what accountants find exciting? insurance.

 @Erin F. Because insurance can be so convoluted and mysterious at times, I'm always interested to convey a message but keeping it simple so the average joe can understand what the heck we are talking about. 

However, being a full lines agency and a with multitude of 'threats' to profitability for businesses; making the right hires for employee benefits; and proper insurance for all your toys, we have plenty of topics 'we' can touch on. My specialty is commercial property, liability, workers comp, cars, trucks but I 'know' stuff and can 'personalize' a message.

My next post will be about why insurance is actually a great career choice and we really need bright, young, sharp minds getting into the industry. Regardless of how the industry is perceived, EVERYBODY will buy insurance and there are a lot of 'people' parts that go along with that process, ie, many jobs available. 

Most young people don't consider 'insurance' as a career choice. I didn't until after my junior year in college. When I found out how many different type of jobs are available in this industry, it blew me away. 

Cool! Tickle his bald head for me (I don't know the man).

 @rdopping LOL!!! I'm printing this and handing it to him when I see him tomorrow.

 @HowieSPM  @ginidietrich I make insurance sexy....:)

 @bdorman264 There you go. A multi-purpose accountability partner.

 @Erin F. I do have an accountability partner; but it's more production related and not writing, maybe I'll get them to keep me on task with the writing for the LUI blog......

 @bdorman264 Ha! It sounds as though some sort of schedule or accountability partner is in your future. :)

Do you know Mike Vardy's blog? He had a recent post about "time chunking." I like his phrasing for the concept.

 @Erin F. We do have monthly 'themes,' but I can typically pop something in whenever I want to. I just need to take the time to do it....

 @HowieSPM  @Erin F. Dude, I'm in sales, not re-insurance. If BP thought they were paying too much for their insurance before, just wait until they see the invoice for their renewal.............:). 

 @HowieSPM Haha! @bdorman264

 @bdorman264 I worked with an insurance broker for a while - as her blogger and e-letter person - so I have some idea of the range of topics. :) We sometimes tried to tie the topic into something having to do with the month. My favorite post was the one I wrote about life insurance for February. I played off the whole love languages thing.

 @bdorman264  @Erin F. and Insurance blog? Well I am going to create a Re-Insurance blog to insurance your poor judgement in insuring things like BP oil wells and the Rays against not making the playoffs.