While 85% of marketers in a report by web analytics firm WebTrends appreciated how using the web helped them hit sales and marketing targets, only 5% used blogs regularly and even less tried podcasting or web seminars. Viral marketing, competitions and sponsorship were also largely untapped by the survey respondents.
The only web tools with any significant usage were e-direct mail (used regularly by 46%), web analytics (37%), and optimization (36%).
Nick Sharp, WebTrends vice president and general manager EMEA, said blogging had become more than a nice to have for businesses. With the power to publish, share and influence, this new consumer movement is impacting every aspect of the business world. Some experts predict that businesses that are not blogging now, may not exist in a couple of year’s time, he said.
But other experts, notably Gartner, believe the blogging bubble is about to burst, as the estimated 100 million bloggers begin to lose interest.
Despite only a 4% uptake, podcasts proved successful for 44% of the respondents and only 18% were said they were unhappy with the results. Sponsorship, viral marketing, and seminars were the only areas where unhappy customers exceeded positive responses.
But often the biggest reaction was simply indifference, indicating that companies weren’t really tracking their web usage effectively.
This is a blind spot for business, as there seems to be little point in utilizing a tool, only to not invest time ad money towards measuring its performance, said Sharp.
