A new survey from Backbone Media answers that question with a most emphatic “Yes!”From the Executive Summary:

(W)e asked bloggers at hundreds of companies to participate in an online survey and conducted in-depth interviews with leading individuals from six corporate blogs that were selected as representative of the diverse spectrum of the corporate blogging world. What we discovered was that for the majority of our survey sample, (which includes some of today’s biggest corporations and scrappiest underdogs), corporate blogs are living up to all the hype. We discovered that corporate blogs are giving established corporations and obscure brands the ability to connect with their audiences on a personal level, build trust, collect valuable feedback and foster strengthened relationships while and at the same time benefiting in ways that are tangible to the sales and marketing side of the business.

To bolster their survey results, survey authors Steven Turcotte, John Cass and Kristine Munroe offer up six case studies from companies ranging from organic food maven Annie’s Natural to IBM and Microsoft. What I found most interesting about the survey were the essay responses received to this question: What can you do with a blog that you could not do with a corporate website? Why is that?

“Communicate, interact, discuss, share, build and grow your relationships with customers and prospects and thought leaders in your industry. A website is static, rigid. By comparison a blog is flexible, modifiable, current. That precipitates a conversation, a sharing of ideas and knowledge with peers. A website kills the conversation. It says’ here’s the information, take it or leave it.’ A blog allows discussion, a partnership.”

“Update on a regular basis - participate in industry related discussions - ‘real time’ marketing.”

“Update quickly and easily because I have the freedom to do this without IT and without needing approval of Sr. officers.”

If you’re a corporate marketer looking for additional ammunition to convince the powers that be to consider a blog - this survey should do just that. And if you’re skeptical small business owner with limited marketing resources, the quick return on investment, coupled with the number of one-person blog operations, should convince you to take a closer look.One caveat: You’ll notice that survey respondents report that they’ve had low impact on sales as a result of blogging - while they do claim increased site visibility due to search engine ranking and inbound traffic. I’d argue that it’s nearly impossible to effectively and directly measure the impact of any marketing initiative on sales, unless there’s a measurable hoop (coupon, discount offer, special URL that can be tracked, etc.) that is the only way into the special offer (especially if you have a separate sales force with competing interests.) That’s why I’d argue that you shouldn’t list “increase sales” as the proof point about your blog’s effectiveness over time.

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