In the most recent issue of Inc. magazine, an article argued that business blogging was on its way out. According to research from the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts, only 37 percent of Inc. 500 companies maintained a blog in 2011, down from 50 percent in 2010.
Part of the argument for this business blogging trend is that those in the Inc. 500 didn't exist in the early years of blogging. So, they went straight into social media. That argument makes business blogging see so 1998, when it's still very much in vogue today. Also, depending on how "new" these companies are, it's very possible they may start blogging once the core business is up and running. It's still a free way to market, just like Facebook and Twitter.
Despite this, the article does praise the invaluableness of business blogging. They're research found that 92 percent of companies that do blog consider it a success, versus 82 percent that considered Facebook a success. I would hardly say that it's "on it's way out as a marketing tool." Too many companies have found success, so I don't see many giving up on business blogging or staying away from it in the coming years.
The article also said that business blogging has a bad rep because it's time consuming. I don't deny that it's time consuming, but there are also plenty of professional blog services out there that can help small businesses with this issue. If a business is going to be blogging, it needs to be doing it at least twice a week. Anything less will become time consuming and lead to abandon, as it would take over a year at anything less than twice a week to see any return on investment.
