55% of corporations have adopted blogs

Trend: The move from print to online communication continues (paralleling Google's stock price).

Source: Staggering Stats on Blog Adoption: DEMOletter.

The survey found that 55% of corporations have adopted blogs for both internal (91.4%) and external (96.6%) communications. More than half of these organizations launched their blogs within the last year, and most of these started within the past three months. That’s a hockey stick. And it suggests that corporate communicators will drive future growth of the social media market.

Some other findings:

· Companies that are adopting blogs are doing so with significant initiatives. Almost 10% of respondents have more than 20 internal and/or external blogs.

· Internal blogs – used for communication within a company – are predominantly used for knowledge sharing (63%) and internal communications (44%). Four out of five companies with internal blogs use them to improve internal communications. One in three are replacing e-mail-based processes with blogs; one in six are using blogs to replace other software.

· About 60% of those with external blogs –used for communications outside a company – have more than one, and about 17% have more than five blogs. External blogs are mainly used for PR/marketing (61%) and demonstration of thought leadership (61%). More than 40% have a CEO blog.

· The expected benefits of external blogs include improved brand recognition (78%) and external communications (78%), as well as a vehicle for customer feedback (66%). A few respondents are expecting blogs to generate income (20%), but many more are expecting them to improve search engine positioning (58%).

· The biggest challenges faced by business bloggers are maintaining enthusiasm (42%), encouraging adoption (36%) and dealing with technological problems (30%). Editorial policy (14%) and dealing with inappropriate comments or content (14%) are less of a problem than getting management support (18%).

· Of those groups not blogging, the majority (70%) are positive about starting a blog, with 7% intending to start a blog immediately, 13% intending to start a blog within a year and with 50% studying the possibilities. Only 11%, or 1 in 9, of the total respondents are not blogging today and have no plans to do so.

The recent surge in corporate blogging, significant plans for expanding current blogging activities, and a large community of potential customers suggests that corporate customers – more so than traditional and new media outlets – will drive the future growth of the social media market.