Small firms ignore benefits of blogging

Small firms understand the potential of a blog, but fail to put this awareness into action

Nearly half of small businesses say they would use a blog to drive traffic to their website, according to new research from hosting provider Fasthosts. 

But only three per cent of the 2,000 small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) questioned in the survey intend to start a blog.

Fasthosts' Blogging For Business paper suggests that SMBs understand the potential business benefits of running a blog on their website, but are failing to put this awareness into action.

There are currently 53.9 million blogs in existence, with 75,000 new ones created daily, according to Technorati.

Blogs provide an opportunity for interactivity with existing customers and building relationships with potential customers. They encourage website owners to update content regularly thereby encouraging people continue to visit the site. 

The Fasthosts research found that 26 per cent of respondents needed a blog to be updated daily to ensure that they returned.

But just over one third of participants indicated that, as long as the blog is informative and interesting, it did not matter how regularly it is updated.

However, some small businesses question whether the time taken each day to update a blog could be better used on more profitable pursuits.

"It's the 80-20 rule," said one owner of a micro-business, referring to the concept that many companies get 80 per cent of their business from 20 per cent of their customers.

"I have five or six important customers and I'd make more money taking one of them to lunch each week than I would spending an hour a day with my head in a screen. There's too much information, too many blogs. I don't want to add to the noise."