Blogs bring increased business says Investors Business Daily

Investors Business Daily reports blogs published by analysts at Jupiter Research, part of publicly traded Jupiter Media are stirring increased sales for the company.

Over a dozen Jupiter analysts post blogs on the jupiterresearch.com Web site. David Schatsky, chief of research at JupiterMedia’s Jupiter Research says it’s resulting in sales leads from clients who otherwise might not have contacted Jupiter. The company can’t say just how much business the blogs have generated. But it’s reported scores of potential clients have contacted Jupiter because of the blogs.

Investor’s Business Daily says that Jupiter shows that blogs, once the domain of tech geeks with personal interests or peeves to air, are becoming useful tools for business, marketing and news. It cites Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, for instance, who told a meeting of chief executives in May that blogs are a great way for firms to tell customers and workers what a company’s doing.

Here’s why Business Daily believes blogs work:

• Blogs build connections. Jock Gill, a former adviser on Internet media to President Clinton, told the Daily blogs work for Jupiter because they create trust and build connections with readers. “You do business with people you trust, and blogs help create that trust,” Gill said.
• Blogs show you’ve got personality. Schatsky told the Daily the big advantage of blogs is the freedom of expression they provide. The Daily said blogs allow Jupiter analysts to be whimsical and cutting edge in giving their views on a variety of topics. The postings differ from conventional analyst reports, which tend to be formulaic and staid.
• Blogs provide insight. “The blogs show that (Jupiter) has strong and substantiated opinions. They illustrate the value of a relationship with us in more conventional channels,” Schatsky said. “Much of our research is data-driven. A blog offers the opportunity to provide some opinion,” he said.
• Blogs allow comments as events happen. “We view blogs as an opportunity to comment quickly,” Schatsky told the Daily.

Investors Business Daily warns “[I]t’s not exactly anything goes in these blogs. The analysts know the blog is part of their job. Jupiter “asks” analysts to not give away too much of their original research.”

Alan Meckler, chief executive of Jupiter and also a blogger hit the nail on the head in saying blogs are a way to turn the personalities of Jupiter’s individual analysts into marketing tools. “Readers can start bonding with a certain kind of analyst long before they start using their research,” he told the Daily.

Law firms can learn a lot from Jupiter. Have your your firm’s lawyers build connections, share their insight and comment on current events in the law through professional blogs. Failing to do is wasting a tremendous marketing opportunity to build connections with current & prospective clients.