At a recent conference StrategyOne, an Edelman subsidiary presented interesting data on the state of text blogging in Europe. Whilst the research looked at political engagement rather than B2B or B2C communication it did give an interesting overview.

The highlights:

• 23% people in the UK and 22% in France read blogs weekly (US is 27%)
• Almost 3 in 10 people took action after reading a blog  (in this research that resulted in attending a meeting, writing to newspapers or a politician etc)
• On average in most European markets twice as many males as females read blogs (US only 25% more male)
• Except in UK age (younger are more active) did not mean more action taken (US is reverse – older take more action)
• ‘Influencers’* are 50% to 300% more likely to blog than others.

For politicians this shows that one way to engage with disenchanted potential voters is to use blogs and social media tools.

In the UK active membership of all political parties is falling and so the average age of members is increasing. Mobilising the ‘youth vote’ is critical.

What does this mean for business?

1. HR - blogs are a way to engage with potential future employees. Current employee blogs are a great way to showcase what it is really like to work for you and ensure you attract the type of person with the right ‘attitudinal’ fit.

2. Marketing/Sales – depending on your target market there are active prospects out there! 22% of people in Europe say they blog. Younger people more so. These numbers are growing fast.

3. Customer Services – blogs are a great tool to build and sustain customer relations. With this platform up-sell and cross-sell becomes easier.

* Defined as people already engaging in a number of dialogue type activities (attend meetings, write to newspapers and politicians)