A recent CNN article on blog advertising notes two companies that have successfully launched themselves into the Blogosphere. Each from a very different end of the spectrum.

- General Motors: Its Fastlane blog has created a forum where top executives can be found interacting directly with customers.

- Savile Row tailor Thomas Mahon: Says that suit sales have jumped since he created a blog called Englishcut.com earlier this year.

Good article about search engine advertising over at DM News talking about the importance of not treating every click-through with equal importance.

Points out that we need to analyse the path of “clickers” through the site, to see if they browse and leave, or they browse and buy. Furthermore, before starting the campaign, it’s also very important to evaluate the kind of search engines we want to advertise on. Users with different characteristics use different search engines. For example DMNews explains: “AOL traditionally has been seen as the search space of choice for the less Web-savvy Internet user. That might make it a better place to sell a beginner-level product that helps people understand the Web better.”

Planning has an important role also in search engine marketing. It’s not just a question of choosing the right keywords, it’s also relevant where you place them.

[via Adverblog]

Thomas Directories is going all digital. No more “Big Green Book” says SearchViews.

“It has been our strategy for the last 10 years to eventually eliminate the print properties. It was just a matter of how long it would take.”

One of our clients here at ten24 has advertised in the Thomas Directories for years, and with good success. But as he pointed out to me a couple years back, is anyone really picking up that big book anymore. “It’s much easier to seek it out online.”

From BizCommunity.com:

With the proliferation of blogs, should we take them seriously, and how will they impact PR/corporate communications? Blogging is at an early stage of development and, like the early days of the Internet, predictions about its impact need to be taken with caution. However, although websites were initially viewed skeptically, they now form part of the formal armory of integrated corporate communications tools.

Read the full article here

Goldman Sachs says the online advertising industry is expected to increase by 28 percent to reach $12.3 billion in 2005.

From Adverblog:

Online advertising is growing, but it’s also getting more and more complicated as Bambi Francisco explains: “Successful online advertising isn’t just about a clever campaign; it’s about mathematical computations”. You’d better study mathematics if you want to get this business right…

Rob Hof from Business Week points out that online jeweler Ice.com now has three blogs driving “an amazing amount of traffic and sales to its main site.” The company’s CEO told Rob they get “thousands” of leads a week from their blogs.

But Rob also reminds us that blogs don’t necessarily need a business model. Remembering what Doc Searls once noted:

“Does your phone have a business model? How about your porch? Or your driveway?” he asked at Dave Winer’s Bloggercon last November at Stanford Law School. “Do you refuse to buy furniture unless you can find a way to make money off of it?” His point: Blogs’ key value may be indirect, providing satisfaction on their own terms or leading to other opportunities.

Speaking of other opportunities. Let us not forget about where internal communications fits into all of this. Any company with more than a handful of staff faces major challenges keeping everyone informed and up-to-date. The blog you want the world to see may not pull in thousands of sales each week, but it might very well tell some important stories at home.

The New York art scene may turn it’s nose up at illustrators, but not so on the West Coast. Birthed by tattoo artists, rock poster illustrators, and animators on their off hours, Lowbrow Art is busting with girls, guns, and flourescent coloured goodness.

Boeing now has put up a second blog, and this one is written by their engineers and test pilots. Even in such a technical industry, Boeing is looking to reach out to customers and communicate in an informal way.

Neville Hobson puts it like this:

“The new blog is a terrific step in sharing commentary and opinion on a subject that most people would only find out about through traditional communication means (TV, print media, etc). And without any of the informality.”

A variety of companies and industries are using blogs to reach out to their customers. Add the classical music world to the list. Classical music is a struggling genre and is looking to the web to help renew popular interest.

C|Net has more

Although it does feel like it. While I am on vacation I lined up a bunch of guest editors to keep you occupied. But since they all seem too busy huffing marker fumes to post, I’ll try to pop something in everyday.