Corporate blogging set to grow to 43% by 2012

While growth of social media use by consumers has outstripped blogging in recent years, in the corporate world, it’s a different story, with the corporate blogging showing strong growth, according to a report in Emarketer.

“Companies are finding that blogs fill a specific niche that other forms of social media do not,” says eMarketer senior analyst Paul Verna.

Emarketer estimates that in 2010 one in three companies are using a public-facing blog for marketing purposes, forecasting a rise to 43% by 2012.

“Studies have shown that marketers perceive blogs to have the highest value of any social media in driving site traffic, brand awareness, lead generation and sales—as well as improving customer service,” said Verna.

There’s also evidence that smaller companies are faster adopters of corporate blogs than large companies.