When Business Blog Consulting's Rick Bruner was challenged on an AdTech stage by consumer blogger nonpareil Nick Denton, it got him thinking: just what has been the benefit of the companies publishing interesting corporate blogs? So he started pestering an executive at yogurt company Stonyfield Farm - the corporate blogging company he had cited at AdTech - to see just what were the metrics behind their buzz-worthy site. Christine Halvorson, the company's blogger, kindly provided the tracking information they've been using. It turns out that they've been generating tens of thousands of visitors a month; the most recent monthly figures for all four of their current blogs totaling just under 60,000 visits. Halvorson said that a small firm like theirs - they started out with seven cows in 1987 - grows through increasing awareness and getting out their message and personality. Today they sell 18 million cups of yogurt a month. "It probably affects someone's buying decision," she said. "The good will generated by the blogs is hard to measure, but we assume it will have a positive impact on our bottom line."
