Yesterday I read 7 Things Blogging Does over at HubSpot. It’s a great article and I encourage you to read it. The first thing listed included a link to a post and video featuring Seth Godin and Tom Peters.

The post featuring the video was from Mitch Joel of Twist Image – Blogging Still Matters… Now More Than Ever. This is also an article worth reading including the links Mitch gives to his previous posts.

From Tom Peters…

It [blogging] has changed my emotional outlook, and it’s the best damn marketing tool by an order of magnitude I’ve ever had… and it’s free.”

Best Marketing Tool

I kind of paraphrased what Tom Peters says in the video for effect, but let’s roll with it.

As mentioned before, consultants seem to benefit greatly from blogging (see: Content Marketing Critical in 2011). Seth and Tom are both in the consulting business. They also are bestselling authors. Blogging has proven to be beneficial directly resulting in sales for these types of business models. As a side note I think other businesses like accountants, attorneys, and service B2B companies can track sales directly back to blogging activity.

For Tom and likely many others in these forms of business, blogging is the best or one of the best marketing tools available.

What does that mean for other business models?

Blogging is a great marketing tool even for those in consumer businesses. Increased customer engagement via a blog can add value to the customer relationship. Blogs improve visibility. Blogs build brand recognition and reputation. These things can be tracked in their own way and can lead to sales leads and sales as well.

What do you think about blogging as a marketing tool?

Is it the best damn tool available today?