There’s a great report recently released from the Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs.

The report – B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends – has great insight into how marketers are viewing blogging heading into the new year. It’s important to see what others are doing and how their views align with your own.

The most interesting findings regarding blogging are:

• 65% of B2B marketers blog
• 27% increase in B2B marketers blogging from 2010 (51% in 2010)
• 45% increase in the belief that blogging is effective over 2010
• 60% of B2B marketers are increasing spend on content marketing
• 62% of B2B marketers use at least some outsourced content

Those are interesting results for those with thoughts of blogging in 2012.

The question now is – what should you do next?

Blogging To-Do List for 2012

Blogging is increasing as a way for B2B marketers to generate traffic, leads, and sales.

Marketers are saying they are looking to blogging as a way to improve their bottom lines. These are smart people looking to make things better for their business. They are saying they are investing in blogging and seeing results.

Here is what you can put on your Blogging to-do list this year…

Create a Blogging Strategy

This is the biggest item on the list. Sit down with the people in your business you trust and discuss the best ways to use a blog to improve your bottom line in 2012. You’re seeing more businesses, probably your competitors blogging, and it’s time to determine where it fits in your priorities. Perhaps bring in someone that’s an expert in blogging and have them provide their insight into your blogging strategy.

Determine Resource Needs

Resources are often shorted when it comes to blogging. It takes research, writing, and formatting to write a blog post. And it takes a great understanding of what the goals are for your business. Take this all into consideration when thinking about how you’ll commit yourself, your employees, and anyone else to blogging. It can take anywhere from one hour to ten hours to write a single post. It also takes more effort for the first few months because you’re learning what works. As time goes on writers will become more efficient and will require less time.

Set Realistic Expectations

Think about what traffic, leads, and sales expectations you’ll have and think about the timeline. Don’t overshoot, but don’t limit yourself either. It can take months before your blog generates hundreds of new visits each month. Blogging is a long-term strategy. If this is not right for your business then maybe you don’t want a blog. If you want to generate leads for the long-term then blogging is something to consider. Set realistic expectations, but expect to see results. Make sure writers know they are expected to produce.

Setup Reporting Before You Start

Reporting is important. Focus on profit. Setup a timeline with a budget for how blogging will pay off for your business.

Commit to Fresh Content

People want fresh content. Commit to posting often. Go back to your resource requirements and make sure you can commit to posting regularly. This will produce the best results.