34% of US companies will use blogs in 2010

By comparison, 16% of US companies used blogs for marketing purposes in 2007, with 25% using them in 2008, and 29% using them in 2009.

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

“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.

“There is evidence that smaller companies are embracing blogging at greater rates than larger firms. This might be because larger, public companies – particularly in industries such as pharma and financial services – have more legal, logistical and regulatory constraints than smaller firms.”