This is a pretty weak pitch. Basically the person takes two sets of stats and creates an argument that isn't necessarily grounded in reality. The stats don't correlate, nor do they consider what end users are going to do.
Now, is there room for blogs to make a comeback? Yes. There are publishing networks big (Medium) and small (see all the Markdown+Dropbox blog platforms) that are gunning for WordPress and Tumblr right now, which suggests that we're going to find new ways to encourage movement on the medium-form writing style.
And here's the other thing: While blogs are more likely to influence a purchase than Facebook, any good marketer has presence on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter and blogs. That one percent difference is nullified if they have their hands in multiple pockets with multiple approaches.
A lot of what marketing clients look for is a top-down approach which takes into account each of the tools at our disposal and finds ways to make each of them work together. You can't treat one as more important than the other, though Facebook is certainly getting the lion's share of the attention right now. If anything, the second graphic in this post shows the value of a more holistic approach, not one that relies largely on one platform over another. If you're really doing it right, you're leveraging Twitter to lead someone to a blog post, getting them to watch your YouTube video, and drawing a like on a Facebook page all in a single visit … and the triangulation of these elements eventually leads to a sale and/or a growth of brand awareness.
Now, is there room for blogs to make a comeback? Yes. There are publishing networks big (Medium) and small (see all the Markdown+Dropbox blog platforms) that are gunning for WordPress and Tumblr right now, which suggests that we're going to find new ways to encourage movement on the medium-form writing style.
And here's the other thing: While blogs are more likely to influence a purchase than Facebook, any good marketer has presence on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter and blogs. That one percent difference is nullified if they have their hands in multiple pockets with multiple approaches.
A lot of what marketing clients look for is a top-down approach which takes into account each of the tools at our disposal and finds ways to make each of them work together. You can't treat one as more important than the other, though Facebook is certainly getting the lion's share of the attention right now. If anything, the second graphic in this post shows the value of a more holistic approach, not one that relies largely on one platform over another. If you're really doing it right, you're leveraging Twitter to lead someone to a blog post, getting them to watch your YouTube video, and drawing a like on a Facebook page all in a single visit … and the triangulation of these elements eventually leads to a sale and/or a growth of brand awareness.