What the #%^*! are Blogs, Pods and RSS?!?

Or so you may have heard a client utter. As an agency, we are expected to present a range of choices for our clients, giving them our expert advice on which channels will give them what they need. Into this mix we are increasingly seeing more opportunities for social media.

Well, AdAge has done a quick reality check on blogs, podasts and RSS feeds with statistics that might not seem too encouraging in this area:

• 7% of American adults write blogs and 22% read them (Jupiter)
• About 8% listen to podcasts and 5% use RSS feeds (Jupiter)
• 88% of the at-work audience doesn't know what RSS is (WorkPlace Print Media)
• 92% of brand conversations were taking place offline (Keller Fay)

Not to be totally sandbagged, Steve Rubel of Micropersuasion isn't worried. While he acknowledges the hype, he advocates getting involved early in order to influence the Long Tail.

Bottom line: print and TV aren't going away any time soon. But the vast ways that the Internet allows us to communicate with each other are continuing to evolve. It's our duty as marketing consultants to be aware of everything and to develop customized marketing mixes for each client which will allow them to achieve their goals.