Getting started with a corporate blog
If you've heard the buzz about corporate blogs, you might be wondering how to jump on the bandwagon. Here are some tips for getting started.
Why a corporate blog?
Corporate blogs offer a lot of benefits to both large and small companies. Think of them as ongoing dialogues with customers. Customers can give you feedback and ideas on products and services. Your positive response to the concerns of customers boosts your reputation, while allowing you to improve your products. Corporate blogs are also rich terrain for links. Links increase Website traffic, which can lead to more sales.
Where do I start with a corporate blog?
Not all corporate blogs are open to the public, but if yours are, you should start with a clear blogging policy. Charlene Li of Forrester, a research company, writes in her blog that a blogging policy should include the following ideas:
- a "disclaimer" that states that the views expressed belong to the blogger and not to the company
- respect for a company's proprietary information
- awareness of what should be avoided in a blog because of confidentiality/legal concerns
- policy stating that bloggers should ask managers when uncertain of the content they are posting
- rules stating that blogging should not interfere with work commitments
- respect for other employees, customers, managers etc. who may respond to a blog posting
A blogger code of ethics is also useful. In short, this should include a pledge to be truthful and respectful of others' opinions, to provide writing of high quality, to correct mistakes, and not to delete posts.
How do I sell the idea of a corporate blog to management?
Studies have been done to show the value of corporate blogs. Do an Internet search to find them and show them to your boss.
If management is concerned about legal issues, point them to your blogging policy. You can also cite the examples of large companies with successful corporate blogs, including Microsoft and Sun Microsystems, both of whom have managed thousands of bloggers without incident.
If your managers are worried about negative feedback, present them with the "glass half full" argument. Negative posts provide you with an opportunity to respond to criticism and solve problems before they get out of control.
How do I approach the writing?
The key to good corporate blog writing is to be authentic. People do not want to hear carefully crafted messages, vetted by an army of legal experts. They want real voices. Posts should appear unfiltered: anything that sounds too polished may appear edited and, therefore, scripted. Blog posts must be truthful, but must also respect the blogging policy of the company. In other words, blog postings should not demean a person or product and should not contravene privacy policies.
Think of a corporate blog as a person-to-person conversation. It is not a monologue. It is a dialogue that should be engaging and entertaining, as well as informative. The tone should be personal, not detached and "corporate". As the authors of the book The Cluetrain Manifesto have noted, the single, monolithic corporate voice, so apparent these days in mission statements and press releases, will fall out of fashion within the next few years. In its place will be the human interactions found in a blog.
More advice
There are countless online resources about blogs. Put your skills at Internet research to work and you'll find all the advice you need.