AdWorld Features

Dipping Toes in the Blogger Pool

"If your company is thinking of starting a corporate blog, tread carefully and treat your audience with respect", says Margaret E. Ward.

Jump on in?

Thinking of starting an internal corporate blog? Think again, carefully. Blogs are an interesting new communications tool but too many organisations jump into the "blogger pool" without testing the water temperature or depth.

The combined forces of slashed communications budgets, job cuts and a renewed focus on the competition have many firms in a panic looking for the next cost-effective tool. But, it's like your mother always said: "Would you jump off a bridge just because John is doing it?"

Checking the top and bottom togs

Blogging is a simple, inexpensive way to share information with colleagues and employees. The author simply types up the message, posts it online and readers take a look. Blog messages can be top-down (nothing to do with convertible cars) or bottom-up (definitely not associated with after work drinks).

Internally, executives often use top-down blogs to communicate strategy, announcements or company status and to build team spirit within an organisation. Bottom-up messages are more community spirited and can be written by anyone from managers and project coordinators to new recruits.

When done properly, blogs can actually replace the thousands of screaming "urgent" and "important" emails that employees ignore each day. Ideally, in-house blogs are a corporate collective brain housing memories of experiences, events, lessons learned, successes, failures and general information.

Blogs have many benefits - from project management, team building and communication to idea development and knowledge sharing - but they need to be developed using realistic strategic thinking.

Hot or cold audience?

Corporate culture is a very specific thing. It trickles down from the top and is often based on leaders' personalities: formal/ informal, jargon-happy or straight-talking, conservative or experimental, old or young, technology competent or newbie.

Leaders who are secretive, formal and unwilling to share details on the inner workings of the organisation are unsuitable candidates for a blog. Blogs should be open, honest, interactive conversations that invite comment. They're more like a roundtable discussion than a passive lecture.

Shallow or deep purpose?

Good communications have specific objectives and blogs are no exception. They can be a short, sharp information tool. This might include a blog that reports - in an interesting way - on the progress of a short-term project or goal. Or it could be a HR blog that acts as an internal bulletin board or the "what's on?" section of a newspaper. However, these blogs will struggle to attract repeat readers unless they are written in an entertaining way and provide information that's important to the audience.

Deeper blogs need short, medium and long-term goals. Maybe a newly appointed CEO needs to raise her internal profile or a manager needs to bring together diverse teams? Blogs like this must be carefully planned and constructed to ensure they get results.

Taking the plunge: top tips

1. Know the blog's purpose. Internal corporate blogs should be linked to specific corporate strategic goals. Don't just start a blog because it's the new technology, someone thinks it's a brilliant idea or because your competitor is doing it. Your blog must have a focus and a strategic communications purpose.

2. Find and maintain a voice. Blogs must have a recognisable human voice. Although some internal blogs are ghost-written by marketing staff on behalf of an executive, it's important that they use the "real" voice of this person. Authors should think like a speechwriter: follow the person around for a day or two taking notes of their turns of phrase and speaking patterns.

3. Be open and transparent. Blogs are designed to be interactive so you should invite comments. It's essential that the blog responds to, or manages, both positive and negative reader opinions. If it does not address the hard questions, it loses all credibility.

4. Have clear terms and conditions. Blogs are not a free for all. They're a place for controlled but open discussions. Develop clear written policies on anonymous or defamatory postings and stick to them.

5. Be timely. You can't expect staff to keep checking the blog hoping that something new has appeared. Announce your publication dates and stick to them.

6. Plan, plan, plan. Although corporate blogs might seem like a few informal scribblings written when the author has a few spare minutes, they're definitely not. A good blog is a strategic corporate communication that is planned to within an inch of its life. All good writing takes time, planning and effort.

It's ok if you don't have an internal blog. They're not for everyone or every company. Some people never learn to swim and, for them, there should be no shame in being wise enough to get the towel and go home.