BtoB Magazine: Introducing the Chief Blogger
This week, BtoB Magazine published an interesting story on the state of the corporate blog, discussing some emerging trends that were gleaned from interviews with blogging and social media experts from Dell, Eastman Kodak, IBM, Intel and SAP. It’s a good read, and I highly recommend it if you’re investigating blogging as a communications tool. One of the most interesting trends the magazine identifies is the emergence of "chief blogger" as a corporate job title. While smaller companies may not have the resources to hire a dedicated chief blogger, it is important to establish a single owner for the blogging function. Here’s why:
Focus content
For emerging companies, sharing blogging duties is a good idea. It helps take the burden off any one blogger, and allows the company to present multiple viewpoints within its area of expertise. However, one of the greatest assets in a blog is a consistent focus and tone. Without a single owner to guide blog content, posts from multiple authors can easily drift off topic or diverge from the company’s voice, baffling readers in the process. By establishing an owner for all blog content, companies large and small can ensure that all posts are in line with their blog’s focus and tone, and that consistency will keep readers coming back.
Stay on schedule
Blog readers, and especially RSS subscribers, expect to see new content on a blog at least once or twice a week. Posting on a regular schedule helps set and reinforce reader expectations for how often and when to check for new posts, so when companies drift from their blogging schedule, readership trails off. A single blog owner can create a blogatorial calendar and manage the posting schedule to ensure that new content is added frequently and rhythmically.
Moderate comments
When a reader comments on a blog, he or she expects to see their words appear shortly after they click "submit". So when a legitimate comment sits in moderation next to all that wonderful blog spam, readers question whether or not anyone is listening (or worse, whether or not they’re being censored). A blog owner is responsible for reviewing and allowing comments as quickly as possible. Furthermore, the blog owner should ensure that every reader comment gets a reply to keep the conversation going.
Join the conversation
Blogging in a vacuum is never a good idea, so it is critical to find and read other blogs that are related to your company’s area of expertise. Other blogs provide great source material for new blog posts and offer a means of driving links and traffic back to your site. Whoever owns your company’s blog should make a habit out of reading other blogs, commenting where appropriate and reporting interesting posts back to key stakeholders in the company. Without a single ambassador to the blogosphere, different people can send mixed messages on other blogs or, even worse, valuable external content can go unread.
We don’t all have the resources to employ a chief blogger. But by establishing a blog owner, we can avoid sending mixed messages, duplicating efforts or missing opportunities. Most importantly, assigning a blog owner provides a path to consistency, and a stable of happy readers.
What are your thoughts on the chief blogger and blog ownership? Please share - I promise to post and respond to your comment quickly.
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June 12th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Jeff,
It’s really an intriguing question. I like the B2B Magazine post just because it raises interesting issues. I think from a “housekeeping” perspective, there is logic in assigning the job; long gaps, irregular posts, etc., get old fast. In terms of content and “voice” I’m less sure. I like “eclectic” and that keeps me tuned in to most of my favorite blogs. I’d get bored with sober “white paper” level stuff all the time, but wouldn’t stick to a blog that was completely “lightweight” either. We use variety in ours; some bloggers are more intellectual, and some are more, well, like me! I guess, in short, it’s okay to designate a person to be “official blogger” — but it ought to be a person comfortable with writing on different topics and at different levels. This is one remaining area where I think you can still make the mistake of being TOO specialized. Blog readers are people, first, not job titles, and I think people like variety. (IMHO, I guess I should add…)
June 12th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Mike-
Thanks for reading. Todd wrote this blog post so I’ll let him reply with real meat.
-Jeff
June 12th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Good stuff Mike. I think you’re definitely right that watered down white paper type content will drive readers away pretty quickly and multiple bloggers with multiple viewpoints is far more interesting than a solo act. I’d only suggest that one person be in charge of reviewing each post to keep things focused and make sure there is some level of consistency between what the blog is saying and what the company is doing.
June 12th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Oh, sorry, Todd. I guess in my A-D-D I managed to assume Jeff was virtually “sole proprietor” on this blog, and didn’t check the top. I now know better.
And I agree with your point. You may not want a chief blogger but maybe some point of supervision is a good idea. (As long as it doesn’t become “Big Brother Blogger” enforcing too much discipline!)
June 12th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
No worries Mike. Yeah, big brother blogging is no good. One of the things we see with clients is an abundance of raw content, but no time or resource to package random thoughts and data points into well articulated positions or well written posts. Part of that may be the market we’re in (high tech), where much of the good content originates with highly technical staff. That is one place I think a point person for the blog is very useful- turning quality raw content into compelling blog entries.
Thanks for reading.