Last night’s #blogchat was successfully held by @MackCollier, discussing putting together your company’s blogging team and who should be blogging for your company?
Rather then reading through the entire transcript to gain insight I have condensed the material into a clear post for you!
Overall the group conclusion was to have multiple people who are passionate on the company/product paticipate in a cohesive blogging effort. Main takeaways concerning who should be writing include:
- Co. blogger needs to understand the brand and how to make it relevant, otherwise you get noise. I’d start there- @davidwstanley
- Important that they know the company, but equally important that they want to blog- @klandwehr
- Company blogs work well when multiple employees blog, know the marketing goals, and are knowledgeable about their company- @TheKimSchneider
- If multiple bloggers, I would think a very cohesive and brand message would be key so you’re not all over the map- @sueyoungmedia
An interesting idea of having customers blog for your company arose, (Tap your Customer Base for Guest Bloggers for your Corporate Blog- @Eric_Urbane). This idea was positively encouraged, but the actual process of doing this successfully and the credibility it creates is still up in the air.
- Find the ones singing your song and encourage them to sing loud. Bring on the storytellers- @ikeafans
- If you have Customers, You ALWAYS have a blogging team, ALWAYS- @JDEbberly
- I’d rather have in-house. Someone who understands the co’ inside/out. Breathes the culture- @sonnygill
After the blogging team is set up, the content which the blog discusses is just as important. Contributors in the chat talked about which areas should be covered by a company’s blog.
- Many company bloggers are too promotional of products/services. Blog about how product fits into customers’ lives!- @MackCollier
- Must show value and be authentic – a sales pitch will not fly in blogging- @sueyoungmedia
- Don’t talk TO your customers. Talk WITH them- @mattChevy
- Shift focus from you/company to the needs/pain of the public/how your expertise/products/services can help them- @sueyoungmedia
- Blog about what’s going on in industry, issues affecting customers, relevant news, success stories, special insider info, etc.- @abschoff
- This isn’t about marketing. It’s about building relationships. That’s the conversation piece. Mktg is subtle- @sueyoungmedia
- Your Corporate Blog should be about your Brand, not your Culture- @Eric_Urbane
A side note of the discussion, but one I felt was important to recap, was the topic of “ghost-writing”. Many people were advocates while others strongly disagreed with the practice. Overall, it is not encouraged.
- Dont like ghost writing. I’d write about them (& do) but not for them- @Sue_Anne
- It’s a bad idea for anyone to Ghost Write for anyone in blogging. It will be found out and be an embarrassment- @ckieff
- As a reader I expect the author to be the author, not a ghost writer make me feel cheated fi I find out- @klandwehr
If you missed the chat feel free to leave additional comments about these topics! Huge thanks to everyone who participated. Come next week- hosted by @MackCollier every Sunday from 9-11pm; follow the hashtag #blogchat on twitter!
Filed under: Social Media, #blogchat, Blog, Team
