I hope the answer is “yes” but unfortunately it’s probably a “no”. One of the worst adjustments most company’s have is going from a well formulated, sterile, white paper mentality to a more laissez-faire, blog state of mind. (state of mind. hmm. that will inspire the next post.)
Let’s be honest, in this day in age, the writing market is saturated with those looking to get their feet wet, and they will do just about anything to keep them moist. Most of them take corporate work to pay the bills and that’s great because people who are out there every day building connections are getting the opportunity to continue doing so while building their portfolio. But that’s not what I’m focusing on. I’m talking about the people actually running that corporate blog. The people paying those writers. They’re missing out on all the fun!
From my experience, there are two groups that usually control corporate blogs: the marketing/PR department of a company or their online marketing agency.
Some places do it right. I’m not going to say this is that state of the internet, but there are still many that try really hard and just can’t seem to get off the ground. I have worked on both sides of this equation and wish I could formulate the words needed to improve both methods. (side note: If it takes you more time to construct a blog post than it does for the topic to stay relevant – there’s an issue and you should check yourself.)
All I can say is “have a blogger run your company blog”. If nobody in your company is a blogger, encourage them to get a Twitter and Tumblr account and just have at it. They’ll learn. If anything, they’ll learn how online posting works and the interaction that people have with each other. It may seem like a one way dialogue at first but in time (and with patience) it can turn in to much more.
Do your research. So what if somebody has already posted on the topic you were thinking of. There are probably 100 other versions out there somewhere. What will make each one unique is you. No two people can write the same exact blog post. If so, then there’s something wrong with both of your approaches. (or something really awesome is going on – call Stephen Hawking!)
Working internally, I realized one of the most difficult hurdles for a company to overcome is “who blogs for us?” I don’t mean literally, I mean “who’s name are we going to slap on these posts?” The best thing they can do is slap the name of the actual writer on there, but most readers don’t want to listen to Frank, the social media coordinator – they want to hear what Frank, the CEO has to say. (it depends on the company, Frank the social media coordinator might be more interesting) I’ve seen some CEO posts though, and, well. Just because you post something on a blog, doesn’t make it a blog post. Too much text, too much jargon, too much bluah.
The CEO might not have time – okay. I can see the argument. I’ve bought tape recorders and have asked people to just sit there and talk. That’s it. No time constraint other than just talking. From there, I would transcribe their thoughts, write it out and then distribute it as I know how to do. Teamwork! Success! Bloggggggging!
Make it a collaborative effort. Let everyone contribute the components they know the most about.
From the agency side, I have been asked to “train” blog contributors on how to blog. The thought of this blows my mind. Why so dramatic, Frank? Well, here are a few reasons:
Those who ask “how to blog” typically already have a writing style that works for them and they probably don’t really want to change. Is this good, bad, ugly? I suppose some jargon lover somewhere loves their style – but it doesn’t translate well to the rest of the online world.
Even after you walk some people through examples of how a blog should have a voice and consistent point of view, the sterile machine steps in and bleeches their words.
That’s when it comes back around to more training. We must have missed something the first round, so if we go over some more aspects of blogging then we are sure to get it. No,we won’t. Just let me handle it. For the sake of your company and your sanity.
Blogging is a state of mind. It can be learned, sure, but it takes an open and willing mind. If anything – blogging can be learned by just stopping the brain, throwing some words out there, chopping it in to lists and segments and then being okay with it not being Pulitzer Prize winning work.
