maintaining a corporate blog

blogs are very resourceful. sometimes interesting. and always current.

blogs have long been around to provide as a resource tool for the masses but corporate blogging is starting become mainstream as well. companies are becoming more and more open about their culture, policies and practices. check out our favorite research tool wiki's definition: corporate blog

there are two fundamental concepts a blog can be used for in the corporate environment. one is "internal blogging" which allows employees to share facts and commentaries about events, meetings, emails and is typically housed on a company intranet. i personally believe this is can be extremely effective to increase effective communication amongst staff. wikipedia points out that internal blogs can help with participation, improved communication, sense of community and free discussion of issues.

the second concept is "external blogging" which is typically centered around companywide events, press releases, product launches, public skepticism and more. external blogging usually goes through a review process before being viewable by the public and may or may not allow comments to the postings.

whether you decide on starting one or both, you must first strategize on how to maintain these blogs. blogs are excellent resources that can add credibility to your company but if they are not maintained correctly, they can cast a negative light online. here are a few questions to ask before you start an "external blog."

1. who will be writing the content for this blog?
2. how often do you realistically expect content?
3. how often does your audience expect content?
4. if reviewable, who will be part of the review process for blogs?
5. are comments allowed from the general public?

i face the challenges of these questions each week with the FGI blog. as you can see from the archive on the bottom right, i started off on the right track in the beginning with 15 entries in the first 8 weeks. but then, i slumped to 2-3 entries per month. however, a wedding, a new house and new offices helped initiate a two month layoff. for people who viewed the blog more than once, that may have been a negative for them looking for updated content on the FGI blog.

this is the problem each corporation must face. i would say averaging 2-3 post per month is probably a good goal to have. this allows for people to view fresh content every other week.

choose someone wisely. or better yet, choose 2 or 3 company personnel who will be responsible for writing content. inform them it is a company blog first, the individual writer second. outline expectations immediately and lay down rules and regulations from the start.

as for the review process, choose 2-4 people that rotate each week/month to review new posts. if anything is questionable, run the post by the group in a quick email. it is best to review and preview than rush something out.

i personally believe that blog comments can be tricky with the general public. i would offer the ability to voice their opinion to your community through email but not in a forum style. this is your choice of course.

in conclusion, blogging is a very powerful tool which allows people a sneak peek into your company. use it wisely, efficiently and choose competent staff who can write well.