Thoughts on corporate blogging

A few interesting articles around the increasingly accepted practice of corporate blogging (whether as marketing devices or internal communications tools) are finding their way into conversations on the Web at the moment. The first, one CNN Money‘s site (but originally a Fortune editorial, I think) is entitled Do’s and don’ts of corporate blogging.The article reasons that some of the intitial hesitation shown by many corporates around blogging, in any capacity, has roots in what we were taught about communication back in ‘varsity:

“It’s scary,” says Technorati founder and CEO David Sifry. “The lesson
everyone learns in Marketing 101 is, ‘Control the message.’ Blogging
puts that on its head, and that’s very frightening.”

I like the following advice: “engage these pioneers (customers or employees who are already blogging) in a conversation about what your corporate blogs hope to accomplish, and why.”

The article goes on to provide some sound advice for organisations engaging in the new online conversation. It is a brief, informative read.

The second article, from The Washington Post, speaks about how savvy organisations are “Following online conversations… to grapple with the growing clout of their customers.” If you’re still not sure what they mean by growing clout, read the Cluetrain Manifesto.

Blogging, a symptom of an emerging trend in citizen participation fueled by the connective power of the Web, is only one of the many vehicles / channels companies can or should be using to better engage their key stakeholders. They key for any organisation is spotting these emerging trends and embracing the changes that come with them.