What is it that all blogs require? Well leaving aside a continual flow of good ideas, well written prose and regular updates, the answer is, of course, at least one blogger – an identifiable individual who will lend his or her name to each and every post.
For corporate blogging that individual may well be the CEO but it could also be the marketing manager, the FD or a member of staff working on a particularly interesting project.
But here’s the thing. Typically CEOs, marketing managers and busy employees don’t have time to update a blog once, twice or even three times a week. They may think they do, but if Thursday rolls around and the CEO’s choice is finalising a contract with a major new customer or taking two hours out to post some thoughts on the web, it’s pretty clear where the priority lies.
It’s for that reason that corporate blogs should, in our opinion, always be written by third parties who can commit time and creative energy to a project. The job should also fall to a professional writer. After all, if the blog is playing an important role in conveying the company’s vision to the world, it makes sense to put it in the hands of someone who knows how to communicate and (importantly) hit deadlines week after week.
But there’s a question here. Let’s say the blog is attributed to the CEO. Readers of the regular updates will naturally – and rightly – assume that the copy reflects that individual’s views and personality. So how do you square that particular circle? How do you reflect the personality of the attributed blogger when the copy is prepared by a professional journalist or writer.
Actually, it shouldn’t be a problem. Blogs can be ghost written based on a phone call or a pre-agreed editorial agenda and style that accurately reflects the values, vision and intentions of the company or an individual. In some cases those values will stem from the personality of a single entrepreneur but they may also be the product of a corporate or brand culture honed over many years. Either way, each blog entry will reflect the brand and the business.
Layered on top of that is the intention of the blog itself. In this respect business blogs are infinitely variable. In the case of a market garden businesses, the intention might be to demonstrate the founder’s passion for food or commitment to organic production. For an IT company the imperative may be regular demonstration of innovative thinking. Whatever the intention, once briefed, the writer will be running along very clear guidelines.
And from there, it’s a question of adding the vital X Factor. This is where professional writers add value. They familiarise themselves with the brand, get to grips with the project intentions and absorb the key messages. Then it’s a question of stirring the pot to create stories and angles that resonate with the target audience. In this respect the techniques used to engage, amuse and educate magazine or newspaper readers are equally applicable to blogs.
And at the end of the day, any blog attributed to a member of the management team should totally reflect what the business wants to convey to the target readers. Achieving this is all down to providing a good writer with a thorough brief.
