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Found on Technorati:

An article seemingly aimed primarily at larger, Fortune 500 companies, but whose main points could benefit almost any business thinking of using a blog as a marketing tool:

Do’s and don’ts of corporate blogging

1.) Be open to blogging and don’t punish authors.

The primary reason that blogs are attractive to readers is because the messages within are perceived as genuine. Your employees work for and believe in you, and if you reward them with your trust, they will reward you with an authentic voice that communicates positively about your business. The buzz this generates can’t be purchased.

2.) Find a way to make your topics interesting.

If you are a manufacturer of industrial lawn mowing equipment, you might have to stretch to feature the minutiae of your product in some interesting way. But if you follow the Association of Landscapers in your blog, or if you can find a sensitive way to discuss the ups and downs of immigration law reform, you will probably find a much more impassioned audience.

3.) Encourage feedback.

Many companies are hesitant to allow comments on their blog, but it is both in the open spirit of the medium and of immeasurable benefit to an organization. How much money would be spent on consultants’ fees and surveys to painfully extract customers’ thoughts, here so openly offered? It is always possible to filter spam and profanity, leaving customers feeling free to say what they think.

4.) Create new content and provide links.

Creating new content is a basic building block of any website, and of blogging. Content gives readers something to keep coming back for, and helps the site get noticed by search engines.

5.) Think ahead, but don’t be a phony.

Blogging is still relatively new to most companies. As a new form of communication, it offers a great deal of potential. Because a blog is much harder to control than other forms of media, it can be scary to organizations that are used to holding the reins of their image very tightly. Yet it is the very fact that individuals, not corporations, are writing blogs that makes their message believable–and any attempt to tamper with that will destroy all the hard work and trust invested in it. Don’t be a phony. Establish a few guidelines to protect your organization, stand back, and let your blog, and bloggers, do their job.

You’ll be glad you did.

Friday, October 19th, 2007 Both comments and pings are currently closed.

By Haley January Eckels