As corporate blogging becomes standard operating procedure for many companies and businesses of all shapes and sizes, companies need to have some guidelines in place to keep their bloggers in between the yellow lines.

While honesty, transparency and passion are key components to blogging, according to Bloomberg Marketing, companies don’t want their bloggers giving away company secrets, creating a bad image or stirring up trouble for the company. 

Therefore, all companies should have very general rules such as:

·        Be responsible for what you write.

·        Stay within company guidelines.

·        Don’t let company secrets slip.

·        Put your best foot forward.

Other companies might want to have a little more control, implementing rules like:

• Discuss blogging topics with your manager if you aren’t sure of them
• Don’t just chat.  Share your knowledge and expertise.
• Don’t break any laws.
• Respect copyright.  (That should be a given for ALL bloggers.)
• Liberally link to other sources.  (Like Corporate Blogging where I found much of this info.)

And then there are the business decisions that each company needs to make for themselves:

• Can employees blog on company time?
• What is the purpose for blogging?  Raise company visibility?  Offer expertise and insights?  Develop relationships with peers and clients?  All of the above?
• What happens if a blogger doesn’t play by the rules (which you laid out clearly in the beginning of course)?
• What does your blogger do if someone from the media contacts them?

Just like eager teenagers have to spend some quality time with the good ol’ Driver's Ed handbook, a successful company will spend some time studying what works for the big dogs in corporate blogging.  Then you can invite your employees to join you for a drive through the blogosphere and show your clients all that you have to offer!

Here are a few links to company guideline pages:

• Thomas Nelson
• Hill & Knowlton
• Yahoo!

 ~Nancy Carter

Public Relations Assistant

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC

Comments

Untitled Comment

8:35 PM, Dec. 29, 2005, posted by Toby

Thanks for the shout out. Great list of questions that companies should consider. Will be interesting (and fun) to see where blogging goes in 2006.

Happy New Year to you!

Toby
Diva Marketing (Blog)