Comments on: Company Blog: Single Spokesperson or Many Voices?

By: How to Manage a Company Blog | Don't drink the koolaid

How to Manage a Company Blog | Don't drink the koolaid — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 17:04:55 +0000

[...] at something at your company, although not everyone may have a writing background. Encourage the non-writers to contribute in ways they feel comfortable (possibly a Vlog?) and provide them with feedback often so they can [...]

By: Rob W

Rob W — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:24:18 +0000

I can’t believe that only 15% of Fortune 500 companies are using blogs. You’d think with all that manpower at those companies, there would be more blogs. Slow to adapt.

By: Lynne DeCew

Lynne DeCew — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:53:33 +0000

I agree that having multiple bloggers is generally the way to go, since the goal is to connect people with your company and its culture, rather than with one individual in it. That said, I also believe in the need for an editor – to ensure that the posts reflect well on your brand, both in terms of what is said, and how it’s said. After all, who wants to do business with a company whose people can’t spell or communicate coherently?

By: Dave Dabbah

Dave Dabbah — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 23:00:44 +0000

Remember the old elevator pitch. Well, thats what bloging is kind of like.
If I’m running a company I want everyone at the company to have a similiar elevator pitch. To achomplish this it begins with quality communication throughout your company. What is the mission statement of your company, what is the mission statement of your blog program, etc.
I can tell you that as I begin to launch my new company, I want everyone to know exactly what we do, why we do it and how it benefits our customers. It’s actually my hope that if we grow to 150 employee’s, I would have 150 employee’s who would be capable of blogging on behalf of our company.
Ah, so to the age old question of who should blog for your company..to me this is a really easy one to answer in most cases.The more people you have blogging for your company the better off your company will be, even with mistakes made…As we know their are always exceptions to the rules.
Like if your a bank, financial inst, govt contractor, etc.
I really believe that business is changing before our eye’s and social media strategies are going to become even more important in the future. In my opinion Bloging is kind of like a modern day eleveator pitch…

By: Paul Chaney

Paul Chaney — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 11:28:34 +0000

Leigh Anne, you’ve put things perspective. If company thought leadership is the reason for the blog (we’re doing something similar at Bizzuka), then multiple voices are called for. That does not negate the use of a “blog celeb” as it were, buy why not take advantage of all the intellectual property resident within the company. I appreciate your thoughtful commentary.

By: Leigh Anne Wallace

Leigh Anne Wallace — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:18:42 +0000

Hi Paul,
This is something that has been hotly debated at my company. We are similar to you, having only about 40 employees and I am one of 8 bloggers. We absolutely love everything the blog has done for us but some members of the company (who shall remain nameless), believe that we should have a single blogger who can be promoted in the blogosphere, like Brian Carroll. My assertion is that a single voice is good for self promotion where a collaborative voice is better for a company. For example, Seth Godin and David Meerman Scott would not want to have anyone else on their blogs because they are trying to promote themselves as thought leaders. While Brian Carroll is promoting his company, he is also trying to promote his own books. However, if a company wants to promote itself as a thought leader, then multiple voices can bring a diverse range of expertise and opinions. My vote – many voices.

By: Paul Chaney

Paul Chaney — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:30:17 +0000

Very well stated Daria. A posting schedule and editorial calendar will help make the blog run like a sewing machine. Both are necessary, as is an editor to oversee and ramrod. Since it costs very little to implement a blog solution any company would be wise to invest in an editor to be sure.

By: Daria Steigman

Daria Steigman — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:12:20 +0000

Hi Paul,
I agree: both approaches can work depending on your corporate culture. The two things I believe are non-negotiable: some schedule of “regular” posts and message cohesiveness. You can lose control without losing the message.
While not everyone is a great writer or comfortable writing, many more people have terrific ideas that should be captured. Perhaps more companies should facilitate multiple authors by hiring a good editor to smooth out the rough edges and, thus, encouraging more voices.

By: Paul Chaney

Paul Chaney — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 22:25:39 +0000

@David, I think that’s a good approach. Start by doing it yourself then train others. Over time, as their confidence and competence increases, you turn over the reins.
@Paul, the other Paul is absolutely right. (Lots of Paul’s in this discussion aren’t there.)

By: David Reich

David Reich — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:04:43 +0000

Paul, I think you’ve already answered the question well. One person or many contributing to a company blog should be a reflection of the corporate culture and the resources available. My preference is to have more than one voice contributing.
One of my clients, a non-profit, is about to begin a blog. At the start, I will most likely write most of the posts, although we’ll look to have others inside and outside the organization do some writing. As their p.r. consultant, I’ll monitor the content — editing posts as appropriate before they go up, and also moderating comments just to be sure no one is putting up anything offensive or commercial.

By: Paul Barsch

Paul Barsch — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:34:43 +0000

Paul, I absolutely love that companies like Sun, Microsoft and Dell are loosing the reins and letting their employees participate in the conversations. As Paul Dunay says, command and control marketing is pretty much dead.