On Corporate Blogging

Following on the tail of my previous entry, Social Media in a Highly Regulated Environment, I'd like to share Peter Delegge's 15 Rules for Corporate Blogs, as written on Marketing Today.

If you'd like the full details for each line item, take a look at Peter's blog.

1. Don’t treat corporate blogs like another corporate communications or marketing communications device, it’s significantly different.
2. Don’t blog without a solid, compelling case and proper resources.
3. Have solid executive backing before you blog.
4. Choose your bloggers carefully.
5. Authenticity is critical.
6. Thoroughly train your bloggers and require an internal blogging test period before a blogger is “certified.”
7. Assign a blog approver for each blog who has some degree of subject matter expertise, knowledge of company policies and public relations.
8. Don’t hide from the tough stuff. Be willing to admit mistakes.
9. Create a blog crisis communications plan.
10. Moderate blog comments.
11. Make your blog part of a communications plan – not the whole of it.
12. Monitor your corporate blogs.
13. Determine measures of effectiveness up front.
14. Consider that the blogosphere expects your blogs to be a marketing and PR mouthpiece. Always keep this in mind and prove them wrong.
15. Manage your brand online: monitor what people are saying about your brand online. [Jaffe Juice has a good summary of what to monitor - ed.]
    

And here I'll add the following:

16. If you're going to start a corporate blog, be ready to stick it out - stay in it for the long haul and be patient in waiting for results.

If you'd like to add something that hasn't been covered above, I'd appreciate the input.