Corporate Blogging – What’s The Plan?

It’s been awhile since I’ve written a post on corporate blogging, and I thought it was high time to continue what I think may become a series. The needs of many companies are little different than the needs of an individual. However, the process in which most should approach blogging is as unique as the organizations themselves.

For the most part, it’s like most other business decisions. Decide what the purpose is and what the organization expects to achieve by doing it. Many businesses are not ready to use social media on external facing systems to engage customers. Some are almost ready to use it for internal continuous improvement processes that engage their employees. Both these models require that the organization accept negative feedback along with the praise, and that is a very bitter pill to swallow for anyone – businesses or individuals.

If you are an agent of change in your organization and are trying to figure out how to approach the business with a blogging or social media proposition, you need to understand how to present the idea. It’s not unlike trying to sell a new business strategy.

Here are a few tips on preparing to present blogging or other social media ideas to your company:

• Learn about social media by participating personally
• Research similar companies in size and target market to see how they’ve used social tools
• With these learning’s in mind, determine if it’s the right time for your company to invest in social media. Is the climate right, are they receptive to new ideas, are they looking to improve service?
• Identify areas, or even departments, within your company that could benefit by using select social media tools. Be specific about the benefits. Understand the negatives.
• Write a simple overview to capture these things and provide a structure for you to build a case for using social media to augment the business.
• Have samples ready to demonstrate, and be able to talk about how these new tools and ideas help solve real business problems.

There are many ways to pursue social technologies for your company, and many tools, services, and software to choose from. What works for one company, doesn’t always work for the next. Keep looking for the right fit, not necessarily the biggest, or most well known of them are best for your business.

What successes have you had in bringing social media to your company? Does your company actively engage in the social media space? What can you recommend to others who are exploring these tools for their company?

Photo credit: juhansosin