How To Be An Executive Blogger?
In 2006, Donato Montanaro Jr.'s right eye began rejecting a cornea
transplant from more than 20 years before. He rushed to an emergency room. A
few weeks later, he told the story on his blog, with a couple pictures from the
hospital. Clients flooded his in-box with get-well wishes.
He was an early adopter of blogging, and he takes it very seriously. So
seriously that he has hired a director of online content, Jude Stewart. Stewart
makes sure that everything on the TradeKing Web site is clean, accurate and
consistent with the company's values. Including her boss's online persona.
Almost no CEOs were blogging when Montanaro began; now it's almost de rigueur for the head of a company. Why? As Richard Levick, the CEO of Levick Strategic Communications, puts it, "Effective blogging is about listening. It's about accepting criticism in a place where you can correct problems in real time. It's about demonstrating to consumers and stakeholders that a company and its leadership value their feedback and take their concerns seriously. And ... it's a powerful monitoring tool that provides invaluable insight into potential crises that may be lurking just around the corner."
But you've got to do it right or you shouldn't be doing it at all. How do you do it right? It's an open secret of corporate communications that many e-mails from CEOs aren't actually written by CEOs. As social media take off in the corporate world, that's not true only of e-mails. Blogs, too.
He's careful about what he posts, too. His blog contains bits about spearfishing in the Bahamas, but it also is kept in line with the company's marketing and customer service strategy and any legal regulations. CEOs always have to keep such things in mind when blogging.
There is no legal distinction between a CEO's personal blog (with or without a disclaimer) and his public statements, says Greg Aldisert. Aldisert is a partner at the law firm Kwika, in Santa Monica. "Boneheaded statements are not as concerning as are revelations of health issues or dangerous personal habits (like skydiving)," he says. You need to be careful about what you reveal--especially if someone can argue that what you're making known could affect the company's value: "There are a lot of class-action lawyers looking for items like this," Aldisert says.
"A CEO's blogging has to be as removed from selling as possible," says Rob Gorrie, CEO of the media strategy outfit Adcentricity. The blog should be a marketing tool, but not an advertising one. Particularly if your company sells to other companies, you can showcase your values, intelligence and creativity. If your blog displays those things and stays relevant to potential clients' interests, they'll more likely to become actual clients, Gorrie says.
Almost no CEOs were blogging when Montanaro began; now it's almost de rigueur for the head of a company. Why? As Richard Levick, the CEO of Levick Strategic Communications, puts it, "Effective blogging is about listening. It's about accepting criticism in a place where you can correct problems in real time. It's about demonstrating to consumers and stakeholders that a company and its leadership value their feedback and take their concerns seriously. And ... it's a powerful monitoring tool that provides invaluable insight into potential crises that may be lurking just around the corner."
But you've got to do it right or you shouldn't be doing it at all. How do you do it right? It's an open secret of corporate communications that many e-mails from CEOs aren't actually written by CEOs. As social media take off in the corporate world, that's not true only of e-mails. Blogs, too.
He's careful about what he posts, too. His blog contains bits about spearfishing in the Bahamas, but it also is kept in line with the company's marketing and customer service strategy and any legal regulations. CEOs always have to keep such things in mind when blogging.
There is no legal distinction between a CEO's personal blog (with or without a disclaimer) and his public statements, says Greg Aldisert. Aldisert is a partner at the law firm Kwika, in Santa Monica. "Boneheaded statements are not as concerning as are revelations of health issues or dangerous personal habits (like skydiving)," he says. You need to be careful about what you reveal--especially if someone can argue that what you're making known could affect the company's value: "There are a lot of class-action lawyers looking for items like this," Aldisert says.
"A CEO's blogging has to be as removed from selling as possible," says Rob Gorrie, CEO of the media strategy outfit Adcentricity. The blog should be a marketing tool, but not an advertising one. Particularly if your company sells to other companies, you can showcase your values, intelligence and creativity. If your blog displays those things and stays relevant to potential clients' interests, they'll more likely to become actual clients, Gorrie says.
|
|
