That was the question at the recent 3rd annual Personal Democracy Forum conference earlier this May. I sat on a panel moderated by Jonah Seiger of Connections Media and which featured Mary Katherine Ham of TownHall.com and HughHewitt.com, Matt Stoller of MyDD.com and David All, Communications Director for Rep. Jack Kingston. It was, as you might imagine, a lively discussion. We all had very different perspectives but seemed to agree that blogging is not a casual undertaking for a candidate or organization. MKH has a report here on HughHewitt.com with her thoughts.
Given that I’ve been privileged to work with a number of varied organizations struggling with this very question, I’d like to offer my notes to you from my opening remarks on May 15, 2006. People appeared to find this info useful and perhaps it may help you focus your decision-making.
To Blog or Not To Blog
Here at IDI, I work with leading non-profits, corporations and trade associations and am asked this question frequently. We’ve all seen the word “blog” in the news and most astute observers of recent trends have figured out that blogs can be powerful mediums of communication.
My answer to the question of to blog or not to blog tends to depend on my clients’ answers to my questions on Information and Infrastructure. Asking questions helps me to assess whether or not an organization is ready to launch and maintain a blog.
First, a few questions regarding Information:
* Do you have any idea what people are saying about you in the blogosphere?
* Do you know the landscape around your issue in general: who’s influential, who’s driving the dialogue?
* What are your goals in launching this blog? Do you want to change your image, build a new audience, raise money, quell a crisis?
* How would a blog fit into your overall communications strategy and support your other initiatives? A blog can’t stand alone and successfully achieve your objectives.
Then, a few questions on Infrastructure:
* How many dedicated online and communications staff will be available to write, launch and support the proposed blog?
* Who will build the blog? What software platform will you use?
* What’s the budget for this blog project?
* Who will post on the blog? How often? What will the content calendar look like?
* Will readers be able to comment? Who will moderate comments?
* Is a blogging policy needed for you or do you already have blogging guidelines covered in your Human Resources Employee Manual?
Suffice it to say, often an organization is not ready to launch a blog right away after considering the questions above. There are many ways to incorporate blog engagment to boost your communications strategy without launching a blog first. In fact, this is often the last step that we advise in a cohesive, aggressive blogger relations strategy.
If your organization is not yet ready to launch a blog (or is preparing to launch a blog), we recommend that you consider:
* start with blog monitoring. Find out what people are saying about you and your issue online.
* begin reaching out and building relationships with bloggers who are writing about you and your issues.
* leave comments on blogs with useful information. Tell your side of the story and don’t let mis-perceptions or half-truths go unchallenged. Post clearly on behalf of your organization with your name, title and email address.
* explore other Web 2.0 strategies such as RSS, podcasts and MySpace. We helped BCBSA double traffic to their news and policy site BCBSHealthIssues.com through launching close to 75 outbound news feeds using RSS.
If you are ready after the Information and Infrastructure challenge to launch a corporate or organizational blog, we believe that you’ll find it can offer an opportunity for a dramatic image change and dialogue shift. Instead of being just a target of the bloggers, you become part of the conversation. Organizations that are using blogs successfully including Microsoft, Sun, IBM, GM, Boeing, the National Association of Manufacturers, the United Church of Christ and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Not your usual round-up of suspects! The blogs represent the new evolution of grassroots communications. If you don’t keep up, you may get left behind by those who are savvy enough to talk to your audience now before you do.