Simple Rules For Corporate Blogging
Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing and publisher of Working Smart has recently posted his firm’s Corporate Blogging Guidelines. They provide simple rules of thumbs for Thomas Nelson employees who may choose to blog (a practice which the firm encourages).
It’s a model. And in keeping with our standing advice to leaders that they should always frame an issue before it’s framed for them, it’s a model that progressive companies should build from now, rather than later.
What’s more, it’s a model of an effective internal communication “voice”: simple language, respectful, not pedantic, and written as if to an individual rather than a mass. A sample:
Be nice. Avoid attacking other individuals or companies. This includes fellow employees, authors, customers, vendors, competitors, or shareholders. You are welcome to disagree with the Company’s leaders, provided your tone is respectful. If in doubt, we suggest that you “sleep on it” and then submit your entry to the BOC before posting it on your blog.Another smart idea in the Thomas Nelson approach: an aggregation page that aggregates (using RSS and XML feeds) each employee blog post in real time, creating an easy forum for employees (and managers) to keep tabs on who’s writing what. It’s a nice nod to transparency and personal responsibility without a ton of bureaucracy.