Business Blog Advice

I’m off for a week’s vacation, so I thought I would leave you with some blog highlights from the last few months.

• A brief history of CEO blog coverage
• Does a CEO need a blog consultant?
• How a blog is born
• New Blogging Guide Available
• Corporate blogging - burden or benefit?
• CEO’s guide to Web 2.0
• Also note that we have plenty of blogging tips and articles on the site.

Be back in a week.

~Brandon

In a very short time, Bill Marriott seems to have hit his blogging stride. I get the impression he is a man with a lot to say, and man who has embraced his new medium with passion.

In a recent post on his blog, Bill shares another inside look at the people and programs of Marriott Hotels. This time, it’s the disabilities program the hotel operates. But what I like about Bill’s blog (and his style of open communication in general) is that he doesn’t stop by saying “We employ people with disabilities.” He breaks it down to the individual people and stories that make up the program.

Bill is a good story teller. I don’t mean “story” in the sense of lying. I mean story in the sense of real things happening to real people, and later recounted in an honesty and enthusiastic way. He also encourages his staff to come onto his blog once in a while to tell their stories, which I’ve covered before.

A good, honest story goes a long way in today’s corporate world. I think a lot of companies would benefit from taking note of Bill’s ability to tell a good story about good people … one that he believes in.

Seth Godin wrote an entire book on the subject of The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World. If you like this blog post, you should check out his book.

~Brandon

I know that blog consulting is big business for some, and I say all the power to them. But I’ve often wondered, does the average CEO really need a blogging consultant?

This is one of those questions that probably can’t be answered across the board. But if you asked me, I’d say no, in most cases a CEO does not need a corporate blogging consultant. Here’s my reasoning…

I think the whole point of a blog is to speak as yourself, not as somebody who has been coached. I think CEOs who want to start blogging can benefit from a simple, 5-part plan:

1. Read some other CEO blogs for ideas on usage.
2. Establish some basic legal guidelines as not to anger shareholders.
3. Establish a purpose for the blog (customer communications, sharing insight, news distribution).
4. Have the IT team set up your new CEO blog.
5. Start blogging. Write what you feel you should write. Forget about the media.

And if search engine visibility is a priority for the newly blogging CEO, he or she can always download my blogging guide to get the extra benefits of search engine boost.

~Brandon 

I used to watch Grey’s Anatomy back in the early days, when it offered a quirky look behind the scenes of a busy hospital. Now it’s just another sappy, contrived “ER” style drama in the making.

But there’s good news, because if I want to know the genuine trials, tribulations and triumphs of running a hospital, I can read the CEO blog of Paul Levy.

Mr. Levy is the President and CEO of Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical Center. His CEO blog gives a rare glimpse of what it takes to run a hospital. In fact, that’s the name of his blog, Running a Hospital.

One of the things I like about this blog is how Mr. Levy often uses it to dole out the thanks to his staff. Here’s an excerpt from a recent post entitled, “Thank you, social workers”:

“The Social Work Department has a pervasive presence in the hospital by assisting patients and families with a huge range of problems. Social workers are the unsung heroes in many regards, helping patients and families through extremely stressful situations.” -Source

~Brandon

Corporate Blogging Favorites:

• Corporate Blogging Alphabet
• A History of CEO Coverage
• The Birth of a CEO Blog

Remember when people used to call the Internet a fad? “Oh, that Internet thing will never last. A bunch of connected computers … what’s the point?”

The same type of thing has happened with CEO blogs. A lot of folks “in the know” started out saying that CEO blogging would never take off, because CEOs aren’t the kinds of people who blog. On the other side of the fence, a lot of folks saw the communication potential of corporate blogs and urged CEOs to jump on board. And, of course, there were those early adopters — the CEOs who needed no invitation, and instead chose to jump in feet first.

CEO blogs are not new. Look at my post on the Birth of a CEO Blog and check out some of those dates. But CEO blogs have become much more popular in the last year or so, partly in response to the ongoing coverage I’ve captured for you below.

My favorite moment in CEO blog coverage? It came from USA Today writer Del Jones, who in 2005 said the following: “But despite all of the power and sway that awaits an early adopter, it’s going to take a brave CEO with thick skin to enter the blogosphere.” [You mean like these brave CEOs?]

Since that remark (and even long before it), a lot of people have said a lot of things about CEO blogging. And they continue to do so. But up until now, this commentary has never been compiled in a single source. That’s what I’ve tried to do below.

Here’s the ongoing evolution of CEO blog coverage. If it’s as interesting for you to read as it was for me to create, my time was well spent. Enjoy!

The Role of PR in CEO Blogs
(October 1, 2004)

The Blog Marketing Explosion
(October 5, 2004)

CEO Blog or Journal?
(October 18, 2004)

CEOs Refuse to Get Tangled Up In Messy Blogs
(May 10, 2005)

CEO Blogs and Why They Won’t Happen
(May 10, 2005)

Why CEOs Should Blog
(September 19, 2005)

Why CEOs Shouldn’t Blog
(September 19, 2005)

CEOs: Blog or Die
(March 17, 2005)

Should Executives Blog?
(January 31, 2006)

New York Times Encourages CEOs to Blog
March 8, 2006

Maybe Your CEO Shouldn’t Blog
(March 16, 2006)

CEOs and Blogging - Second Try
(March 18, 2006)

Most Popular CEO and Corporate Blogs - Any Good?
(July 22, 2006)

5 Good Reasons Not All CEOs Should Blog
(July 30, 2006)

Does Your CEO Blog?
(July 31, 2006)

CEO Blogging? Don’t Hold Your Breath
(July 31, 2006)

To Blog or Not to Blog - A CEO Question?
(August 1, 2006)

Is It Okay to Ghostwrite a CEO Blog?
(September 18, 2006)

Blogging and the Role of the CEO
(September 22, 2006)

Should Executives and CEOs Blog?
(September 25, 2006)

CEO Blogs Not Censored Yet
(November 10, 2006)

When Should a CEO Blog?
(February 22, 2007)

CEOs Should Blog
(March 9, 2007)

That seems like an appropriate way to end the list.

What Did I Miss?
Did I miss something noteworthy? A good article or commentary on the evolution of CEO blogs? Just drop me a comment below, and I’ll add it to the list. After all, this is our list … not mine.

~Brandon

Blogging isn’t easy. I’ll be the first to tell you that.

Or let me clarify that statement. Blogging well isn’t easy. Anyone can pound out content like a monkey and call themselves a blogger. [On a side note, I'm sure that somewhere in the world, there is an actual monkey who blogs.]

But when it comes to corporate blogging in general — and CEO blogging in particular — there is more at stake with the blog. There are regulations to consider. Disclosure concerns. Shareholder perceptions…

These are the points made in a new article at CSO Online, an article about the challenges of CEO blogging and other Web 2.0 activities.

But isn’t this the whole point of corporate blogging … to break through such concerns and have an honest dialogue with your supporters? And to turn strangers into supporters?

I guess every blogger defines blogging in his or her own way. But if you ask me, the benefits of corporate blogging and CEO blogging far outweigh the effort it takes to do it right.

~Brandon 

Sony CEO Jack Tretton recently threw down a gauntlet that was immediately accepted, mostly by tech bloggers.

In a overwhelming fit of corporate pride, Tretton said he would pay $1,200 for any PlayStation 3 (PS3) still on the store shelves. The bounty was testament to Tretton’s belief that the PS3 was such a hot seller you simply couldn’t find it in stores.

Okay, so he is enthusiastic about his product. That’s probably something all CEOs can learn from. But here’s where Mr. Tretton’s judgment took a nose-dive (in this observer’s humble opinion). When some popular gaming bloggers creatively took up his challenge, Tretton belittled them by saying: “We have a new phenomenon as well in recent years, something we didn’t have during the PlayStation or PlayStation 2. And that is everybody is a journalist - if you have a PC, then you’re a journalist.”

In light of these amusing events, I have a few words of business advice for Mr. Tretton:

Never alienate your customer base. In the future, you should realize that the popular tech and gaming bloggers (A) are more connected with your customer base than you are, (B) influence the purchasing decisions of your customer base, and (C) often ARE your customer base.

What would have been a better way to handle these bloggers who accepted his challenge?

Maybe a good-spirited “Nice work fellas. You sure rose to the challenge.” Followed, of course, by a highly visible check-presentation ceremony where the CEO lives up to his words. Anything would be better than belittling somebody for accepting a challenge that you yourself threw down.

Corporate executives should never underestimate the power of influential bloggers, especially when those bloggers are closely connected with their core customer base. If you are wise, you will not dismiss such folks as being quasi-media. You will realize that they are, in fact, the new media. As far as your customers are concerned.
~Brandon

Ideas, advice and musings from the corporate blogosphere…

Alan Meckler of Jupitermedia strongly recommends you check out the Google Scholar program.

Bob Lutz shares his thoughts on GM’s new eco-friendly Chevrolet Volt, powered by a new electric propulsion system.

Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, explains his beef with Google Video and YouTube, as it pertains to video piracy.

Richard Edelman of Edelman PR paints a stark picture of doing business with a less-than-democratic nation.

Robert Scoble of PodTech.net praises a presenter from the LIFT technology conference.

Bill Nussey, CEO of Silverpop, explains how to take your B2B email marketing program to the next level.

Ted Leonsis from AOL wishes happy birthday to the Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund, one of the charities he supports.

Zane Safrit of Conference Calls Unlimited uses a prison map to put a bad day at the office back into perspective.

Steve Cody, co-founder of the Peppercom PR firm, draws a correlation between ‘B’ names and media scrutiny.

Valerie McSwain, a guest blogger on Bill Marriott’s blog, gives a candid and heartfelt testimony of Marriott’s Pathways program. (Brandon’s favorite)

Robin Hopper, CEO of iUpload, recounts a NY Times story that encourages CEOs to embrace the blog.

Our coverage of CEO and corporate blogs is based on a random system of happenstance and whim. But if you’d like your blog added to our coverage list, please send an email or drop a comment below.

Happy blogging!

~Brandon

I recently looked at the archive history of one of my marketing blogs … “all the way” back to the first post in April 2006.

It struck me that I didn’t even have any opening remarks about the blog. I just sort of jumped into things and started posting. I did not set any agenda or tell readers what they could expect, because back then I had no readers.

But obscurity is not usually the case with a CEO blog, or a major corporate blog. CEO blogs often have an audience right from the start — especially when they’re launched with media fanfare, as was recently the case with Bill Marriott’s CEO blog.

Launching a CEO Blog - A Short History

So how should a CEO or corporate exec kick off a new blog? However they want, is what I say. After all, there is no protocol for such a thing. Nor should there be. Blogs (in my humble opinion) should be anti-protocol. They should be whatever the author feels, since they are an extension of the author. Good ones, anyway.

With that said, I thought it would be fun to see how some long-time CEO bloggers kicked off their blogs. Here’s a summary of first blog posts, as these CEOs embraced the blog and said “Hello World!”

• Jonathan Schwartz, COO of Sun Microsystems and a well-known corporate blogger, started off with the understatement: “Odds are, this is going to attract some attention.”
• Beth Carvin, CEO of Nobscot, launched her blog way back in 2002, with a short prediction of things to come.
• Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, talked about his surprise at finding a Craigslist mention in the book Sex and the City.
• Karen Christensen of Berkshire Publishing Group brought her CEO blog to life with a post about slogans and taglines … and making the world a better place.
• Hu Yoshida of Hitachi began by asking for feedback on data storage, blogging, and angels dancing on the head of a pin. You’ll see.
• Alan Meckler of Jupiter Media recounted his bad trade show experience at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Vegas.
• David Sifry, founder and CEO of Technorati, started his blog way back in January 2002 with a post about digital entrepreneurs.

To be continued … probably for a while!

Zane Safrit, CEO of Conference Calls Unlimited, blogs about a particular dumb moment in the office. Who among us cannot recognize the crush of embarrassment Zane must have felt in this situation? I’ve had a few of those moments myself.

The moral of Zane’s story: Step up to the plate and apologize when you know you must … in business and in life in general.

Thanks for sharing, Zane.

~Brandon