Calling all bloggers
Clyde Miles has seen a new position popping up at a lot of companies. Directors of social media — or sometimes, more specifically, chief bloggers — are proof that the business world is hip to the Internet.
But you shouldn’t create a position without experimenting first.
“You may find that there is someone within your organization who is out there doing it now, maybe on their own blog or in other social media,” Miles says.
Ask around your company to find out who is familiar with the online format, who is either reading or writing blogs on sites, such as Blogspot or Twitter or even Facebook or MySpace.
While any of your employees may have the passion to blog about your business, the person you choose also has to be able to write. Start your search in the marketing or public relations department, where employees are already penning promotional material.
Your potential blogger also must have the time to post regularly. Eventually, you’ll have to compensate that commitment or tie it to a job description.
But it’s worth the cost to give your brand value through online interaction.
“The thing about blogs is that it’s a person, versus monolithic content like a corporate Web site,” Miles says. “There’s a voice to it, a style to it, a point of view. You can talk to a brand. It’s like they have a personality.”
HOW TO REACH: Optiem, (216) 574-8700 or www.optiem.com
