So you’ve seen the light when it comes to corporate blogging – you know you want to use it as part of an integrated marketing strategy, to try and reach out and engage your customers, to create a sense of what we used to call “community” on your website (back in the old days of web 1.0, “community” used to be things like bulletin boards, email feedback opportunities and polls – this concept of proactive engagement is not a new one). But you’re not sure exactly who in your organization should do the blogging. Senior management is seriously time-strapped and no one really has the prolific gift of prose you need… (remember, blogging is also entertainment – if you suck as a writer, a magazine will not publish your work. Your company blog should operate on the same principles). You’re stumped – where are you going to find someone to create the content that’s at the heart of your corporate blogging strategy?

Why, you’re going to put out an APB within your organization, a “call for submissions”. Chances are you probably have a few bloggers out there, why not see if you can get their attention and have them use their powers for corporate good?

You see – the secondary benefit of corporate blogging is internal engagement. You will be engaging the employee(s) who write your blog(s), asking them to really think about what they do in a positive way, as well as the dozens or hundreds inside that also READ those blog(s). You will be re-inforcing your brand, vision and identity as a collective group of people focussed on the same goals, both externally AND internally.

Giving people the power to speak without micro-management* is empowering, and empowered employees = happy employees.

(*Of course, that’s not to say there shouldn’t be an approvals process – but that’s a topic for another post.)