Sure, there are a few CEOs that are really passionate about blogging and have the ability to create an effective blog. But the majority of CEOs do not fit into the mold of a successful blogger. Here’s why:
Seth Godin, a best selling author of business and marketing books, said that blogs work when they are based on six things: candor, urgency, timeliness, pithiness, controversy, and utility. Do these sound like traits of a typical CEO? Not really.
In a blog, a CEO would have to have the trust of the reader. I think this sounds like something that would be hard for a CEO to do. After all, many consumers view CEOs as always having an underlying motive. The six traits above are hard to find in a CEO. Consumers think that corporate blogs are designed only to advertise products or services; therefore, corporate blogs are seen to be the Communications department’s sneaky plan. The readers will not follow the blog if this is the case.
CEOs are busy and their primary concern is their investors, and they do not have time to blog. Shel Israel, social media specialist and author of “Naked Conversations,” said that, “a CEO is concerned with growth and profits, and therefore, should not be spending time trying to create an effective blog.” I agree with Israel that a CEO blog will most likely be a failure. CEOs do not speak the language of everyday people. They use large words and jargon that all readers would not understand. I know that I have read blogs before that I do not understand, and I haven’t gone back to read those blogs since.
Here’s an idea. If the CEO doesn’t fit the mold, why not have the product manager post a blog instead? Product managers are knowledgeable and passionate. They also are concerned with customer happiness, and speak the language of everyday people. That sounds like the makings of an effective blog.
Steph Synoracki said,
February 27, 2009 @ 9:10 pm
Candor, urgency, timeliness, pithiness, controversy, and utility do not sound like CEO characteristics at all, so I agree with Seth Godin. I must admit, your post really made me think about CEO blogging and whether it is a good thing or not. I do realize that CEO’s are the head of a corporation and are very busy people. They have to make the hard decisions, take control of company operations, and worry about their investors…so do they really have time to blog or have the time to make a worthwhile blog? After reading your post and Shel Israel’s post on CEO bloggers, I am not sure that CEO’s do make the best corporate bloggers. I would like to think that CEO’s know their company the best and could provide the most information to their stakeholders on a blog, but as you pointed out, most CEO’s do not speak the same language as the people most important to their company. Joel Postman makes a good point in his book SocialCorp. A CEO blog would show that he or she wants to have a direct communication with their top influencers, but time and personality is an issue. Not all CEO’s can perform the blogging job well. Maybe product managers or other passionate people within the company should maintain the corporate blog.
Veronica Nalbandian said,
February 28, 2009 @ 9:47 pm
I agree with Shel Israel in that CEOs shouldn’t always be blogging. Because they are the head of the company, it is difficult for them to see everything that is going on within the company, let alone how customers are feeling. I think some people would be skeptical reading a blog from a CEO. This is because people may not feel as connected with the CEO and wouldn’t be confident that the CEO really cares about them, worried that they just want to make more money. If a CEO already has a good reputation and a trustworthy demeanor, an audience would be more receptive to him/her, so in this case I think it would be a good idea for a CEO to blog. However, most of the time I don’t think it is a good idea.
Jacalyn said,
March 2, 2009 @ 12:16 am
I agree with your suggestion Blair. I think that it is difficult for CEOs to post blogs that really attract and maintain the readership that they are looking for. I think that CEOs have a lot more to worry about than maintaining a blog. If the blog was delegated to a person with more time, commitment and understanding of the public that they are trying to reach, it would most likely result in a much more productive blog. I know that in my advertising class that I took last semester, we learned about the concept that when it is your product, whether it be a an advertising campaign or a blog promoting your company, you don’t always see it from the audiences point of view. I believe the same could be true for CEOs with their blogs. They will not always understand what their audiences are looking for.
Do You Have a “Chief Blogger”? « Blair Garka’s Blog said,
March 27, 2009 @ 1:00 am
[...] Tagged chief blogger, Coca-Cola, Kodak, Marriott, Shel Israel, stories In two of my previous posts on corporate blogging, I discussed the CEO blog. There are many opinions about who should manage [...]