I came by this article this morning: The role of PR in CEO blogging.
The question posed:
Should PR stay completely out of the picture when the CEO starts a blog for public consumption? Or should PR be an element in planning how and what the CEO blogs?
My personal thoughts on this are much similar to what the author Neville Hobson commented – a CEO blog is eventually just another means of getting to the customers. It is just an additional communication channel, except that it is one that is supposed to be more personal and immediate.
In fact, I won’t be surprised that some of the “CEO blogs” out there are actually managed by PRs! It won’t be nice to hear of stories like that (like the recent WalMart story), but seriously, we wouldn’t know unless we drill in and see who is actually doing it in the backend, isn’t it?
The traditional media still has to go on. While blogging may be the new and “in” thing, there is still a huge population out there who still does not know about your company blog! In fact, I would say most people would still prefer reading their daily news from the newspaper. It is already part of their routine to flip through the newspaper every morning. To change habits take time.
Of course, the best strategy would be a synergy – using the CEO blog to reinforce any appearances in the traditional media. For example, let’s say the company’s new product is published in an article in the newspaper. The newspaper might have a limited space for your article! A synergistic solution could be to use the article to direct your readers to your blog, where you can tell grandmother stories about your new product.
Are you a PR executive? Tell me how your job has changed since your CEO blogged.
