Reader IANG posted a comment yesterday asking about convincing an organization to blog. I thought it would be of general interest, wanted to get others’ thoughts and so I moved it here.
I am having a hard time trying to convince my organization (a small non profit) to blog on area of expertise. they seem to think it will require a full time person (based on some comments at a seminar PR folks went to without me) and that it will not add anything to our fairly good PR/Media out-reach we already do. How can I get them to understand the importance of blogging vs. our traditional media outreach?
Here’s my response:
It is very hard to convince someone to blog if they don’t want to. I suggest you find out who in your organization most highly prioritizes open, regular, two-way communication with people in the field. You and they can blog, or just you, about your work in the organization and/or your thoughts on the issues faced by people in your field. It’s ideal to get support and participation from upper management for such a project (though they are apt to take a week to write a 2000 word essay!). But short of that, perhaps your blog could prove its own worth and then move towards the inside of the organization – or into another organization that more highly prioritizes such values.
I think that if you set up a good suite of search and other RSS feeds about your issues, then you will have lots of very timely fodder for regular blogging. If you set up your blog to maximize participation by others (one-click RSS subscription and subscribe by email options, etc. -) then you should be able to establish yourself as a person at the center of the online discussion and a good source of news. (Those are the kinds of things I help people with.)
Perhaps your organization will see the vibrant communication you’ve got going on and make a paradigm shift. People who aren’t familiar with this type of media go gaga over seeing strangers make good comments! That really helps them see that the communication is real and valuable.
It is a time investment, but I don’t think it requires a full time person by any means.
What thoughts do others here have about “convincing people to blog”?