A true brand secret you've NEVER heard about! Brand blogging part 2

But how do you handle the blog issue as a small, medium or large corporation? Here's my take on it.

Either you tackle the blog issue with 100% commitment, or not at all. There is no in-between. To build up the necessary infrastructure and effect the structural, systemic and communications changes you need to take on blogs as a communication vehicle, you have to use both hands. Half-hearted attempts will be immediately visible to any bypassing reader. The fact is that creating blogs is all about transmitting authenticity and honesty. You can't be convincing by imitating an opinion, aping behavior or pretending a style which is too far removed from your company's personality. If, however, you manage to set up the supporting infrastructure and run blogs on a regular basis, you'll most likely discover a gold mine of respect among customers and observers.

So, here are the guidelines that can help you make it happen...

1. Blogs are fast. Often you'll have only limited time to react in order to get the best blogs out. But there's a limit to the number and type of challenges you can predict and prepare for. The nature of blogs is that they promote discussion. Debate can ignite wildfires of both positive and negative responses. Therein lies the beauty of blogs. They're impossible to predict and even more difficult to prepare for. So try to set a few guidelines of your own to help your preparation as much as possible.

Guidelines like what? First, identify and appoint your blogging agent and define his or her authority, giving the person as much editorial freedom as you can. Arm the individual with criteria covering topics which may be discussed and issues which shouldn't be touched. Then allow the 'blogger' the authority to run the dialogue. Be aware that the nature of blogs embraces the power to provoke, so at some stage you might find yourself facing some interesting conflicts. If you're not prepared to run the gauntlet of risk, leave the blog alone.

2. Blogs are all about opinions. Strong opinions tend to catch the attention of the public. Politically correct, bland messages disappear into the background. Needless to say, if you have any intention of generating attention and earning respect among your customers and the press, go to the very edge of your comfortable zone. Don't play an over-safe game. If you can't balance on that edge, stick with your press releases and leave the blog alone.

3. Blogs require flexibility and speed. The faster you react the better. If you are able to turn around your blogs in hours rather than days there's a good chance you'll hit nerves among your customers - some of them raw, remember. And be alert to the fact that news is only hot for a short while. Delay of any length because of too much revision, hesitation, prevarication - all signals of sub-100% commitment - will introduce complications, weakening the message, losing the train of thought, and letting the hot blog opportunity go cold. If you can't be fast, unflinching and fearless, leave the blog alone.

I'm sure I've managed to turn you off the very thought of blogs. Mind you, this could save you enormous effort and money loss. If you feel timorous about any of those three guidelines - leave the blog alone. But if your company is prepared to take the blogging chance, your rewards could be outstanding.

The blog is a fast-growing phenomenon. Some 400,000 new blogs appear every day. The attention span they attract is short and the purview they offer short-sighted. However, if you're prepared to invest freedom and authority in a perceptive, razor-sharp blogger; if your brand embraces a sense of certainty and opinion in its personality and core values; if your organization can respond unhesitatingly to issues with freedom, flexibility and speed...this could be your moment. And in this fast-moving medium, this might, in fact, be the one and only time you'll ever build a brand name in the world of blogging.