Quite a few times now I have been faced with clients or potential clients who say that they don’t want to blog because they are scared (these are corporate clients).  Scared that a bad situation for their company could blow out of control through the blog, scared because a bad situation could happen because of something said on a blog. 

Well let me counter that.

If a company blogs on a regular basis..they are honest and consistent, then other bloggers will come to rely on them for company information and insight.  When times are good, this is what happens.  A company, when “talking” on the blog, becomes a solid member of the blogosphere.  When in bad times where a crisis for the company occurs, and the blogger sticks to their guns by blogging honestly and consistently, the company will have produced an effective crisis management tool, the blogger and the blogoshere.  Other bloggers already trust your company and the contributor(s) so if your company blogger continues in the same vain when trouble hits, your company will be believed and no doubt supported by a group of people who have become a community through blogging.

Now, other companies say that they are scared to blog in fear that something said on a blog may be misconstrued or misinterpreted.  Yes, there is a chance of this happening but doesn’t this happen anyway in the press or in life (like at a party when you think no one is listening)?  Don’t be afraid to send your message out because it could be misunderstood…this is not the philosophy you took when building your company or division in the first place!

While there will always be a group out there who don’t understand or are miffed by a direction a company takes, the overall affect of a company blog will be positive because you and your blogger(s) are out there, taking chances, communicating and connnecting.Â