Should CEOs blog? Well, to borrow wisdom from grandma: If everyone else jumped off a cliff, would you? Just because the CEO in the next building is doing it, doesn’t necessarily mean your executive should be. Here are a few guidelines to determine if a CEO blog is appropriate for your brand.

Reasons a CEO Might Consider Blogging

• Blogs nurture relationships with customers – People like dealing with people, not faceless entities fortressed behind concrete buildings or deep within virtual spaces. CEO blogs not only establish credibility, they convey “human-ness” to consumers.
• Blogs foster internal dialogue – This is especially true in a big firm, where an awful lot of titles separate the entry-level staff from the C-suite. A present and engaged internal CEO blog can be a positive voice that impacts team satisfaction and staff motivation as well as sets the tone for employee brand ambassadors.
• Blogs establish industry leadership – CEO bloggers often stay away from the hard sell and focus instead on establishing themselves as thought leaders. By posting regularly and thoughtfully about industry news and views, CEOs can positively impact the brand’s online reputation.

Reasons a CEO Blog May Not Be Right for a Brand

• Blogging takes time – Execs are busy and may not be able to make time to write entries. Daily blogging isn’t necessary, but if posting one entry every month or two months is still too much, perhaps a CEO blog isn’t the best way for the executive to communicate.
• Blogging may have legal ramifications – CEOs in publicly traded companies or highly regulated industries have more responsibilities regarding disclosures. Understandably this can make the C-suite and Legal skittish. If that’s the case, set up a review process to ensure the entries meet regulations or consider skipping the CEO blog entirely.
• The CEO might be a bad blogger – Not every CEO (or every staff member, for that matter) is an ideal blog writer. Examples include bloggers who cannot present a brand-consistent message or who introduces potentially divisive topics or abuses readers’ trust.

When it comes to the question should CEOs blog there’s no “one size fits all” answer. For hints on writing a successful executive blog, check out CEO Blogging Tips. To learn more about how a CEO blog may—or may not—fit into your social media strategy, contact Social Strategy1.