On Wednesday, I wrote about the CEO/President’s blog. Today we’ll have a look at the organization blog, the employee blog and the blend.

The Organization Blog

This blog is a little less about the person writing it than it is about the organization as a whole. Often there will be several writers who cover a range of topics and areas regarding the organization. It might be that different departments or division heads each write one blog post a week about news, events and interesting points relevant to their area.

In this style, it is more like local news and opinion coverage, with a little thought-leadership, than the more personal column style of the CEO or President’s blog.

There is more organization and focus needed here to make sure that there is a flow of subjects and that writers don’t duplicate efforts or put out conflicting information – which we all know can happen when there are multiple voices. Often, the communications team would act as the news editor and review all the information before it is posted to ensure that overall consistency in style and tone is reflected.

The Employee Blog

These can be the most engaging – if you have the right employee(s) writing the blog posts. It has been our experience that organizations have some incredible people working on the front lines who are great at blogging. It’s these people who have engaging, interesting, amazing stories that showcase the product or services that you offer – and the heart and soul of your organization: the people.

There are, of course, challenges here. Not everyone on the front lines understands what should and should not be shared publicly. Training and coaching can be helpful here. The other side of this is that sometimes, as communicators, we get caught up in positioning, messaging and talking points. Having someone who lives the brand every day write the blog posts can bring us back to a reality that is important. There are times when it’s okay to say things are challenging and when it’s okay to talk about an issue and how it was resolved. Most people want to know about the heart of an organization – not just what your product or service does for them. They want to know how you act when there is an issue; they want to know what the day is like for someone who works there – to understand the challenges that you face and how you deal with them.

The Blend

Some of the best blogs we’ve helped develop and maintain are the ones that bring the CEO and the employees into the spotlight. The CEO might blog on Fridays, while a team of employee bloggers rotate through the other days. Some of the most popular blog posts have been where employees interview the CEO or the CEO speaks with employees and finds out about their role in the company.

The blend blog style allows for some great human interaction that showcases the people behind the product or service, something we’re all interested in knowing more about.

Does your organization have a blog? Who writes it?