metaViper

The advent of blogging has created an immense opportunity for traditional companies in the form of free buzz. It’s a way for corporate decision makers to connect directly with their employees and customers with casual dialog. Of course, the expectation is that when people share their opinions a company will take action based on their feedback.

One way to work through this without the same level of expectation is by encouraging employee blogging. This will help build a good online presence especially if employees are happy where they work. However, if negative blog posts are surfacing about your company that’s an indication there are internal problems in need of quick attention.

Essentially, blogging holds a company accountable to the public. Treat employees and customers fairly and this will work positively.

That said, it’s important to give would-be bloggers a few tips, which essentially become the company’s blogging policy. The points below are written from the perspective of an employer, please feel free to copy and modify them to fit your needs.

Are there important points I’m missing? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Blogging Policy Template:

Many people participate in blogging for business and pleasure. metaViper recognizes that your time outside of work is your own and that topics you choose to blog about during that time are independent of company domain. That in mind, we would like to recommend a few good practices:

1. If you identify yourself as an employee of metaViper it’s important to distinguish your opinion from the company’s.
2. Blogging about metaViper is encouraged with the first premise in mind.
3. In fact, here are a few things you might be interested in blogging about: metaViper’s focus on quality content, our relaxed culture that encourages diverse and collaborative independence, or some of our most recent articles.
4. Personal blogging at work shouldn’t interfere with your job. Microbreaks are important but make sure your work gets done.
5. Information posted to the blogosphere is public and will be accessible for years as part of your online breadcrumb. Remember this when sharing your opinions.
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