Should CEOs blog?

It’s a question that I have asked many executives and CEOs over the last three years and received varied responses. The usual good, bad and ugly rule applies.

Drury has been a profilic blogger over many years and I wondered whether any of the current successes he and his company have had can be specifically ascribed to writing a regular blog about his thoughts, his industry, his company and his personal experiences?

Drury was an extremely active blogger for more than five years, 1626 posts, three companies, three children and 10 kilos (he says), and while he has moved now to an occasional post on Xero’s blog  and in some mainstream media, he absolutely believes that blogging has made a significant contribution to his personal and business succcess.

He went further, saying that he probably wouldn’t have been able to raise the capital he did unless he had that rich repository of his back story readily available for investors and interested parties to see his track record and credibility.

Another CEO who blogs is Carey Smith of Ray White who has a personal blog about leadership and all things related on his personal site (including his book Deliver - 36 Life Stories on Leadership). Smith has also created a company blog to discuss meaningful events with loyal followers of Ray White, his staff, suppliers, media and the market in general. The blogging has created opportunities to share his story with all stakeholders in a personal, regular and meaningful way.

More and more CEOs, business owners and executives are now taking this out of the”too hard” box and beginning to think how they can use blogging to further their own personal and business goals. Many of our clients including executives from Results.com , Switch Business and others, have begun blogging in the past two years with dramatic results.

What are the benefits of blogging for CEOs?

• Blogging creates discipline for developing worthwhile ideas and content that will enrich your audience and add value to readers, who include staff, suppliers, clients, prospects, media and (yes) competitors.
• The idea written up in a post creates the perfect opportunity to have open dialogue about an idea and get  feedback – instantly.
• Especially if you are in the intellectual capital or service - related business , it’s the perfect opportunity to merchandise your team's IP and case studies that create value and bring readers benefit. But don’t be fooled – even people who are product manufacturers or distributors can be successful bloggers.
• Each post becomes a syndication opportunity for influential online news sites and blogs that can spread your ideas further afield and attact like - minded people into the debate.
• The blog shows your personal and company milestones along the way and helps communicate your intent and back story in a meaningful way.
• Blogging and your style and voice can be a source of differentiation from your competitors.
•  Your latest blog post can be shared by your community – at least the ones that find your latest idea interesting on Twitter, Linkedin.com and elsewhere on the blogosphere.
• People who understand their business and industry in detail have a dramatic advantage when it comes to blogging. When you can translate this into words in a blog, then it adds instant credibility if you have been at it for some time and have developed a following.
• The blog and its associated tags and posts are found easily on Google and all the other search engines – all working together to show your vision, intent and actions – all usefull when engaging with existing and potential clients.

So I say to would - be bloggers who are CEOs – carry on minding your business and start a blog. Start small. Be authentic. be purposeful.

Yes, make a calendar entry for the first one, by the end of the quarter (let's be realistic now). Start a plan for what you would like to write about and give it a go.

Dwayne Alexander is a director and co-owner of Alexander Communications which specialises in online strategy.