When developing strategy for a group or corporate blog, don’t forget that “blogger motivation” is a key factor in the formula for overall success. As in any other community, the needs of its members must be considered to ensure each remains active, current and topical. Even with the best technology, design, widgets, etc, the corporate blog can still face relevance and credibility issues if its bloggers don’t post interesting and topical content.
This is the first of a two-part post on Blogger Motivation. First, let’s talk about what not to do.
A “reward” is an obvious motive for participation, but when you consider it from the blogger’s point of view, the short-term effort to produce each post (free time) coupled with the long-term commitment (from now until when?), most traditional reward channels undervalue the effort and loyalty it takes to be a relevant contributor.
Here are four common rewards that often get confused for motivation in collective and corporate blogging situations:
Money: If you plan to pay bloggers for their participation, expect a quagmire of ethical and credibility issues. You can make it complicated by paying for trackbacks, comments, links, etc, but you run the risk of increased policing and administrative duties dulling creativity. The seemingly easy model of “pay per post” gets confusing – how can quality be ensured when quantity is rewarded? Hiring “staff bloggers” may alleviate that issue, but this eventually raises editorial concern around who is paying for the content to be produced. Readers may focus on your blog’s business model as the main criteria in measuring credibility than the actual content.
In general, paid bloggers have much in common with their journalist cousins, minus “journalistic integrity” (the notion that journalists are neutral and bloggers are entitled to have an opinion) and a consistent editorial point of view. Applying those models to the blog may solve the motivation issue, but then your blog is simply another publication, similar to a magazine or newspaper and will be considered as such in the eyes of the social media consumer looking to participate in the dialogue. In the end, money seems like the easiest answer to the motivation puzzle, but unlocks a world of credibility, quality, and business problems that greatly outweigh the reward of solving the motivational problem.
Privileges: Increased privileges may not generate good content. In fact, privileges like money may do the opposite. Privileges should only be considered as a reward for a collection of posts, but not as payment. The use of an executive bathroom, better parking spots, etc, will seem like a cheap trick to somebody who will inevitably be giving many free hours to the blog, and this kind of reward may end up looking like an insult for their efforts. Use these as rewards for achievement, not a primary strategy to maintain participation.
Swag: If you look to reward bloggers with company swag, event tickets, etc, you may also find a “flash in the pan” interest level relative to the novelty of the reward. Swag should be considered cost of entry in this space. Bloggers should be given this stuff because they do it for free, not in lieu of payment. Never look at these items as payment to keep them going. Use swag for unexpected thank-yous for work done. Expect nothing in return.
Profile: The opportunity for professional profile-raising is a key motivation in initial involvement, but also wanes with time. Many people can attain high professional achievements without the collective, and in fact, may find it might be easier for their voice to be heard. Make sure there’s ample opportunity for individuals to increase their profile in the collective blog experience, but don’t look to this as the key motivation to keep them contributing. Promote profile-raising as benefit to joining the blog, but find other ways to keep them producing long-term.
Motivating bloggers with money, privileges, swag and profile-raising may work in the short term, but don’t be surprised when these things don’t equate to the effort to participate in a meaningful way. Do you want your blog to be a place of thought leadership? Or a place that proves you’re capable of entry-level in the social media space? If it is the latter, perhaps you are not ready to enter the conversation.
Check in again for my follow-up post “Part 2: Motivating The Group or Corporate Blogger: What to do” where we’ll explore successful motivation strategies.
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4 Responses to “Motivating The Group or Corporate Blogger : Part One : What Not To Do.”
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December 5th, 2007 at 9:35 am
[...] post we talked about Motivating The Group or Corporate Blogger: What not to do. This time, let’s identify some key strategies that help bloggers be motivated for the long [...]
December 12th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
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December 15th, 2007 at 9:07 am
very interesting, but I don’t agree with you
Idetrorce
December 17th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Thanks for the comment Idetrorce… My mind is open to change… love to discuss this stuff. What are your thoughts?