Imagine your association leadership’s reaction if you suggested a blog: Would you be greeted by silence, a shuffling of papers, and darting eyes? At DelCor's Progress U. - Blogger Summit we discussed busting the many barriers to blogging. Here are some insights and examples from association bloggers.
Barrier #1: Limited Resources
There’s never enough time and money. Although blog platforms are inexpensive, it takes time to manage and write content for a blog. ASAE’s Acronym blog has neither a budget nor dedicated staff. It’s managed and written by the magazine’s editors with the help of volunteer guest bloggers.
Unlike ASAE, the National Wildlife Federation has a budget that was used to redesign the blog and hire a part-time editor to manage it. Their posts are written by 179 staffers from headquarters and regional offices – communications and policy staff, program directors, middle and senior management, and even the CEO. (In our next blog post, we'll dig deeper into how ASAE and NWF recruited their bloggers.)
Barrier #2: Tradition vs. Innovation
Innovation has been a topic of heated discussion for several years because, frankly, most associations don't do it very well. They either don't budget for innovation or aren't nimble enough to implement new ideas. The prevailing culture also obstructs change: “we've always done it that way.” Egos, jobs, and budgets are tied to the old and resist the new.
Blogs aren't the only initiatives to suffer. "The first line item that gets cut from budgets is mobile," said Ray van Hilst. Mobile-friendly sites are easy to create, yet many associations don't, even when metrics show increasing mobile views.
Barrier #3: Full Plates
Lisa Junker, former editor in chief at ASAE, pointed out a huge obstacle: Staff plates are full because associations are bad at sunsetting programs. When researching an article about sunsetting, she only found one association that did it well, but they didn’t want to be quoted because they did it without their board’s knowledge! Subterfuge: a new strategic tool?
Barrier #4: Fear
Spam, negative comments, liability: blogs can be scary if you’re not proactive on these fronts. Filter spam. Moderate comments according to your published guidelines. Minimize liability with an enforced social media policy. (Your association has one, right?)
Education helps to reduce fear. Acronym’s staff found out the hard way what happens when senior staff doesn’t understand blog and community protocol. When an “incendiary word” appeared in a post title, it spread like wildfire and some influential members complained. Regular readers weren’t fazed, but staff was told to remove the post, causing an even bigger uproar from the online community who cried “censorship.”
Barrier #5: Confidence
At first, the public aspect of blogging can be unnerving. Even experienced bloggers aren’t always confident about their posts. Shelly Alcorn said, “Every time I hit publish, I think this is the post that will ruin my career.” She suggests being strategic about your content and pushing through any low-confidence moments.
Don’t shy away from difficult topics. Readers flock to posts about controversial issues. One of Maddie Grant’s most popular posts – Has ASAE Lost Its Mojo, a critical look at the 2010 annual meeting – sparked lots of discussion, not all favorable, but she has no regrets.
Barrier #6: Unfamiliarity with Blogs
Many association decision-makers don’t read blogs, and aren’t even aware of the blogging going on in their industry. They don’t understand how a blog can serve the association and engage their members. They’re not comfortable with that mode of expression. You’ll have to educate them to help them get past their discomfort and misperceptions.
Don’t use technology lingo when discussing blogs. Show examples of other industry and association blogs. Focus on the impact of this new communication and engagement channel, not the tool itself.
Once you get the green light, take time to research by subscribing to industry and association blogs. Most importantly, develop a mission and content strategy.
Blog Mission
A mission will help you make decisions about appropriate content. The Acronym blog’s first post announced theirs: “Spotlight innovation and excellence inside and outside the association world, explore new possibilities for the future of associations, and question the conventional wisdom of association management.”
Content Strategy
How can your blog be used as a strategic tool to help the association achieve its goals? Define the blog’s goals and audience, including any niches you wish to engage. What are their content needs? What would they find valuable or interesting? Determine your posting frequency. Create an editorial calendar to keep you on track. The more you post, the more Google traffic you’ll get, but keep the frequency realistic and manageable.
In the next post, we’ll discuss two of the day’s hot topics: recruiting bloggers and keeping the content pipeline full.
Flickr photo by sarflondondunc
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