It might not ever even occur to most CEOs that they even should write a blog. They are really focused on their business most of the time after all. But people love to read about success. They also love to read about what it would take to be a CEO since you can bet a huge swath of the population wishes that they could start their own business. There are some ups and downs to this approach to getting some new promotion going.
Pro-Generating Interest
CEO blog entries can be fantastic linkbait. Blog entries like “A CEO’s Perspective on Business Costs,” or something of the like is just a title that screams for people to click on. Everyone wants to know the right way to run your own business, and the right way to get started. This can go beyond just a blog as well of course. The same principle applies to keeping a video blog, or a twitter account. Video blogs can be especially good because it makes people feel like they know the Vlogger and it can help create a link between the viewer and the CEO. And it’s a short jump from there to trusting the CEO’s company.
Con- Negative Press
One possible downside to a CEO interacting directly with the public is if he does anything in his personal life, or if the company ever gets any negative press the CEO can become a target. People will want to derail any conversation started on Twitter or YouTube in order to talk about the latest controversy and things can often spiral out of control from there. A lot of scandals or seriously bad press has started in this way.
Pro-Rebranding
If you think that your company’s image has grown stale or has moved in a negative direction, it can help to start thinking about rebranding. Many business leaders do this all of the time when it comes necessary, and a blog from a CEO is often the perfect way to do it. Many people think of the CEO as the embodiment of the company. So, if the CEO writes a blog where he changes his mind about something, it can be seen as a new direction for the company as well. And even beyond that, the CEO can talk about the new direction or new image for the company directly.
This can also apply if a company has received a negative reputation as of late. Maybe customers are complaining about a particular issue, such as how the wait times for customer service take forever in your company. If the CEO blogs about a brand new solution to decrease wait times, this can accomplish several things at once. First, it can help reassure people that the problem is at an end and that it might get better now. This will encourage people who had left due to the problem to possibly try out the company again. Secondly, it generates interest from several different areas including not just people who are interested in the company in general, but also those who are curious about the new technology or solution being used.