These are questions that I often muse over and I thought that they would be interesting ones to post on this blog.
Firstly, how 'out there' should public relations blogs be? Should PR company blogs contain all of the writer's possibly controversial opinions or should they stick to safer waters? And if they do stick to secure, neutral waters, then is there any real point to blogging? Hmmm.........
Of course, there are a couple of things to consider when penning a PR blog. For example, should you comment on a brand's PR work if there is even the teeniest possibility that you might one day be pitching for that company's PR account?
Secondly, why are we blogging- really? Are PR bloggers posting because it's their job and they've been told to blog once a week? Are they blogging because they want other PR people to read their entries and know that they are they kings of online communications (!)? Or are are they blogging because they want to convince business owners/managers/sales and marketing guys that PR is a valuable tool?
I think that the last reason should be the primary motivation for PR blogging. If that is the case, then bloggers need to make sure that the language they are using is simple, easy to understand and free of industry jargon.
On top of this, PR bloggers need to engage with people outside of their own tight community. We need to be interacting with bloggers and online communities that are discussing topics relating to business, politics and marketing. While conversing with other PR bloggers is good for industry/social networking, it's not going to get you any more PR business or educate people outside PR on the merits of public relations.
Finally, as far as censorship goes, I think PR bloggers should feel free to express their own opinions. Readers will catch on if you're holding back or not being genuine and will quickly lose interest. Make sure the blog reflects your own personality and thoughts and doesn't come across as stale and forced. Don't be afraid to blog about your own experiences.
However, we do need to tread carefuly- it goes with the territory.....For example, while relating personal experiences will endear you to the reader, make sure that you are not breaching any client confidentiality clauses......!!!
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