How to Encourage Coworkers to Blog – An important aspect for Social Media Managers filling their content requirements
Madi Johnson – Graduate of the NCSU TTS Social Media Management Certificate Program
Blogging is crucial for a business’s overall marketing plan. We’ve all heard it before. More blogs lead to more website views which leads to more conversions. But HOW. How do we create blog content ourselves, and more importantly, encourage our coworkers to create blogs.
The Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less team takes pride in our blog page. The entire team recognizes the importance of the blog. But since we have been blogging since 2011, sometimes motivation is lacking. What else can I possibly blog about? How many more exercise with my dog posts can I write? As I forged through each month, repeatedly asking for coworkers to send me their blog, I realized a few simple practices could put a pep in their [blog] step again.
Make it a competition. This is the number one motivating factor for our team to blog at least once a month. We hold a monthly competition of the top 5 most viewed blogs. At our monthly team meeting the winners are announced and congratulated (or lovingly booed if someone is bitter). The top 5 blogs are featured at the top of a handout everyone receives. These handouts have been known to be framed when the number 1 spot is claimed. At the end of each year, we look back at the top blogs for the entire year. Now THAT is a coveted list of top 5 to be on! The winner of the year’s blog gets a small prize, but it’s more about the bragging rights. It sounds simple and insignificant, but you wouldn’t believe the competitive spirits that come out. It’s amazing what a little recognition and praise will do.
Create specific (and fun!) blog challenges. Throughout the year, I create extra blog challenges to change it up and re-motivate colleagues. Over the holidays, it’s a challenge for the most creative holiday blog. Occasionally, it’s a challenge to see who can recruit a guest blogger and whoever’s guest blogger gets the most views wins. Another example is our 4th of July challenge for the best grilling/cookout recipe (healthy of course). Or, as we just recently launched, an Olympic themed challenge where a gold, silver, and bronze medal are awarded. Now who doesn’t want a gold metal (even if it’s actually a fake apple spray painted gold… because #health).
Start it for them. Help your coworkers get their creative juices flowing with blog prompts. Whether you provide them with a theme, a title, a picture, or the first paragraph, get them on the right track. This helps you gather the type of blogs you want for the website as well as eases the writing process for your colleagues. We all know the title is the hardest part of a blog.
Create a theme or a series. It’s easy to jump on board when something has already been set in motion. Create a series of blogs your coworkers can add to, or a theme they can always come back to. For example, we did a series of frozen lunch reviews. Coworkers could taste test their own frozen lunches, rank and review them, and add it to the blog. Easy peasy and it generated great content.
It’s important to remember to encourage your colleagues to blog, not force them to blog. No one wants to read a disgruntled negative blog. Help them find things they like to write about and understand writing is not everyone’s strong suit. Make it fun. Make it exciting. Make it fresh. Make it simple.
About Martin Brossman
