Tom Diederich is manager of Community Management Services at Lithium Technologies, a leading provider of social CRM solutions. In this role, Tom manages an expanding group of moderators and community managers and helps companies launch, grow and manage online communities.

Tom launched his first blog in 1996 (though he called it his “online journal” at the time) while working in Tokyo as a journalist to keep friends and family informed of his adventures there. Since then, Tom has helped establish and grow online communities at Palm, Symantec, Cadence, and now, Lithium Technologies. In the following interview, Tom shares some of the wisdom he has gained along the way.

Rick: You recently hosted a session for Synopsys’ Conversation Central at DAC titled “Overcoming Challenges of Launching & Managing a Corporate Blog Program.” What are some of the most important challenges to consider before and after launching a corporate blog?

Tom: First and foremost, you must have a blog program manager – I like to call this role the “managing editor” because I’ve learned that you must treat your corporate blog(s) like a newspaper to succeed.

That doesn’t mean that your bloggers should be thought of as journalists, but that the blog program must be run like a newspaper, with an editorial calendar and weekly editorial meetings to review what worked / what didn’t and to assign stories, etc.

In addition, you should bear in mind that for every ten bloggers you recruit – and who appear to be gung-ho on blogging – that only one of them will actually blog regularly. So it’s a numbers game and that means constant recruitment. It’s tough in the beginning so I suggest starting recruitment at least three months prior to the launch of your blogs.

Rick: Based on your personal experience, what are some best practices for blogging?

Tom: The community manager should treat his/her blog program like a newspaper. The bloggers are your reporters (although they are not journalists). In addition:

• Hand out assignments based on product releases, industry events, etc.
• Spontaneous posts are still encouraged
• Build and maintain an editorial calendar to mitigate gaps between posts
• Streamline the approval process (too many cooks…)

Rick: On the flip side of the coin, what insights can you offer about “Worst Blog Practices?”

Tom: I’ve learned most of these the hard way – avoid these common mistakes:

• Ghost blog, fake blog or blog comments
• Using fictitious characters as blog authors
• Heavy-handed moderation
• Too formal and polished
• Regurgitating existing company collateral
• No blogging editorial calendar
• Assuming what works for me works for everyone else
• Long gaps between posts
• Sending blog posts through PR/Marketing for rewriting
• Complicated approval processes

Rick: Finally, in your opinion, what makes a good blogger?

Tom: Someone who is either a subject matter expert in the area they are blogging about or, if they are a general blogger (I call this second type the “roving reporter” because they interview the experts), someone with journalism experience.

A good blogger is also someone who is passionate about what they do and, most importantly, someone who wants to blog. Don’t worry too much if they are not the best writers to begin with – with coaching and lots of practice, they will be fine (writing is like exercise, you get better the more you do it).