Seven Steps to Courteous Corporate Blogging

John Cass, head of digital marketing at Pace Communications, says corporate bloggers should focus on common courtesy in their interactions with clients, customers, partners and the general public. "A blogger shouldn’t handle things the way a journalist might," he told Lora Bentley. Among the seven essentials to etiquette he offers: Respect copyright and fair use, check in with clients or customers to be sure that they are ok with what you plan to write about them, and be the first to correct your own mistakes.

Read more on this topic in Lora Bentley’s post "Common Courtesies in Corporate Blogging."

John Cass, head of digital marketing at Pace Communications, offers these guidelines forcourteous and effective corporate blogging.

If you are about to write about a client or partner, check in with the client and give them the chance to agree to your writing about them.

Use short excerpts when quoting material from sources; if there’s a link, provide a link to any Web material. When quoting material from other sources, don’t quote more than short excerpts from copyrighted material.

If you are unsure about the accuracy of any material, check with the blogger and/or source you are quoting.

Don’t use ethnic slurs, personal insults, obscenity, etc., and show proper consideration for their privacy and for topics that may be considered objectionable or inflammatory.

Unless you have a minor grammatical or spelling error, be the first to correct your own mistakes, and don’t alter previous posts without indicating that you have done so. Use strike-through when altering the meaning of a blog post.

Be careful in disclosing private information in social media. What you reveal may remain on the Web for a very long time. You are welcome to disclose your personal information to build a better relationship with your audience, but it’s important to be aware of the dangers of revealing too much private information. Ask permission if you are disclosing another person’s private information.

There are many circumstances where a blogger would mention competitors in the context of a discussion about industry issues. When writing about your competitors, make sure your words are respectful.