Well, it's not the same as baseball, but does require teamwork and cooperation to make it work properly.
Let's say you have a great new project in the works. Your company plans to revolutionize the widget market by introducing the oval widget. Since the marketplace has only supported round widgets before, your plans are groundbreaking. How can you use this new product concept to your company's advantage?
You set up a team blog.
You can set up the blog by adding blogging software to your site. You then make the blog password protected. That way only registered members of the blogging team can post. With a password required for blog entry, you can be control the message to some degree.
It doesn't hurt to be cautious about who has access to posting in the team blog. You certainly don't want just everyone to write their thoughts online for everyone to read. The object is to keep the blog personal, yet imformative about the company and its products. Disgruntled and unhappy employees will not help your company image, by placing their grievances in a public forum.
A major advantage of team blogging is the number of different points of view that can be expressed. John in Industrial Design will post about the problems and challenges in developing a workable prototype of the oval widget. Bill in Production will write about the difficulties in the manufacturing process. Lisa in Marketing will describe the approach to getting the oval widget to the retail outlets, and into the consumers' hands. Other key departments will write about their special areas of the project. You get the picture.
If the team blog is written as an ongoing saga of an exciting new product, from its design conception to your local store, the blog can develop an eager audience. The potential customers for the product will read your team blog. They will get to know both the value of the oval widget, as well as the people and process behind it.
Don't overlook the potential media exposure that can be gained from a team blog. The posts are all possible news "angles" that can become major stories, in both the specialized industry publications, and in the mainstream media. To assist the reporters in their jobs, be sure to post good contact information on the team blog itself; and on your site as a whole.
The very creation of a team blog can greatly help boost morale within a business. Employees will feel they are part of a very important public relations exercise, that enhances the company's image. They will accept the trust given them in writing about the new product, whether it's our fictitious oval widget, or the latest service offered by your firm.
When the Company President steps to the podium to announce the new and exciting oval widget, the regular readers will already know all about it. A major first step, in the product's successful entry into the market, will have already taken place. The news media and the general public will have been spreading the word prior to the official announcement. Thanks to the team blog!
A team blog has many advantages for a business.
If handled correctly, a team blog can give your company a leg up in the marketplace.
Give it a try!
