By Hervé Kabla

What makes top executives like Georges Colony at Forrester, Bill Marriott at Marriott Hotels, Lucien Fa at Yoplait, or Françoise Gris at Manpower so similar? It’s not a question of language, nor sex, nor age, nor even industry. No, the common point between all those CEOs is much simpler: they all started a blog in the last 3 years.

When I say started a blog, I really mean a blog. A blog? Yes, those stupid little websites that kids worldwide have adopted in order to share, exchange and test new ideas.

But politicians like Mr Obama and Mr Sarkozy have long understood what benefits they can drive from these “kid’s” platforms. A corporate blog or a CEO blog is a valuable communication tool you can use whenever you need to emphasize specific topics, and can have a great impact on your business.

Why some C-Level managers at your company should start their blog right away:

1-Spend more time with customers. Managing your company requires strong agenda management, no matter your company size: meetings, phone calls, flights.  You rarely have the opportunity to develop a real discussion with customers. A blog will offer you an asynchronous way to reach them – and them to reach you. Don’t worry about the topics, they’ll naturally find their way to your mind: customers know what to ask – and when.

2. Enhance your online brand reputation. The web is the place where people look for information. People generally don’t know how to determine the most valuable voice out there. Why not add your own messages to the discussion? Your authenticity and your position will give your voice a tonality no other writer will ever reach, no matter what your level of writing skills may be.

3. Get high visibility for a small investment. Compared to traditional media, blogs are really, really cheap to start, maintain and develop. Yet, you’ll have to dedicate a small amount of time – one hour or two every week – in order to find the appropriate message to deliver to your customers, employees, analysts, competitors or partners. You can write these messages yourself, or rely on corporate blogging agencies to help. That’s it. All the rest (publishing, moderation, answering) can be delegated.

4. Own your communication channel. No one ever knows what the future will bring to your company or your business. The economic downturn, potential health risks, scandals, we don’t want our revenue to stumble on headlines. Depending on the crisis phase, you’ll easily find the appropriate tone: soft or passionate when you have to entice readers, strong or even tough when you need to defend your positions.

5. Learning by doing You can’t understand Social media (Twitter, Facebook, or blogging) by reading an article in a magazine or a report from your Chief Marketing Officer. Sure, they can tell you what they are, but you won’t be able to truly understand how they could change your business unless you actually use them.

Hervé Kabla is the CEO of BlogAngels, a leading corporate blogging agency located in Paris, France.