Who is Writing This...? Why Your Articles Need an Author!
What are you hiding from? If you’re not batman, you don’t need a brand (or “Admin”) to disguise your true identity when publishing.
If nobody is willing to own this article, is it worth reading?
Quite often I see articles from advisors and/or firms that have no author or just a brand as an author (or Admin - eek!!), I actually saw a web developer highlighting their ability to hide the field altogether. Why on earth would you want to do this!!?
… even if your thought leadership is “evergreen” or ‘owned’ by the firm, it still needs credibility, therefore it needs an Author.
In an industry where relationships are key, and client contact is the aim of your thought leadership - when an article is published without an author, the client is left with questions: Who do I call, Google or follow to get more info like this (that is relevant to me)? No author.. did they ghost write the article? Did the person who wrote it leave? How do I know I won’t just be handballed to someone general? Is this credible? valuable? - if why didn’t they include the author? (why does nobody want to own it..)
Having an author brings credibility to a post - which is essentially why you would embark on any thought leadership type marketing activity (credibility, along with awareness). The same reasons books have authors, newspapers list journalists and I guess why movies have credits…
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES IS DIFFERENT
For a product, or even some service businesses, this could be acceptable - their marketing is separate from sales. A can of coke or a lawn mower isn’t going to write a post, or meet with you to discuss your divorce - no author needed... The postman or a restaurateur are two examples also likely to be covered by their brand - they don’t need to be listed as an author for you to relate to the services they deliver. It’s different.
In professional services, the professional, the experience they provide and the solutions their thinking delivers is what a client is buying. The professional is the one who needs to build the trust, and show credibility to convince a client they’re the right fit - they’re ultimately the one who does this (not a sales team).
Given the aim of thought leadership (for most professionals.. I’m sure there are some exceptions) is to generate awareness of your thinking, knowledge and skills and build credibility in a given area (eventually leading to instructions), WHY would you dilute the value of your content by not disclosing an author?
CONTENT IS DIFFERENT
“Content is unlike any other ‘product.’ Customers don’t particularly care who assembles their automobile, carbonates their soft drink, or irons the decal on their ironic t-shirt……But just as newspaper subscribers want to know the names of the journalists that pen each article, so too do those who read your company’s blog posts, ebooks, and presentations. It’s this human connection, however tangential, that distinguishes content from other products.” - well said Joe Chernov, #nailedit.
When a prospective or existing client read, it’s usually because of an interest or a need (problem) or both. Either way to sort through the overwhelming amount of information, one generally looks for content that #1. is most relevant (thanks Google), #2. appeals to them personally and #3. is credible. Content without an author… where does that leave them…? What type of publication/references do you associate with ‘unnamed sources’ - tabloids. Not a good look for a thought leader.
WHY DO SOME FIRMS DO THIS?
Having worked with firms and professionals across various digital projects for nearly decade, the issue of how to avoid embarrassment online is often a priority - as is ownership and avoiding any internal political issues, particularly in relation to employee turnover. Hubspot absolutely nail the ownership issue in this post.
Many discussions I’ve heard focus on whether an article should include the actual author or just the practice lead (how demoralising for the graduate forced to write it…) or just the firm name, and what to do with articles where the author has left the firm, have led to the conclusion that the author doesn’t really matter. Why - I’ve heard a few reasons:
So everyone is seen as thought leaders? (so people who don’t produce any content don’t stand out? so it doesn’t look like our graduates are writing all our content..?)
So it doesn’t matter if the author has left? (if it looks like you’ve got enough expertise or related content, even a ‘get help in this area’ type button linking to appropriate profiles… it shouldn’t matter - as an aside, if the author is an expert, they’re likely writing at their new firm.)
So clients have to call us if they want help with it? (or they will question it’s credibility and go on to the next article on Google)
No reason I’ve heard justifies the reduced value and potential of the content. They’re also less than motivating for those asked to do the writing.
THE TAKEAWAY
Have an author. Don’t publish content without an author. Even solo’s should show you’re the author (especially if you’re going to use guest posting as a strategy). Even if the author is listed at the bottom, it’s at least identifying the person who can help a reader with next steps.
Don’t make a brand an author. (Admin is not an author either).
When someone leaves? Change the author’s bio to reflect the fact that they don’t work for your organisation any longer, remove it from the team page and leave the article associated with their name. They did great work for you before they left - it’s likely others at the firm do good work too.
Update your website so it’s easy to see that your firm retains expertise despite the author not being at the firm. And if your firm doesn’t retain the expertise, find an external referral source to partner with or consider removing the article altogether.
“When a reporter leaves a newspaper, the publisher doesn’t redact the contributor’s byline or replace it with a retained employee’s name. The attribution persists -- across all channels. Branded content should be no different. The byline should be permanently and inextricably linked to the asset itself.”
- Joe Chernov (when he was at Hubspot..) via Arik Hanson