Correlation of Rankings with Personal Pronouns?

[squareplug]

Has there been any tests or studies that associate writing in the first person or using "emotional" feeling phrases to higher rankings.  More specifically to a blog structure.

I'm trying a blog option with a  local telecommunications company, however I'm having flashbacks of writing those 5 paragraph essays when taking the SATs.  The owner decided he should take on the responsibility and it's like he just can't bring himself to write from a personal perspective. He's a bit stuck in the "professional" mindset and worried about appearing unprofessional.  I empathize with his perspective, but I know it's not going to work..or maybe it will? it's just not going to be interesting to readers, but perhaps google will appreciate the fresh content.  I don't think letting an employee takeover will be an option as he's very protective of the company's image.

So would you ditch the blog? or continue with the dull posts?

[BenFox]

I'd work at him from the angle that it is possible to be both professional and personable. If you pull out editorial from a high quality newspaper or even cite some influential blogs in a space he follows you should be able to put that point to him pretty convincingly.

Alternatively I think Will Critchlow recommends hiring people on Amazon Turk to answer a Panda-style questionnaire. You could compare the current text with that written in the first person and see which one real people prefer. Or pitch the two versions of the text head to head in an A/B test and see which has higher user engagement statistics.

If you're only doing the blog to generate links/shares etc. and he insists on using his own writing style then it sounds like it would just be a waste of his time.

[squareplug]

Thanks Ben. I hadn't heard the idea of using Amazon turk before. I'll give it shot.