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Checklist for a blog post

  1.  Targeting
    1. Which CATEGORY is this blog post for?
    2. What other CATEGORIES & KEYWORDS do I want to use?
    3. Which of my audience members is this aimed at?
  2. Engaging
    1. Call to Action?
    2. Conversation Starter?
  3. Assets
    1. What video, audio, pictures, etc do you need to create?
    2. Create a feature image to be shared on social media
    3. Create images in different sizes for different platforms
  4. Writing
    1. Telling the story
    2. On site SEO
    3. Using metadata
  5. Linking & Anchor text
    1. Own posts on the same subject
    2. Own posts elsewhere
    3. Other posts on the same subject elsewhere
  6. Marketing
    1. Make bite-size versions for social media
    2. How are you re-purposing the content across different platforms
  7. Scheduling
    1. Ideal time to post the original post
    2. Is it time-sensitive (e.g is it tied into a launch event, is there an embargo?)
    3. Best time for social sharing across individual channels
  8. Monitoring
    1. Google Analytics
    2. Trackable Links
    3. Amplification / Social Response – likes and shares
    4. Engagement – Conversations and Comments
    5. Conversion– responses to your Call to Action

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Dress Up your Blog with WordPress Post Formats

  • What post formats do you use the most?
  • I don’t really use any WordPress post formats other than the “standard” post, and occasionally “video”.
  • How does the video post work?
  • If I post a “video” format post, then all that shows is the video in as wide a part of the screen as possible (whilst still allowing for room for my sidebar).  Whereas if I just put a piece of video as inserted media into my blog, I get a title for the blogpost, a smaller format player, and room for text around it. So I choose the format for each video post accordingly.
  • I was teaching blogging to some postgrad researchers the other day, and when I showed them the different formats for posts they got quite excited at the thought of not always having to write a long form article every time they blogged.  It kindled my curiosity as to what the other formats would look like if used correctly.

format

  • The table above shows all 9 formats that come with the Chalk theme I use for my blog, the one I’ve chosen for this post is “Chat”.
  • So that’s why this post is coming up in this new format – it’s emulating a conversation?
  • Yes, just use an unordered list (or bullet points to the rest of us) and WordPress does the rest.
  • To find out what post formats come with your blog theme, go to the support page for your theme. Then you too can find out if you can talk to yourself.
  • Or perhaps use it next time you are reporting an interview.
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Tools for Podcasting

I’ve done voice-over work for theatre and elearning since I was a kid, and this coupled with my natural good face for radio means I’ve always fancied podcasting.  Today I had a great session with my second year class “Social Business and the Sharing Economy”, and we were negotiating their assessed portfolio work for the end of next semester.

One of the ideas that didn’t immediately get shelved (although it might) was to produce a podcast serial on the Sharing Economy.  A run of maybe 6 episodes, each lasting 12-20 minutes.  The podcast will be one of a few projects, including a blog and a printed guide to Sharing Leeds. We might expand to video and transmedia, but before then a podcast is the easier to produce we think.

We want to have a fixed number of episodes and a defined format, but it must be of the highest production standards.  Happily, we have a radio studio (two in fact) at the uni, and editing suites, so no excuse other than lack of skills to make this happen.

I’ve been googling some good “learn to podcast” resources, and after teaching various classes how to plan their blog content, am also looking to see if planning a podcast’s content is any different.  I’m parking some of the most useful looking pieces here:

How to Podcast “The definitive step-by-step guide on how to podcast without breaking the bank. This is the home of the free podcast tutorial that will take your podcast from concept to launch fast and for minimal cost.”

Learn How To Podcast 101 is a video tutorial with more than 120 minutes of instruction that will help you lay a solid foundation for setting up a podcast for future success. This podcasting tutorial will give you all the building blocks to help you understand what is needed to launch your podcast properly.

As for research into formats and content, I also intend to check out Radio 4’s Podcast series “In Pod We Trust” – useful to while away the hours of Christmas driving.

If you have an established podcast and would be interested in talking to my students about it, it’d be great to hear from you.  We can invite you into our classroom in person or via SKYPE.

Please put any recommended tips or resources in the comments.

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First Christmas tweets from my students #MFC4322

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Free Resources for Learning WordPress

BLOG graphic

 

First stop for learning WordPress is https://learn.wordpress.com/

If your website is independently hosted – that is it is NOT on wordpress.com – the WordPress Codex and its teach yourself WordPress section is your first port of call.

If you’d like a printable manual the wonderful WordPress consultants Interconnect IT regularly update their free wordpress guide.

If you prefer video tutorials check out WordPress.tv

Of course wordpress is a social network, and many bloggers have collated their picks of the best resources for learning WordPress, here’s a top three to get you started:

If you find any good resources – p[lease mention them in the comments.

 

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Academic Bloggers

This list is compiled from the participants in the #LTHEChat (Learning and teaching in Higher Education) about the value of academic blogging.

The chat takes place every Wednesday evening (BST) from 8-9pm find out more on the LTHEChat website and follow them on Twitter @LTHEChat

  • Academic Blogs Academic blogs from the University of Glasgow
  • Christopher Wiley Information and expert comment and teaching notes on popular and classical music topics
  • David Hopkins eLearning, MOOCs, Blogging, Social Media, and the stuff in between. Author of The Really Useful #EdTechBook
  • Educational Vignettes A team blog sharing practice, ideas, expertise and activities in the field of educational development
  • How Sheila Sees IT ponderings from the world of educational technology in HE
  • James Clay News and views on e-learning, ILT and tech stuff in general…
  • Kate Soper Thoughts Personal reflections on technology enhanced learning
  • Laura Ritchie Musings on teaching, researching, performing, and learning music in HE
  • Learning and Technology Reflections Thoughts about learning, teaching and technology in HE
  • Sue Beckingham Helping you get started using social media for learning, teaching and research
  • Textile Conservation A blog about textile conservation at the University of Glasgow.

 

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How to add your WordPress blog to the Creative Commons

The sharp-eyed amongst you will notice a new addition to my blog design – a creative commons license.  You’ll find it at the bottom of the left column.  You may have to scroll down a way!  It looks like this:

liz cable blog cc license

We’ve been learning about Creative Commons and Public Domain licensing in our Online Research class, and we are all busy going through our images and media on our blogs to make sure we are giving credit where it’s due, thanking those who have allowed us to use their media. Alternatively we may have to  choose new media when we realise we haven’t got the creator’s permission to use something, or if we can’t track down where we got it from (a very common occurrence!).

However, we really need to protect ourselves as writers and media creators too.  Assuming we want our work to be shared – how can we let people know?

You can learn the WHY of creative commons licensing

You can learn the WHAT of creative commons licensing 

And as for HOW to add the license to my blog, these are the steps I went through:

How to add a Creative Commons License to a wordpress.com blog.

Go to the Creative Commons site, and choose  a Creative Commons License

CC choose a license
Choose a license here.

The code you need to add to your WordPress site will be automatically generated in the bottom right box.

In another browser tab, login your WordPress Site and go to the Dashboard.

From the Menu choose Appearance, and then Widgets.  The one you want is the Text Widget

Click on the Text Widget and drop it into one of the sidebars of your blog.

text box

 

Give it a title – I just put “license”.

Then copy and past the text from your license box into the text box.

Press the blue [SAVE] button and you are done.

Remember that if you are at any point going to use media with a share-a-like license, then you need to make your media share-a-like too.

 

 

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Top 5 social media questions marketers want answered

This post is from the 2014 Social Media Marketing Industry report by Michael A. Stelzner Founder, of  Social Media Examiner 

The top social media questions marketers want answered can be summarized in the following keywords: tactics, engagement, measurement, tools and audience – in that order.   As the social media marketing industry continues its massive expansion, the needs of marketers shift.  Below are the top issues marketers are facing today with social media marketing.  At least 83% of marketers surveyed felt they are struggling to answer all of the following questions:

  1. TACTICS: What social tactics are most effective?  The number-one question marketers want answered (91%) is which tactics work best. This high number is likely in response to the constant changes taking place across many social networks.

  2. ENGAGEMENT: What are the best ways to engage my audience with social media?  Figuring out how to best connect with people remains high on the list of questions marketers want answered (89%). As more businesses become social, those that best engage will stand out.

  3. MEASUREMENT: How do I measure the return on my social media marketing?  A significant 88% of marketers want to know how to measure their return on investment for social media activities. This question has been top of mind for marketers for the last four years. Clearly very few marketers have figured this one out.

  4. TOOLS: What are the best social management tools?  As interactions increase and newer social networks continue to grow, the need for tools to simplify social media marketers’ jobs becomes more important. A whopping 85% feel like they don’t know what tools are best.

  5. AUDIENCE: How do I find my target audience with social media?  Figuring out how to target customers and prospects is a big concern for marketers (83%). Because of the enormous size of social networks combined with ever-changing ways to connect with people, marketers need guidance.

2014 Social Media Marketing SocialMediaExaminer.com
Industry Report © 2014 Social Media Examiner