Welcome to Week Five of the Expand Your Sphere with Social Media Self-Directed Learning
Blogging
This week we will review what’s required to get a successful blog started and look at some blogging strategies to increase readership and engagement.
Starting a Blog
Before starting a blog you want to ask (and answer) a couple questions:
- Who is going to be the audience for the blog?
- What will be the focus point of the subject matter communicated on your blog?
If you can’t immediately answer these questions - you may want to refer back to your Social Media Plan that you developed in Week 1 of this self-directed learning cycle. (Plan template available here)
Numerous free blog services are available – two of which are listed in the second table of week two. Choosing a blogging service is a personal preference so you may want to review the options provided to determine which one best suits you.
Blogging Strategies
Below is a list of several strategies that will assist you in building a successful blog. You will find the strategies discussed below apply not only to blogs but to other Social Media tools as well as discussed in Week 3.
- Update often
- Allocate a specific time to update your blog (Create a repeating appointment in Top Producer)
- Create a new blog entry at least once a week.
- Post “breaking news” immediately – do not delay.
- Keep the Content Relevant
- Restrict your posts to the topics established in your plan
- Include relevant videos via YouTube (view help topics on the first table in Week 2)
- Photo inclusion via Flickr (view help topics on the first table in Week 2)
- Do not use posts as listing feeds
- Keep The Content Original
- If you would like to reference external content in your post, instead of copying the entire article provide a link to the article then provide your own interpretation.
- Can quote from other articles just make sure the source is credited.
- Allow comments on your posts to promote interactivity and reader engagement.
- Make your contact information readily available on your Blog.
- Advertise your blog updates via Twitter and/or Facebook to reach out to your audience.
Blogging Checklist
The blogging checklist available here will help you start blogging the right way from day one!
Additional Information
There is a lot of information available on the internet with different ideas on how to develop a successful blog. Below is a list of links that you will want to review to gather blogging ideas.
