BLOGGING,MICROBLOGGING ANDTWITTER: A ROUGH
GUIDEPRESENTED BY JO PETTY, FREELANCE COPYWRITER
jopetty.co.uk@joapet
Resources and useful websites
WHAT IS A BLOG?A place to post news, articles and other interestinginformationCan take many different forms, covering differentsectorsA resource that informs, entertains and educates
WHAT ISMICROBLOGGING?
Originated as a "tumbleblog" - a blog page whichconsists of a stream of links and quotesMost common form of microblogging is throughsites like and A quick and easy way to get across information
Twitter Tumblr
SO WHY IS BLOGGINGIMPORTANT?
It's an easy way to get information to people whovisit your siteYou can attract new visitors through bloggingUsing microblogging platforms helps expose you tonew social groups and expands your network
BEFORE YOU STARTEstablish your target audienceDecide on a tone of voiceWho will manage your blog?
GETTING YOUR BLOG SETUP
Assess your current technical situationConsider the available blogging platforms
Establish what you need from your contentmanagement system
TYPES OF BLOG POSTNews
TYPES OF BLOG POSTInterviews
TYPES OF BLOG POSTOpinion
TYPES OF BLOG POSTPromotional
TYPES OF BLOG POSTSeasonal
TYPES OF BLOG POSTEvergreen content
IDEAS FOR BLOG POSTSAn interview with a member of staffInvites to events
Reuse old contentUpdates on the schoolRemember the good old days?General news on the sectorGuest authors
REMEMBER...All the content you post should be unique (i.e notfound anywhere else online)One of the easiest ways to update your blog is toplan ahead
EDITORIAL CALENDARS
EDITORIAL CALENDARSA way to track your blogs and plan aheadKeep track of things via a calendar or spreadsheetDecide on how often you want to postPlan out posts around important eventsWrite your blogs in advance
POSTING CONTENTUse a catchy titleBreak up the copy with headers if it's particularlylongAn average blog post is 250-500 words longInclude images, but be careful of copyright
Learn how to include videos and embed contentSpell check!
PROMOTING YOUR BLOGNewslettersStaff engagementSocial media
TWITTER: THE BASICSA tweet consists of 140 charactersOther users can be mentioned by using @ followedby their username
Can group together topics of interest eg. #teachingor events eg. #Eurovision
HOW TO GET SET UP ONTWITTER
Follow other usersPay attention to online trends and hashtagsTweet when you post a blog - can upload imagesUse a link shortener like to give you morecharactersRetweet content your target audience will enjoy
Bitly
WHEN TO POSTPost regularly (more than once a day!)Use scheduling tools
Remember to be responsive
MEASURING YOURSUCCESS
Wordpress stats
Google AnalyticsBit.lyTwitter Counter
OTHER SOCIALACCOUNTS: PINTERESTAllows you to "pin" images from across the webonto boardsParticularly useful if you have a lot of visual content
OTHER SOCIALACCOUNTS: INSTAGRAMAn app which you take photos through and theyautomatically get uploaded onlineUseful if you're running an eventUses hashtags and @ mentions
KEY LEARNINGSSetting up a blog is easier than you think.Maintaining it requires planningContent is all around youTwitter is easy to integrate into your bloggingpractices
RESOURCESBlogging platforms
| | wordpress.org tumblr.com blogger.comEvent planning
| eventbrite.co.uk meetup.comImage resources
| creativecommons.org commons.wikimedia.orgSocial media
| | twitter.com pinterest.com instagram.comScheduling tools
| tweetdeck.com hootsuite.comMeasuring tools
| |google.com/analytics bitly.comtwittercounter.com