As a Conversation Manager, it’s my job to be completely entrenched in all things social. I’m constantly researching new tools, updating myself on the latest trends, and berating my husband for not having a Facebook account exploring the pros and cons of different platforms, features and updates. At the end of the day, I take everything I know and use it to help my clients be the best “at social” they can be.
Sometimes I forget that not everyone is as engrossed as I am. Sometimes, when new or potential (or even old) clients come to Media Logic for help, I’m reminded that some people don’t really know that much about Twitter, Facebook or YouTube. And you know what? That’s totally fine (and why we’re here!).
Just this past week, in fact, I met a new client who wanted our help with starting a blog-based community site. Trouble was, he didn’t really know that much about blogging in general. To help get the ball rolling, I started compiling a list of best practices and guidelines that immediately came to mind. And as I was jotting down my recommendations, a light bulb went on in my head: this list is helpful not just to my newbie blogging friends, but to seasoned bloggers, as well. Almost like a “back to basics” refresher course, if you will.
So, long story short (too late, I know…), I wanted to share the list I came up with here, on our blog, in an effort to educate the blogging novices who land here and to get the blogging experts thinking about their day-to-day practices in a fresh light.
The list is not all-encompassing or complete. I encourage any bloggers reading this to submit their thoughts in the comments section, below. I want to know: what works for you? What’s on your daily or weekly to-do list?
Blogging Best Practices
- Blog posts should showcase a mix of content types. Alternating between straight product information, interesting finds, features on people and topical insights/trends is key to keeping your content fresh and exciting.
- Try to engage your readers. Instead of just pouring out information, ask them questions that will get them to respond with their own thoughts. Hopefully, this will lead to some robust discussions.
- Ask your readers what is important to them. What do they want to know or learn about? What interests them? The more you can learn about them, the better you can shape your content and provide them with something meaningful, useful and valuable.
- Keep the material fresh, to the best of your ability. There’s no one-size-fits-all rule that dictates how many times a blog should be updated. If you’re able to provide valuable, exciting information every day – great. But if you’re not – and are just filling the stream with dull or useless fodder – it’s not providing your readers with any reason to come back. Start with a certain number of posts per week (or day) and go from there.
- Respond to any blog comments in a timely manner. When readers see you are taking the time to read their thoughts and value their contributions, they are more likely to engage again (or for the first time, if they’ve been silent observers of others’ comments).
- In the same vein, be sure to monitor your comments for spam and delete it immediately. Nothing says “I don’t care about my blog” like a list of spam comments. Installing a spam filter can definitely help you manage this.
- Promotions and contests are fun and exciting – they help give your site some personality, and help give your brand or product some buzz. Periodic promotions can help keep your site lively and engaging.
- Outside promotion of the blog itself is necessary, especially when just starting out. People need to know that the blog exists, or they won’t come. This awareness can be accomplished through “old fashioned” means, like e-mail blasts, newsletters, signage in offices or events, etc.
- Try to share your content with third-party sites and across other platforms to help reach a wider audience (this not only helps promote the existence of your blog, to the above point, but also helps to build your credibility and status as an influencer or thought leader). On the flip side, make sure your content is shareable – your blog site should include functionality that allows others to share your content on their own platforms and channels.
- Most important, perhaps: give your readers a reason not just to come to your site, but to come back to it. This is accomplished through the success of the above bullet points, and is a helpful bottom-line message to always keep in the back of your mind.