Blogging 101

It seems like everybody has a blog these days, even pets are blogging about what mischief they’ve recently caused. So how do you get your organization’s blog to stand out?

First off, use your resources. WordPress 3.0 has come out with some new features, Mashable has highlighted the important ones:

Custom Post Types: You can add different content types rather than just “Posts” and “Pages”. This allows you to feature more areas of your organization such as a section for “Members”, “Testimonials” or pictures and videos.

Custom header/backgrounds: WordPress 3.0 offers clean and bold designs coupled with functionality not typically found in themes. If you don’t have coding skills to customize your theme (not many of us do) WordPress lets you customize your background and header to give it a less “Clip-Art” feeling. You can use your own images to give your blog a more personal style without going through the hassle of programming it yourself.

Multi-site compatibility: For organizations with different branches, this feature is key. This lets you manage different websites with the same WordPress installation.

Other ways to enhance your blog:

The Facebook “Like” Button:

It’s everywhere, so why not on your blog? Install a plug-in for this feature and let your followers promote your page with a simple click of a thumbs-up.

Security:

Readers don’t want to weed through spam under your contents section. Secure your blog, install the automatic updates to help protect against spamming.

Silence is Golden:

We all have guilty pleasures in music, but that doesn’t mean they need to be shared. If a reader wants background noise while reading your blog, that’s what iTunes and Pandora are for. SIZE. For goodness sake, please use a readable font.If readers have to squint, there is a high likelihood that they will just skip onto the next blog.

Spell Check:

Because once you post, you’ll never forgive yourself for forgetting that “K”. So spell check, and go through for other edits as well. It boosts your credibility and won’t end up with people giggling at the fact that you still cannot tell which is the right form of their/there/they’re.

Focus on Content:

Backgrounds are nice, especially with the ability to make them more custom. However, people should be remembering what you have to say, not what colors are flashing at them in different patterns.

Happy Blogging!

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