Best Practices in BloggingPatton Group Advisors, LLC

August 8, 2012 John S. Patton, III

TUTORIAL OUTLINESection One: Why Blog?

• Is there Sufficient Demand?• Opportunities to Expand Your Influence• A Timely Knowledge Sharing Platform

Section Two: Changes in News Consumption• Where Do People Get Their News?• How the Internet Has Changed News• Snapshot of a Typical Blog Reader

TUTORIAL OUTLINESection Three: Writing An Effective Blog Post

• Improving the Scanability of a Blog Post• Choosing Format & Post Length• Writing Engaging & Provocative Content• Additional Tools For Creating Exciting Content

Section Four: Template Recommendations• Writing a Good Headline• Intro• Body• Conclusion

SECTION ONE: Why Blog?

Is There Sufficient Demand for your Topic?

a) Is a Blog appropriate for your organization’s goals?• Do you have anything interesting to

say?• Are your competitors blogging

successfully?• Do you have the budget?

b) If you are already blogging, how has your readership developed over times?• Do you have metrics in place to

evaluate which posts have performed well?

• Has your overall readership increased?

Opportunities to Expand Influence

a) A well crafted blog post can:• Influence trends• Create a breakthrough idea – OR –• Provide information

b) Example of influence: What happens when you “google” a term that your organization has coined?

SECTION ONE: Why Blog?

A Timely Knowledge Sharing Platform

a) Disseminate timely knowledge in your digital network

b) Two Way Communication• Audience and peers can comment directly

on your blog• Immediate Feedback

c) Medium for ideas to go viral• A blog post, tweet, or other digital product

can quickly be shared by other orgs, people

• With this potential, there is no limit to how many people can see your publication

SECTION ONE: Why Blog?

Where Do People Get Their News?

Statistics as of March, 2011

SECTION TWO: Changes in News Consumption

a) Democratization of News• Online news sources can be created from

almost nothing

b) News is Free• Blogs, twitter and other online platforms

are free

c) Decentralization of News• News can come from anywhere at any

time• An unknown blog can break the biggest

story

How the Internet Has Changed News

SECTION TWO: Changes in News Consumption

Snapshot of a Typical Blog Reader

Average reader spends only 96 seconds reading a single blog post

Because your reader is looking at a computer screen:

People read 25% slower than reading on paper

Only 16% of people read blog posts word for word

SECTION TWO: Changes in News Consumption

Improving the Scanability of a Blog PostThe Problem:

This problem exists across all platforms:

• Twitter• Facebook• Inboxes• RSS Feeds

SECTION THREE: Writing an Effective Blog Post

Improving the Scanability of a Blog PostThe Solution: • Grab Reader’s Attention by Breaking

Through with: Photos, Videos & Infographics

SECTION THREE: Writing an Effective Blog Post

Choosing Format & Post Length

Distribution of Blog Posts by Number of Words

SECTION THREE: Writing an Effective Blog Post

Choosing Format & Post Length

Perceived Problem: Blog posts have to be long and heavily researched

Reality: Shorter, more frequent posts (150-600 words) should be the norm

• Take less time to write• Fit the 96 second average • Increased frequency in news

feeds• Increase RSS pings• Increase SEO ranking

What is the average post length of your blog?

SECTION THREE: Writing an Effective Blog Post

Writing Engaging and Provocative Content

Problem: Blog posts can be boring, esoteric and too internally focused

Solution: Create a list of provocative questions that will be answered in your post.• Use a question at the beginning of your blog post

to draw the reader into a two-way discussion• Keep a list of your questions that can be used as

an entry for numerous tweets pointing back to your blog post

SECTION THREE: Writing an Effective Blog Post

SECTION THREE: Writing an Effective Blog PostAdditional Tools For Creating Exciting ContentCurate

• Help people see your organization as a thought leader with a timely perspective by offering important insights on current events, reports or studies

Add Value• Offer critical observation or inquiries

Link Up• Use hyperlinks to reference other parts of your

website or external sitesWhen in Doubt, Post!

• Don’t let this guide put you in handcuffs• If you feel like your blog post will be out of line

with these principles, write it anyway

Problem: Readers are often deterred by bad headlines

Solution: Create something informative and engaging that leaves your reader wanting more…

Bad Headline•  'Qatar TV Channel Acquires New Hardware'

Good Headline•  'Al Jazeera International Chooses Apple

Technology'

Writing a Good Headline

SECTION FOUR: Suggested Template

SECTION FOUR: Suggested Template

Intro Paragraph

1. Start with values and framing of why the subject

is important

2. Evidence, anecdotes or current events

3. Focus on the unique knowledge of this post

1. Support your key message(s)2. Use language that is simple, straightforward and

understandable by all audiences3. Think about how this post could be disseminated

on twitter or facebook• Include a few sentences that could be used on these

platforms• Refer back to the initial questions to be answered

Body

SECTION FOUR: Suggested Template

Conclusion1. Provide info about what your topic means

for Living Cities and the broader field2. Provide ways for people to get more

information if applicable

SECTION FOUR: Suggested Template

Who Is Your Audience?

• Members• Customers• Stakeholders• Media

• Government• Casual Reader• Customers

What Groups Read Your Blog?

This is an example of just some group categories. Take the time to think about the people that comprise your readership and keep them in mind when writing.