anatomy of a successful blog post
DESCRIPTION
All the elements you need for a blog post that meets your destination marketing goals. Presented at the 2014 Social Media Tourism Symposium (SoMeT) in Nashville, TN. Tourism Currents does online and in-person training in social media for tourism. Find out more here: http://www.tourismcurrents.comTRANSCRIPT
Anatomy of a Successful Blog PostSheila Scarborough – Tourism Currents
Blogging is more than
writing@SheilaS@TourismCurrents
What We'll Talk About
● Before you start● Building a blog post● Wait, there's MORE work?!● Your gold mine – archives
@SheilaS@TourismCurrents
Before you start
@SheilaS@TourismCurrents
Blog structure: your goals determine your "buckets" (topics)
Possible DMO Blog
Topics/Categories?
@SheilaS@TourismCurrents
(Visit Philadelphia Uwishunu blog)
You Need a Plan
@SheilaS@TourismCurrents
Basic Editorial Calendar● Topic category● Title● Details (including graphics)● Keywords● Who's this for? (persona)● What's the point? (CTA) @SheilaS
@TourismCurrents
Via @EmilyForsha/Travel Oregon
Building a blog post
@SheilaS@TourismCurrents
Blog Post Title
@SheilaS@TourismCurrents
Blog Post Content
@SheilaS@TourismCurrents
(Cincinnati's meetings blog)
Visuals Matter
Photo resource: Flickr Creative Commons
Historic pics - Flickr.com/Commons
Note for posts with video: also include
a photo@SheilaS@TourismCurrents
Got audio? Use SoundCloud's embeddable play boxes for your posts
Writing for the web....it's not only WHAT you present
but HOW you present it
@SheilaS@TourismCurrents
Bolding, bullets, white space!
You have the Power of the Link.
Use it!@SheilaS@TourismCurrents
SEO@SheilaS@TourismCurrents
Give them the info they seek, in the
words they are using to search for it
@SheilaS@TourismCurrents
SEO plugins for WordPress:
All-in-One SEO Pack
WordPress SEO by Yoast
@SheilaS@TourismCurrents
A Possible Post Format● "Great Local Breakfast Places in XYZ"● Strong opener, often a quote● The List (using bullets, headers, etc.)
● Mom's Cafe (farm-to-fork)● Selena's Taqueria (breakfast tacos)● Fred's Downtown Diner (Old School)
● Closing words, call to action@SheilaS@TourismCurrents
Your turn....
Take 2-3 minutes to sketch out a
breakfast post outline for your blog
Wait, there's MORE work?
@SheilaS@TourismCurrents
You are the publisher AND the distributor
Share with your email
newsletter list@SheilaS@TourismCurrents
Don't Forget LinkedIn for B2B Posts
Your gold mine: archives
@SheilaS@TourismCurrents
Get More From Your Archives● Use for internal links● Re-share periodically on
social....ICYMI● Re-share periodically in
emails/newsletters ● Use them to answer visitor
questions on social @SheilaS@TourismCurrents
Photo CreditsAll photos mine except....
● Buckets by Angie Harms on Flickr CC (Creative Commons)
● You need a map by Stephan van Es on Flickr CC
● Roget's Thesaurus by Professor Cooper on Flickr CC
● Newsboys via the U.S. National Archives on Flickr Commons, circa 1909
Thanks very much!
Sheila Scarborough
Tourism Currents
@SheilaS
@TourismCurrents