Starting or Improving a Blog

Every year we're inundated with statistics from sources like Technorati, Forrester and others that the number of blogs continues to grow. Whether you are an administrator of multiple blogs or looking to create your first one we can all rally around the idea that we want to make a blog the best it can be. There are a number of factors that go into making a blog great:

• Content
• Personality
• Engagement with the community
• Interaction points
• Design

Before getting into all of this, the creation of the blog has to take place. The vast majority of people create their blogs on platforms that center around blogs, which include Blogger, Word Press, TypePad and others. Other people create their blogs on platforms that may not necessarily be 100% blog-centric, like Weebly or Wix. Still others, who are more experienced will code their blogs from scratch and use a separate hosting service.

Since this blog is hosted on Google's Blogger platform, as are millions of others, I will be talking about some of my favorite Blogger templates, widgets and plug-ins.

Google offers some basic templates for a blog upon its creation. These are standard templates that can get the job done, but can easily be replaced if you are looking for something a little more unique or aesthetically pleasing.

There are a number of fantastic resources out there that have pre-made Blogger templates and directions in how to apply them to your blog:

• BTemplates
• Blogger Templates Blog
• Deluxe Templates
• Blog Crowds

To help narrow down the the amount of templates you will be browsing through, you should first think about how many columns you would like on your blog. The post section of the blog counts as one column, each column after that is a side bar. Having only two columns will give you more room for larger widgets in the sidebar and potentially a cleaner look, but if you want to incorporate a number of widgets it means that most will be below the scroll. Three and four column widgets allow for more widgets to be above the scroll, but can limit the width of any widget you would want to include. You will have to weigh these factors and others when deciding what layout you want.

Keep in mind that you can try a template out and if you don't like it after uploading the code to your blog can always change to another.

The conversation about columns brings us to widgets, gadgets and plug-ins. Blogger offers some standard widgets that can be applied to your blog with a single click. These might include:

• Post archive
• Tags/Labels
• Basic Text
• HTML box
• Slideshow
• RSS feed
• Followers
  

These are all very important to the success of a blog, but you should look beyond the Blogger offerings to find other extremely helpful options. Maybe you want a tag cloud instead of a list, or a video slide show, or box displaying your LinkedIn updates, or a stream of headlines from the New York Times. Without question, you should add "share" icons to your blog so readers can proliferate the posts on their social networks, as well as through e-mail and bookmarking tools.


Again, there are great sites and posts dedicated to showing you the best widgets and plug-ins for your blog:

• Widgets for free
• Mashable's 25 Best
• BanBosh
• Mint Blogger
• Tips Box
  

Hopefully this will help provide some links to resources that can help you create or improve your blog. If you're having trouble installing a theme, widget, plug-in or anything else just shoot me a note and I'll see if I can help. I know there is a tremendous amount more we could talk about with regards to improving a blog so if you have notes that you would like to share with everybody please leave a comment.

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Make Your Facebook Fan Page Stand Out

Why would a brand or business create a facebook fan page? Most likely they are trying to increase awareness about the brand as a whole or a specific initiative. They may also want to improve brand loyalty and engagement with their target audience. Those are all good reasons to create a fan page, but having a good reason won't actually accomplish those goals.

Brands have to promote their fan pages across a number of platforms to even alert their target audience that the page exists. They also have to provide value or entertainment to the visitors so they continue to come back. It is this latter area where the brand should really work to make its page stand out from the plethora of other brands using a cookie cutter design and content formula for their fan pages.

A brand can either make their page stand out through the content they provide or the design/layout of the page. Each brand will know better than I will what qualifies as unique or valuable to their audience, so I won't even attempt to assert some universal answer that can be applied across all industries and goals.

There are a number of ways to enhance the design of a fan page. A brand shouldn't feel as though they are restricted to the use of fan page standards like a wall, photo sharing tab, video sharing tab, links tab and discussion board. Those are all great features, but brands should go to the next level.

One of the most important features a Facebook fan page offers is "FBML." This is Facebook's version of HTML language and allows users to add components that they might find on other platforms. The FBML feature gives users the freedom to add widgets of all varieties, links and a number of other things. Instead of simply adding links to other relevant pages in the FBML box, it might be nice to add hyperlinked photos using FBML tags so there is a visual association with the link that entices visitors to click through.


There are also a number of previously developed applications that can simply be plugged into a fan page. Brands shouldn't be afraid to browse through these and see if any will help them accomplish their goals while bringing some variety to their fan page.

There are some great Facebook developers and resources out there so if a brand is looking to create a page that is awe-inspiring it can definitely be done.

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Friday Fun With Widgets IV-Simon

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Friday Fun With Widgets III-Make Yourself a Simpsons Character

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Friday Fun With Widgets II-Mario and Luigi

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Some Friday Fun With Widgets

Get this widget!

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Let's Get The Ball Rolling

I’ve started this blog for a couple of reasons. First, I just love talking about social media. Second, I want to share the knowledge I’ve obtained through my years of work in social media and learn from everybody else out there that have so much to offer.

We’ll start with a little bit of background. I graduated from Kenyon College with a degree in psychology of all things. I know all you non-psychology majors out there are saying “what’s he going to do with that” or “way to play it safe,” but it really has been useful in this industry I am a part of. Soon after school, I began working as a media analyst as a communications/public relations company in Charlotte. The clientele consisted of primarily sports and entertainment brands. Within months I was given the opportunity to help shape the direction, services and other major components of the social media side of the company as the Director of New Media. I’ve been at this post for quite some time now. I really enjoy and think I’ve helped to make major strides for my company.

There are certainly going to be people out there that are more knowledgeable than me with each individual skill, but I like to think of myself as well-rounded in social media. I’m well versed in general best practices, macro and micro strategies, monitoring and metrics, the debate about ROI, how best to integrate social media in a cross-platform marketing strategy and many other things.

Now for my philosophy…social media is about building relationships. Every day I find somebody who is wrapped up in the newest technology or the race to get 10,000 followers on Twitter. I try to remind them that social media is about people, trust and community. At its very core, social media should be about having a conversation one-to-one or one-to-many.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for learning about the next big communication channel and new flashy widgets, but I will always keep the personal and social aspect of our world at the forefront. Hopefully you’ll be able to glean some insight from me, but even more than that I’m hoping you engage in a conversation with me and we build on what is already out there in the social media world.

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