session 2: nicholas standage (pau) blogging, µicroblogging and the top 3
DESCRIPTION
Second session of the Web2LLP online training course on web strategies and maximising the social media presence of Lifelong Learning Projects. Topic: Blogging, µicroblogging and the top 3 Author: Nicholas Standage (PAU Education) Website: http://www.web2llp.eu/training/online-session-2-toolsTRANSCRIPT
This project was financed with the support of the European Commission. This publication is the sole responsibility of the author and the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
http://www.web2llp.eu
Nicholas Standage P.A.U Education
Blogging, µicroblogging and the top 3
Today´s session
• Blogging?
– Why? Where? How?
• microblogging?
– Is this just a smaller version of a blog?
– What is it? What can I do with it? How can this apply to my audience?
– What is it? How can I use it?
– How does it work? Arent the first two enough?
• Further references
Blogs – Opinion!
A blog is merely a tool that lets you do anything from change the world to share your shopping list.
A blog is a post focused on a specific theme that can generate a sequence of comments
2 types of Blogs
Dedicated blog pages
Blogs within a portal
Some of the nets most popular blogs
Huffington Post - http://www.huffingtonpost.es/ Business Insider - http://www.businessinsider.com/ Engadget - http://www.engadget.com/ Lifehacker - http://lifehacker.com/ Autoblog - http://www.autoblog.com/
.
.
. .
Why are these blogs so popular?
What makes a blog effective?
The topic The way that the topic is presented The user interface The people who are blogging The dissemination of the topic among other channels?
• Clarity, • Simplicity • Professionalism
Openness? Time
consuming? Expert
knowledge? Does it look
nice?
Does it matter?
Vs.
What makes a blog effective?
Frequency
Date /Time of Posting
SEO
Call for Action
Hourly? Daily? Weekly? Monthly?
When is your target audience most active?
Appearance in search results (tags, descriptions, labels)
Give practical advice to your audience
How do i begin?
If you have a site implementing the blog module on your Content Management System : Drupal, Joomla, etc…
Creating your own domain
Using some of those great free blogging platforms currently available
Very easy to use, flexible to customize
THINK ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE (Who, Why, What do they need? )
I created a blog section on my site now what?
• Identify your key actors – Who will be posting on your site? Collective blogs www.africanclimate.net
• Selected stakeholders blogging
Creating a blog – next steps
• Identify your key actors – Who will be posting on your site? Open Community blogs www.epractice.eu
• Open to everyone
• Inform your audience about your new feature
Newsletters, mailing campaigns, Social Media
• Use it – Get involved! A good beginning is half the battle
Creating a blog – next steps
µicroblogging?
What is it? A shorter more precise version of a blog..BUT! Why it's important not to confuse the value of technology with value of teaching http://chronicle.com/article/Dont-Confuse-Technology-With/133551/ … #elearning • Short in Content
• Short in Size • Can contain links • Can contain images
SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKS
Twitter What is it?
A µicroblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based messages of up to 140 characters known as
"tweets”
Twitter uses #Hashtags to classify the tweets to mark
keyword or topics
Follow the people that interest you
People interested by you become your Followers
Create and subscribe to Lists of people that interest you
A tweet is precise, short in size and duration and is open to everyone
What makes a tweet powerful?
• The person who tweets i.e. Celebrities • The content of the tweet – Something that is of interest
to a large group • The way that it is written
Study shows: Need for more #ICT skilled workforce in #Europe LINK do you agree?
Twitter The Whitney Houston Story
Death anounced by a Man to his 14 followers 27 Minutes later after it was confirmed by the Associated Press it was retweeted 10 000 times
Twitter Beginning to tweet
Create an account Customize it with the look and feel of your project Define or search for a #Hashtag Follow the people that interest you Tweet and re-tweet daily – Let the people know what you are doing Create a list with the users that interest you
Twitter A Success Story on Twitter
@elearningeuropa More than 2300 followers 3rd largest traffic source on the website A learning and research tool
The Worlds most popular social networking service • See what others are up to • Tell a story… based on
facts and time of occurrence
• Chat and send Private
messages
• Search for people, places, topics
• Measure your interaction
with your target audience
Profiles Pages Groups
FACEBOOK PROFILES
Your customizable personal page Your Friends Your Interests Music, Movies, and much more
Your photos Your events
The first step!
FACEBOOK PAGES – What are they?
Pages are for businesses, organizations and brands to share their stories and connect with people.. Pages can only be created and managed by official representatives Anyone can like a page and receive news feeds from it People who like your Page and their friends will get updates in their news feeds
FACEBOOK PAGES – How do i create one?
1. Create your profile 2. Home -> Create a Page 3. Add Picture, Description 4. Advertise it!
FACEBOOK GROUPS – What are they?
Have things you only want to share with a small group of people? • Add friends, and start sharing. • Post updates • Poll the group • Chat with everyone at once Groups can be closed or Open Anyone can create a group!
FACEBOOK GROUPS – Creating one!
1. Create your profile 2. Home -> Create a Group 3. Add Picture, Description 4. Invite your friends to Join!
Confused between a Page and Group?
Choosing between a Page and a Group
Key points to consider beforehand • Who´s is your audience? • You are the official representative of your
project • Make sure you are aware of the differences
between the two • Consider having both
What are the key differences?
Pages • Official • Open to everyone • Better for larger audiences • Advertising capabilities • Do you need visitor
statistics?
Groups • Can be Open or
Closed
• Do you need to live chat?
• Better for smaller audiences
Advertising on Facebook
Facebook Ads • Promote Content on your Page • Promote your page and increase its fan base
Target only the audience that you want (location, gender, age)
Set the budget that you want Measure the impact of your advertising
A Facebook Success Story
15000 Fans 551 talking about it Used for: • Sharing the latest updates of the project • Expand the reach of their project • Inspire teachers • Building a community
Not being afraid to openly communicate!
https://www.facebook.com/aulascreativas
Getting the most out of your professional network
Create a Page for your Project
Creating thematic discussion Groups
Groups provide a place for professionals to: • Share content • Find answers • Make contacts • Establish themselves as
industry experts.
Groups can be Open or with Restricted Access
LinkedIn GROUPS – Creating one!
1. Create a Profile 2. Join other groups – see how they work 3. Groups -> Create Group 4. Add Description, Images, Name, type.. 5. Share your Group and Invite
professionals to Join
6. Start a Discussion
LinkedIn PAGES – Creating one!
GROUPS Vs. PAGES
Companies -> Add Company Personalize it! Connect it with your other Social Media Profiles
Pages offer public information about the Organisation on LinkedIn
Discuss -> GROUPS Create Polls - > GROUPS Participation analytics - > GROUPS Announce updates - > PAGES
Advertise your page on LinkedIn
LinkedIn A LinkedIn Success Story
More than 13 discussions and 50 new members a week - The Warwick Business School • News
• Events • Practical Advice • Jobs
Demographics
Which tools is your target audience using? • How are they using it
• Language
• Frequency and level of usage
What kind of expertise do you have in-house?
Choosing your tool(S)
• Most popular network • More personal look and
feel • Very customizable • Can be used for
advertising • Offers both Open and
restricted communication
• Professional look
• Good for Networking
• Can be used for
advertising • Offers both Open
and restricted communication
• Short, precise • Can focus on type of
audience or topic • Shorter duration of
content
To Sum up
Blogs µicroblogs Facebook LinkedIn Twitter
YOU YOUR AUDIENCE
A good Educator is a good Learner!
Measure
Listen to your audience
Engage
Search
Apply what you learn
Make it attractive
Future References • www.facebook.com • http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/ab
2adefa-c022-4791-abbd-7c5701a00517.aspx
• http://www.webconfs.com/seo-
tutorial/introduction-to-seo.php • http://www.inc.com/allison-fass/dave-
kerpen-social-media-moves-that-work.html?nav=pop
• http://www.noupe.com/how-tos/the-
complete-guide-to-getting-the-most-out-of-twitter.html
• http://www.inc.com/magazine/20100201/
how-to-advertise-on-facebook.html
• http://heidicohen.com/social-media-23-ways-to-promote-your-blog/
• www.twitter.com • www.linkedin.com • www.wikipedia.org • www.elearningeuropa.info • www.web2llp.eu • www.dailyblogtips.com • www.tentblogger.com • www.ojr.org
Some questions..
How do I measure the impact of my social media presence? What kind of measuring and evaluation tools are there available? What defines an effective social media presence?