Blogging is a key part of our digital environment: more than half of marketers say blog content creation is their top inbound marketing priority. Key blog trends for individual bloggers Andy Crestodina from Orbit Media conducted a survey of 1001 individual bloggers (not companies or brands [groups]) in 2019 to identify blogging trends. Overall view: The average blog post takes 3 hours and 57 minutes to write …up 65% from 2014 The average blog ...
Read moreWeb design and writing expert Jakob Nielsen has unearthed many important facts from his research about website visitors. His latest study shows that users hunt for facts online, so factually rich content will attract readers and keep their attention. Here is his summary of findings: Emphasize facts There's so much corporate jargon and waffle in websites that straight talk stands out. Journalists - the ultimate fact seekers When journalists used corporate websites in the ...
Read moreFor some reason, informational web pages about organizations can be difficult to find or they give only minimal or formal information. It should be easy for visitors to your website to find out the basics of your organization, large or small. But surprisingly often, this important information is hard to find or is even missing. An 'About Us' or 'About [the name of your organization]' page should give concise summary information (but not just ...
Read more(This article was written in 2013, and therefore some of the digital tools may be out of date.] Mike Lizun of Gregory FCA wrote a good article in PR Daily about some great digital tools that are available to PR practitioners. He showed there are many digital tools and services PR pros use to stay on top of the news, identify trends, research the right media for targeted story ideas, and manage accounts. Mike ...
Read moreReflecting today's more complex issues, today’s search engine results pages can have many possible complex layouts, and users don’t always process search results sequentially. Their attention on a page tends to jump around more across the page than in the past, and has been compared to the pattern in a pinball game. A traditional pinball machine arcade game (left in the image) is a glass-covered cabinet using an angled play field with various bumpers, ...
Read moreThere are a lot of things to consider when you’re figuring out which type of PR measurement to use: your budget, the business outcome you want, what social channels you want to measure, how many tools you want to use, the insights you want to get, how broad the scope is, and the list goes on. Then there’s the question of what to measure: page views, followers, website visitors, average time on a site, ...
Read moreTraditional media relations activity has consisted of a ‘push’ approach to providing information to the media. The internet provides a ‘pull’ approach in which a journalist obtains information from your website only when they want it. Many journalists use the web as a basic research tool. They start their research on your organization by accessing your website directly. Others start their research by using a search engine such as Google. This creates a need ...
Read moreCorporate communicators and journalists can find it difficult to confirm the facts about an emergency or crisis. In these days of proliferating 'fake news' and wild claims made on social media, a 'crisis' report could merely be sensationalism or could even be completely untrue. Often communicators need to identify the source and truth of such claims so they can understand and communicate the facts. Verifying facts before publishing a news story is one of ...
Read moreStarting and maintaining a blog - while definitely worth the effort (and fun, too!) - isn't as easy as it looks. Blogs take time! Almost all blogging experts say the actual writing is the hardest part about keeping a blog. Blogs need fresh content - constantly. Developing that content - and making it pithy and relevant - is not something you can do in your "spare" time. Blogs forge connections. You need to read ...
Read moreMake links relevant, descriptive, and start with keyword Recent research by the Nielsen Norman Group found that hyperlinks are a key part of online writing. For site visitors to quickly find what they need, a link should stand out from the body text and accurately describe the page it relates to. Eyes are drawn to links Users scan web pages looking for clues on page content and where to go next. They use signposts ...
Read moreGuest post by Haley Lyles [During these uncertain times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have lost their employment
Guest post By Caitlin Goodwin, Advanced Practice Registered Nurse. It’s critical to support your mental health and improve your resilience
"Middle managers play essential, if unheralded, roles in an organization. If senior leaders set aspirations and strategy, middle managers translate
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