Creating an editorial calendar for your blog

Having a blog is a pretty important aspect of any social media plan. Your blog serves as the hub for all of your other social media platforms and helps develop your online authority and reputation. Most importantly, your blog helps build search engine optimization (SEO), allowing your customers to find you online before they find your competitors. But in order for your blog to achieve any of these things, it needs to be updated consistently.

This is where editorial calendars come in. By planning ahead each month and developing an editorial calendar of topics, you won’t be left scrambling for ideas to write about each week. But is there such a thing as planning too far ahead? Is planning even a relevant term when it comes to social media? This was a question posted on social media expert Mari Smith’s Facebook page a couple of days ago:

I’m curious if you use an Editorial Calendar for your blog, tweets, Facebook fan page, (and Google+!). If you’re in an industry where there’s always something fresh and new happening each day (social media!), it can be challenging to pre-plan. Let me know in the comments below…

› Continue reading

Tags: Blogging, editorial calendar, editorial plan, Mari Smith, storyteller

Avoiding Holiday Weight Gain

I had not one but two delicious, fabulous, mouth-watering Thanksgiving Day feasts.  Turkey, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, oh my!  And this is just the beginning.  As I look at the calendar, the next four weeks are full of holiday parties, dinners out, family gatherings, and other events that will be teeming with scrumptious spreads.  It’s no wonder that so many Americans struggle with weight gain over the holidays.

Despite the temptations that surround us, there are strategies we can implement to prevent weight gain while enjoying the festivities:

• Eat a healthy breakfast. Be sure to start your day off with a nutritious breakfast—preferably one that includes protein and whole grains (such as peanut butter on whole wheat toast) as well as some fruit and dairy.  Be sure to eat healthy snacks throughout the day.  The last thing you want to do is arrive at a party feeling famished and then eat everything in sight.

• Carefully select food choices.  Think about what you want to “spend” your calories on.  Skip the “ho-hum” dishes and enjoy your favorites, considering which ones are healthier and keeping portion sizes in mind.  You may opt to skip gravy and other high-calorie condiments.  Remember that old habits die hard.  Are you truly hungry enough for seconds, or are you heading back for more just because that’s what you usually do?

› Continue reading

Tags: Avoid holiday weight gain, Blogging, CobornsDelivers, healthy holiday eating, holiday weight gain

Do the Rules of Blogging Apply to All Social Media?

Long before I had a blog of my own, I did my senior thesis on the ethics of blogging about work.  Long story short, the general rule is that if you aren’t comfortable saying it in front of your boss, you probably shouldn’t be posting it on the internet.

I have several friends on Twitter — people that I’ve actually met — who I know to be intelligent, level-headed and responsible.  However, they consistently take to Twitter and Facebook to paint their jobs in a less-than-stellar light; things like, “I can’t focus on work at all today,” or “Work is really boring right now.” These individuals make it clear on both their Twitter and Facebook profiles who their employers are.  How is this any different than blogging disparagingly about their employer or client? › Continue reading

Tags: Blogging, Facebook, Social Media Rules, Twitter

Blogging for Your Clients versus Blogging AS Your Clients

Okay, so I went on a mini-blogging sabbatical.  Sue me.  I’m back.  Truth is, I was never far away really, I’ve been spending more time blogging on my clients blog than my own, which is good for our clients, not so good for StoryTeller.  Oh, yes, you heard me, blogging for my clients.

› Continue reading

Tags: Blogging, Desaraev, ghost blogging, social media, storyteller, transparency

Getting Started in Social Media: It’s Not Too Late

So, where are you on “all this social media stuff?” It’s interesting to me how many people, both friends and business associates, have not plugged in to social media. Especially, since various forms surround us and many have no idea it exists. Consider a few examples:

› Continue reading

Tags: Blogging, Catherine P. Taylor, Domino's Pizza, Facebook, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Scott Meis, social media, Social Media Insider, Susan Boyle, Twitter

Blogging Content Resources

Last summer, my next door neighbor was telling me that he hardly ever reads the newspaper anymore because he spends so much time reading blogs.  When he mentioned that to me I thought, “wow, that’s odd. Why would you spend so much time reading people’s opinions?  And what could bloggers have to say that is remotely interesting?”  Here I am less than a year later in the same boat as my neighbor.

› Continue reading

Tags: alltop, AT&T, Blogging, content, popurl

Blogging Basics: Why Blog for Business?

To blog or not to blog. That is the question that our clients and associates often ask. “What would I write about?” Or another question is, “Who reads those things?” Some are more paranoid and say, “I don’t want people taking shots at me.” All are valid concerns, however, if you’re serious about marketing your business in this hyper fast age of information, get blogging.  Fast!

› Continue reading

Tags: Blog, Blogging, blogging basics, local newspaper, PR campaigns, TiVO, trade journals, Wall Street Journal