Chapter 3: More Blogging: WordPress Options: Part B

Web 2.0 and Social Media for Business

Roger McHaney, Kansas State University

Widgets• Small add-ons used to interact

with other applications and provide features that help build an audience for a blog

• Can show recent Tweets, provide Flickr pictures, show Facebook wall entries, link to articles, and many other things 

• Often provided by third-party developers

• Navigate to Widgets under Appearance on the Dashboard

Widgets

Widget Configuration

Widgets usually require configuration. Clicking the down arrow beside the Widget’s name causes a configuration dialog box to appear. This slide shows a Twitter Widget on the sidebar

After Adding Widget

Blog Posts can be Added

Add Categories and Tags

Add categories and tags to make posts easier for readers to find and to help index material. Tag cloud widget will also now have content.

PUBLISH

Making Posts more Interesting

Media such as images or video, polls, or forms can be added to the entry.

Adding Image to Post

More Posts

Sample post called ‘Hello World’ should be removed from blog. Navigate to ‘Posts’ and ‘All’ and select the sample post. Choose ‘Move to Trash’ and delete.

Current Blog View

Mobile Versions

Find Options under Appearance

Adding Pages (Like a Website)

Connecting with Search Engines

For a blog to be successful, it must connect with its intended audience

In business this means potential customers, clients, and other stakeholders

WordPress BlogsFirst, make sure blog is discoverable. Open the Privacy page on the Dashboard under Settings. By default it is set to permit indexing by search engines and to be viewable by the general public.

WordPress BlogsHaving social media, news services, and other re-broadcasters pick up your blog feeds is desirable.

WordPress BlogsRegister with WordPress’s Webmaster tools to ensure posts are indexed by major search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Navigate to ‘Tools’ on the Dashboard and scroll midway down the page.

Notice three links under the ‘Webmaster Tools Verification’ header.

Example: Registering on Google

Blog owner must have account with a UserID and Password for the service. After clicking on the ‘Google Webmaster Tools’ and logging in with GoogleID and password, Press ‘Add a Site’ then copy Blog Address into textbox prompt. This tells Google’s search engine to index the site.

Proof of Ownership

Search engine will require user to add code to Web site to prove ownership

Proof of Ownership (con’t)

Copy and paste the tag as shown above

Proof of Ownership (con’t)

Paste text into the appropriate textbox. This will ensure Google recognizes the blog and will give owner the ability to review statistics related to the Website.

Connecting with Customers

Publicity for a blog should extend beyond search engines. Social media has become an important venue for businesses to meet, connect with, and retain customers. WordPress provides a set of tools for exposing its blogs to social media.

From the Dashboard, navigate to ‘Tools’ and ‘Settings’.

Example: Connecting to Twitter

WordPress asks that you authorize connection and then log into Twitter. Once you have supplied a Twitter UserID and Password, the blog will be connected. This means posts on your blog are automatically sent to anyone in your network. In Twitter, Tweets inviting Followers to read the newest blog entries are sent.

Sharing ButtonsAnother WordPress Dashboard section is called ‘Sharing Buttons’. For instance, providing a ‘Facebook’ button will automate the process of sharing a specific blog post with Facebook friends.

Blog Entry with Share Buttons Enabled

The ‘Theme Options’ selection can be found under appearance on the dashboard menu or by using the buttons under ‘managing themes’.

Share Buttons More Share Buttons

Services Behind the ‘More’ Button

Formatting Share Buttons

The ‘Sharing Settings’ page provides more options. Button Style, Sharing Label, whether links open in a New Window and where to show the Share Buttons can be set. It is advantageous to have links open in a new window so that readers can come back to the original page more easily.

Viewing Traffic StatsConnecting with search engines and social media will help build traffic. To monitor traffic, WordPress provides a “My Stats” tab on the WordPress Login Page.

SummaryConfiguring a WordPress business blog is very important

An eye-catching Web site is only part of the story

Perhaps the most important task is configuring the site to connect with search engines and customers through social media.

Without the tools provided by a modern tool such as WordPress, a business puts itself at a disadvantage and fails to utilize all the free resources at its disposal.

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Slides Prepared by Professor Roger McHaney Kansas State UniversityTwitter: @mchaneyBlog: http://mchaney.comEmail : mchaney@ksu.edu