Hello Scrawl Nation! For this week’s episode of Scrawl Radio we brought on a very special guest from the UCWbL’s social media team, Allana T, to talk about blogging and social media!
It seems that today, everything has its own blog, twitter handle, and Facebook page, but how does one create a good blog?
Allana showed us some great tips, like using short sentences to keep the audience’s attention and integrating social media into the blog. For instance, on Allana’s blog about the Miami Heat called “Bringing The Heat” she has an RSS feed alongside her blog posts of all her tweets. This gives her readers a chance to get to know Allana outside the “heated” discussion about basketball. (Follow Allana at @ChitownHeiress for an example of creative and effective tweeting!)
Another great tip about blogging is to incorporate plenty of visual media. Using photos for example is a great way to break up blocks of text that readers may end up skimming through. Allana’s professor, Adam Rittenberg of ESPN, keeps it short and concise in the Big Ten Blog. In it, you’ll notice there are enticing photos, short paragraphs, and links to other webpages.
Many bloggers also make videos that they post on their blogs. Allana says however, to stick with what you do best. For her, and other strong writers, don’t be afraid to stay behind the keyboard and away from the camera.
As always on Scrawl Radio, we played America’s favorite game, two blogs and a lie, where Allana guessed which of each hosts’ three blog titles was fictitious. Then we wrapped up with a good ‘ole rhetorical analysis of Beyoncé’s “I’m a Survivor.”
Be sure to listen in for some great tips on bloggingl! And check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and Digication!