Posts archived in Blogging

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April 15, 2012

10 plugins every new WordPress blog should have

WordPress plugins every website needs to have
Photo: Jasonfox.me

One of the benefits of self-hosting your WordPress blog is having access to thousands of plugins for free.

Plugins are tools created by companies and independent developers that extend the functionality of WordPress. Some of the things you can use WordPress plugins for include protecting your site, improving your readers’ experience, and easily making your site mobile-friendly.

Recently I decided to transfer Filthy Pop, my music blog, to its own domain and server. This painful but necessary exercise allowed me to re-discover my love for plugins.

Here are 10 plugins I recommend every new WordPress blog should have:

1. Akismet

Akismet identifies and blocks comment and trackback spam. The plugin checks comments to see if they look like spam or not and lets you review the spam it catches in your admin panel.

Install this plugin if you don’t want to waste time going through pages and pages of spam. The Akismet service is free for personal WordPress accounts but come with a small fee for businesses.

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April 4, 2012

4 reasons why businesses should stop ignoring LinkedIn Company Pages

LinkedIn Company Pages

When marketers talk about social media, most automatically think about Facebook and Twitter.

Although it has been around for some time now, LinkedIn is somewhat suffering from a perception issue. Many marketers — even social media savvy ones— tend to ignore the use of a LinkedIn Company Page (if they are even aware that it is possible to create one!). For many, LinkedIn is a personal professional network.

LinkedIn Company Pages offer many features that businesses can take advantage of. It’s time you take this tool seriously. Here are four reasons why you should give LinkedIn Company Pages a second look.

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March 24, 2012

Using Pinterest in your PR campaigns

Pinterest Example from the US Marines

Note: A version of this article first appeared in the Dunn PR blog. Visit the Dunn Public Relations website to see the original blog post.

Pinterest has caught our attention at Dunn PR.

The hot social networking site has officially gone mainstream, with over 18 million people now using it regularly. The site grew 52% in February, easily outpacing the growth of Facebook or Google+.

Although we first heard of Pinterest six months ago, the site has only gained momentum in the past couple of months.

At Dunn PR, we’re brainstorming ideas about how this social media phenomenon can be utilized to amplify our clients’ messages. Here’s a sampling:

1. Don’t make it all about you!

Pinterest discourages users from using the site for blatant self-promotion.

This might seem counterintuitive, but the truth is that most of the time, social media isn’t about you. This is true for Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ — and it’s also true for Pinterest.

Pin photos of things that inspire you. It’s fine to pin your own projects (see tip #2 below), but the Pinterest community frowns upon too much self-promotion.

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March 15, 2012

3 Google+ resources you absolutely must check out

Google+ — Screenshot

People seem to be very split about Google+. On one hand, you have experts who feel that the site is disruptive and game-changing.

On the other hand, there are people — and I’d say that this is the majority — who still don’t see the value of the site.

Regardless of how you feel about it, Google+ deserves some poking around. As a platform backed by one of the biggest Internet giants around, Google+ offers many marketing potential. And it is still improving.

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March 4, 2012

Crisis communications in the social age: An infographic

Love it or hate it, social media really has transformed the way consumers get their voices heard — and how businesses and nonprofits respond.

Time and time again, we’re reminded that organizations no longer control their brand. Social media has given consumers a platform to complain (and sometimes praise) organizations.

With a single tweet, a single consumer can cause a social media crisis that can truly affect the bottom line.

No one is spared — from nonprofits such as Komen to well-established businesses like Papa John’s, to international companies such as Carnival, all types of organizations are within the bulls eye of social media users.

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