Post Frequency
Post frequency is not “one size fits all.” The answer for each blog involves site strategy, search engine optimization, audience appetite, and blogger capacity. As a guide for UNE site publishers, blog/news posts should be added regularly in order to maintain site relevance:
- Bi-monthly at a minimum, monthly as a preference, and weekly as program activities allow/dictate.
Post Types
One blog is flexible to accommodate varying types of posts, and posts may be from a variety of contributors. Different types of posts include:
- Thought leadership essays
- Program news stores
- First-person sharing in the voice of one individual
- Video clips with simple text explanations
- Photo collections with simple text explanations
Post Length
Post length may vary based on your goals.
- Current best practices for blogs designed for SEO and social sharing recommend 2,000-3,000 words.
- Most UNE blogs are designed for informing and engaging specific audiences, and so blog length may be based on quick, easy read-through to cover important updates. For such posts, a minimum of 200 words and an ideal of around 500 words is recommended.
Style
- Your site is a representation of the University; it is not a personal blog. Still, blog posts may be conversational and honest to connect with the audience.
- It is best to break up content into scannable pieces, using Jakob Neilson’s techniques:
- Break article into multiple sections, each with a bold, summarizing subheadline.
- Use short sentences, and short paragraphs of 1-3 sentences.
- Arrange copy sections into bulleted/numbered lists when possible.
- Bold key ideas (sparingly), to clarify important takeaways.