All the elements you need for a blog post that meets your destination marketing goals. Presented at the 2014 Social Media Tourism Symposium (SoMeT) in Nashville, TN. Tourism Currents does online and in-person training in social media for tourism. Find out more here: http://www.tourismcurrents.com

1. Anatomy of a Successful Blog Post
Sheila Scarborough – Tourism Currents

2. Blogging is
more than
writing
@SheilaS
@TourismCurrents

3. What We'll Talk About
●Before you start
●Building a blog post
●Wait, there's MORE work?!
●Your gold mine – archives
@SheilaS
@TourismCurrents

4. Before
you start
@SheilaS
@TourismCurrents

5. Blog structure: your goals
determine your "buckets" (topics)

6. Possible
DMO Blog
Topics/Categories?
@SheilaS
@TourismCurrents

8. (Visit Philadelphia
Uwishunu blog)

11. You Need a Plan
@SheilaS
@TourismCurrents

12. Basic Editorial Calendar
● Topic category
● Title
● Details (including graphics)
● Keywords
●Who's this for? (persona)
● What's the point? (CTA) @SheilaS
@TourismCurrents

13. Via @EmilyForsha/Travel Oregon

15. Building a
blog post
@SheilaS
@TourismCurrents

18. Blog Post
Title
@SheilaS
@TourismCurrents

21. Blog Post
Content
@SheilaS
@TourismCurrents

25. (Cincinnati's
meetings blog)

27. Visuals Matter

28. Photo
resource:
Flickr
Creative
Commons

29. Historic pics - Flickr.com/Commons

30. Note for posts
with video:
also include
a photo @SheilaS
@TourismCurrents

31. Got audio? Use SoundCloud's
embeddable play boxes for your posts

32. Writing for the
web....it's not only
WHAT you present
but HOW you
present it
@SheilaS
@TourismCurrents

34. Bolding, bullets, white space!

35. You have the
Power of
the Link.
Use it! @SheilaS
@TourismCurrents

36. SEO
@SheilaS
@TourismCurrents

37. Give them the info
they seek, in the
words they are using
to search for it
@SheilaS
@TourismCurrents

40. SEO plugins for WordPress:
All-in-One SEO Pack
WordPress SEO by Yoast
@SheilaS
@TourismCurrents

41. A Possible Post Format
● "Great Local Breakfast Places in XYZ"
● Strong opener, often a quote
● The List (using bullets, headers, etc.)
● Mom's Cafe (farm-to-fork)
● Selena's Taqueria (breakfast tacos)
● Fred's Downtown Diner (Old School)
● Closing words, call to action
@SheilaS
@TourismCurrents

43. Your turn....
Take 2-3 minutes to
sketch out a
breakfast post
outline for your blog

44. Wait, there's
MORE work?
@SheilaS
@TourismCurrents

45. You are the publisher
AND the distributor

47. Share with
your email
newsletter list
@SheilaS
@TourismCurrents

49. Don't Forget LinkedIn for B2B Posts

50. Your gold mine:
archives
@SheilaS
@TourismCurrents

51. Get More From Your Archives
● Use for internal links
● Re-share periodically on
social....ICYMI
● Re-share periodically in
emails/newsletters
● Use them to answer visitor
questions on social @SheilaS
@TourismCurrents

52. Photo Credits
All photos mine except....
● Buckets by Angie
Harms on Flickr CC
(Creative Commons)
● You need a map by
Stephan van Es on
Flickr CC
● Roget's Thesaurus by
Professor Cooper on
Flickr CC
● Newsboys via the
U.S. National
Archives on Flickr
Commons, circa 1909

53. Thanks very much!
Sheila
Scarborough
Tourism Currents
@SheilaS
@TourismCurrents