Digital Champions - Back To The Future
Wordpress Workshop
Paul Webster (Twitter : @watfordgap)
22nd / 23rd February 2013

Wordpress Workshop
• Introductions
• Aims of Back to the Future
• What is Social Media
• Wordpress and Blogging
• How to …
- Create account & Dashboard - Commenting on Posts and Pages
- Add & Edit Posts and Pages - Choose a Theme
- Inserting links - Organise Menus
- Using & uploading audio, - Use Tags and Categories
pictures & video
- Add Widgets
Try on on own Wordpress page first, then on www.ntdc.org.uk
Have Fun!

Social Media is ...
. . media rich, interactive, content served based on preferences,
open for comments, conversations WITH visitors encouraged.
Web 2.0
=Social Media
=New Media
=Social Networking

It’s about conversations…..
Social media…is about pursuing relationships and fostering
communities. Paul Adams, Google - http://thinkoutsidein.com/blog
'The Conversational Web', not a Broadcast. Listen more than talk

It's 'Relational' not
'Transactional' Social Networking
builds collaboration
“The Conversational Web”, not
and conversations
a Broadcast. Listen more than
you talk – and interact
Increased Reach - traditional
reporting barriers broken down
and communities empowered
Immediacy - what took days,
takes hours, what took minutes
takes seconds!
Be Helpful – Be Generous - Say
Thank You - Share and you’ll be Common Craft
What is Social Media Video
amazed what you get back!

Supporting Groups
• Know your objectives and what you want to say
• How can we support you to work better or tell your story
• Research where your audience are – do you know?
• Survey and find out, work in spaces where your target audience are
• Plan how to use the tools – have a strategy
• Run an event?, e-bulletin update? Do ‘as well as’ what you do
• Choose tool to match audience and implement
• Look at what other organisations have done, what works elsewhere?
• Sustain the conversation and say thank you
• Encourage people to return, keep it new, links from websites

The best website for the job
• Choose the way to convey message.
– Audio → Images → Video
– See Audioboo, Flickr, Pinterest, Bambuser, Youtube
• Choose the context to engage with audience.
– Blog → Facebook → Twitter
• Choose a useful (FREE) tool/s to help streamline work
– Finding out → Letting people know → Running events
– See Survey Monkey, MailChimp, Eventbrite
Can be a simple choice - Sharing a policy document between trustees
Can be a strategic choice - Moving all docs to cloud and eliminating file server

Wordpress
Blog – short for weBLOG
Not just an on-line (sometimes)
personal or project related journal
Also simplest way to get a full website
Don't worry it's not finished – some of
the best blogs build as conversations

Two flavours - .com & .org
Open platform for community led
content & story development
Contains text, pictures, video, audio and
commentary on a chosen topic
Start conversations, get feedback from
visitors, more informal than website
Multiple users can have permission to
access website and add content
Other spaces – Blogger & Tumblr
Commoncraft Video - explaining Blogs

Create an account & the
dashboard
Go to www.wordpress.com
Choose a name for your blog
Need a Password and Email address
To get back to logon
add
/wp-admin This is your blog. Update settings, but
we will come back to themes...
To get back to the
dashboard click
grey menu bar
Dashboard links to all your blogs
features & settings, also statistics

Add & Edit Posts and Pages
Multiple static Pages of information
A reverse chronological list of Posts
containing news & discussions
When ready … Open for comment to spark debate – a
'magazine editorial'
Preview Changes,
Save as Draft,
Edit and Quick Edit features. Similar to a
Word Editor. Add into categories
Publish (Or date in
future for post) Aim for approx 500 words & picture /
media with a call to action or interaction

Inserting Links
Website link (http://), email address
(mailto:) or 'Contact Us' form
Link to others talking about the topic
Reference other posts you have
written elsewhere on the blog
Make links descriptive to reader

Using & uploading audio, pictures
& video
Sites to try ... Audioboo, Youtube, Flickr
Can be uploaded from your computer to Media
Gallery and edited
Check Copyright – Use Creative Commons
Use Shortcodes for ease
Don't forget captions and 'Alt Text'

Media Ideas
A Picture gallery tells a thousand words
– Gradual redevelopment of a site
Video can make a compelling case study
or capture a moment forever
– The crowd an the opening of a project
Some prefer Audio for telling a story
– Story telling of memories captured
forever

Any Questions, so far?!
Lunch

Use Tags & Categories
Applies to Posts
Brings order and helps readers search for
similar posts. So keep well organised
Are interactive and 'clickable'
Category can also have description
Try and limit to 8 – 10 top level Categories
Use more Tags, think of reader searching

Commenting on Posts &
Pages
It's what makes a blog into a
community
Set Moderation so you review first
Make sure you have Spam filter
activated (Askimet)
Comment other people's blogs to
raise your profile

Choose a Theme
Experiment!
But changing a theme can also affect
some functionality
Wordpress.com has some themes
built in that are customisable
Need to use hosted Wordpress.org
for full flexibility

Organise Menus
Determines the order and structure
of the pages and posts
Add Links, Pages or Categories

Add Widgets
Not all themes have same so see
which suits your needs best
Adds features such as Calendar,
Archive, Search, Categories etc.
Link to social networks to
show latest Tweets and
Facebook updates

Users
Can be set with different levels of
permission
Members only area
Username descriptive but not too
revealing – e.g. 'paulw'
Posts and uploads are tagged with a
user, good for searching & tracing

Plugins
Wordpress extension written by
developers
Check reviews & ratings. Can make
site unstable
Check updates often & apply
e.g. Askimet, BackUpWordpress,
Jetpack...

Other Considerations
Dashboard statistics recording to show
popular posts and comments
Interested visitors can subscribe by email or
follow the RSS feed
Include a Comments & Moderation policy
statement (http://bramcotetoday.org.uk).
Views are of 'posters' not 'site owners'
Don't restrict interaction, but respect privacy

What have we made?

Wordpress Tips
• Look for similar organisations, follow them, learn & share with them
• Don't 'over' moderate, allow the community to shape the discussion
and for it to feel like an open community where all are welcome
• Post when inspired or when you have news. Don't post for the sake
or it or leave it too long. Readership may decline if no new content.
• Be real, authentic and honest. People read blogs as personal
account of your work and organisations activity.
• Consider linking posts in series on your blog or with other similar
organisation in your area or with the same interests
• Don't worry if a post seems 'half finished', blogs are meant to be a
conversation, encourage dialogue and debate in the comments.
• Comment on other's blogs that are similar and link back to yours.
• Mention your blog on your website, email, social media, posters ...

Wordpress Considerations
• Prepare to have less control over your messages and brand so
keep scanning and monitoring for mentions.
• A free site Wordpress.com site is sufficient for most groups,
but does lack some flexibility for advanced users.
• Be ready for Trolls & Spam. Respond consistently with posting
guidelines and make sure Spam filter is in place (Askimet).
• Don't underestimate time it takes to build a community, feed
it with new content & reply. Consider sharing load as a team.
• Don't ignore your readers, they've invested time and interest
in your blog so return the favour and reply to their comments.
• Wordpress.com sites are automatically backed up, but on a
Wordpress.org site, export your pages or use a Backup Plugin.

Measuring Success
- Check how many times links are clicked if using Bit.ly
- Listen what's said about your organisation using Topsy
- Monitor. Google Analytics, Facebook Insights &
Wordpress page visits, combine in Sparkwi.se
- Measure. Tweetreach, Twitalyzer, SocialBro, www.twentyfeet.com
- Visualize. Infographics on Visual.y, My Social Strand
BUT …. real success is not just about the numbers
- Tell stories of real people and real changes
- Find out how people heard about you
- Build relationships & success by joining in conversations
- Social media presence an reflection of your organisation
- Engage press, funders, authorities with pictures and video
- Say Thank You!

Any Questions?
Things you'd like
to be able to do?
Other websites
Anything else ….
(Technology related!)
Guides and Links ...
http://resources.mediatrust.org/microsite/allourstories ,
http://nptechuk.wordpress.com/sms-links/ and
http://www.problogger.net/31-days-to-building-a-better-blog/

Thank You
Paul Webster (Twitter : @watfordgap)
paulwebster43@gmail.com