The Exit Strategy: Knowing When to Stop
Sometimes, a blog has served its purpose and is no longer sustainable. Having an exit strategy is important.
Blogging
Defining Success Beyond “Hits”
Don’t start a blog just to see a high view count. Success might mean 10 students read a post and, as a result, didn’t need to call the office with a question. Lesson: Define your metrics before you start. Is the goal to reduce foot traffic, increase attendance, or build community? If you can’t measure […]
Identifying Your True Audience
A blog shouldn’t be a place for internal “news” that only staff care about. If the content doesn’t provide immediate value to a student, they won’t read it. Use the Related Posts feature to guide students through a journey of information that solves a specific problem they have. Lesson: Write for the student’s needs, not […]
Architecture: Why “Less is More”
When teams get excited, they create dozens of Categories. Months later, many of those categories only have one or two posts. This makes the site look sparse and poorly planned. A well-managed blog should have 3–5 broad categories that can hold hundreds of posts over time. Lesson: Don’t create a category for a one-time event. […]
The Lifecycle of Digital Content
In a university setting, policies and deadlines change. A blog post written two years ago might now contain misinformation. Unlike static web pages, old blog posts are often found via the Search Bar years later. Lesson: Every post you publish is a permanent document. If you don’t have a plan to audit and update old […]
The Hidden Labor of Web Standards
Writing the words is only half the job. To make a post look professional and remain compliant, someone must source high-quality Featured Images, write descriptive Alt-text for accessibility, and use proper Heading hierarchies. Lesson: Quality content requires “polish” time. Factor this technical overhead into your weekly workflow.
Blogging vs. Social Media: Which Battle to Pick?
Every channel requires a different “language.” If your staff is already stretched thin managing comments on social media, adding long-form blog posts will lead to burnout. Lesson: Audit your current channels. It is better to manage one channel excellently than three channels poorly. Use Tags to see if your content ideas could simply be social […]
Staffing the Story: Who Owns the Voice?
It’s tempting to assign blogging to a student worker. But what happens when they graduate? Using the Author Search and Profiles feature is excellent for transparency, but it highlights how much a department relies on one person. If that person leaves, the “voice” of the office often leaves with them. Lesson: Blogging must be a […]
The “Ghost Town” Risk
Nothing signals “out of date” to a student faster than a blog where the last entry is from two years ago. This “Ghost Town” effect erodes trust. Readers may wonder if the office is still active or if the information elsewhere on the site is also expired. Lesson: Inconsistency is worse than not having a […]
The Commitment Matrix: To Blog or Not?
Before clicking “Add New Post,” an office must ask: Is there a dedicated person with 3–5 hours a week to manage this? A blog is a long-term commitment. If your team already struggles to update core website content once a semester, a blog will quickly become a burden. Lesson: If you cannot commit to a […]