If you’re not blogging already, you should be. Blogging can help you create a buzz around your event and connect with attendees.
To put it another way, blogging is like the third leg of your event stool – the first is your event website and the second is social media. They all support each other, enabling you to cross promote content, boost SEO, and funnel potential attendees from around the web to your ticket sales page.
Worried about finding things to blog about? Don’t be! You’re running an event and a blog is the perfect platform to communicate all the updates surrounding its organisation. From info about the venue and logistics, through to showcasing speakers and sharing topical news, there’s plenty to say. Keep it useful and informative, and a blog can be a real value-add for your event.
So, now that you’ve decided that blogging is a must-do, what is the best blogging platform for events? Let’s take a look at some of the most popular and how they compare from an event organiser’s perspective.
When it comes to blogs, WordPress is the outright market leader, powering around 75 million sites. It boasts a super simple interface that can be manipulated in myriad ways using easy to deploy themes and plug-ins – no knowledge of HTML necessary. What’s more, it’s totally free software (you only pay for your domain name and hosting, should you need it).
WordPress comes in two flavours: the fully hosted WordPress.com, and the self-hosted version available at WordPress.org. The former is the ideal choice if you do not have a self-hosted website (perhaps you are using an Eventbrite event page instead) and want a stand-alone blog. The latter is perfect if you already have a website and want to integrate a blog.
WordPress.com and Eventbrite work beautifully together, with two custom themes available, suited to organisers of both single and multiple events. Simply apply the theme and your event information is automatically synced to your blog, alongside an integrated ticket widget for purchases with fewer clicks. Click here to view the themes.
Related: How to build your community with content marketing for events
Blogger is a pared down version of WordPress – it’s easy to set up and use, but customisation options are vastly reduced. Where WordPress offers thousands of different themes and plugins, Blogger has only a small selection of templates and custom plugins.
That said, it’s a good place to start for beginners. Because Blogger is owned by Google, you only need a Google account to get started (which you may already have if you use Gmail or Google+). You can easily monetise your blog using Google Adsense and take advantage of smooth Google+ integration. You may also buy a custom Google domain for as little as $12 (approx. £7.70) a year.
On the downside, because it’s owned by Google and not by you, you do relinquish some control. There have been incidences of blogs being shut down because they have (unfairly) been reported as spam or containing copyrighted material.
Consider Blogger a sandbox for your blogging, but if you have ambitions to take things further, opt for WordPress in the first instance.
Related: 6 Steps to a better blog that builds a loyal event following
Like Blogger, Tumblr is a great place to launch your blogging career, with its simple user interface and basic features.
Tumblr is what’s known as a ‘micro blogging’ site, allowing users to post multimedia such as photos, videos, GIFs, mp3s and other content to a short-form blog. The platform also makes it very simple to re-blog other people’s posts.
It tends to be used more by hobbyists and creatives rather than businesses (you can find all sorts of weird and wonderful blogs on Tumblr!) and is popular with a younger audience.
It could be ideal if you’re running a festival, concert or arty event, but be prepared, it isn’t unusual for those on Tumblr to make more than 10 posts in a day, so you need to be active!
Related: 6 Ways to build a more engaged audience for your brand
Founded in 2012 by the co-founder of Twitter, Medium is the new kid on the block. Unlike traditional blogging sites, it’s designed as more of a storytelling tool; a simple and elegant space for reading and writing.
It’s all about sharing ideas, as opposed to commercialisation. There’s no call to action, no buttons, video or widgets. The goal is to improve content quality and subsequently blogs here are more like essays; well crafted and full of substance. In fact, it is the very opposite of Tumblr, where a picture and a few words can constitute a post.
Significantly, users don’t get an individual blog; their stories are simply added to an infinitely scrolling list on a central homepage – the site has been described as “a YouTube for prose”. You may tag your post to be included in a specific ‘publication’ (previously called a ‘collection’) or you can create your own publication to include content from your team or on a particular topic.
So, how can you use it for business? Medium is actually full of start-up founders and CEOs talking about their personal journeys and broader business issues. It’s the ideal space to provide thought leadership and use expertise as a tool to create interest in your events.
Related: 10 Ways to market your event for free
LinkedIn’s Pulse publishing platform is another alternative to the traditional blog and, again, is more focused on thought leadership than general news and updates.
It was launched in 2012, exclusively for business behemoths like Richard Branson and Bill Gates to bestow industry insight, but recently it’s been opened up to everyone.
When a member publishes an article on LinkedIn, it becomes part of their professional profile, is shared with their network and can also be viewed by people outside their network. As Linkedin says: “It has the ability to reach the largest group of professionals ever assembled.”
The platform will work for you if your event is B2B and you wish to grow your personal reputation as an expert in your field. Share intelligent insight on your industry and your events will establish concrete credibility amongst a highly targeted audience.
Related: 9 Ways to use LinkedIn for Events
Conclusion
Not every blogging platform is appropriate for every type of event. Which one you choose will depend on your audience, the scope of your event/s and your appetite for creating content (publishing just one or two pieces to Medium is perfectly fine, doing the same on WordPress will appear distinctly lacklustre).
Desire for customisation will also be a major influencer in your decision – customise till the cows come home with WordPress or simply login and start writing with Blogger. The choice is yours, but either way, choose one and get blogging!
Which blogging platform do you prefer to use and why? Let us know below.
