I enjoyed seeing on my personal blog what I wish for every post of mine. In fact I would call it “the perfect post.” (imho of course).
These elements made the post succesful:
- The post STARTED in the middle of my thought process: I was not shouting (okay a little bit) nor getting the last word in on the topic (innovation in Campus Crusade for Christ).
- The post GENERATED authentic comments (19) and disturbed a few people (engaging, interesting, valuable to the reader–NOT JUST VALUABLE TO ME)
- The post CONNECTED me with other like-minded campus ministers by means of readers commenting and sharing the post on Facebook and Twitter. It also helped me get to know some of my readers better, thus increasing my ability to contextualize my thoughts to those who invest the time to read my blog.
Some thoughts to consider as you post:
- Do you posts lean towards the beginning, middle, or end of a particular conversation. Often times I do not comment on posts because the post has left no room for my thoughts.
- Is your content specific and authentic enough to disturb other people? You may be able to increase engagement on your blog by taking more of a stand.
- Do you take the time to respond to comments and do the diligence of following up commenters by adding them on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Myspace (just checking to see if you’re reading
You can read the post and the corresponding comments by clicking here.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Lots of good ideas. One of my questions is what is LinkedIn?
linkedIn is basically a web 2.0 rolodex for business people. it’s great for connecting with people from the same general field of work but from different companies.
i use it most when i connect with campus supporters or business people who are interested in helping out in some way. it’s a great way to stay connected and not have to worry about managing all their contact info on your own.
Hi Brian,
Thanks so much for all the ways you are helping us improve our social media skills through this site. I have already learned a lot from you.
My comment is that I think my criteria for what constitutes a perfect post may be different than yours. I wonder if everyone’s is different, at least a little, depending on the purpose of their blog?
I value many of the same things you do: authenticity, leaving room open, connectedness, engagement, providing something of value to the reader, for instance. I also value good writing!
And I like to stir up the pot a bit too. Part of my life purpose, I believe, is to challenge the status quo, particularly in the Church. One of my top five Strengths is Activator.
But my highest value in any post, the question I always ask, is: Will this post turn people’s eyes to Christ? Will it cause them to fall more in love with Him? Will it motivate others to share God’s grace with others?
Now, not everything I post does this. Sometimes I just like to give people a good laugh, or simply provide some helpful information. But my “perfect post” would have to accomplish this.
As a prophet, I have to guard against negativity and blaming. The trick, I believe, is to make sure my posts move people forward, instead of causing them to feel defensive or guilt-ridden. (I thought Brian Virtues posts on prophets on his blog were really helpful in clarifying this.)
I appreciate that you are trying to encourage innovation in our ministry. But I wonder if, instead of spending time debating whether or not we are innovative, it would be more effective to highlight the ways you and others ARE being innovative, and how those things are drawing others to Christ? Can you frame your positions in the context of our vision?
I often think of Bono when he appeared on Oprah to roll out the RED Campaign. He didn’t say, “You Americans are a bunch of greedy, self-absorbed materialists,” (which would have been true). Instead he laid out the great vision of his ONE organization, and then said, “I know all of you want to be a part of alleviating suffering in Africa, but you just don’t know what to do. With the RED Campaign, we are giving you very practical things you can do to join the cause.” I was ready to sign on the dotted line right then and there.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Thanks again for all you are doing!
Stephanie
hey stephanie thanks so much for commenting! and thanks for the encouragement/warning to keep Christ in mind when writing.
here’s a couple counter-thoughts to your thoughts:
i see a blog post as PART of an ONGOING conversation about ministry philosophy. in no way would i hope that someone would decide on my values/overall goal by ONE post. –in a prolonged personal discussion about ministry, i might say 20 different things: if the overall tone of those 20 is encouraging/pointing to Christ, in spite of a few blips, i think that represents a very transparent assessment of me as a person.
i guess i would also ask you this question: is any blog post/conversation/etc ever 100% pointing to Christ? i don’t mean to sound defensive but social media facilitates transparent discussions across geographic/temporal lines. i have yet to ever lead a staff meeting or be part of anything in ministry that I would say completely pointed to Christ.
perhaps i’ve misinterpreted what you were saying in your comment, so please feel free to correct me.
if i was using my blog as a means to SHOUT or dictate opinions to others than i think my recent post would be out of line for sure. my recent post was part of an ongoing discussion on ministry philosophy that comes from my LIMITED vantage point. the hope in writing a strong, opinionated post was that others could provide a more robust understanding of the innovation issue by sharing their LIMITED vantage points, thus making a very well rounded discussion.
looking at the sum of my posts on the first page of my blog, i see a mix of op/ed posts, transparent thoughts on my leadership process, educational/training content for others in ministry, and strengths-based leadership stuff intended to encourage/connect with others who value the strengths based leadership approach.
my last question that i would love to hear your thoughts on is this: if in taking in the entire body of posts on the first page of my blog, would your comments be the same? bono had an hour on opera to share his thoughts and communicate his passions. my average post reads in about 1 minute and 30 seconds. do you think that’s a fair comparison?
Hey Brian,
Thanks so much for responding to my comments above!
(So sorry I’m just now seeing your response. I need to see if there’s a way for me to choose an option that alerts me to further comments. I just got on the site again today to check out the latest “Sharpening your blog skills” post—which I’m really excited about, btw—and saw that you had replied to my comment.)
Anyway…I think you might have misunderstood the intent of my comment above: My main idea was to challenge your idea of what constituted a PERFECT post. I’m sorry that in all of my writing/rambling that may have gotten lost!
Thanks again for all you’re doing…I’m gonna go check out some of these resources you’ve recommended…