WordCamp features local and regional developers, designers, bloggers and casual WordPress users to give talks, share ideas, learn and find fellow WordPress folks. WordCamp St. Louis was held March 14-15, 2015, on the campus of Washington University.
Below are some of the resources and tips collected.
logging for recruitment and retentionAcademic blogs are one of the simplest tools for nurturing relationships with prospective students and faculty; sharing important information among current students, faculty and staff; and promoting a program’s accomplishments and offerings.
A well-maintained blog is a huge boost to both communication and search engine optimization strategies, but getting started can feel challenging.
The office of Web and new media and the faculty center for teaching and learning are co-sponsoring a Q-and-A panel discussion and training on some of the most persistent blogging questions, such as:
The training will feature a panel of expert faculty bloggers, who are willing to share their tips and tricks for maximizing a blog’s potential, along with key analytics data and useful blogging resources.
Make blogging even easier by writing posts whenever you have time and scheduling them to publish at a later date. It’s easy, and here’s how you do it:
In the Publish box of the WordPress interface, click Edit (to the right of Publish immediately).
An editable field for date and time will appear. Set it to the date and time you’d like to publish your post. Keep in mind that WordPress functions on a 24-hour clock (a.k.a. “military time”).
Once you click OK, the blue Publish button will become a Schedule button. Click the Schedule button to save your choice. This will set your post to publish at the time you selected.
Your blog is a great venue for showcasing Missouri State’s educational achievements and opportunities. How does your program set your students up for lifetime success? Consider writing a blog post about it.
A few ideas and ways to turn them into easy blog posts: 
Missouri State offers a number of accelerated master’s degrees, which give undergraduates the opportunity to begin earning graduate level credit. Depending on the program, up to 12 credit hours can be applied to an accelerated master’s program, giving students a faster, more efficient path to a graduate degree.
Wondering how the popularity of smartphones and tablets should affect your writing? University communications and the office of Web and new media are hosting a workshop on creating digital content. It’s scheduled for Tuesday, March 18 from 9:30 – 10:45 a.m. and is recommended for all University bloggers.
At the workshop, you can expect to learn:
The workshop is free, but registration through My Learning Connection is required. Light refreshments will be served.
As the grandfather of social media, your blog is an excellent content source for your social media accounts. Blogs provide needed content and context for your posts, while social media expands your blog post’s reach.
But, how do you best share that content? To get the most bang for your blog post, follow the steps below to optimize your blog’s content for social media sharing.
Tweeting your postSharing your blog post on Twitter involves five simple steps:
Sharing your post on Facebook allows for a little more customization.
Sharing a relevant photo is a powerful way for your content to stand out on Facebook. Pairing a photo with a link to an upcoming event, program or webpage can increase your Facebook page’s engagement stats. Get your photo ready for Facebook by reviewing its photo size recommendations.
Follow these steps to post a photo/link combination:
Tip: Facebook allows you to edit the caption associated with a photo after you publish.
