How Do I Create and Publish a Blog Post in SoCast?

Below are step-by-step instructions for creating and publishing your blog post in SoCast. These steps are organized according to the sections of the blog post page.

Step 1: Creating a Blog Post

1. Navigate to Website > Blogs > Blog Posts.
2. Click the New Post button in the post listings table.
3. Enter the title for your blog.
4. Click the Switch to Backend Editor button.
5. You can start by clicking the Templates button to select a pre-saved template, or add an element or text box.
6. Click Add Element to add desired elements to your blog, such as a Text Block, Photo Gallery, or Video Player.

Step 2: Blog Categories

Any blog categories that are greyed out cannot be selected, as they have been syndicated from another station within your company.

In the right column, under the “Blog Categories” section, select the category you want this blog to appear under.

1. All Blog Categories: Displays all available categories you can post to.
2. Most Used: Displays the categories most frequently posted to.

Step 3: Tags

1. Add tags to your blog post for SEO purposes. Separate tags with commas, or choose from the most used tags.

Step 4: Sticky

1. Sticky blog posts appear at the top of blog lists. Check the 'Sticky' box if you want this post to be featured at the top.

Step 5: Featured Media

If you do not add a featured image, the station/account logo will be displayed instead.

This is where you add the 'featured media' for your blog post. The featured image is used for all social previews/posts and is displayed in blog lists. The media is displayed at the top of the post page, and a thumbnail version is created for listing posts. Media should be at least 200px by 200px.

1. Set Featured Media: Click 'Set Featured Media' and choose an image from your computer, the media library, or the stock image library.
   1. Crop Thumbnail: Crop your featured thumbnail as needed.
   2. Edit Original: Edit the original image in the media library.
   3. Change: Select a different image.
   4. Remove: Remove the image.
2. Post Page Image Placement: Choose one of the following options:
   1. Full Width: Displays the featured image full width across the top of your blog.
   2. Left Wrap: Displays the image left-wrapped around the text.
   3. Right Wrap: Displays the image right-wrapped around the text.
   4. No Image: Displays the image in blog lists and social posts, but not within your blog post content.

Step 6: Minisite Header

The minisite header is not syndicated or included with RSS Feed Subscription.

1. Select a minisite header to appear above the blog body for navigation between a subset of pages or links (e.g., program or sponsored content). Minisite headers must first be created under Website > Website Structure > Minisite Headers.
   

Step 7: Discussion

1. Allow Comments: Check the box next to 'Allow Comments' if you want to let website visitors comment on your blog.

Step 8: Author

1. Author: The user who created the post. When disabled, the author will be hidden from the byline for all blog posts throughout the site. Learn more about customizing or removing the author byline.

Step 9: Excerpt

An excerpt is optional text associated with a post, often used as the post summary.

1. Scroll down to the bottom and find the ‘Excerpt’ box.
2. Enter the text you would like displayed in the blog list widget.
3. The excerpt will also be used for the preview text in social posts (e.g., Facebook preview).
4. The excerpt box also controls what is displayed in Google and other search engine results.
5. If the excerpt box is empty, SoCast automatically creates an excerpt using the first few sentences of the blog post.

Step 10: Publish

1. Preview on Desktop: Preview what your blog will look like on the website.
2. Preview on Mobile: Preview what your blog will look like on the mobile version of the website.
3. Status: Indicates the status of your blog (e.g., Draft, Published).
4. Publish:
   1. To publish your blog immediately, click the Publish button.
   2. Click Edit to schedule a date and time for your blog to be published.
5. Expiry Date: Choose a date and time for this blog to expire. Once expired, it will go into ‘draft’ mode.
6. Visibility: Choose who can see your blog from the dropdown:
   1. Public: Blog is visible to everyone who visits your site.
   2. Members Only: Blog is only visible to users who are logged in via the SoCast membership tool.
7. Save Draft: To save your blog without publishing it, click the Save Draft button.

Step 11: Social Sharing

This option appears once a blog has been published. You can share your blog post to the social networks you have added in your Social Settings.

1. Click the 'Share This Page' button.
   
2. This will open the Social Publisher from the left side of the page.
3. Choose the social networks you wish to publish to.
4. Write your message or post.
5. Click 'Publish' or 'Schedule' to send the social post immediately or at a later date/time.

For more information on Social Share, see: How do I use the browser widget?