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

Follow these steps to create and publish a blog post in SoCast. The instructions below are organized by the sections you will see on the blog post page.

Step 1: Creating a Blog Post

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

Step 2: Blog Categories

Note: 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 Blog Categories, select the category where this blog should appear.

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

Step 3: Tags

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

Step 4: Sticky

1. Sticky posts appear at the top of blog lists. Check the Sticky box to feature this post at the top.

Step 5: Featured Media

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

Add the featured media for your blog post. The featured image is used for social previews/posts and appears in blog lists. It is also displayed at the top of the post page, and a thumbnail is created for listings. Media should be at least 200 px by 200 px.

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:
   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 content.

Step 6: Minisite Header

Note: The minisite header is not syndicated and is not 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 to let website visitors comment on your blog.

Step 8: Author

1. Author: Displays the user who created the post. When disabled, the author is 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 to the bottom and find the Excerpt box.
2. Enter the text you want displayed in the blog list widget.
3. The excerpt is also used as the preview text in social posts (e.g., Facebook preview).
4. The excerpt 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 post.

Step 10: Publish

1. Preview on Desktop: Preview how your blog will look on the website.
2. Preview on Mobile: Preview how your blog will look on mobile.
3. Status: Indicates the status of your blog (e.g., Draft, Published).
4. Publish:
   1. To publish immediately, click Publish.
   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 move to Draft.
6. Visibility: Choose who can see your blog:
   1. Public: Visible to everyone who visits your site.
   2. Members Only: Visible only to users logged in via the SoCast membership tool.
7. Save Draft: Click Save Draft to save your post without publishing it.

Step 11: Social Sharing

Once a blog is published, you can share it to the social networks you have added in your Social Settings.

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

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