In this article, we'll give you tips on composing and publishing blog posts in Haiilo.
Settings
Once you've added a blog app to your site or community, the first thing you do is set its name and URL, if applicable.
Note:
This is the URL of your app, so keep in mind that changing the URL will cause existing links to no longer be usable.
After that, you can set default teaser images if needed, which will be set automatically for each new blog post. The following aspect ratios apply to these:
- 3:1
- 1:1
Then comes one of the most important questions: who should be able to write and publish a blog post? For this, it is best to consider in advance which users (groups) work in which function on your site / in your community and how many rights they should receive. You can find this in the settings under authors and publishers.
Example: Often, for example, several users write blog posts or work together on a page / in a community. To prevent a post from being published directly by someone, the share setting needs to be edited to restrict this to admins of the site / community. For example, if the blog app settings are configured as shown in the screenshot, then only admins can write as well as publish blog posts and no one else can see draft posts.
Furthermore, you can define in the settings of a blog app whether users can comment on blog posts and if all articles should be shared automatically on the timeline.
Write and create blog posts
The blog app offers an extensive rich text editor. This allows you to structure and configure your texts however you like. It is thus possible, for instance, to easily add pictures or videos, or include bullet points and tables.
In addition, you have the option of switching to advanced mode and adding widgets to structure the content. Please make sure that the post remains clear, as this increases your chance of attracting more readers.
The advanced mode
Through this function, you have the chance to extend a blog article with widgets. There are no limits to your creativity. However, please make sure that the structure remains clear and structured.
To do this, first select the option "Switch to advanced mode" in the lower right corner of a blog article. Next, add the desired widgets and / or additional lines.
Mandatory fields
A blog post can only be saved or published once the post has been given a title or teaser text. Haiilo shows you which elements are missing with a yellow symbol in the form of a triangle with an exclamation mark.
The teaser text and the main teaser picture are used to generate interest and inform users at a glance what the post is about. In short: It is an intro to the detailed post. The teaser text and picture are also visible when an post is shared.
Teaser images
Hashtags
There is an additional text field below the main text field. Here you can add hashtags to your post. It is recommended to use relevant hashtags per topic and not to use too many hashtags. You can either chose from trending hashtags or enter a new hashtag which you thereby create.
Publish
Using the last tab "Publish", you can control the time when your post should be published.
The status is particularly important here:
-
Draft: Drafts do not have a publication date and are only visible to the users who are permitted to publish the posts in the app.
-
Published: If this status is selected, you will publish the post immediately and notify all subscribers to the page/members of the community.
-
Publish on: Here you can specify a certain time at which the post should be published (e.g. on September 5, 2022 at 09:00 a.m.).
Tip:
Especially for longer posts, we recommend assigning the title and teaser and then saving the post as a draft. By doing this, you ensure that you have saved your text and can proofread it later, without the post being published straight away.
Post in the name of the page/community
News is usually published by Internal Communication, Corporate Communications, or Marketing. Several authors are usually involved in this case. Haiilo offers you the opportunity to actin the name of a page or community. This has the advantage that the authors publish this news in an official setting and not as a personal opinion under their own name.
A permission just needs to be assigned for this in the Administration area. The post can then be disseminated accordingly. Using the last tab "Publish", you can control the author and how the post should be published. In our example, we are publishing the blog post as ourselves "Verena Meier".
Comment, duplicate, print & archive
Comment
The administrator of a page/a community decides whether or not comments should be permitted for the respective blog app. Only when the administrator has approved this is the comment function displayed below the blog post.
To approve comments, first go to the app settings. Then add the check mark for the option "Comments".
Users who have subscribed to (identifiable by the blue bell symbol) or commented on a blog post receive a notification when further comments are added to the post.
Duplicate
Any existing blog post can be easily duplicated by authors*, either in the blog's list view or in the blog posts detail view (accessible via the three-dot menu in the upper right corner).
The duplicated post is created as a new draft post, with the title prefix "Copy of..." clearly indicating that it is a copied post.
Finally, all available language versions of the post are duplicated.
Note:
Social interactions from previously published posts are not transferred to the duplicated post and authors and publishers of a specific blog app are allowed to duplicate posts within that app.
Blog posts should convey detailed information and are generally used as part of intranet news or minutes. These should be accessible or filed in an analog form where necessary. It is therefore possible to print blog posts.
Option 1
Select the post that you want to print within the blog app overview. If you click on the three dots on the right next to the title, you will find the option "Print article". When selecting the version, a preview opens to show how the blog post will look as a printout. You can then use "Print" in the menu to select the printer (installed printer or PDF printer).
Option 2
Open the selected blog post. If you click on the three dots on the right next to the title, you will find the option "Print article".
You can then use "Print" in the menu to select the printer (installed printer or PDF printer).
Archive
Individual blog posts can be archived via the three dots at the post if you don't want to delete them completely.
Note:
Anyone who has the right to share a blog app (authors right excluded) can set blog amounts as archived - all users can still see archived content.
Archived blog posts will then receive a corresponding label.
Alternatively, you can set an archiving date directly during creation.
Archiving instead of deleting has the advantage that you can explicitly filter out archived blog posts and they are no longer actively displayed in the overview of blog posts and in the search.
Furthermore, archiving a blog post has these effects:
- Haiilo mobile app: Archived blog posts are not displayed in mobile app at all and there is no option to display here either