10 Most Popular Posts of 2012 and What You Can Learn From Them

There’s no doubt about it, 2012 has been a pretty spectacular year for me.
 This year, I quit my day job to fully launch Blue Kite Marketing and it’s been a thrilling ride so far.

I’ve been blessed to work with a fantastic line-up of clients and I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to engage with wonderful colleagues, readers and friends every day.
 I want to thank you for reading, sharing your insight and for spreading the word about my blog. I really appreciate it and can’t thank you enough!

If you’re new to the blog or you’re just curious about what’s been most popular here (at least from a pageview perspective), below are my 10 most popular posts of 2012. And, with each post, I’ve shared a little about why I think it made the list.

I hope you enjoy it and I’ll see you in 2013!

  1. 15 Examples of Small Businesses Rocking the New Facebook Design
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    This was BY FAR my biggest traffic driver this year thanks largely due to search traffic. There are a couple of things we can learn from this — timely posts that offer a solution to a problem are incredibly useful. Also, people are hungry for examples they can model. You can be sure you’ll see more of this from me next year.
  2. Public Relations vs. Marketing — What’s the Difference?
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    This is a post I never thought I would write, as there is already a lot of discussion on this topic. However, I did so after someone asked me the question after a speaking engagement. And, I was thrilled to see that this sparked a thoughtful and engaging discussion about where the industry is headed. As Marcus Sheridan points out, versus posts really work well.
  3. How to Build a Content Plan for Your Blog – For any business that blogs, this is a useful guide to help you build an editorial calendar. And, since I published it the first week of January, it was timely for post for businesses trying to line up content for the year. It’s definitely an evergreen post I refer to often.
  4. 5 Simple Tweaks to Make the Most of the New Facebook Page DesignThis post hits on so many things that make blog posts popular — it’s timely, a list post with a number in the title and it’s a how-to guide. A definite recipe for success.
  5. Who is REALLY a social media expert?
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    This post originated from a question I received at a speaking engagement and is one of my favorites from the year. In it, I share what I think it takes for an agency to thrive in today’s digital landscape. It generated a nice discussion and got shared quite a bit on social channels. This post shows you shouldn’t be afraid to take a stand and share your thoughts on an a controversial issue.
  6. 4 Simple Ways to Get More Testimonials for Your Business
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    Getting a link from the New York Times can do wonders for blog traffic! This post is proof of that.
  7. 8 Essential Ways to Use Apps on Your New Facebook Page
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    Are you starting to see a trend here? Readers really devoured content about Facebook this year. This one offered more tips about the switch over to the new design.
  8. How to Use Mind Maps to Build Better Content
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    I was really surprised to see a guest post break the top 10, but I’m thrilled that readers enjoyed seeing an outside perspective on the blog. You can bet there will be more guest content here in 2013. (If you’re interested in submitting something, read our guest post guidelines here.)
  9. How to Build a Smart Social Media Strategy
     
    In this post, I shared my presentation from PodCamp Nashville. The lesson here? Don’t be afraid to repurpose your content.
  10. Today, Everything Changes
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    I’m thrilled to see this post made the list. It didn’t offer tips, trends or ideas. Instead, I shared something personal and important to me — this is the post where I announced I had quit my day job to take Blue Kite Marketing full-time. It was exciting to finally make the leap and share this news with all of you. Although we shouldn’t write these posts all of the time, this post is a prime example that sharing our personal stories help folks better connect with us.

Which post was your favorite this year? Did these help you learn anything?

Image credit: Cris

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Laura Click

Laura Click is brand strategist, speaker, podcaster and the founder of Blue Kite. Learn more about Laura and her work at Blue Kite.

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