The 11 Most Read Blog Posts of 2014 (and a Bonus!)

By Lindsay Bell

On the eleventh day of Christmas, Spin Sucks gave to you… 11 most read blog posts, 10 top communicators, nine great PR blogs, eight up and comers, seven must-listen podcasts, six communicator gifts, five communications trends, four free webinars, three strategy games, two Crazies’ secrets, and the PR win of 2014.

I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas!

As I mentioned last week when I shared my stories of Christmas past (and present), I’m feeling very festive this year.

And it’s a darned good thing too! Because after compiling this list of our 11 most read blog posts of 2014, I’m sad to say I barely merited a mention!

I squeaked in at number 11!!

But that’s OK. Nothing is going to dull the shine of Christmas 2014. I’m just grateful to have made the list at all.

So, without further ado, let’s take a trip down memory lane, and congratulate our winners!

The 11 Most Read Blog Posts of 2014

Social Media Addiction is Real. How Do We Recover? Jess Ostroff takes the number one spot with her look at social media addiction. Did you know: “…the act of talking about oneself triggers certain levels of dopamine, sometimes creating a sense of pleasure that is similar to enjoying your favorite food or having sex.” {Italics mine – I can’t even…} If that little tidbit doesn’t make you want to read on, I don’t know what will!
PR Campaigns: 10 that Shook 2013. Number two goes to Josh Hansen, and his lovely rundown on some of the best PR campaigns from 2013. You’ll find everything from Beyonce’s surprise album, to a hilarious UK campaign that bravely piggy backed on last year’s horse meat scandal. But maybe my favorite one is Pepsi dressing up like Coke for Halloween. Just the right amount of good-natured ‘poke the bear’ for this gal. I can’t wait for the “best of 2014” posts!
Personal SEO: 14 Ways to Polish Your Google Search Results. Andy Crestodina slides into the number three spot! On April 2nd, he wrote about the importance of knowing your personal SEO; of being aware of what people see when they Google you. He lays out 14 easy ways you can take control of your Google search results. This isn’t black hat stuff, this is just making sure you aren’t getting confused with someone with a similar name (*koff* Sean McGinnis). Your reputation is all you have. Go and read this article, and start owning – and improving – yours.
Ice Cream, Business Ethics, and Fair-Trade Sprinkles. Laura Petrolino aka Petro-power powers up in number four, with a post about maintaining ethical practices while making money and keeping shareholders happy. She shares stats like this one: Thirty-one out of 34 directors of large companies said, when asked, that “they’d cut down a mature forest or release a dangerous, unregulated toxin into the environment in order to increase profits.” It’s a sad state of affairs, and Laura digs deep. Check it out.
Find the ROI of PR By Measuring the Value of Audience. Chris Penn of Shift Communication’ nails the number five by outlining the definitive guide to determining the strategic ROI of PR. He talks about PR versus marketing versus sales, and outlines ways to measure the effectiveness of your PR campaigns. He states flat out that “The ROI of PR is knowable if you’re willing to do the work and measure the right things!” and decries all those PR pros who fallback on their “I can’t do math!” excuse. Nothing I say would do this post justice. Go, read, and bookmark. Now! DO EEET!!
Niche Networks: The Future of Social Networking. Are you a craft beer lover? Cycling freak (*koff* Gini Dietrich)? Bird watcher? There’s a social network for you! Leslie Campisi took the number six spot with her March 27th post about the rise of niche networks, and how you can better serve clients’ needs by tapping into these networks and getting closer to their audiences.
Online Reputation Management and Adult Films. Gini’s best frenemy Sean McGinnis snared the seventh spot with a rather revealing post about his very own Google search/personal SEO nightmare. And yes, you read that title correctly: It involves Sean… and adult films. Sort of. Working on this post was the most fun I’ve had in a very, very long time. Maybe the most fun I’ve had all year. It’s a doozy. Read this. You’ll be Googling yourself in no time.
The Fathead PR Crisis Transformed by Reddit. Still one of my favorite stories from the past year, Jesse Aaron’s “The Fathead PR Crisis Transformed by Reddit” clocks in at number eight! See, Fathead made what might be called one of the greatest fumbles in customer service history. They messed up an order from a football fan, by sending…well, I’ll let you go and read all about it. The mix-up is pure gold, and the way Fathead ran with it was even gold’er! They turned what could have been a fail for the record books into a PR touchdown.
Four PR Metrics You Can Start Using Today. All the way from Belgium, Gijs Nelissen brings us more excellent PR metrics and measurement advice with his number nine post from March 5th. He offers up four hands-on PR metrics you can use to measure the ROI of your PR campaigns. Between this post, and Mr. Penn’s above, you’ll all going to be PR measurement masters heading into 2015! Consider this our gift from us to you. Don’t say we never give you anything.
How to Keep Working When Life Throws You a Major Curve Ball. Cindy King from Social Media Examiner shared a bruiser of a story with us in June, one of those stories that really puts your own life—and often petty complaints—into perspective. She explained how, after being diagnosed with breast cancer, being able to continue working her day job, even through her treatments, etc., actually helped her with her recovery. I don’t know about you, but I would be curled up in a corner, a quivering ball of goo if it were me. This is a powerful post about drawing strength from routine, and it’s a must read for each and everyone of you as we head into this new year.
Canada is Set to Become a Spam Free Zone. Me! Me! Finally, it’s ME! I’M NUMBER….11. Sigh. Oh well. Back in May, I wrote about what some call the world’s toughest anti-spam law. And it’s Canadian! Go Canada! We might be super nice, and all ‘we love everybody’ – but we don’t love spam. Want to roll the dice that you won’t get caught? You could face fines of up to one million dollars for an individual, and 10 million dollars for an organization. BOOM! Stick that in your moose antlers and smoke it! The law went into effect July 1st of this year, so check it out, and make sure you’re on the right side of Dudley Do-Right.

There you have it. The 11 most read blog posts of 2014.

I promised you a special bonus, and here it is. We obviously couldn’t go up against the goddess herself, Miss Gini. Because all her posts are tops!

So, here are Gini’s top 11 most read blog posts for some extra reading/learning pleasure.

Enjoy!

Lindsay Bell

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