An Intern Invades Corporate Blogging

The SWest Side Story of Blogging for Business...

Hi there! My name is Stephanie West... I am a senior at Butler University, as well as the current Marketing Intern at Compendium Blogware.

I will be taking you through my internship experience here at Compendium - a fast-paced, young and growing company. I can honestly say that I did not fully understand the impact that blogging has on a company until I began working at Compendium. Anyone can be found through corporate blogging - no matter how big or small. After all, you found my blog!

In addition to this business blog, I will also be maintaining a restaurant blog and providing insight to different places to eat around Indianapolis.

So take a few minutes and check out my blog - I'm going to dive right in and invade the world of corporate blogging... "SWest Side Story" style!

Blogging vs. TV commercials

Thursday, November 19, 2009 by Stephanie West

I read an interesting article titled, "Balloon Boot Camp," by Mina Kimes in the most recent issue of Fortune Magazine. The article wasn't really an article at all - it was more of a "by the numbers" approach to looking at the giant inflated balloons at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

http://www.gamingangels.com/2009/08/spider-man-returns-to-the-macys-thanksgiving-day-parade/

Here are some of the numbers that I found to be interesting:

3+ million people will "cover Manhattan" to watch the parade.
43 million people are expected to tune into NBC to watch it.
$240,000 - the cost of a 30 second television commercial during last year's parade.

Just look at those numbers - 43,000,000 people are going to tune into NBC to watch the parade, and in turn, watch a 30 second commercial that costs $240,000 for the air time. Amazing!

Television commercials are one way to market your product or service.

Another method worth noting is corporate blogging. The viewers that are tuning into the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade are also tuning into the commercials - whether they realize it or not.

Here's the difference between a television commercial and corporate blogging: Blogging targets those viewers (or searchers) that are looking for YOU. Commercials are targeting a much wider audience, but that audience isn't as interested.

Internet searchers are looking for what YOU (as a blogger) have to say. The audience that you are targeting is one that is interested in your product. It is all part of an inbound marketing strategy. Doesn't this make the sale a little more simple?

Click here for more information on Compendium's inbound marketing strategy. And don't worry, it doesn't cost as much as a 30 second TV commercial during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!

How are you integrating your blog?

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 by Stephanie West

http://www.mobiletechnologyblog.com/mobile-marketing/mobile-marketing-integration

I have blogged about it before, but I think it's worth blogging about again - your blog and your website should work together. Having a blog to drive search traffic and generate leads is great! But your blog should also be a reference. It is a great marketing tool - but it's an even better marketing tool when it is used with your website.

Your website is the best source of information for prospects to reference. It should contain the most up-to-date information and be easy to navigate. So if your website is a source of information, where does your blog tie in?!

Your blog should be a humanized form of your website. It is your humanized marketing strategy. If it is integrated properly with your website, prospective customers can use it as another resource and a way to receive information from the employees that work for your company and support the product/service.

Integrating your blog is something that Compendium emphasizes. Building your blog for search is important, but in addition to that, you should connect your blog to your website to give prospective customers the most information about who you are and what you are selling.

Where's your call-to-action?

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 by Stephanie West

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photos-picture-frame-gold-path-included--image432413

Picture this: You have written a great blog post. It is well-written and full of substantial content. You may even have included relevant pictures in order to capture your reader's eye.

But here is where the problem is: After the reader/viewer reads your post, there is nothing left to do. Maybe they are really interested in what you had to say, but if you need to have something for them to click on to get more information. That's where call-to-actions (CTAs) come into play.

Having a link within your blog post allows the reader to seek further information if they are interested. Having CTAs embedded in your blog is also a great way for readers to learn about your product or service.

CTAs on the top and side bars of your blog that contain links to additional resources are very beneficial to the reader, as well as the marketer. Marketers are able to track the effectiveness of blogs by these CTAs and the leads that are generated.

When you blog for search engine optimization - great! But you need a way to convert those leads into prospects - which is where your CTAs come into play. Incorporating these CTAs as a part of your blogging best practices will make your blog a better SEO tool. Compendium provides a great blogging platform, and the Client Success team at Compendium will help incorporate your CTAs so that they provide the most benefit.

Whose success are you measuring?

Thursday, November 12, 2009 by Stephanie West

When it comes to stories of success, Compendium wants to make sure you know how its corporate blog software will fit into your daily routine.

There are numerous case studies available from various companies' success stories. They are all real stories from real companies that have seen success from Compendium's corporate blogging software.

For more of these success stories and more information on them, sign up for Compendium's free Webinar: Finding Business Blogging Success: Real-Life Stories. The Webinar will be hosted by marketer Chris Baggott, CEO and CoFounder of Compendium Blogware.

The Webinar will take place on November 18th, from 2-3pm EST and it will share the successes of several companies, including an eCommerce Gymnastics Apparel Company, SaaS Event Management and Web Survey Company, and Concrete and Services Company in Minneapolis.

In addition, the Webinar will cover:

Best Practices for ROI driven business blogging.
Real-life examples of successful blogging strategies.
How to set up a blogging strategy built for success.

Don't hesitate, sign up today!

What's your claim to fame?

Thursday, November 12, 2009 by Stephanie West

Companies have found their claim to fame in various ways. Some companies are fortunate enough to have found a big break, but most companies aren't that fortunate.

http://thecowhideglobe.blogspot.com/2008_12_01_archive.html

I'm not a company - I am just an intern, so I'm always looking for my big break. I think my big break came at the Indiana Pacers game tonight. For the first time ever, I was on the kiss cam. It was a scene straight out of the movie, "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days." It was classic. My claim to fame was in Conseco Fieldhouse on a jumbo screen in front of 10,000 people. I got lucky.

But not everyone gets a big break like I did.

Most companies need to work toward whatever their "claim to fame" may be. A company's "claim to fame" is generally its service or product.

So how do you get noticed?? One way is to BLOG!

Corporate blogging is a great way to share your success with internet searchers - or anyone that is looking for what you have to offer. By using Compendium's simple blogging software, you can have your fame just by blogging for your business.

I got lucky by getting on the kiss cam - it's not always that easy though! The best way to get found is sharing your service or product with others - so start by using Compendium's corporate blog software!

Disclaimer: I really was on the kiss cam last night but it's not my claim to fame. It was used as an example for this blog post...

Tailgaters are like bloggers

Monday, November 9, 2009 by Stephanie West

Football tailgaters are interesting. They bring entertainment to fans, by-passers, alumni, students, parents, spectators, etc.

Tailgaters are like bloggers. They lighten the atmosphere. They bring the fun. They humanize the game.

Football is the main attraction. It's like your company's website. The goal of your company website is to drive traffic and provide a source of information to perspective customers. Football games also try to drive traffic. But the tailgaters and the energy behind the game.

So the tailgaters are like the bloggers. They set up the blog - which is the humanized aspect of football games. Tailgaters get pumped for the game, then they all trail into the stadium for the actual football game.

Bloggers do the same thing. They write about the main attraction (the website). Blogging is a source of information and entertainment for perspective customers. And most importantly, it drives those perspective customers (or we could call them internet searchers) to your company website.

The blog software that Compendium offers is a great tool for your company to use. It will humanize your marketing efforts and drive perspective customers to the main attraction - your website.

More marketers are practicing organic search optimization

Friday, November 6, 2009 by Stephanie West

A recent article by Advertising Age titled, Digital Marketing: The State of Search Marketing: 2009, has reported that search marketing is continuing to grow. In addition, about 9 out of 10 marketers are practicing organic search optimization. That's a large percentage of marketers that are going organic to get found in search!

http://2medschool.blogspot.com/2007/10/organic-chemistry-alkyl-halides-part-ii.html

The benefits of leveraging your online marketing strategy by organic search are limitless. Since many people are clicking on organic search results, they are attracting viewers to their blog, which can, in turn, draw potential customers into their website.

If you want to acquire new customers and then convert those customers - corporate blogging might be your answer because blogging humanizes your marketing strategy.

Compendium's corporate blogging software is designed to help leverage your blog in organic search - with a humanized approach. Nine out of 10 marketers are trying to position themselves in organic search - which mean YOU (as the customer) are likely to come into contact with one of these marketer's organic search strategies.

For more information on blogging for organic search and how it pertains to you - click here to speak with a blogging expert. They will explain the benefits of using Compendium's blog software to you!

Demonstrating your point

Wednesday, November 4, 2009 by Stephanie West

The best way to know how something works is to just listen and learn about it. Professors do this all the time. They stand in from of a classroom and lecture. How effective is lecturing though? Personally, I don't respond well to lectures. I just don't comprehend everything that's being said when a professor stands in from of a classroom and talks.

I need professors to show me what they're talking about. I need a professor to demonstrate his/her point to me.

Demonstrate your point.

It's one of the most effective ways to get the other party to comprehend and fully understand what is being discussed. Both audio and visual aids are the components that make your point most effectively communicated.

Compendium understands this - we offer demonstrations of our product so that you can better understand the software that we offer. Compendium's demos are designed with visual aids that you can view on your computer screen as a blogging expert is talking to you on the phone.

In the demonstrations, the blogging experts at Compendium outline how our blogging software will help you leverage your company in search marketing.

So don't hesitate - schedule a demo today to get a better understanding of what Compendium has to offer, and how your company will benefit!

Alerding Castor Hewitt receives results

Monday, November 2, 2009 by Stephanie West

This firm is a great example of why a business should blog. They dedicate about 2 hours a week to blogging. That's right: 2 HOURS PER WEEK. Wrap your head around that. In addition to their two hour per week blogging dedication, they have seen 500% blogging ROI... 500%!

Those numbers (alone) should convince you that corporate blogging has something great going for it. But if those numbers don't convince you, consider this additional information about Alerding Castor Hewitt.

This case study is an excellent reason of why you should blog for business. Compendium's blogging platform structures SEO tools that help maximize your search engine optimization results. Blogging for search, just as Alerding Castor Hewitt does, is a way for potential customers to find you on the internet. Online marketing is a means of reaching those potential customers that are searching for something on the internet. By blogging (for as little as 2 hours per week!), you are helping position your company to get found in search.

Click here to view this Alerding Castor Hewitt case study and read about their blogging success!

We want your suggestions!

Thursday, October 29, 2009 by Stephanie West

Webinars are a great way to get information about a particular topic. At Compendium, our webinars are focused on blogging - corporate blogging in particular.

There are numerous benefits of blogging for your business. Chris Baggott, Compendium's Co-founder and CEO, has spoke about many issues around corporate blogging. But now has come the time for YOU to let us know what you'd like to hear about. What type of blogging best practices would you like to hear about? We want your opinion and suggestions because webinars are designed for YOUR benefit!

Some informative Webinar topics previously discussed include:

What else you would like to hear about?? Please submit suggestions in the comment section of this blog.

Two different methods; One common goal

Thursday, October 29, 2009 by Stephanie West

When you give two different people the task of preparing dinner - they will (most likely) come up with two different meals.

For example: Say you give two people a can of crescent rolls each. They are each told to prepare a meal that incorporates the can of crescent rolls.

http://auntypolknowsitall.blogspot.com/2009/07/hungry-hungry-hippo.html

The first person makes a meal that we'll call: Chicken Crescents. It involves about an hour and a half of preparation, a lot of slicing, dicing, stirring and stuffing. The meal then has to cook for another 30 minutes. So, after 2 hours the meal is ready to be eaten.

http://saucytart.typepad.com/eat_drink_memory/2009/04/pigs-in-a-blanket-day-contest-kicks-off.html

Then there's the second person who makes a meal we'll call: Pigs in a Blanket. It involves about 10 minutes of preparation, i.e. stuffing a hotdog with cheese, then rolling it in a crescent roll. This meal has to cook for 20 minutes. So, after 30 minutes the meal is ready to be eaten.

Let me tie this all together for you. Two different methods; One common goal. The goal? To eat.

Just like eating, there are two different methods for preparing a blog.

One method involves a platform that allows you to set up multiple blogs. After you write a blog post, there are multiple steps and actions that you have to take for search engine optimization. This method requires a lot of manual work.

The next method involves writing a blog post (which takes anywhere from 10-20 minutes), then clicking "Submit." Because of the platform, the blog post is automatically optimized. You blog for search engine optimization - but the blog platform optimizes it for you!

Two different methods; One common goal. The goal is for your blog to be maximized in search engine optimization.

If you were blogging, which method would you choose? I would go with the second method, because all I have to do is blog. The platform does the rest.

Want to know more about this platform? Schedule a demo with a blogging expert at Compendium to learn more about how your blog can maximize its search engine optimization.

Go with the Pigs in a Blanket approach - you'll reach your goal more quickly!

Generate leads for a larger fan base

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 by Stephanie West

Many great TV shows go un-noticed - or without a large fan base. They may have a very loyal fan base, but it's small. If you're one of those loyal fans, don't you wish that everyone know about it?! Don't you wish there was a way to generate leads to this awesome TV show?! I sure do!

http://www.insidesocal.com/outinhollywood/2006/11/a-brilliant-gaythemed-episode.html

Over the past few months, I've gotten hooked on the TV series: How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM - for short). It is in its 5th season and is incredibly funny, witty and entertaining. It's on Monday nights on CBS @ 8pm EST. (I'm finished with my HIMYM shout-out for the day.)

My whole point is this: Your company has something great to offer. It's probably not a TV series, but it is something that you want more people to know about, right?

A great way to generate leads for your company is through corporate blogging. Compendium offers a blogging software platform that all lows you to blog for search engine optimization.

Why keep your company a secret? It's great to keep a small and loyal client base, but don't you want to share your company with everyone?

Schedule a demo with a blog expert at Compendium and they'll help explain the benefits of blogging for your business. So start generating more leads today - I'm going to suggest that my favorite TV show does the same...

Blogging is invincible

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 by Stephanie West

How much does the weather affect your ability to be productive? Consider a dreary, rainy day (such as today in Indianapolis) - how much more lethargic does it make you? Many people will put off going out to lunch, or taking their dog for a nice long walk... Or their mood may just be affected. People just aren't as "chipper" when the weather is dreary.

http://mountains.michaelkapper.com/?p=1395

So does dreary weather lead to peoples' negative moods? And in turn, do those negative moods lead to less productivity? I think that's the case in many circumstances.

But I'd like to bring up one circumstance when that isn't the case - when dreary weather doesn't lead to lower productivity. The case of: Blogging.

Today, it's dreary in Indianapolis. Instead of not being productive (or creative!), my mind is actually more creative today. I keep thinking of reasons why blogging isn't affected by the weather.

Dreary weather isn't going to affect your corporate blogging strategy. In general, blogging isn't affected by bad weather. Employees can continue to blog from anywhere.

Consider a "snow day" - your city is piled under in snow and there's no possible way for employees to make it to work. Not a problem with blogging - your company can continue to blog and generate leads and increase ROI from anywhere!

Schedule a demo with one of our blogging experts and see why your company should consider blogging with Compendium.

Don't take it for granted

Friday, October 23, 2009 by Stephanie West

There are a lot of things that people take for granted...

Family and friends, good weather, time, information and resources, knowledge, etc.

Those are just a few things, and there are so many more!

Many businesses take advantage of the resources that are available for them. Search marketing is such an applicable resource for businesses to utilize. People search on the internet daily - and those companies that aren't taking advantage of this fact are missing a great opportunity.

http://www.ottawa.diplo.de/Vertretung/ottawa/en/01/Information_20about_20Germany/webadressen__in__d__Seite.html

Compendium offers a blog software platform that helps your blog get found in search, which therefore helps your company get found in search. It's a great marketing opportunity right at your fingertips. Don't take it for granted!

Interested in more information on Compendium's blogging platform and the opportunity that's available for a great marketing strategy? Click here to read our Whitepaper: Consider Blogging. It will provide you with some great information and questions to ask yourself about whether you're ready to start blogging or not.

Customized options

Friday, October 23, 2009 by Stephanie West

I'm going to give a little shout out to Starbucks in this blog post.

Starbucks is located on the first floor of our building, so it is a much-enjoyed treat at Compendium.

Compendium also offers a Starbucks promotion. If you view a demo with one of our blog experts, you will receive a $50 Starbucks gift card. Pretty good deal, huh?

After thinking about Starbucks so much, I realized that Starbucks' menu is much like Compendium's blogging platform.

Starbucks' menu contains a list of the general drinks that they offer, such as: Mochas, Lattes, Caffe Americanos, Teas, etc. The categories are pretty vague. But sporadically located around the menu are additional flavors and options.

You have (nearly) endless coffee options!

The business blog software that Compendium offers is a lot like the Starbucks menu. There are many blog pages available to generate content on. For example, you may have 25 blog pages - so the content you generate will fall under one (or more) of those pages. There are many options of how to "design" a blog post and it can fall under several categories.

Isn't this kind of like that grande, non-fat, no whip, mocha-latte you ordered this morning?! Your blog may be relevant to more than one blog page, kind of like the mocha latte falls under two categories: mocha and latte.

Does all of this talk about Starbucks have you craving it?! View a demo with one of our blogging experts and get a gift card for $50 worth of Starbucks.

Go Organic

Thursday, October 22, 2009 by Stephanie West

Just like Google's "Going Google" campaign, Compendium users are "Going Organic."

Organic search results are high traffic areas for internet searchers. (See the heat diagram to the right.) Most people are clicking within the organic search area.

This, alone, should be a reason for searchers to consider corporate blogging software for their business. The blog software platform that Compendium offers helps your company get found in search - organic search.

Blogging is a great tool to help you get found in search and maximize your local search results. Check out Compendium's Whitepaper: Local Search and Blogging for more information on how corporate blogging software can help you get found in organic search.

Looking at Google's campaign, "Going Google," people are joining the Google network. So you may be asking, "What does the blogging network look like?" or "What does the future of business blogging look like?" Blogging with Compendium is organic. Register NOW for the free Webinar: The Future of Business Blogging at 2pm EST. Compendium's Co-founder and CEO, Chris Baggott, will discuss what the future holds for blogging, and why you should go organic with Compendium's blog software.

Who views your blog?

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 by Stephanie West

About 70-80% of blog traffic comes from new visitors. Yes, 70-80% are new visitors which means that the content you generate is being viewed by many new perspective customers.

So who views your blog? People that are interested in what you have to say. Just think about how much you use search in your day-to-day life. Marketers understand that you're searching, which is why they opt for particular search marketing strategies.

One strategy includes blog marketing. Customers are drawn to your blog for a few reasons, including:

The content - how relevant are your keywords to viewers?
The humanized aspect of reading your blog - it's from YOU.
They found you in organic search (which is where most "clicks" occur).

Blog marketing is a great strategy to help your company get found in search. Traffic is constantly driving new visitors to your blog, which means new visitors are viewing your blog 70-80% of the time.

Start blogging today to generate these new visitors to your blog. Searchers are looking for information - and you (as a blogger) have the answer!

Corporate blogs give your company direction

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 by Stephanie West

In the overwhelming realm of the internet - everyone needs direction. Internet marketing encompasses many topics, and if your perspective customers do not have any direction, they won't know be able to know what you have to offer.

Having blogs is like having signs that direct your perspective customers to the information they need. When internet searchers enter particular keywords in search engines, they are looking for some sort of direction. They want you to point them to the answer.

Blogs are like signs. They give people direction - straight to your company.

Your company will benefit most when you generate good, relevant content for your blogs. Relevant content is like having large clear signs telling perspective customers where to go.

Your blogs are maximized in organic search results with powerful blogging software, such as the blogging platform that Compendium offers.

For more information on Compendium's corporate blogging software, schedule a demo with one of our blog experts. They will explain how having a corporate blog will direct perspectives to your website - and ultimately YOU.

Ohio should blog

Monday, October 19, 2009 by Stephanie West

The state of Ohio gets a bad rep because people don't think there is much to do in Ohio.

Surprisingly, there's a lot to do in the state of Ohio, but most people just label it as a "dud" because it's located in the Midwest. But really, is this accurate?

What if Ohio blogged about the many things to do in the state. What if it collectively blogged about the different events and sites within Ohio. There is more to do in Ohio than people think; people just need to know about what there is to do - which is why Ohio should blog.

This blogging solution may be what Ohio needs to get it out of the "dud" category. This is an operative way to use blogging software as a service to draw tourists and prospective visitors to the state. Events and sites within Ohio can be found through search marketing.

For more information on why to use corporate blogging as your local search marketing strategy - click here to read our Whitepaper: Local Search and Blogging.