For those marketers  involved in search marketing, we know that search is the one bright spot in the marketing landscape.  As you can see from the eMarketer forecast, search will continue to accelerate against other online advertising…and of course we all know that traditional non-online advertising is in a long and protracted decline.

Corporate blgging strategy for search trends



Why is search winning?  Because it is the only mass marketing tool in history where you are responding to a prospects intent.   No longer do we have to analyze data and hope that certain segments might be interested in our offer. 

With Search, our prospects simply tell us when they have a need or problem they could use our help with.  Condo, Austin?   Variable Printing Services?  Chrome 4 slice toaster?  New Tires, Buffalo?  All of these and millions more indicate the needs and desires of the searcher.   Do you sell tires in Buffalo?

80% of all web interactions begin with searches.

So why, in a recent Microsoft adCenter survey, did 73% of the small business owners say they would rather DO THEIR TAXES than start a paid search marketing campaign.   

It’s not a lack of desire or a lack of intelligence, what most web folks fail to recognize about small business marketing is that they are constrained by both time and money.   This is what  makes and internet business blog such a compelling option.   

With a business blogging solution designed for business, they get two things.  The first is a managed solution.  One of the beauties of SaaS is help.  Unlike “free” blogging tools where you are completely on your own,  hosted business blogging tools have actual people that work to make their clients successful.  

At the end of the day, all the business needs to do is tell stories…as Sienfield’s Kramer says…talk about your day.  The more they talk, the more search traffic they drive.   Easy to use blogging software makes search marketing a LOT easier than doing taxes…. Blog for SEO...and win.

 


We are proud to announce a successful lauch of a couple of new pieces to Compendium Software and Compendium Product Support today! 

 

Our first item is and most exciting piece is the launching of an updated and enhanced text editor.  Thank you to our engineering team for all of their hard work and dedication to the product.  As a part of the Product Support Team at Compendium we strive to hear and communicate with Product Planning what our clients are wanting, what sort of dfficulties they are having and move to enhance those pieces of the software. This new text editor, is exactly that.  Our clients asked and we listened!   

 

Our second item we are excited to announce, is the self service portion of the help page.  In the past, clients have had the abiltiy to submit support requests via email - help@compendiumblogware.com, phone - (317)777-6255, or by completing the webform.  Product Support quickly responded to all requests. 

 

But as we grow and expand this Support functionality to our business blogging software, we want to make getting support for our clients as easy as possible. Our solution, we introduced a self service portal to the help page.  Clients can now

  • search answers for Frequently Asked Questions
  • find out how to accomplish different items with in the software
  • Ask question and look for support easily on their own

 

We still love feedback, so if there is anything we can do, let us know!


Happy 2009!! Wow it's hard to believe that is actually already 2009 - I can't seem to figure out where 2008 went! Oh well, what can you do. Every year I make a some kind of silly resolution that by the end of January I've usually given up on - well this year is different.I've decided to actually make commitments that I know I can keep - both professionally at Compendium and in my personal life.

At Compendium ...
I've been a complete blogging slacker - writing a blog post has not been a very high priority. Well this year I've I have made it my goal to write  at least 2 blog posts per week.

Being a Support Manager here at Compendium - we get a lot of blogging software questions that I could easily write a post on - because chances are more than 1 person has the same question.

Personally
I've have signed myself up for a mini marathon (which if you know me I'm not really a runner), but this is something I've always wanted to do. So I made the commitment to do it.

So what is your "New Year" commitment (not resolution)? Make one that your have to be accountable for ...


face melting riffs, creative hombres, cpb shred school
CP+B's shred school is rad. Ney. CPB Shred School is way rad. These pushers of interactivity have done it again with the launch of this b.a. new website.

What it is.

A gathering of easy to play songs on guitar, from soft and sweet serenades to mind numbing punch dancing ballods.

I might even call cpb Shred School a "compendium" of guitar how-to videos.

Why it is rad.

The site is really simple, which is great from a usability aspect. You can search through tons and tons of guitar lesson videos.You can search through all the videos, and sort a few different ways.

Remember, these are the people that did Subservient Chicken. They know how to get people, a LOT of people, to interact with a website. Right up top there is a simple "upload" button that allows users to upload lessons of their own.

While YouTube has tons and tons of "how to play _______" videos, CP+B has brought them together in an awesome way. The good sites and the good blogs have something to offer the user or the reader. This is what keeps us interacting, because we see value in it. There is a benefit to watching and digging.

Look, a lot of things make this site rad. Mostly, it's really helpful, and it's really easy. Plus, the agency vidoes are really funny. The only thing that I could see improving the site is to get RZA, GZA and Bill Murray back together to teach an exclusive new accoustic version of, say, Triumph. But I guess I'm just a dreamer.

This one below is by far the best. While this Andrew Keller fellow may appear soft on the outside, his ability to blast tasty riffs right through the back of your skull is something that nobody saw coming. I think it's computer generated.

keller shredding computer generated

How does this relate to me, a creative designer for blog software company? Well, CPB school is telling evidence that content that is funny, entertaining, valuable, easy, sharable, and just awesome in general will get people to your site and keep them there. The better it is, and the easier it is to stay involved, the lower your bounce rate, and the more time you have to say something about your company.

Apply directly to your business blog.


There has been a lot of talk about the Forrester report highlighting the horrific lack of trust in Corporate blogs.  To me, the key strategy for success outlined by the author Josh Bernoff was the use of employee bloggers....and lot's of them.

Employee Blogging Post
My case today focuses on an experience just two days ago skiing with the family in Colorado.  This was a spontaneous road trip based on access to a free house and the fact that Jimmo's (with beard) son and daughter were out there this winter. (I am actually blogging as we drive home through Kansas)

The weather was great and the snow was perfect.   Sunny and around 28 during the day.  But what made the difference between this being a really good trip and a fantastic experience was Alex.

Employee BloggerAlex here is a friend of Jimmo's son and happens to work as a Host at one of the big resorts.  Talk about your dream job...ski around all day and make sure everyone is safe and most importantly having a good time.   There are maybe hundreds of these folks in Summit County.   And this is just one position.  Vail by itself employees over 3500 people.  

Through our hookup, we were able to ski all day with Alex on his day off.   Alex is smart, he's 24 and a graduate of a good school.  He's doing this because he loves it.   He loves the customers and he loves the resort.  He was able to show us places that were appropriate for the skill variances of our entire group...nooks and cranny's we never would have found on our own...He even took my 8 year old off for a while.  Why?  Because I TRUSTED him.

Vail blogs just like any other Corporation (at least Heavenly does)....self promoting PR.   Why not offer up the opportunity for all 3500 employees to get on multi user blog software and tell their stories?

That's how Corporate Blogging will gain trust...telling real stories from real people who love what they do. 

There are over 10,000,000 monthly searches this time of year that Vail would want to rank highly on.  Post a couple hundred times a week with a variety of relevant stories and watch how many of those start coming their way...

And don't tell me Vail is different than your plumbing supply business or whatever.  Most all company employees are smart, they like their jobs and care about the customer.   Let them help you build trust.

P.S.  While you're at it, Vail has a great database.  They have my email and know exactly when and where I skiied.   What's stopping them from triggering an email to me next week asking me to tell them about my trip....maybe submit a picture or two...wouldn't that be trusted content?  You bet it would.  Vail skiis about 25,000 people a day.   That's 175,000 emails a week that could be triggered telling your customer you appreciate them...Does anyone doubt that Vail would get at least a couple of hundred usable stories a week to fill their blogs?  Imagine the benefit.

Why am I so weak that it takes me 300 words to attempt to say what Seth says in one sentence:

"While the rest of your world huddles and holds back, here's a golden chance to use cheap media, available attention and great talent to make something that matters."

Multi User Blog Software is affordable (cheap), targeted search is how you get in front of available attention when they want to hear from you and your employees are the great talent that both Richard Edelman and Josh Bernoff of Forrester are telling business to leverage to create trusted content. 

What could be simpler?  Embrace a Corporate Blogging Strategy as one of your primary 2009 resolutions.

Thanks for pointing out this quote Debbie Weil.

It may surprise you that blogging is recession proof.  It is the easiest, low cost form of marketing for your business.  A blog can be just what your company needs during this slow economy.  Writing content on your blog everyday is much more effective then putting thousands upon thousands of dollars into Pay Per Click campaigns, or print and radio advertisements for that matter. 

Believe me blogging is the most cost effective online business if done with passion!  All it takes is a little bit of time.  In just 10 minutes a day, you and your employees can share what it is that you do on a daily basis, the products and services that you sell, and other areas of your business with millions of readers on the web. 

Compendium Blogware has the best blog software for this day in age.  We focus on leveraging the content you write with the keywords that your organization is trying to win in the search engines.  A recent article by eTechBuzz further explains how to make money on your blog in times like these.  Click here to view their article on "More Ways to Make Money During a Recession." 

People often wonder why blogs are so easily searched.  The answer is clear and simple, Google likes the frequency and relevancy of blog content.  What most people get hung up on is the act of blogging itself. 

Most days I use our easy to use blogging software to communicate what Compendium Blogware does to the world wide web.  Most days the content I write is extremely relevant content that gives readers insight as to what blogging is all about.  However, there are times where writing a blog that is lacking some perspective is necessary.  To stay consistent with content will get your blog and keywords ranked higher in Google.  Therefore, today I am going to add some fun blog jokes I found on the web.  A big thanks goes out to CatchThePosts.com for entertaining us with these jokes.






I have recently been reading some Marketing Profs and Marketo B2B articles dating back as far as 2006.  It is particularly interesting how well blogging integrates with the "tried and true" marketing strategies they recommend.
  • Provide research tools for buyers early in the sales cycle:  We know that a key component of research is the web 2.0 world is search.  A topically focused blog page dedicated to the search term is an excellent way for businesses to provide focused, relevant information to someone early in the sales cycle and enhance their experience by offering whitepapers, webinars, etc... while gaining permission to bring them into your database
  • Use landing pages:  It makes total sense to bring a searcher to the most relevant page on your site to buy, learn, etc... based on their search term.  Blogging with Compendium enables you to do just that by having relevant calls to action to "buy now", "learn more", etc... while also presenting the real live voices from within that company to help that search be engaged and feel great about working with your firm
  • Use automated systems and processes:  If there is one thing we don't need on our plates its another system to keep track of and monitor.  Our business blogging software enables keyword rich, topically focused landing pages to be automatically udpated each time a blog post is written.  Weekly and monthly reporting delivered to your inbox also takes out the hassle of figuring out how its all working for your business.
As you evaluate tried and true strategies for your e-marketing plans in the new year take a closer look at blogging for your business.  It may just be the best new years resolution your organization has ever made. 

I know this is all a matter of opinion, but here is mine. When talking about the best software for blogging, there are several things to consider. You have to consider ease of use, organization of website, user-friendliness, and feedback (along with any other personal preferences that you might be looking for).

Ease of use is important for any interactive website. If you can’t understand what the website is showing you, there is no way that you would want to go back to that site… right?

On the same page, if the organization and setup of the blogging platform is essential too. If the look is off, if the color is weird, even if the font of the website is not to your likely, you will find that there might be animosity towards your blog spot.

User-friendliness is an absolute must, no matter what kind of interactive site you have... but especially so in a blog website. No one in their right mind wants to find it difficult to answer questions or solve issues you might have with your blog.

Finally, feedback is essential. Wouldn't it be great to have instant feedback while you are typing your post? To see how effective it is going to be? Giving you a kind of number, showing you how strong your post is in relationship to your keywords?

If these points are something that you are looking for, I have a suggestion for you. Compendium Blogware. It offers all of the listed above for your company weblog along with other helpful pointers that will make your company's marketing strategies much more effective. So go out and check out the website, get more information, and get started with Compendium.


Yesterday, ecommerce-guide.com ran an inspiring profile about Robert Friedman, a onetime successful businessman whose life took a turn for the worse on multiple fronts  in the mid 90s.  He wound up behind on bills and eventually filed for bankruptcy.  From his experiences, Friedman learned how to navigate the legal system and deal effectively with bill collectors.

A decade later, Friedman used his know-how to help out a friend who was going through a rough financial patch.  Later on, someone suggested that he make a business out of helping others in similar situations.  It was a prime example (albeit a long-term one) of making lemonade from life's lemons.

The profile goes on to talk about Friedman's experiences in building up a client base from scratch.  Friedman is a firm believer in the power of blogging for business. 
Then came the daunting task of marketing the service online. Bronson (a friend of Friedman's) helped him structure the Web site, and more importantly, taught him how to blog. In their opinions, building a blog is the key to a business being interactive with today's Internet buyer. Rather than a blog being a justification for a Web site, Friedman believes that a service-oriented Web venture should become a blog:

"Your regular Web site should be a blog Web site, and the 'normal' Web site pages are where you showcase your products and services as a display after they have read the messages about it from your blog.

The article goes on to talk about the benefits of blogging for search and the lack of success he had with pay-per-click advertising.

If you are a small business looking to get found by customers, Friedman's story should serve as a great case study in the benefits of blogging.  Because Compendium Blogware is designed with SEO in mind, we can help you meet your goals, regardless of whether you have friends as tech savvy as Friedman's.


DISCLAIMER: I do not support Tucker Max or his views.  However, I was surfing around on social media and blogging entries on YouTube and this clip popped up. Check out this short Fox News coverage about Tucker Max at this link.  They have not allowed for embedding it for some reason, so you'll just have to click the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk_p3-4jM-Q

 I think his story, however distasteful it may be, is a testament to the power of social media marketing strategies and blogging.  Basically, Tucker Max was a jokester who started a blog-like website to tell his tales that his friends thought were so funny.  His site became very popular and Tucker Max is now a best selling author. 

Make Fans for your business with a blogWhat does this have to do with business blogging? Well, if you start a business blog that helps you build a fan base for your company, brand, product, or service, marketing becomes much easier.  It's like having an army of marketing or sales people who sell your company on a daily basis simply because the like it.  Compendium Blogware is an easy blog software that allows a business to open the blogging up to a wide range of content contributors within an organization.  This conversation and increased visibility on search engines and within social media help turn prospects into full blown fans. 


I did a post a week or so ago to distinguish your blog posts with images

Chantelle, (Successful Blogging),  and I followed up with an in-depth webinar with our clients on how to "Spice up your Blogs" this week and images were a key part of the presentation.

Images can be used a number of ways with your corporate blogging strategy, including:
  1. To distinguish the blog or post (helps a lot with RSS).
  2. To explain data through a chart.
  3. To provide a call to action for folks to click-through to another site.
  4. To provide photos of the people from your business.
  5. To provide a photo that's representative of the content.  This is very important, since studies have been done where cognitive recognition is actually done through images, and very rarely through remembering text.
I try hard to incorporate some kind of photos or images into every single one of my posts.  If you're using easy blog software such as compendium, designing a blog post and including an image is quite simple. 

If you don't have any advanced photo manipulation experience and are locked up behind an IT force that won't install any image desktop applications, there are a few great online tools out there:
  • Aviary - a powerful photo imaging and design application.  There is a free and a professional version.
  • Picnik - a simple online photo editing tool with all the basics plus some cool enhancements.
  • Pixenate - a basic image manipulation tool, great for blogging.

From a press release by ValPak:  

According to recent industry forecasts, 38 million consumers in the U.S. now access printable coupons online. Simmons Market Research Bureau estimates that nearly eight out of 10 printable coupon users said the Internet was one of the main places they went for coupons.


coupon, online coupons, business blog, Compendium Blogware

Valpak also announced that it's cutting something like 6% of their workforce.   Online couponing is real...but the problem is businesses still think they need some kind of middleman to host and deliver their coupons.   No no no!

Anyone can start a business blog, and any company blogger can host their own coupons.   If coupons are part of your marketing mix, your corporate blogging strategy should absolutly include those coupons.

Why?  The simple reason is traffic from search engines.   Look at this example of a tire company in Greenfield Indiana.   Now I don't know anything about their web presence by my guess is that If I search on Oil Change Greenfield IN  I don't get directly to them.   My guess.....well hang on, I'll go do the search right now...............................................................................................

.........ok, back.    As I suspected, just directories.   Here's the message to business, your customers are trying to find YOU when they search.  They don't want to find some version of the Yellow Pages or ValPak or any thousand of niche competitors to these two....  They want to find the best source for what they are looking for....business blogging gives that to them.   Your Corporate Blogging Strategy makes them happy because in your blogs, you are going to talk about how you help your customers, you will share your experiences and expertise.  You will blog about your love of the business, your commitment to the customer and your blog will put a human face on your business.

Doing some simple research I found about 150 different search terms that this Garage would want to win....representing about 20,000 monthly searches.   (as background, Greenfield Indiana has a population of about 11,000)

Only with Affordable blogging software can a business hope to get in front of so many viable opportunites. 




If you have never blogged before Compendium is easy blog software to use.

Chandra, a new employee here at Compendium, discusses the steps she went through to set up her blog account and create her first post. It's important to note that Chandra has never had her own blog before.



Please share your thoughts on creating your first post or setting up your account with Compendium. We would love to hear how Compendium's multi user blog software makes it easier for you and helps you meet the goals of your corporate blogging program.

When you Blog to earn customers, it's important to understand that you become a voice for your company on the search engines.  When I work with clients, the question comes up, "Will anyone even read my Blog?"  The answer is a simple "yes."

The chart below is from Fast Company magazine and really tells the story about how Blogging for SEO can power any business to qualified leads online.  When implementing multi user Blog software you can add multiples to the amount of keyword rich content you can create.

Fast Company Graph
Note that TripAdvisor has 15 million reviews on it's site with 11 million or so visits, versus CitySearch that has only 600,000 reviews boasting over 30 milliion visits.  Blogging for SEO using a multi user blog software amplifies how much search you can win with your Blog posts.

Blogging to earn customers doesn't have to be intimidating.  It's a matter of doing what you do best working on a platform that organizes your content to win search.

Start a business Blog yesterday, and do it for the right reasons.  This is a reputation economy where everyone has an opinion about their experiences.  Shouldn't you have a voice in the conversation?

Business people are busy. I could see why someone would be not really wanting to commit to blogging as a part of their job, especially when deadlines are pressing, holidays are approaching. I really don't have time to blog right now.

A strong corporate blogging strategy covers this. With our multi user blog software, you are able to contribute as much as you can, when you can, because we know sometimes, you just can't.

The beauty of a platform where everyone can contribute is that you are covered in times like these.

If you want ideas on how to make blogging go further for your buck, tune in tomorrow to our special webinar hosted by Chris Baggott and Doug Karr, "Spend Less, Generate More: How to Utilize Blogs in Your Inbound Marketing Strategy."


11am EST


Recently, I've noticed an increase in home builders and real estate companies reaching out to Compendium for an easy blog software to help combat these difficult economic times.  It's no secret that the housing market is a major catalyst in the downturn of the economy.
real estate blogging
Because few people are buying new homes, and the ones who are now do far greater research before buying, real estate companies are rethinking how they put themselves in front of their market.  $500,000 newspaper advertisements that are ignored throughout the year will not sustain many of these companies. 

That is why search marketing and blogging for SEO is a much better avenue for these companies to commit their limited resources; both time and money.  A multi user blog software allows agents, corporate marketing offices, and other real estate employees to help with content creation, which will drive the online visibility.  By putting the properties and messages in front of this immense online traffic, real estate companies can stop suffering and be ready  when the buyer seeks them out. 

Plus, Compendium's blogging platform is so simple to use, anyone can join in the effort.  Our client success team will help track the ROI so that the company has more control in these unstable times.  It's time for these companies to re-think marketing strategies if they want to weather the storm. 

You know what, if real estate companies start a business blog with Compendium, they not only weather . . . . they prosper.

Today I started reminiscing on my previous job and experience as a white water rafting guide and how that has played a part in my current role as the Director of Client Success for Compendium Blogware. 

For three summers I worked for Wilderness Voyageurs in Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania as a river guide. Every day was spent going down the same river - in the same raft - at the same time. What did change day-to-day was the type of people I was guiding. They ranged from families, scout groups, church and camp groups, 30th year HS reunions, college fraternities, etc. My job was not only to keep them safe – but to educate them on how to successfully maneuver the raft and make it through the obstacles (big waves/holes and rocks) without falling out or flipping over. I had to change the way I spoke, the words I used and how I explained it depending on who I was talking to.

Much like I did as a river guide, our client success team manages hundreds of clients on our multi-user blog software. Not only to they have to change their message from company to company, dependent on the company’s industry and goals – but they have to change their message depending on which user they are talking to. Our corporate blogging strategy is not to have a dedicated company blogger, but to allow each and every person in your company to blog. 

Our client’s dedicated client success managers help companies start a business blog – and guide them successfully through all of the challenges of keeping the blog up and running and filling it with content. Sometimes that means sending the users daily email – sometimes it is by creating an internal contest for motivation.
Regardless of the means, our team at Compendium is dedicated to making our clients extremely successful.

I recently read a blog written by Lisa Hoover on Daniweb.com.  She states "In the old days (meaning around 18 months ago) it used to be enough for a company to simply have a presence on the Web. A homepage with contact information was sufficient, and you were considered bleeding-edge if the company president was blogging."  All of this is true, however I would take this 10 steps further and suggest that it is no longer good enough to simply have a blog. 
I think you have to have a corporate blogging strategy and by that I mean know your goals and the blogging platform that will help you acheive those goals.  If your objective is to be a citizen journalist and have a web outlet then Wordpress or Typepad will work very well for you.  If your goal is SEO and lead generation then you need a business blog software like Compendium.