Hello, I am Jennifer Buscher, a Business Development Manager at Compendium Blogware. To be perfectly honest, in the past I've had some blogging anxiety. Other than my family and friends, does someone really want to know about me, my favorite color, and what I like to do on the weekends? I doubt it. That's why I'm really excited about corporate blogging. With Compendium Blogware, I feel that I'm blogging for a purpose and writing about topics people want to know and are searching for. My blog will specifically explore the benefits of organizational blogging.Hello, I am Jennifer Buscher, a Business Development Manager at Compendium Blogware. To be perfectly honest, in the past I've had some blogging anxiety. Other than my family and friends, does someone really want to know about me, my favorite color, and what I like to do on the weekends? I doubt it. That's why I'm really excited about corporate blogging. With Compendium Blogware, I feel that I'm blogging for a purpose and writing about topics people want to know and are searching for. My blog will specifically explore the benefits of organizational blogging.In our "5 Myths about Business Blogging" webinar today, Chris Baggott, touched on fundamental problem with websites. He explained that websites read like a catalogue or magazine. They are great for facts and figures as they are static by nature. This made me wonder with the increasing popularity of dynamic platforms like blogs, twitter, and facebook, will websites one day become extinct?
A blog on the other hand, is a dynamic platform great for telling human stories, which is what people want to hear. Not really a new concept, but an old concept that is re-emerging. People are sick of hearing from institutions and brands and want to hear from other people "like them" per the 2009 Edelman Trust Barometer.
Afterall, if you are a business trying to grow, I'd suggest that blogs and landing pages are more important than a website. If I go to Google, type in a problem, and you show me a relevant story about your service or product that could solve my problem and a way to get more information or buy, then that's all you need.
A blog on the other hand, is a dynamic platform great for telling human stories, which is what people want to hear. Not really a new concept, but an old concept that is re-emerging. People are sick of hearing from institutions and brands and want to hear from other people "like them" per the 2009 Edelman Trust Barometer.
Afterall, if you are a business trying to grow, I'd suggest that blogs and landing pages are more important than a website. If I go to Google, type in a problem, and you show me a relevant story about your service or product that could solve my problem and a way to get more information or buy, then that's all you need.
A question I often hear from potential clients is, "How do we go about assigning bloggers?" or "Who should write our blog content?" My answer is always.... don't assign anyone, let them assign themselves!Our co-founder, Chris Baggott, says that if you feel safe enough to hand someone a business card and represent your business, you should also let those people who know your industry and product write content. Compendium makes this possible by offering a web-based, simple user interface with built in SEO and security just in case a jilted employee or unhappy customer wants to get on the business blog and write less than flattering content. Problem solved.
You can't make someone a blogger, you can only free employees up to write content and see who percolates to the top. In other words, they will assign themselves.
A common argument around business blogging revolves around the purpose of a blog and what constitutes an "effective corporate blog". 
Position #1: There is one side of the argument that focuses soley on ROI. Bob Bly thinks "Unless a dollar spent on a marketing test returns two or three dollars in revenues, we consider that a failure - and cut off the promotion." He goes on to say that blogs may be a waste of time as they are an untested marketing media and has yet to see anyone out there show him a significant, positive ROI. (Needless to say, Bob must not be familiar with the Compendium solution)
Position #2: The other side of the argument, stresses that blogs are more for awareness and visibility of a company. In the same article Marc Orchant says "It's all about conversation... blogs help develop a conversation between a company and its customers and have become an important part of the marketing mix."
I offer Position #3, it doesn't have to be "this or that". A good corporate blogging strategy, like Compendium, encompasses all of the above from humanizing your marketing, increasing visabilitly, to tracking a measurable ROI. To learn more about blogging as a measurable search marketing tool, click here.
"Work smarter, not harder"... this simple but brilliant little qoute is really the premise of our easy to use blog software.
As with anything in life, we'd all like to get more out of less. In business and especially in today's economy it's critical to maximize resources. Time is precious!
With Compendium, nearly everything is automatic. You create human blog content, then our blog software takes your content and automatically organizes it across specific keywords that you want to be found on. No manual tagging required!
An ad driven company recently approached Compendium with a problem. In our initial discussions I learned that they currently see approximately 1 million visitors per month to their website, but only 1% comes from the search engines. That's right, 1%! What is this telling us? They are likely doing a great job of creating good dynamic content, have many referring sites, and have established their brand in their niche. More than anything, this is telling us that there is a HUGE opportunity to drive significantly more traffic via search. This is why this particular company reached out to Compendium and we are now helping them hit their 2009 traffic goals.
As with any company that monetizes through advertising, traffic is key. The above chart shows what our average clients analytics look like. If you want to be found on the search engines and drive lots of traffic, business blogging is likely a great, untapped resource to drive that incremental traffic.
As with any company that monetizes through advertising, traffic is key. The above chart shows what our average clients analytics look like. If you want to be found on the search engines and drive lots of traffic, business blogging is likely a great, untapped resource to drive that incremental traffic.
Each day I talk to companies across the board, but I often find myself in great conversations with start up companies. Heck, we're technically a start up company and the truth is that business blogging is a great fit for new companies for a variety of reasons. Here are my top 5 in no particular order:
1. Blogging is affordable! Most start up's have limited cash flow, but still need to get the word out about their products or service. If a start up company tries to compete with the big dogs in traditional media they will always lose. A big company will have deeper pockets for more keywords on PPC, spots on TV, ads ... Organic search and Compendium blogging levels the playing field.
2. Blogging can be really effective and measurable. With a limited budget there is less room for error. Having tangible, quantifiable results becomes more important.
3. No need for an IT team. Blogging should be really easy. You simply have to have the ability to discuss your business, customers, and how your solving problems. Our Saas blog platform allows clients to write content while we do all the heavy lifting.
4. Inbound marketing is the way to go. Start ups usually have a small number of employees doing all the work. Inbound marketing requires less effort because less time is spent on unviable leads.
5. Quick results! As with any new company, the first few years are critical and will likely make or break a business. Our clients typically see results in 30-90 days of program set up. Some even see an ROI in just a few months of using the service.
1. Blogging is affordable! Most start up's have limited cash flow, but still need to get the word out about their products or service. If a start up company tries to compete with the big dogs in traditional media they will always lose. A big company will have deeper pockets for more keywords on PPC, spots on TV, ads ... Organic search and Compendium blogging levels the playing field.
2. Blogging can be really effective and measurable. With a limited budget there is less room for error. Having tangible, quantifiable results becomes more important.
3. No need for an IT team. Blogging should be really easy. You simply have to have the ability to discuss your business, customers, and how your solving problems. Our Saas blog platform allows clients to write content while we do all the heavy lifting.
4. Inbound marketing is the way to go. Start ups usually have a small number of employees doing all the work. Inbound marketing requires less effort because less time is spent on unviable leads.
5. Quick results! As with any new company, the first few years are critical and will likely make or break a business. Our clients typically see results in 30-90 days of program set up. Some even see an ROI in just a few months of using the service.
Seth Godin wrote a blog post the other day on tips to writing e-mails. He says
"Be short. The purpose of an email is not to sell the person on anything other than writing back. If you don't have a personal, interesting way to start a conversation, don't write." I think the same rule applies to blog posts.
As a sales person at Compendium, I'm passionate about our solution and my job is to help people see value in our blog software. I will take Seth's advice moving forward and restrain myself from going on and on about the benefits of our solution and focus on telling real, relevant stories. The fact is people like human, concise, and personal content whether reading an e-mail or blog.
"Be short. The purpose of an email is not to sell the person on anything other than writing back. If you don't have a personal, interesting way to start a conversation, don't write." I think the same rule applies to blog posts.
As a sales person at Compendium, I'm passionate about our solution and my job is to help people see value in our blog software. I will take Seth's advice moving forward and restrain myself from going on and on about the benefits of our solution and focus on telling real, relevant stories. The fact is people like human, concise, and personal content whether reading an e-mail or blog.
Do you want to know the secret to online search marketing? Answer: Know all the different ways that your potential customers/clients describe what they're looking for online and be found for those keywords!
I recently read an article from Search Engine Watch regarding one of the largest national realty companies, Century 21, who has decided to move a large part of their TV advertising budget for 2009 to online marketing. Bingo, they get it!
In an industry that has historically relied on print and traditional advertising, it only makes sense to start investing more where the buyers are looking. A home of all things, requires research. Whether you're looking for a certain community, neighborhood, floorplan, or agent, online search will be involved in your decision making process.
One of the leading real estate agencies in Indiana, Century 21 Scheetz, is using corporate blogging and the Compendium blog software to increase their online visibility and generate more online leads. As Beverly Thorne, Century 21 senior VP-marketing, told Advertising Age, "the company's research and testing revealed that its online investments in 2008 were substantively more productive and efficient than its offline efforts." Century 21 is leading the way, and other real estate companies would be smart to follow.
Last night I spent about 30 minutes searching the internet
trying to find a local hardwood refinishing company. I plugged in “hardwood refinishing,
Indianapolis” and immediately looked at the top organic results, which is how
the vast majority of us search. I found
an array of companies that offered I looked at their website, checked out raving
customer reviews, and then submitted a request via email for a qoute. This morning I received a call from Carl at
Pro Sand Flooring who was able to quickly give me a quote. I told Carl that I was very impressed with
the quick call and the customer reviews on his website. This got me thinking about how they should leverage those wonderful customer testimonials and blog for SEO. Through corporate blogging, they could take the content they already have and target phrases on Google with topically focused or
what we call “compended blogs”. I could have 30 minutes of my life back if I found Pro Sand Flooring first and read their customer testimonials. Needless to say, I got my hardwood qoute and will most definitely use Pro Sand Flooring, but am also sending Carl some information about starting a corporate blog. 
commercial flooring, custom hardwood
designs, and hardwood installation. Not
what I was looking for! Near the bottom of the first page of Google, I finally
found exactly what I was looking for at Pro Sand Hardwood.
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.
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.
As a Business Development Manager here at Compendium, I talk to many marketing folks who are in charge of their companies social media efforts. With all the social media buzz out there, companies are catching on that this will be a key element to their 2009 marketing plan, but don't know where to start. Does the order of integrating and prioritizing social media tools really matter? It absolutely does and I think can determine the overall dollars a business could see from social marketing efforts.
Chris Brogan wrote a post addressing this issue and states that "no matter what, the very first piece of social media real estate I'd start with is a blog". Then comes outposts like Twitter, Linkedin, and Facebook. It's simple...no matter where you are on these social sites, creating a business blog gives potential customers a place to come and convert no matter where they first found you. In other words, if you want social media to be a true marketing or lead generation tool you have to have an "anchor page" or blog for web visitors to turn into paying customers.
Chris Brogan wrote a post addressing this issue and states that "no matter what, the very first piece of social media real estate I'd start with is a blog". Then comes outposts like Twitter, Linkedin, and Facebook. It's simple...no matter where you are on these social sites, creating a business blog gives potential customers a place to come and convert no matter where they first found you. In other words, if you want social media to be a true marketing or lead generation tool you have to have an "anchor page" or blog for web visitors to turn into paying customers.
It seems more and more people are saying, “you know the
economy is down, budgets are tight”. I
realize this is an issue whether you are a small company or a large
enterprise. However, there are plenty of
businesses that succeed and grow in tough times.
I’ve talked to many different companies since I started with Compendium and overall it seems the larger companies that I’ve talked to are stuck in the Stone Age when it comes to internet marketing compared to smaller companies that tend to be much more innovative and smart about their marketing dollars. I realize this is a blanket statement, but I’ve been shocked by some of the immeasurable tactics and tools companies use to drive business. It seems that as budgets get tighter, it’s a knee jerk reaction to want consistency and use old partners, vendors, and systems. I think this is business suicide! Successful companies find ways to win and thrive despite the economy. Now, is the perfect time to try new, trackable lead generation initiatives. Hmmm.... business blogging comes to mind!
I realize that blogging as an online acquisition and lead generation tool may seem like an “unconventional” SEO strategy to many people, but results are transparent. If 80-90% of people use search engines in their buying decisions then it is really important to be found on keywords related to your products and services. There are many inherent qualities about blogs that the search engines like, but our easy to use blog software actually organizes blog content in such a way that makes them more searchable.
I just got off the phone with a prospect who is an Online Marketing Manager for a 
large e-retail company. She recently read a few of our whitepapers and attended our last webinar about making your business blog profitable. I asked what her thoughts were on what she's learned about our blog software. Her response was "I thought I knew what blogging was all about, but I really had no idea." My ears perked up because this is exactly what I struggle with every day... challenging people to rethink blogging. I talk to different companies that know they should be blogging, but don't really know why or understand the quantifiable benefits of a corporate blogging solution. More than anything, a company blog can and should be an effective online acquisition and lead generation tool. Our blog software automatically organizes blog content in such a way that makes it easy for search engines to find you. Whether searching on Google is step #1 of someone's buying decision or step #5, they ARE searching online at some point. A blog can not only compliment your website, but will often outperform your website from a search perspective if done correctly.
large e-retail company. She recently read a few of our whitepapers and attended our last webinar about making your business blog profitable. I asked what her thoughts were on what she's learned about our blog software. Her response was "I thought I knew what blogging was all about, but I really had no idea." My ears perked up because this is exactly what I struggle with every day... challenging people to rethink blogging. I talk to different companies that know they should be blogging, but don't really know why or understand the quantifiable benefits of a corporate blogging solution. More than anything, a company blog can and should be an effective online acquisition and lead generation tool. Our blog software automatically organizes blog content in such a way that makes it easy for search engines to find you. Whether searching on Google is step #1 of someone's buying decision or step #5, they ARE searching online at some point. A blog can not only compliment your website, but will often outperform your website from a search perspective if done correctly.William Flatz with Avenue A/Razorfish said “People
don’t go to Web sites anymore, Web sites come to them”. This is so true. When’s the last time you went directly to a
business’s website? These days, the vast
majority of people rely on Google to serve up the most relevant results and
direct them where they want to go. As a
marketer, you can’t control how people are typing their problem in Google, the
only thing you can do is cast a wider net of search terms that will help people
find you.
Many potential clients initially think of a blog site as a nice resource to add to their website... this great if you are not trying to add to the bottom line (sense the sarcasm). In this case, any blogging software will work. If you want to see quantifiable blogging benefits, you need an advanced business blogging solution. Blogging, done the right way, is a great SEO tool. It allows companies to be found organically on search terms that they can't win with their website. Compendium blogging allows companies to create hundreds or thousands of different avenues for someone to find them through Google or any other search engine. When someone is searching for a service or product your company provides, you want to rank on the first page in the natural search results, raising your hand saying “Hey, I can help you with that!”
One of the most common questions I hear from potential clients is “what should I blog about?” The obvious responses are to use content you are already creating for press releases, e-mail newsletters, and marketing collateral. However, last week I experienced a compelling event that I wanted to blog about, which raises the question… is it appropriate to blog about something that I’m personally passionate about on my company’s blog? I don’t think it’s wise to voice political opinions on your company’s blog site thus there should be a content control layer, but I do believe personal experiences have a place in the corporate blogging world. After all, people like hearing from other people and get sick of being fed "marketing speak" all the time. Showing the human side of a company ultimately builds trust.
Last week, I took a long lunch break to rally against puppy mills in Indiana, something I’m very passionate about, and learned that everyday 4-5 million dogs across the
country sit in puppy mills, some who have not been out of their small cages for 5-10 years because they only exist to breed. They are housed in shockingly poor conditions and often lose their hair and teeth due to malnourishment. The primary way to stop this abuse is to cut the flow of consumer dollars to your local pet store in order to put an end to the vicious cycle that keeps puppy mills profitable. To learn more, click here. I want to get the word out, and I can’t think of a better way than to blog.
Are you still
searching the classified ads? Nowadays,
everything we could possibly search for is literally at our finger tips with
the advent of search engines. Compendium
Blogging takes this a step further. The
idea behind our simple blogging software is that someone types their problem or
keyword into Google’s magic little box and what comes up on the first page of
the organic results is a blog titled with the exact keyword phrase. What they will find in that compendium blog
is content very relevant to what they are searching for and the company who can
help them or solve their problem. From a
corporate standpoint, blogging can help company’s reach a more targeted
specific audience and therefore help them generate more qualified leads. Long gone are the days of sifting through
classified ads, searching for a used black Honda Accord or a single 35-40 year
old man looking for love who must love dogs.
I’m sure there are dating sites out there for single pet lovers.
Last week there was an interesting article from targetmarketingmag.com about best practices to profit from blogs. Basically, the problem is that many companies try blogging hoping to see better organic search results and have failed for several reasons. If you simply want to use blogging as a form of citizen journalism or to add a human voice to a company then any individual platform will suffice. However, if your goal is to win organic search and boost lead generation then any old blogging platform will not do the trick and you will be disappointed with results. The right blogging techniques and corporate blogging platform have to be in place to see ROI results.
While planning my
next vacation I started to wonder why my research starts and ends at www.tripadvisor.com. I am in love with this website because real
people who have been to the destinations, stayed at the hotels, and dined on
the local fare write about their personal experiences with no agenda other than
to inform other travelers. I personally
don’t care about gold lists and stars, I care about what real people have to
say.
The same idea applies to business
according to The Edelman Trust Barometer for 2008. People
want to hear from people like you and me.
They don’t necessarily always want to hear from the CEO or the
webmasters and marketers who create a company site. By empowering everyone from the secretary to the sales team to blog you are giving your employees an outlet to share industry knowledge thoughts and expertise all while boosting your search engine rankings if done correctly and on the right platform. Compendium software is an affordable, blog management software that leverages blog content created by individuals to help with online customer acquisition and lead generation. Just as I look for feedback from travelers like me, potential customers in any industry are looking for insight from "other people like them". High levels of trust equals high levels of conversion.
