• Marketing needs to be so relevant that it feels like a service to customers.  This is exactly what we are working towards at Compendium with our blogging software solution.  Provide the most relevant information through data-driven blogging --- which creates not only great SEO results, but this amazing user experience that Yuchun is talking about here!
• Of the factors that are affecting marketing, SaaS/On Demand technologies and involving your customers through integration and joint innovation are the most striking trends for 2008.  Really?  Now, I don't know if Yuchun Lee can see the future --- but I sure hope he is right!  I think these trends really go hand in hand; SaaS allows for users to use the application on their own terms...with no messy downloading and multiple versions out there.  Also, Saas allows for new releases often; and at Compendium we take all of the feedback from our customers in designing what those next releases look like. 

• How are you growing your list online?
• Where are you getting dynamic content from?  (People can only hear the same marketing message a few times before you will be ignored.)
• Hopefully by now you realize that e-mail is NOT an acquisition tool --- what are you using instead?

• Check out Coca-Cola's Blog --- as great of a job that Phil does in talking about Coke's history...I wonder what is happening today?  I have to believe that there are hundreds of people within this organization that could provide great insight into the happenings, product developments and changes through a corporate blogging strategy.
• ING - Asia Pacific has a nice blog going --- but it hasn't been updated since January 7th...a bit disappointing.  With only 2 content contributors at the Director and C-level it is likely these guys don't have the time or make the time to blog regularly...how about leveraging that passionate middle manager?
• Southwest Airlines has gotten attention for their blog in the past for good reason --- they update regularly, frequently and allow several people within the organization to blog.  Kudos to them!  I wonder how they do the administrative process there?  Check out a full review of the blog here from Mack at The Viral Garden.

I scribbled something about this in an earlier post from the EEC; but wanted to discuss this a bit more...so does blogging really make your smarter?  Well, I can't make any promises --- there are some smart people out there that blog, but I think there is the classic chicken or the egg question that comes to mind here.  Anyways --- I absolutely do think that blogging can be 'good for you' (there is some lame pun in here about organic food and search...). 

When I can't think of something to blog about --- I read more, I think harder, I relate things outside of my company to my business...all things that at the end of the day I hope make me understand our potential and current customers better and make me better at my job of brining new clients onto our corporate blogging platform.  On the flip side, when I have much to blog about I have to think of the most important points --- the facts or opinions that relate to Compendium the most and oftentimes I am forced to make a clear opinion of an issue versus the back and forth that goes on in conversation. 

So while every company may want to have smarter employees (well, more productive, anyways) --- what about having more engaged, passionate and informed employees?  My theory is at the end of the day productivity will increase when employees are freed to more deeply explore their company, job, industry, clients. 

• Go Daddy (known for being a Internet domain registrar) has launched a new blog product --- interesting; but not quite sure what to make of it and am still skeptical about podcasting ever being a viable marketing tool from an ROI and reach standpoint --- which seems to be the focus of their services.
• There were some jokes about blogging being part of one of the panelists job descriptions...my thought is that this will soon be the norm and not something really 'unique' --- so no jokes here.
• Some thoughts about 'learning from doing your blog' --- the thought process here is that as you blog you are creating a crisper point of view...by writing out your thoughts and adding commentary blogging actually helps the blogger too...I totally get this.
• 52% of the audience thought that blogs were great at augmenting what they read from traditional publications and sites...8% thought blogs were the only way to go.  All in all, 60% of the email marketers in the crowd see the value in blogs from a content perspective.
• The overall consensus that was when doing 'corporate blogging' (blogging on behalf of the company) it is a 80/20 or 90/10 rule --- in the sense that the BULK of the blog content should be focused on industry news, trends, etc and only a small portion focused on talking about your business and its value proposition.  I agree to this split here, but think it is important to talk about your company and what you are doing on a day to day basis in your blog --- it provides that human element and allows people to understand YOUR business...which is different than screaming the loudest a la billboard and traditional TV advertising.

It is really quite amazing…considering only a few years ago for most of us it was Yahoo or bust when it came to search engines of choice.  But, Google made searching better…easier…cleaner  and well, cooler….so we switched.  Now I would say for most searches you could get equally relevant results with either service; but then Google also has all of the ad-ins that are so darn handy (Google Documents, Google Reader, iGoogle page, Gmail, GChat, Google Analytics…the list goes on).  So why would I go to two places instead of one?  I won’t…and most people won’t either. 

Stick with me on this quasi-parallel…so I really like Jay Leno --- yes, I have realized with the writer’s strike that he isn’t as funny without great writers; but I think he is great.  So I used to watch Channel 8 for the 11pm news, but then would have to change the channel to Channel 13 for Leno --- doesn’t seem like much work, right?  Well…I would often miss the first minutes of the monologue and decided one day to check out the other news channel --- guess what?  I liked it better and I didn’t have to change the channel…and now I am hooked.

Back to the focus --- as Chris Baggott often says -- brand doesn’t matter much in the world anymore and merely gets you a potential buyers consideration.   But it REALLY does NOT matter on the web (think Yahoo!, Dogpile, Friendster). Something better comes along…and it is as easy as typing a new address in the toolbar or searching to get where you want to go.  And finally to the point --- there are a few ways this relates to corporate blogging:

• If you believe brand doesn’t matter as much as it used to stop spending your marketing budget otherwise.  Take some of your print or billboard and put it towards SOME type of new media...just make sure you do the research and have a purpose behind your new media campaigns.
  
• So you think brand does matter still?  You’re wrong, but I will say the people behind the brand do matter…and I might just go to the more expensive grocery store because the deli manager is more helpful and friendly than the 17 year old kid at the superstore that could care less if I get the best cut.  Let your employees have a voice and show their passion--- through their own blog.
• Be found!  No one cares how much flash your site--- they care about you solving their problem (i.e. - I need a vacuum that is good for pet hair….Where is the best place to eat fish in Memphis, etc.).  If you can, be there on search results --- that's step one and blogging for SEO is a great way to get there (step two would be having an awesome web site that tells the whole story and provides interaction). 
• Go Organic.  Solve the problem, don’t sell (the sales adage – we don’t sell, we provide solutions).  You solve the problem by having the most relevant information; this information shows up on a search result in the organic (natural) section versus the PPC area that is rarely clicked on simply because it doesn’t provide relevant information. 

This is a somewhat far-fetched idea --- and I am sure there is some 'real' research out there somewhere (if you find it…let me know!).  A question I have is how different people really do search?  Is there a demographic (age, gender, socio-economic status) that lets us know that this person will be very descriptive (long-tail) in their search or may be a specific demographic will structure their search verb-noun (buying homes) versus noun-verb (home buying) or even the improper use of  prepositions at the end of a questions (i.e. - where is Burma at?).  I feel as if Google's personalized search results will start to answer these questions a bit.

On the flip side may be there aren’t demographics that will tell us how one searches and what we have known for years holds true to be the main indicator of how one searches ---  where in the buying cycle the potential client or buyer is.  We know that searches get much more specific as the buyer is further along the buying cycle and can often include brand names or the word “buying”. 

But here is where I am going with this...if (or when) you can determine what search terms users have at a given point in the buying cycle this is huge first step as now you can have your call to action on a blog directed at this stage (learn more here vs. buy now.   However, could you imagine if you knew how your various demographics were searching?  Customizing the content & look and feel based on this knowledge (buying stage + demographics) could yield amazing conversion rates (we can even implement what we know from brick & mortar stores here to some extent --- color theory, placement, etc.)  Imagine being able to direct all 20-somethings that are close to buying to the same blog with relative accuracy?  It is a marketer's dream!

So what's the next step for your company in getting to this point?  Implement a blogging strategy, see where your hits are coming from (obviously, this works best if you are blogging for SEO), work to determine who they are coming from, define what terms are highly converting and of course, adjust your blogging strategy based on what you know. 

Some sites get some amazing traffic, but aren't able to keep the traffic in the 'off season.'  Well --- as with everything in marketing you have to think about "what are your goals?"; but for the most part we would all like to see more people on our sites...more potential views of our ads, more people learning about your company or  product and hopefully more people converting.  So what are these sites that have some sort of seasonal or event based component to their business to do?  Well --- first off, it is important to win search...so that your site shows up when someone is searching for your solution --- not when you think someone may be searching.  In other words, even though you think the only time most people look for information on swim lessons is in the spring...you better be showing up on search results all year around...because people might want them in the winter indoors and if you can offer that great; if not, have a compelling site that wins search in January convincing a parent that your lessons starting in May are the absolute best.  So really, winning search through blogging is part one.  Part two is engagement.  Someone finds you --- comes to the site once, but why would they come back?  May be they didn't convert the first time on the site and are still in the buying process or aren't looking to buy for a period of time --- however, why would they come back to a site that is simply a brochure style site?  That's the second layer of blogging...people get to know you, value your opinions and have a reason to revisit your site...even when it is -2 degrees outside and you think no one is even thinking about swim lessons.

I am excited for a new boost of energy in Compendium's own blogging strategy...we have just started a new blogging initiative within our own company and everyone has the goal of blogging twice a week --- a great place to start! 

With several new employees starting within the last couple of weeks this is also great timing within the organization --- as externally facing blogs are a gold mine when it comes to getting to know others within your company better including their attitudes, thoughts and knowledge about corporate blogging.  So check out a few of the newest Compendium Blogs.

• Blogging from the Server Side
• Seeking Sales Success
• Empower Your Website for SEO
• Happy Blogging