I'll start by saying that we don't have one at Compendium. Maybe at some point we'll have to reconsider the parameters we put around our corporate blogging strategy (I've learned to never say never), but right now, the sheer power of the Compendium administrative interface is enough for us and many of our clients.
The problem with rules and policies is that many times, they squelch the very spirit of the initiative at hand. I don't think it's any different when it comes to business blogging programs. Like most businesses, here at Compendium, we want our employees to be able to express their views and opinions in a natural way, but at the same time, we want to protect our company.
We do not have an intensive review process for the content generated by our employees. Quite simply, after they write their content, it gets submitted to an administrator account where it can be reviewed and a) approved if it's okay or b) declined if it is inappropriate or needs to be changed. More often than not, declined posts are not marked as such because they contain inappropriate content, but because they have an obvious typo, error, or perhaps are completely off-topic.
Note that there are no editing capabilities on the part of the admin -- which completely removes the temptation to edit someone else's content. Again, I want our employee's content to be their own...why change it when I can empower them to do so, without any risk to Compendium?
And why go to the great lengths of putting a policy and all sorts of rules in place when I can easily view content before it goes live and make a decision from there?
I'm not saying that a blogging policy isn't a good idea for some organizations, but before putting policies and rules in place, it's usually a good idea to think about the trade-offs...and better yet, if technology can be the answer.
Posted Monday, August 25, 2008 by
Daren Tomey
Forrester, which is a tremendous research center, recently published a new report which, for a lack of better explanation, paints a very negative picture as to the future of corporate blogging as a viable marketing medium. The one area of their report which continues to strike a cord with me is that they state that corporate blogs are having trouble sustaining a conversation....
You see, their findings are probably correct based on the corporate blogs that they reviewed during the research phase, but those are not an accurate depiction of what business blogging or corporate blogging really looks like today.
It is really interesting, once a prospect goes through one of our webinars, such as the one that Chris Baggott is hosting on Tuesday, August 26th on Demand Generation through Corporate Blogging, or speaks with one of our consultants, those individuals get what corporate blogging is all about. It is not about developing a dialogue, it is about generating highly engaged traffic via organic search which converts quickly into recognizable revenues.
For more on the topics of blogging for business or if you are looking for help to create a corporate blogging strategy, I recommend that you contact a consultant at Compendium or register for an upcoming webinar.
You see, their findings are probably correct based on the corporate blogs that they reviewed during the research phase, but those are not an accurate depiction of what business blogging or corporate blogging really looks like today.
It is really interesting, once a prospect goes through one of our webinars, such as the one that Chris Baggott is hosting on Tuesday, August 26th on Demand Generation through Corporate Blogging, or speaks with one of our consultants, those individuals get what corporate blogging is all about. It is not about developing a dialogue, it is about generating highly engaged traffic via organic search which converts quickly into recognizable revenues.
For more on the topics of blogging for business or if you are looking for help to create a corporate blogging strategy, I recommend that you contact a consultant at Compendium or register for an upcoming webinar.
Posted Friday, August 22, 2008 by
Chris Baggott
I'm the only person in the history of our own blogging program to have to pull a post after it's gone live. Could it have anything to do with the fact that I'm the only person in the Company that doesn't have his posts go through a review process?
I recently wrote a blog post about something I thought I overheard at a recent Indianapolis blog software conference. Turns out that I heard inaccurately. Ooops!
As you know, from a Business or Corporate blogging standpoint, we here advocate widespread employee blogging. Employees generate the best content, telling real stories about real people, by real people. Compendium clients see signifcantly higher SEO benefits from this sort of blogging and much higher searcher engagement.
But...as I've proven, it's not without risk. This is why we have incorporated a workflow system so that all employee posts have to be reviewed by someone else. It's not that your employees are malicious or that you are trying to squeeze the life out of them and their content.
It's just that blog authors tend to let passion get in the way of judgment & for a business it's just a blogging best practice to keep an eye on your content before it can do you any harm.
I'm not mean, but the most junior member of my team would have looked at this post and said: "Chris....are you sure this is what you are trying to say?"
There are a lot of blogging benefits, and only a couple of risks. Once bad content goes live, you can't get it back...only ask for forgiveness.
I recently wrote a blog post about something I thought I overheard at a recent Indianapolis blog software conference. Turns out that I heard inaccurately. Ooops!
As you know, from a Business or Corporate blogging standpoint, we here advocate widespread employee blogging. Employees generate the best content, telling real stories about real people, by real people. Compendium clients see signifcantly higher SEO benefits from this sort of blogging and much higher searcher engagement.
But...as I've proven, it's not without risk. This is why we have incorporated a workflow system so that all employee posts have to be reviewed by someone else. It's not that your employees are malicious or that you are trying to squeeze the life out of them and their content.
It's just that blog authors tend to let passion get in the way of judgment & for a business it's just a blogging best practice to keep an eye on your content before it can do you any harm.
I'm not mean, but the most junior member of my team would have looked at this post and said: "Chris....are you sure this is what you are trying to say?"
There are a lot of blogging benefits, and only a couple of risks. Once bad content goes live, you can't get it back...only ask for forgiveness.
Posted Thursday, August 21, 2008 by
meghan peters
I am happy to announce that I'm currently going through one of the most stressful times in my life...planning a wedding! I've done a lot of research on venues, churches, florists, bakeries, DJ's and etc. But there is one thing that I have found astonishing...not many people in the wedding industry have blogs! I know that when I do research on something the most important thing to me, like many people, is gathering other opinions.
I have a great example of how blogs would work perfectly for the wedding industry. My fiance and I were going around town touring reception venues and we narrowed our decision between two places. We were very interested in getting a tasting of the food to help us with our decision, but one of the venues wasn't equipped to have a tasting. I was shocked and started to actually consider becoming a wedding crasher to taste the food, when the venue told me they have 100 comment sheets from past weddings that I could look through. So they printed out all the sheets and faxed them to me for my review. This made me think how great a blog would work for them! Not only could they blog about their services, but the past brides could post comments for them. This idea alone would save 10 trees a year and along with saving the environment they could boost their bookings.
There are many aspects as to why business blogging can be beneficial to an organization no matter how they plan to use it.
I have a great example of how blogs would work perfectly for the wedding industry. My fiance and I were going around town touring reception venues and we narrowed our decision between two places. We were very interested in getting a tasting of the food to help us with our decision, but one of the venues wasn't equipped to have a tasting. I was shocked and started to actually consider becoming a wedding crasher to taste the food, when the venue told me they have 100 comment sheets from past weddings that I could look through. So they printed out all the sheets and faxed them to me for my review. This made me think how great a blog would work for them! Not only could they blog about their services, but the past brides could post comments for them. This idea alone would save 10 trees a year and along with saving the environment they could boost their bookings.
There are many aspects as to why business blogging can be beneficial to an organization no matter how they plan to use it.
Posted Tuesday, August 19, 2008 by
Chantelle Flannery
The tournament began on August 11th and we are now moving into round two. Customers will compete to advance in a Compendium organized blogging tournament based on number of posts written by the client, week-by-week. The Blogging Tournament is designed to create some spirited competition amongst our customers in a battle of the ultimate team game—business blogging. You will be pitted randomly against another Compendium customer in the ultimate blogging championship.
Tournament Rules
- You need do nothing to enter the tournament. To participate write blog posts as you normally would, or with a great deal more frequency to more effectively compete.
- Winners in the tournament will advance from a field of over 100 on a weekly basis based on the amount of posts generated by each team.
- If there is an equal number of posts between the two teams over the course of the week the previous week’s posts will be used to determine who will advance. We will review as many of the previous weeks as necessary in order to break the tie.
- A week's worth of posts start on Monday and end on Sunday.
- In order for a post to count it must be considered legitimate blog posts. This means that the post must be at least 5 sentences long and contain at least two keywords.
- Remember that you’re writing on a corporate blog so talk about appropriate topics that relate to your industry and company.
- Please note that sticky posts don’t count.
Tournament Prizes
The winner of the Championship earns a handsome trophy denoting blogging superiority and a bottle of Champaign. There will also be a $50 gas card for the account Administrator and a $50 gas card for the top blogger on the team. The other three final teams will receive a $50 gas card.
Tournament Contact Information
Please have fun with the tournament - use this as a tool internally to mobilize around content development. Keep an eye on Chantelle Flannery’s blog and the tournament bracket for updates.
Write content. Get found in search. Convert traffic. Demonstrate ROI. Crush the competition in business blogging, tournament style!
Posted Saturday, August 16, 2008 by
Megan Glover
Sitting here in the lobby at the IUPUI Campus Center where Blog Indiana is taking place. A great turn out, lots of great bloggers and a really impressive line up of sessions and speakers. Here are some examples:
- What makes a great corporate blog,
- Blog Review/Critquie Open Discussion,
- Showing off you blog.
- Blog Etiquette and Ethics
Posted Wednesday, August 13, 2008 by
Sarah Sedberry
It is Tournament time here at Compendium Blogware. The quest "Content for the Crown" has officially begun!!
To see who you are up against, check out the tournament bracket.
Let your competitive spirit out and make sure you post! Click here to login and start writing content for your corporate blog now.
Also, we encourage healthy competition and banter. Feel free to post comments, as trash talking is allowed. Please do keep in mind that unsportsmanlike conduct is not condoned and could result in disqualification from the Tournament.
When it comes to witting content for the Blogging Tournament - One thing to remember is that content will be reviewed and all posts must be considered legitimate blog posts. This means that the post must be at least 5 sentences long and contain at least two keywords. Remember that your writing on a corporate blog so talk about appropriate topics that relate to your industry and company. (Please note that sticky posts don’t count.)
You can follow the blog tournament progress on Chantelle's blog.
To see who you are up against, check out the tournament bracket.
Let your competitive spirit out and make sure you post! Click here to login and start writing content for your corporate blog now.
Also, we encourage healthy competition and banter. Feel free to post comments, as trash talking is allowed. Please do keep in mind that unsportsmanlike conduct is not condoned and could result in disqualification from the Tournament.
When it comes to witting content for the Blogging Tournament - One thing to remember is that content will be reviewed and all posts must be considered legitimate blog posts. This means that the post must be at least 5 sentences long and contain at least two keywords. Remember that your writing on a corporate blog so talk about appropriate topics that relate to your industry and company. (Please note that sticky posts don’t count.)
You can follow the blog tournament progress on Chantelle's blog.
Posted Friday, August 8, 2008 by
Chantelle Flannery
The first round of the competition begins on Monday August 11th and ends on Sunday August 17th. Now is the time to begin motivating bloggers and planning out content for next week. For some great content development tips check out probloggers post on”24 things to do when stuck for a topic to blog about”.
Personally when I am stuck the when writing a blog post the first thing I do is start reading industry newsletters. I probably receive at least 10 new industry emails a day and subscribe to at least 20 RSS feeds that I read on a regular basis. When you're stuck what do you do?
When it comes to witting content for the Blogging Tournament -
One thing to remember is that content will be reviewed and all posts must be considered legitimate blog posts. This means that the post must be at least 5 sentences long and contain at least two keywords. Remember that your writing on a corporate blog so talk about appropriate topics that relate to your industry and company. Please note that sticky posts don’t count.
Start adding posts to your corporate blog today!
Posted Thursday, July 31, 2008 by
Chantelle Flannery
I know that sometimes I get writers block when I sit down to write a blog post. When I get stuck I always start with surfing the net and reviewing some of the most popular blogs for good ideas. I find that reading other blogs helps me develop better concepts/topics and gives me ideas on content formatting.
Finding blogs online is not a problem the problem is narrowing it down to the most popular and relevant blogs. The best place to start is to use the top lists that are already out there....
- Technorati Top 100 Most Popular Blogs
- Top100Bloggers.com
- Digg's Top Stories (not all blogs)
- del.icio.us Most Popular Bookmarks (not all blogs)
Posted Friday, July 11, 2008 by
Chantelle Flannery
Article: http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/19721.asp
This is a great article for those of you that know nothing about search as well as those of you that are pretty in tune with the industry. This is one of the most comprehensive documents that I have seen that walks you though the entire history of Search.
The article also discusses the future and finding the best ways to deliver the most relevant content to the readers. This sounds pretty familiar to what I say everyday to my Compendium clients...
This is a great article for those of you that know nothing about search as well as those of you that are pretty in tune with the industry. This is one of the most comprehensive documents that I have seen that walks you though the entire history of Search.
The article also discusses the future and finding the best ways to deliver the most relevant content to the readers. This sounds pretty familiar to what I say everyday to my Compendium clients...
“Google’s job is to help the user find the most relevant content. Compendium helps categorize your posts around a specific topic therefore all of the posts on the blog are relevant to that topic. When a search engine finds your blogs it says "Wow, look all of the content" and it‘s relevant to the searchers topic thus you start to gain recognition by the search engines and can continue to improve your rankings by continuing to add content.”After you have a chance to review the article please let me know if you think anything is missing as well as what you think the future holds for the world of search.
Posted Friday, June 27, 2008 by
Chantelle Flannery
The internet has an unlimited amount of content and is growing daily. It is impossible to read every existing - let alone new article that pertains to your organization and industry. A great tool that will allow you to stay on top of the latest news as it relates to your industry is Google Alerts.
Google Alerts sends automatic emails when there are new search results for topics that you determine in advance. Google alerts comes in 6 different variations - 'News', 'Web', 'Blogs', 'Comprehensive', 'Video' and 'Groups'. I would recommend at the very least subscribing to the Blog Google Alert with your company as a topic.
Not only do you benefit from staying up to date on the newest information it also provides new topics for you to discuss on your blog. Possible posts include:
For more information check out Google Alerts Help Page.
Google Alerts sends automatic emails when there are new search results for topics that you determine in advance. Google alerts comes in 6 different variations - 'News', 'Web', 'Blogs', 'Comprehensive', 'Video' and 'Groups'. I would recommend at the very least subscribing to the Blog Google Alert with your company as a topic.
Not only do you benefit from staying up to date on the newest information it also provides new topics for you to discuss on your blog. Possible posts include:
- Article Reviews
- News on the latest developments in the industry
- Rebuttals to negative attention your company/industry is receiving
- Allows you to discover / work with other industry bloggers
For more information check out Google Alerts Help Page.
Posted Tuesday, June 17, 2008 by
Jim Hyslop
Over the past couple of weeks I have been involved in a lot of conversations about one of the coolest features of the blog; the ability to engage in conversation in more of a human to human setting. It is always interesting to think about the way in which you conduct your research process when looking for information,or reviews of products you are looking to buy. Over the years this process has evolved as the ability to buy online has become much more secure and convenient. Being a 30 year old guy my search always starts online. I find the most relevant sources of information (usually blogs by other people that already own the item I am looking at) and I read many posts, good and bad, to get a general feel of the publics opinion on this item. Once armed with the culture and feeling around this item I am off to the store to talk specs and technical jargon with the guy on the sales floor.
BUT, WHAT IF...JUST WHAT IF...I could actually achieve that same sense of comfort I now find in the store, online utilizing a corporate blog? The answer to that is simple......my path to purchase is much easier and I am a happy shopper who will probably be back to buy more in the future.
Before I was visiting two places, the internet and the store, before making my purchase. But lets think about how simple,and efficient my process could be if I could engage in a business blog where the customers had a presence as well as the guy on the sales floor so I could find all of the information I need to feel comfortable making a purchase in one spot. I would imagine the next time I needed to buy I would have a good idea of where to start looking.
In short the benefits of corporate blogging tools will definitely not only bring value through SEO but also through the idea of humanized marketing for conversion. People want to buy from other people and they want to talk to other people to feel comfortable with their buying decisions why wouldn't an enterprise want to provide their customers that opportunity at the point that is closest to the point of purchase. Makes sense right?
Posted Friday, June 13, 2008 by
Chantelle Flannery
When embedding links in our blog to other blogs or pages, what is considered general best practice… add the hyperlinked URL to the blog or hyperlink a title or something like that?
Good Questions.
Best practice: If I am writing a post that reviews an article. I write out who published it and perhaps the author. I then create the hyperlink to the article on the title of the article.
An example of this would be for an article from the NYTimes Apple Watchers Look for a New iPhone with a URL of http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/10/technology/10apple.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin. Notice how long the url is… now if I put this full url into the post itself it is going to detract from the content whereas having simply Apple Watchers Look for a New iPhone in a post it is much cleaner. Rarely every should you fully write out a url and link it unless it is short, to the point, and adds contextual value to the post. An example of this would be referring to www.howthingswork.com or www.wikipedia.org.
Submit your blogging best practice via comment to this post to have it answered.
Posted Friday, June 6, 2008 by
Megan Glover
Compendium CoFounder/CEO, Chris Baggott was featured along with Debbie Weil, corporate blogging thought leader, in a recent article by Target Marketing: 5 Best Practices to Profit from Business Blogs.
The article focuses on the top blogging trends and also alludes to the future of corporate blogging:
“In a couple of years, you’ll go to any corporate homepage and you’ll expect something there that is fresh, real, where you can leave a question and learn something that is not just that static corporate speak about the company,” she [Debbie Weil] explains.
The bottom line is people buy from people. Consumers are marketing savvy... they know when their being fed corporate speak. Why do people turn to online reviews of a product before buying? Why do I look at the recipe reviews before trying? Because I enjoy that human interaction... and blogging is one way businesses can accomplish this.
More later on humanizing your marketing, we're actually working on a Webinar on this very topic featuring Chris and Dustin Sapp CoFounder/President of Vontoo.
In the meantime enjoy the Target Marketing article. It's a great piece of educational info if you're thinking about implementing a corporate blogging strategy.
The article focuses on the top blogging trends and also alludes to the future of corporate blogging:
“In a couple of years, you’ll go to any corporate homepage and you’ll expect something there that is fresh, real, where you can leave a question and learn something that is not just that static corporate speak about the company,” she [Debbie Weil] explains.
The bottom line is people buy from people. Consumers are marketing savvy... they know when their being fed corporate speak. Why do people turn to online reviews of a product before buying? Why do I look at the recipe reviews before trying? Because I enjoy that human interaction... and blogging is one way businesses can accomplish this.
More later on humanizing your marketing, we're actually working on a Webinar on this very topic featuring Chris and Dustin Sapp CoFounder/President of Vontoo.
In the meantime enjoy the Target Marketing article. It's a great piece of educational info if you're thinking about implementing a corporate blogging strategy.
Posted Thursday, June 5, 2008 by
Daren Tomey
I reviewed a new "perspective" from MidMarketer today titled Joining the Blogosphere, you can download a free copy of their perspective at www.midmarketer.com.
One key point that MidMarketer presented in their prescriptive is that, in general, blog posts need to be kept short and sweet! Wow, I could not agree more to this statement. We are commonly asked what the average length of a blog should be and the best answer is that your posts need to be relevant to your audience, be short and easily digestible, and most importantly, frequent and consistent.
Read Chris Baggott's recent post on this very topic.
One key point that MidMarketer presented in their prescriptive is that, in general, blog posts need to be kept short and sweet! Wow, I could not agree more to this statement. We are commonly asked what the average length of a blog should be and the best answer is that your posts need to be relevant to your audience, be short and easily digestible, and most importantly, frequent and consistent.
Read Chris Baggott's recent post on this very topic.
Posted Friday, May 2, 2008 by
jeff lefevere
You can almost hear the refrain from the crowd:
“I don’t have time.”
Or,
“I’m not creative.”
And, my personal favorite,
“But, I’m not a good writer.”
Don’t believe any of it for a second.
The reality is that in this day and age we have a hard time writing a greeting card without using a word processor, and our written communication has exploded in the age of the Internet.
If estimates are accurate, the amount of emails that we receive and send daily is our foremost communication vehicle.
Chances are, the Marketing Manager who says he/she doesn’t have time to write is likely writing at least a 1000 words a day via email.
Hmmm …
A good, well-thought through blog post is the equivalent of that two paragraph email that is being sent to Betty Joe in accounting. You know the type: you’re never sure which side of the bed she woke up on and email is easier than making the walk over to see how bearish she is on a ten point scale.
So, let’s just acknowledge that everybody has the capacity to write, everybody has ideas and that the “time” notion is really a function of prioritization.
The other thing to take into consideration is the quality of the writing that is a reflection on your organization. Ideas are one thing, and everybody has them like a nose, but sloppy grammar can kill a message. Now, make no mistake, the blogosphere is forgiving for some loose grammar. I should know, as my use of the possessive is a grammatical Achilles heel. However, poor syntax can be a problem in writing.
Because syntax is really the only impediment to blogging, I always recommend that clients take a look at a software program called WhiteSmoke.
A very-well regarded and well-reviewed software program, WhiteSmoke promises:
… An innovative software tool that improves and edits your English writing. Based on patented natural language processing (NLP) technology, WhiteSmoke performs advanced and context-based English grammar, spelling, and punctuation checking, as well as text enrichment to enhance your writing. From well-written letters and emails to friends, through to professional business documentation and presentations.
Priced at about $80, it’s an affordable solution to help give folks the confidence to let their ideas shine through and acts as a super adjunct to your Microsoft Word program.
This reminds me, it’s really a good idea to write and edit a post in Word and then save as a .txt file before copying into the Compendium platform.
Next time you hear an organizational limiting statement about blogging, be armed with a couple of solutions to help unleash the embedded knowledge in your organization. WhiteSmoke can be a tool that helps build confidence for intrepid bloggers that need a boost.
“I don’t have time.”
Or,
“I’m not creative.”
And, my personal favorite,
“But, I’m not a good writer.”
Don’t believe any of it for a second.
The reality is that in this day and age we have a hard time writing a greeting card without using a word processor, and our written communication has exploded in the age of the Internet.
If estimates are accurate, the amount of emails that we receive and send daily is our foremost communication vehicle.
Chances are, the Marketing Manager who says he/she doesn’t have time to write is likely writing at least a 1000 words a day via email.
Hmmm …
A good, well-thought through blog post is the equivalent of that two paragraph email that is being sent to Betty Joe in accounting. You know the type: you’re never sure which side of the bed she woke up on and email is easier than making the walk over to see how bearish she is on a ten point scale.
So, let’s just acknowledge that everybody has the capacity to write, everybody has ideas and that the “time” notion is really a function of prioritization.
The other thing to take into consideration is the quality of the writing that is a reflection on your organization. Ideas are one thing, and everybody has them like a nose, but sloppy grammar can kill a message. Now, make no mistake, the blogosphere is forgiving for some loose grammar. I should know, as my use of the possessive is a grammatical Achilles heel. However, poor syntax can be a problem in writing.
Because syntax is really the only impediment to blogging, I always recommend that clients take a look at a software program called WhiteSmoke.
A very-well regarded and well-reviewed software program, WhiteSmoke promises:
… An innovative software tool that improves and edits your English writing. Based on patented natural language processing (NLP) technology, WhiteSmoke performs advanced and context-based English grammar, spelling, and punctuation checking, as well as text enrichment to enhance your writing. From well-written letters and emails to friends, through to professional business documentation and presentations.
Priced at about $80, it’s an affordable solution to help give folks the confidence to let their ideas shine through and acts as a super adjunct to your Microsoft Word program.
This reminds me, it’s really a good idea to write and edit a post in Word and then save as a .txt file before copying into the Compendium platform.
Next time you hear an organizational limiting statement about blogging, be armed with a couple of solutions to help unleash the embedded knowledge in your organization. WhiteSmoke can be a tool that helps build confidence for intrepid bloggers that need a boost.
Posted Wednesday, April 30, 2008 by
Ali Sales
This question just came up during a webinar that Chris Baggott hosted today (5 Compelling Reasons SMB's Should Blog. Slides coming soon), and I couldn't resist responding to it myself.So here is the question: Is allowing your employees to blog at work a bad use of their time?
Well, yes and no. (You thought I was going to give a firm no, but hear me out). Let me give you two scenarios to demonstrate the different ways this can play out.
Scenario A: Your employees are using the blogging platform of their choice (one geared toward citizen journalism like Wordpress or TypePad or whatever their heart desires). There is no consistency. The employees write about whatever they want. There is no administrator to review content before it is published.
Do I think this is a good use of time? No way. And you shouldn't either. Now how about this example...
Scenario B: Your employees are all using the same blogging tool (like Compendium). They understand that their content is the driving force behind the company's ability to acquire leads and customers through the search engines. The employees are encouraged to write about topics that are relevant to their position within the company, but can still add their personal touches and keep a genuine voice. An administrator can review the content before it's published
So do I think this kind of business blogging is worth the time? You bet.
With the right blogging software, end goals, and focus that you provide to those who will be writing the content, Scenario A can easily turn into Scenario B, which is hugely beneficial to every kind of organization.
And yes, the picture above are some of Compendium's favorite bloggers.
Posted Wednesday, March 26, 2008 by
Mike Pecchia
Does the above picture look all familiar to you? No, I'm not talking about a family road trip or being lost on a barren highway; I'm talking about your website. Too frequently we find ourselves investing time and money into learning the reasons for website 'high traffic' periods and 'low traffic' periods. With these variables aside, one thing that is certain for sure: traffic needs a means by which to reach a website. Better yet, traffic needs a reason. Just like we set out on the open road in our car, we are searching for something or traveling to a specific destination. It doesn't matter which route we take as long as its the shortest and most efficient for us.
How can we as a company provide the shortest and most direct route to our website? Which keywords (roads) will facilitate that traffic? The answer to these may be simpler than you think.
How can we as a company provide the shortest and most direct route to our website? Which keywords (roads) will facilitate that traffic? The answer to these may be simpler than you think.
It starts with a foundation:
A website strategy:
What market are we targeting? What product or service are we
selling? What factors are in our favor? What resources can we tap into? Does
our site design represent our brand/company image?
These are all important questions that need to be asked in
the preliminary stage. Thorough analysis
of these questions, and questions like them, will provide the best return on investment. Try this for a change: run a consumer feedback program for
six-months on the existing website. Ask
questions that will return answers pertinent to age, income, gender, location,
and buying habits. This will help your
company to extrapolate the important data; doing so will help build a better
strategy and foundation.
Move to a plan:
Implementation:
Take the data return in the strategy forming phase and
interpret it. For example, the previous
website design and strategy was aimed at 35 – 50 year old males who live predominantly
on the east coast. The data you have
just received from this new survey suggests that 21 – 35 year old males from
the Southwest are now the majority of site frequenters. Takes this data and change the site content
according to the data received while still keeping the integrity of the company’s
brand image.
Now that the site is changed accordingly to target the correct
market, how do you create site traffic? CNNMoney.com
features a great article on Jan. 16, 2008 about some tips that will create
website buzz. “Offer something free-of-charge to
those who do visit your site - and it can be as simple as information or advice…”
For example, the website the targets males in the Southwest, offer links to
other sites that offer: cheap flights to southwestern cities or ticket deals to
sports games (NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA, etc).
This will give an incentive to this target market to return to the site.
Maintain the
Traffic:
Maintenance:
Site traffic
cannot sustain itself. Traffic must be
generated through maintenance of the website and the blog. A good way of doing this is to re-evaluate
the site’s target market and target demographic every so often. In more volatile industries, a six-month review
period may be the best solution; industries that have a less volatile
environment, a one, two or three year review may pose the best option. In this re-evaluation, rerun the survey in
the strategy phase. Find out who your
customer is and why they are frequenting your site. On top of this, find out what your customer
wants. Analytical programs such as Google Analytics can serve as a
starting point to uncovering the most hit webpage on your website. If the site begins to draw less and less traffic,
switch it up! Feature new offers, games, videos, and other engaging activities
that will hook the consumer to the website and, eventually, the company.
The kicker?
This all costs less than any T.V commercial, magazine advertisement, radio
spot, or SEO consultant.
What does Compendium offer? The solution to
all of the above, at a low cost, and feedback to help your company sustain this
success and grow to the next level of customer conversion.
Compendium can help your company to get familiar with traffic...
Posted Sunday, March 9, 2008 by
PJ Hinton
Compendium Blogware CEO Chris Baggott raises a delicate question on his own blog:
For a blogging initiative to live up to its potential, the company has to give its employees latitude in choosing post subject matter. That's what makes a blog authentic.
The Bill of Rights enshrines a right to freedom of speech, and blogging certainly falls under this rubric. However, your right to speak freely does not necessarily abridge the right of the market to go elsewhere if it finds your posts offensive. That's just a corollary that follows from the notion that markets are conversations. You can't have much hope for an extended, meaningful conversation if you start to make pointed statements that invalidate the reader's point of view.
As a start, perhaps the guiding principle should be to pick battles carefully. How relevant is the subject to the company's mission and operation? Politics cover a broad area that ranges from abstract ideology to practical matters like taxation and regulation. If an issue has a direct impact on the company, then a corporate blog can serve as down-to-earth channel of clarification and education.
Suppose the economy is going through some tough times. Tax revenues are down, and the legislature is considering cutting back on tax credits for research and development. A company that has benefitted from such a credit might use a series of posts to describe what the credit enabled the company to do and how it will provide a positive results for the state in the future in the form of more jobs and greater tax revenue. The blog allows company employees to make their case directly to citizens and raise awareness. Some might even be moved to contact their legislator to register their support.
We are a country of many interests and outlooks, and all of us have issues that hit closer to home than others. The sheer size, activity, and energy of the political blogosphere attests to that. Allowing a blogger to venture into less relevant political subjects runs the risk of enmeshing the blog within context of some heated arguments. One link from a highly partisan blog or social network could get your company some attention that you really didn't desire. The administrative control feature of Compendium Blogware provides a nice preemptive circuit breaker against posts composed in the heat of the moment.
Having said that, I don't think the answer is to ban all less relevant political commentary from company blogs, which I'm sure that many a risk averse company would be tempted to do reflexively. Encourage employees instead to be cautious over how they present their stance. As much as possible, state the position in the positive, rather than the negative. "I am for X" is better than "I am against Y." If a positive statement isn't feasible, keep the focus of criticism on ideas, rather than the people behind them. When you personalize the politics, there is greater risk for vilification, and you run the risk of alienating a sizable portion of the audience.
I think it also helps to use a persuasive tone. Rather than categorically dismissing opposing point of view as inherently stupid, dangerous, or downright evil, try to find some common ground and build the case for the correctness of a point of view. Respectful dissent can go a long way toward winning hearts and minds.
Chris raises a question that is as difficult to answer as it is valid, so I'll take him up on his challenge and weigh in on the subject with thoughts of my own.Are Politics appropriate in Corporate Blogs? I don't know the answer to that. I care about stuff beyond our business, I have to assume any Company Blogger also has a bigger view and opinion about a lot of stuff beyond worrying about toeing the line on Blogging Best Practices.
Part of the goal is to humanize your organization. Humans have opinions. With business blogging they also have a pulpit. I think used responsibly and and with blog authoring software that at least allows some review that an occasional slip into Political or Social corporate blogging is probably a good thing.
What do you think?
For a blogging initiative to live up to its potential, the company has to give its employees latitude in choosing post subject matter. That's what makes a blog authentic.
The Bill of Rights enshrines a right to freedom of speech, and blogging certainly falls under this rubric. However, your right to speak freely does not necessarily abridge the right of the market to go elsewhere if it finds your posts offensive. That's just a corollary that follows from the notion that markets are conversations. You can't have much hope for an extended, meaningful conversation if you start to make pointed statements that invalidate the reader's point of view.
As a start, perhaps the guiding principle should be to pick battles carefully. How relevant is the subject to the company's mission and operation? Politics cover a broad area that ranges from abstract ideology to practical matters like taxation and regulation. If an issue has a direct impact on the company, then a corporate blog can serve as down-to-earth channel of clarification and education.
Suppose the economy is going through some tough times. Tax revenues are down, and the legislature is considering cutting back on tax credits for research and development. A company that has benefitted from such a credit might use a series of posts to describe what the credit enabled the company to do and how it will provide a positive results for the state in the future in the form of more jobs and greater tax revenue. The blog allows company employees to make their case directly to citizens and raise awareness. Some might even be moved to contact their legislator to register their support.
We are a country of many interests and outlooks, and all of us have issues that hit closer to home than others. The sheer size, activity, and energy of the political blogosphere attests to that. Allowing a blogger to venture into less relevant political subjects runs the risk of enmeshing the blog within context of some heated arguments. One link from a highly partisan blog or social network could get your company some attention that you really didn't desire. The administrative control feature of Compendium Blogware provides a nice preemptive circuit breaker against posts composed in the heat of the moment.
Having said that, I don't think the answer is to ban all less relevant political commentary from company blogs, which I'm sure that many a risk averse company would be tempted to do reflexively. Encourage employees instead to be cautious over how they present their stance. As much as possible, state the position in the positive, rather than the negative. "I am for X" is better than "I am against Y." If a positive statement isn't feasible, keep the focus of criticism on ideas, rather than the people behind them. When you personalize the politics, there is greater risk for vilification, and you run the risk of alienating a sizable portion of the audience.
I think it also helps to use a persuasive tone. Rather than categorically dismissing opposing point of view as inherently stupid, dangerous, or downright evil, try to find some common ground and build the case for the correctness of a point of view. Respectful dissent can go a long way toward winning hearts and minds.
Posted Thursday, March 6, 2008 by
Aaron Stanton
Hi. I'm Aaron F Stanton, a new Senior Software Engineer at Compendium. I'll be using this space to talk about ideas I have on information, communication, economics, and blogging itself.
A bit about me: I am an Indiana native, having graduated from Purdue with a PhD in Chemistry in '99. As a result, you'll see a bit of a scientific slant to some of my ramblings.
I have opinions on religion and politics, but I'll try to keep them out of here - this isn't the place for that, as far as I'm concerned. I'm sure you can find me on the web if you're interested, but I'll tell you that I don't review computer games, nor did I ask if Google can hear me.
Enjoy.
A bit about me: I am an Indiana native, having graduated from Purdue with a PhD in Chemistry in '99. As a result, you'll see a bit of a scientific slant to some of my ramblings.
I have opinions on religion and politics, but I'll try to keep them out of here - this isn't the place for that, as far as I'm concerned. I'm sure you can find me on the web if you're interested, but I'll tell you that I don't review computer games, nor did I ask if Google can hear me.
Enjoy.
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