This morning, Compendium proudly released the ability to preview your blog post within your live blog template. Prior to today,when creating post as a user the options available were to save as a draft, submit my post to the administrator for moderation or preview the post in new window to ensure video worked properly.
Today, when a user selects preview post, they will now view their content as it would appear live on the web. A nice enhancement to our easy to use blogging software which allows users an extra reassurance that their content will represent the company well on the corporate blog.
As a member of the product support team, we are always working to request enhancements to the product that will enhance each users experience and provide the best blogging software to our clients.
If you have a suggestion, fill our the
web form and we will add it to our product log for enhancements. Yes, these enhancements are prioritized by customer request, so every vote matters.
Today I officially feel old. Okay, okay, I know 23 is not very old... But STIL
L! 23 is one of those ages that I've always considered to be "old." And now here it is, already! Wow does time fly by!
One thing I know for sure is that birthday wishes today are nothing like they used to be. When I was a kid, I might have a few friends at school tell me happy birthday if they happened to remember the right day. I might even get a birthday cake on our class calendar with my name on it.
But at age 23 I can officially say that I've received the most birthday wishes I have ever received. Is this because I now have so many more friends? Well, maybe in part. However, the more likely scenario is that there are now so many more social media avenues in which friends can offer me well wishes.
Facebook provides everyone with my exact birth date; meaning it's just after 4pm and I've already received 56 wall posts. One friend
Twitters "Happy Birthday @alliebb44" and all the sudden all my
Twitter followers are retweeting the sentiments. Times have certainly changed!
Is your company up to date with this new world of social media? One great place to start is with a corporate blog. With
Compendium's easy to use blog software you can quickly and easily write a post that relates to your clients and gives them an insight to your company, which can in turn lead to search engine optimization and sales.
So why not give it a try? Give us a call here at
Compendium today!
Recently I started writing about common mistakes we see when a company begins a blog marketing program. To continue with the series, I wanted to discuss the expectations regarding the amount and frequency of content generation.
(2nd in a series of 5)Common Mistake #2:
This is one of the most common misconceptions we see with new clients, is the understanding of how a search marketing effort becomes effective. When looking at our most successful clients, it is when they continue to fuel their content machine, and frequently put out new blog posts.
Think about blogs that you read on a regular basis - how often do they publish content? Typically it is multiple times per week, and is on a scheduled basis. So that you as the reader begin to count on when you'll see new information. Same story with the web crawlers - the frequency that your network creates content will train the crawlers to come back and crawl your site more frequently and see you as an authoritative answer.
Answer:Blogging on a regular basis is a hard habit to get into, but similar to going to the gym, once you get in the routine you'll find that it is an enjoyable experience, and the results will encourage you along the way. Get other individuals at your company to help write content, so that not one person is shouldering the load.
Also, with our easy to use blog software and post scheduling feature, you'll be able to schedule when a blog post shows live to the web, so that if you aren't able to put content out everyday, you'll at least look like you are! ;)
Remember that anything can be good blog fodder so talk about that great conversation you had with a client, or a new product that's coming out, or a recent article in your industry and how your company plays a role.
(
Common Mistake #1)
This coming Tuesday I will be heading out to visit one of my favorite clients at GK Elite, Andrew Foss. GK Elite, who sells competitive gymnastics leotards, is about to celebrate their one year
anniversary as a Compendium client so I figured that I would head out to Reading, Pennsylvania (my home state) to meet up with Andrew in person.
The GK Elite blog has paid for itself a few times over and continues to grow every day. One week the blog even produces over $10,000 in sales - in ONE WEEK! A few weeks back we even added a second blog to the network -
cheer.gkelite.com.
During this trip I hope to really dive into the GK Elite statistics, ROI, and overall sauces of the program. We know that GK Elite is a very successful client and I cant wait to hear more stories of how a blog for search engine optimization has turned the up the amount of search traffic and what the sales have been over the past year. I will follow up after my trip with great numbers of how easy to use blog software has impacted the company.
At Compendium we are consistently striving to make our corporate blogging software more efficient and user friendly as we can. Therefore making it easy to use blog software that allows any size company, in any vertical to incorporate into their online marketing strategy.
As part of this mission, our development team has on average a new release every week, with enhancements to our platform. This week's release is an enhancement to a a previous release we had that allowed admins on a blog network to manage their keywords and select which ones they wanted their users to focus on.
This feature in our platform allows the network as a whole to keep focused on keywords that are relative to their business and as they continue to generate content, will drive search traffic that will convert into new leads for their business.
Compendium is excited about this new feature and looks forward to the enhancements to come. If you have an idea, request, or enhancement that you'd like to submit - contact your Client Success Manager and we'll get it to our Dev Team!
So I have an Ipod Nano that is the 2nd generation, which is slightly different in size and composition from the new nano. My belt clip that I used when running recently broke and I have been on a mission to find a replacement that fit my older ipod. After Target, Walmart, and the Apple store provided no solution, I went online . . . .
. . . . and had one of the most frustrating search experiences EVER!!!!
I typed in exactly what I wanted, 2G Ipod Nano Belt Clip. I got bombarded with great shopping sites, none of which provided me with the item I wanted. So I started adjusting my search phrases, trying nearly 30 different options. Finally, I found a site at the bottom of the search page after about 20 min of search and digging in eCommerce sites. This site sent me to Amazon.com, which I had already searched and struck out, and I found my item for less than $5.
Had any of these businesses targeted ONE of my 30 search attempts and given me a clear call to action to buy the item, I would have spent far more than $5. This reminded me why Compendium is such a great search marketing tool. We help our clients think like marketers and convert on searchers like me, by offering a powerful blogging software that auto-organizes large volumes of content around relevant search phrases. Because it's such an easy to use blog software, any company can start blogging about products, services, and more to win on as many search phrases as possible. The more targeted blogs you cast out, the more likely you are to capitalize on a vast world of qualified searchers.
Don't believe me on how easy it is? Call me (317)-777-6254 and I'll tell you about an eCommerce client who scaled back their PPC by $7,000 in one month while driving 50,000+ MORE unique visitors with their Compendium blogging solution.
Clients often come to us at
Comp
endium and question how in the world they are supposed to come up with content to write about for their blog page. We try to do our part by offering content ides within our template editor, blogging ourselves in order to generate ideas and by offering all sorts of suggestions. However, sometimes it just comes down to the fact that with our easy to use blog software, you really can write about almost anything!
For example, take one of our clients, Green Engery TV. Their guest blogger recently wrote about how he is losing weight by pedaling a bicyle in order to power his television. Rather than sit on the couch eating muncies and watching the tube, the guest blogger is now getting a workout while still enjoying his favorite shows!
How in the world does that story turn into a blog post? Easy! With
Compendium's product you can still blog for search engine optimization simply by being sure to use keyword phrases within each post, no matter what it is about. You'd be surprised how easy it is to do!
Keep generating those posts and be sure to check out this crazy television invention
here.
I talk to many businesses who are in need of reducing costs. After getting better acquianted with their business, I find out they are running a massive email marketing campaign in-house or they are trying to build their CRM from scratch.
It's no secret that overhead is a huge cost to almost every business. Companies trying to re-invent the wheel could stand to gain a lot from using software as a service solutions such as Salesforce, ExactTarget, or Compendium instead of trying to handle all of their technology internally.
Is free really free? I can install a free-ware platform at no cost, but how much am I paying my dedicated IT guy to set up, manage, and update my blog? Save yourself tens of thousands of dollars and employ an easy to use blog software that will cost you a fraction of the salary of a full-time employee.
"The promotion of weapons is restricted" according to Google Adwords. Want to advertise your inventory of firearms, ammunition and switchblades? Not in Google adwords you won't. So how can a sophisticated, forward thinking business that sells guns win search for hundreds or thousands of keywords? A blog for search engine optimization, t
hat's how. And that is just what Gilbert's Guns did.
Last month,
Gilbert's Guns signed on with Compendium to create a blog for search. They started off with a "test" and are targeting about 50 various keywords covering ammunition, firearms and binoculars. Understanding that corporate blog software is a strategy that takes a good amount of content to be successful, the plan is to contribute 6-8 posts a day on the various product lines. Also, because Compendium is a scalable, easy to use blog software, Gilberts Guns will continue to expand their targeted keyword list with success from the first round of targeted keywords.
Stay tuned for follow up on the success
Gilberts Guns will surely see in the coming months by leveraging corporate blogging software to targeted "prohibited" Google Adwords keywords.
Can you take a photo of a happy client? Having real people that are happy customers in a client testimonial blog post is one of the most valuable posts you can publish on your blog. If you don't have the ability to get a photo of them, ask them for one!
When customers are satisfied, they love to tell people about it. Your blog is the perfect location for a photo and a testimonial like this!
Post Idea: Write at a customer testimonial and include a photo of your customer in the post. Heck write three or four to get your total posts published up to or over 30 by the end of the week!
For product support for Compendium's easy to use blog software call 317.777.6255.
The Central Indiana Bicycling Association has designed a 100 mile bicycle challenge for touring bicyclists around the country. This event will have over 5,500 registrants from over 40
states and several other countries. The Hilly Hundred, starts and finishes right outside of Bloomington, Indiana and is a great ride!
This year, Bicycle Garage of Indy, a Compendium Client and local bicycle shop is asking their clients to tell their Hilly Hundred story. By leveraging Compendium's easy to use blog software and the new Web-To-Post functionality, you can easily tell your story and even upload an image from race day. Oh! and BGIndy even has set up an incentive program for you to do so. They will be giving away a $100 Gift Certificate!
If you are looking for simple blogging software that will make it easy to leverage your clients stories then check out our webinar and get a grip on social media.
As you look out your window, you see the sad truth: Summer has quickly left us after being kicked out by a bitter-cold fall... In no time, we went from fun in the sun to fun in the... raking leaves. We went from picking out the perfect bathing suits to deciding which big, frumpy jacket to wear just to walk to the mailbox...
As the temperature and the leaves start to change, maybe it's time to take these as signs to start looking at ways to change your marketing campaigns in your business. Just as the seasons are always changing, so are the ways people are looking for products.
Customer approaches are changing and you need to make sure your business is there to meet them. They are heading online to find what they need.
They're using search engines like Google and Bing to find the answers to their problems, and the best way for them to find you is through business blog software. With an easy to use blog software solution, you can make it easy for customers to discover you in the search engines.
Take advantage in this season of change to see where changes can be made in your marketing strategy.
Compendium is the perfect place to start.
It doesn't take much, but there are a few important tools that any organization needs to possess before they can expect to experience strong SEO:
Simple Software: If you're looking for SEO, the place to start is the software. Compendium's easy to use software is the perfect tool needed to start the process of skyrocketing your organization up the Google rankings. It is powerful, affordable, and easy to use.
Bloggers: Your employees are the best bloggers you can have. Why? Because they are the experts on your products and services. Making blogging a priority in their day is important. You can do this by offering incentives and blogging contests.
Goals: Set goals for your bloggers... 2 to 3 posts a week on average is a good start, but remember- the more posts, the more effective the software.
Blogging for search is different than most blogs- You're blogging to get found! With the tools listed above, you should be on the right track to maximize SEO. If you are looking for more insights on how to maximize the use of Compendium's blog software, feel free to
contact a Compendium team member today.
So I had this great conversation today with an agency in the Pacific Northwest.
On their web page that describes their organic search marketing services, they had this great image:
I like this as a visual about Compendium's blogging platform vs other options as it relates to search phrases and relevant content. Most corporate blogs are built like the upright triangle on the left. In fact, most website are built like this left triangle too.
The most specific page to a key word is buried 5 or more levels below the first page where a search engine begins to crawl. In an ideal world (the Compendium world), web sites and blogs would be designed like the right, upside down triangle. And that's just ONE web site! Image having 250 blog sites all designed like that!? That's like having 250 of the most easily found and crawled web sites on the internet for your most important key words with the very FIRST page being most relevant to the searcher.
And this is essentially what Compendium does for our clients. We have an easy to use blog software that automatically organizes volumes of content so that a company can offer the most relevant, help information to their searchers. And search engines love this, because they don't have to crawl 5 or more layers deep to provide something of value to the searcher. So make your prospects and the search engine happy at the same time by
starting a blog strategy with Compendium.
Think about how many hours a day you spend in front of your computer...
Now consider how easy it could be to market your product from your computer by taking only a small amount of time out of your day...
So many companies use search engines to locate the information they need - but many of them don't realize that the solution to their marketing strategy is right at their fingertips. Corporate blogging is such an easy way to incorporate a substantial inbound marketing strategy.
Compendium offers easy to use blog software. Anyone can use the software.
Corporate blogging is such a
valuable tool that you - as a marketer - can use to target your respective audience. You don't just have to be a marketer though. Everyone in your company can (and should) blog. The content that you generate is relevant to what your potential customers are searching for. So the more people that blog within your company - the better!
So here is a really interesting article from the New York Times on the popularity of sharing options that websites now use to take their content viral.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/business/27ping.htmlAt the end of the article, they make a comment on Google looking down on search engine optimizers. I think they're referring to the endless number of people out there looking for the best way to outsmart the search engine. But what is concerning to me is the comparison to social media optimizers. They make it sound like a dirty title by comparing it to black hat SEO strategies.
Compendium clients don't have to worry about being called social media optimizers, because they don't have to do anything beyond writing good content about their business. Our business blogging software takes care of the optimization; not by tricks and magical link building, but by simple organization of content. Our platform is an easy to use blog software that squeezes every bit of visibility out of our client's content by putting it where it belongs across a wide network of targeted blogs.
In fact, I am convinced that this is the next evolution of "social media optimizers". They won't have to beg for links or try to find a way to "sway the search engine algorithms". With Compendium, you work WITH the search engine algorithms and make social media content easier to crawl, more relevant to the searcher, and more up to date by frequent postings. And the only thing our client has to focus on is writing good content and writing it as often as possible. Now that's third generation corporate blogging!
Sure there are several types of blog platforms available for use out there, but choosing which one is right for your business doesn't have to be difficult. Compendium's unique blog software allows your business to more efficiently manage your online marketing strategy by taking all the hard work out of it for you. The only thing your team has to focus on, is writing blogs!
Our powerful blogging software will manage your posts by sorting them into "keyword blogs" that allow your content to be focused and deliver a more relevant result to the searchers that are your potential customers. This allows your company to show that you are an authority in your vertical and can constantly be providing answers, because you are consistently creating new content!
On top of having a simple blog platform to use, we also have a team of individuals that are dedicated to assisting with your blog marketing strategy. The Client Success Manager's are here to help with coaching and strategic planning with your program so that you can focus on whats important to your business - bringing in more leads!
For more information on our easy to use blog software,
schedule a demo today.
Good blog content is a popular topic amongst bloggers and perspective bloggers.
Why? Because people aren't sure if their blog ideas are "good enough" to write about. But I assure you - They are.
At
Compendium, we believe that good blog content can be generated in 10 minutes. I'll admit - when I first began to blog at Compendium, it took me closer to 30 minutes to finish a blog post. But as time goes on, I feel much more comfortable blogging.
But why don't many people feel comfortable blogging?
Here's the myth:
It's hard to create and sustain blog content. But that's a
myth. Blogging only takes a lot of time if you aren't comfortable with what you are writing about - or if you aren't knowledgeable about the content and information of the company you're blogging for.
Being comfortable blogging also depends on your software. Having easy to use blog software makes corporate blogging more enjoyable.
So here's how to become a comfortable blogger:
- Have knowledge of your company.
- Find easy to use blog software - such as the the software that Compendium offers.
These two simple points will not only make you a more comfortable blogger; they will make you a more efficient blogger as well!
For more information on additional blogging myths and ways to become a more knowledgeable blogger,
click here to see and hear a free webinar from Compendium.
So being a new blogger I had no idea what to expect when starting a blog, it was a very confusing thing to me because I never knew what to write about. Then I quickly realized how easy blogging actually was, it's a journal that I'll be able to to write about anything pertaining to our business and never lose. The best blogging solutions from
Compendium Blogware makes it very easy with their easy to use blogging software. Here are a few simple rules to follow:
- Blog at least two times a week
- Use your keywords
- Have fun with it
- Tell your story
So keep it simple when blogging for a company or organization and just think of the few simple rules to meet your blogging goals. If you stick to this rule you will see an increase in your content as well as making it to the top of search with your business blog.
The Wall Street Journal hosted the seventh annual All Things Digital Conference last week in Carlsbad CA. The meeting opened with a discussion of the emergence of new concepts around Web 3.0
"The real arrival, after years of false predictions, of the thin client, running clean simple software, against cloud-based data and services."
What does this mean for your business? Think about that phrase "cloud based data..." That's you. We live in a world of data on demand. How do people call up data? They use search engines.
The old world of marketers focused on interruption. They find a destination where you might likely hang out (bus stop, TV show, Social Network) and try and interfere with an offer or a pitch.
Web 3.0 says that you no longer need the middleman. You now have to be the one providing the information and organizing that information in ways that help the people searching the cloud for solutions to their problems.
This is why corporate blogging software is such a fast growing category. Business is recognizing blogging as a tool for SEO and that in order to compete in this 3.0 world they are going to have to come at the ideas of content creation in a different way....a better way.
I love the other sentence in this description of Web 3.0 "The complete integration of computing into every part of our lives in a way that is seamless, ubiquitous and, ideally dead simple."
Search rules the 3.0 world because it fulfills all those requirements. If you want to play, you have to advance your thinking regarding blogging best practices.
