Yep. After two years of living in Indianapolis, I bought a house. I was a little skeptical of Indianapolis when I first moved here from my small hometown of Kittanning, Pennsylvania - but it has grown on me.
The thing with buying a new house is that now I need all kinds of new things like... outlet covers, light fixtures, insulation and new locks. The PROBLEM is: I don't know how to install all of of these things, let alone where to buy them. So, I turned to my right-hand man - the search engine. I looked it all up all the various brands and products. I searched for Indianapolis Locksmiths and the prices on the new locks. I unfortunately, came up short on a lot of these services - most of my searches led me to more directories or the yellow pages and didn't give me any insight on good local Indianapolis business.
Take a hint, from one of our Compendium clients,
Roto Rooter. They are leveraging a corporate blogging strategy and targeting the various plumbing terms as they relate to the many cities they cover. A blog for business would have been the perfect opportunity for the local Indianapolis mechanic, electrician and locksmith to win my business tonight.
On November 10, 2009 the Federal Trade Commission approved the guidance it gives advertisers on how to keep their endorsements and testimonial ads in line with the FTC Act. Basically, a post from a blogger who receives cash or any kind of payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. If a blogger makes an endorsement, he/she must disclose the "payment" or material connection.
How does this relate to your blog? Think about it as an example: Let's say I started a shoe company, "Kaila's Shoes" for example and I wanted to have a lot of "word-of-mouth marketing" around my shoes and how they cure all forms of back pain. What I might do is find various people who would be willing to endorse my product via blogs posts. Perhaps celebrities or even some friends and family. I might pay them with free shoes for a year or even $5.00 a post to talk about how great these shoes are. In order to stay within these new guidelines, these bloggers would need to explicitly state that they were paid.
In another situation, lets say I started a corporate blog and I had my 50 employees that work at Kaila's shoe store blog about the benefits of the shoes and why you might want to buy a pair. These folks are not being paid to endorse the brand and are sharing their information on the Company's blog.
I don't think i can talk about the benefits of a corporate blogging strategy coupled with user-generated content enough. A few weeks back
eMarketer posted a report from
PopSugar and
Radar Research about Generation Y women and what influences their buying decisions. Topping the list were:
- An article I read on a magazine or newspaper's website - 64%
- A search on a site like Google or Yahoo! - 53%
- A friend mentioning it on his or her on line profile or status - 42%
With a corporate blogging strategy you are able to leverage strong search engine optimization so that you are able to win thousands of keywords someone might be searching for in regards to your product or service. Once the searcher finds your blog they are able to read through the endless blog posts or articles on that particular topic. Finally, your blog posts can auto populate your twitter, Facebook and other social media accounts so that more and more folks can read about them. Furthermore, you can leverage your current clients to tell their own story about their experience with your product/service via web-to-post - and then THEY can post their story on their twitter, Facebook etc linking back to your blog!
Its all a beautiful illustration as to why blogs for search engine optimization are the best investment for a full circle marketing strategy.
I'd like to take just a few minutes to talk about one of our Indianapolis-based clients, Milestone Advisors. Milestone provides executive-level services for business owners and entrepreneurs to help them solve complex financial and strategic issues that face their business.
Milestone Advisors is one of Compendium's
first clients (perhaps even in the first 50!) and has seen a nice success from the blog software. Leveraging employees, Milestone updates the blog with industry related news and how Milestone views this information.
In the upcoming month, Milestone will be expanding their service and have expanded thier blog for business to talk about these areas. Check out thier blog:
blog.milestoneadvisors.net to learn even more about thier business.
I feel as though every day we talk about our web-to-post functionality and all of the Compendium Clients who are leveraging this ability to share and utilize User Generated Content via a content management system like a blog. Here is a list of a few Compendium Clients putting this new functionality into action:
GK Elite -->
http://blog.gkelite.com/blog/internal-hidden/0/0/tell-us-about-your-leotard/nLydia’s Uniforms -->
http://blog.lydiasuniforms.com/blog/internal-hidden/0/0/nurses-in-action/n
DCR – Virigina State Parks –
http://blog.virginiaparks.org/blog/internal-hidden/0/0/share-your-story/nTyndale House Publishers -->
http://biblecontest.newlivingtranslation.com/ FCFCU -->
https://apps.fcfcu.com/MemberFeedback.asp
See that picture over there? The car with 1,000,000 little pieces? That's how I felt tonight when I pulled out my new dresser, nightstand, wardrobe, tv stand and end table from Ikea -- just insert a small allen wrench, an instruction manual that ONLY includes pictures and me on the floor with a "you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me-expression" on my face and you've got it.
Luckily for me there are hundreds of other folks out there who have been in the same situation and started a blog with more detailded step by step instruction on how to assemble the various IKEA prodcuts.
Does anyone see the irony in this situation? Why couldnt I find more detailed instructions, support and help on the IKEA website? How's come I had to find another person's blog for help?
If you ask me, I say IKEA needs a business blog. One that talk about all of their products and gives advice on how to build their products (besides calling Customer Service, that isnt open after 8:00 PM).
So my boyfriend has been talking and talking... and talking about wanting new tires for his truck. The other day we were sitting on the couch and I looked over his shoulder and he was searching on line over and over for various tires, brands and reviews. I just sat watching as he frequently came across one of Compendium's clients blog: Tire Rack!
The Tire Rack Team are Performance Tire and Wheel Specialists, consisting of expert enthusiasts trained to provide friendly, accurate fitment and performance advice. In fact, team members spend approximately 80 hours a year in the classroom or behind the steering wheels of test vehicles at the on-site test track and in "real world" driving sessions. Because of all of this, these folks make terrific bloggers.
Tire Rack leverages a blog for search engine optimization filled with great reliable information from Tire experts. A blogging solution allows the Tire Rack to win thousands of keywords relevant to what their potential customers are looking for. And using blogging best practices, the Tire Rack bloggers help ensure that their keyword rich blog content can be found through search.
So the next time you are on line looking for tires, you will likely come across the Tire Rack blog packed full of relevant information.
This coming Thursday Compendium is presenting an exclusive webinar on "Using Blogs to Generate and Nurture Demand into Closed Business". This webinar will not only feature Chris Baggott, CEO of Compendium - but also, Richard Cunningham, the VP of Mareking of
Right on Interactive. We all know that powerful blogging software is the best inbound marketing tool that allows you to aquire new leads and that eamil is the best tool to nuture these relationships. But how to tie these two fantastic tools together? During the webinar, you will learn how to combine these two tactics to aquire news leads and nurture them into closed business. Moreover, you will find out how Compendium's own marketing team manages, tracks and supports this very strategy (one that has seen 97% growth in leads generated and 100% ROI, year to date).
The webinar will take place On December 3rd at 1:00 PM EST.
CLICK HERE to reserve your spot today!
September 7th, 2007. That was the date of my
first blog post with Compendium. I can hardly believe that was over two years ago. You wouldn't believe how nervous I was writing that post, knowing that it would be displayed live with a Compendium branded template. I mean, one day before that (literally), I was guiding a white water rafting trip in Ohiopyle and then there I sat writing a blog post about... well... blogging.
I have to say that the things I wrote about my anticipations have been spot on; Compendium is still a GREAT atmosphere that makes selling the product, managing our clients and using the tool incredibly fun and easy. I also, kept up with my statement that I would be posting about best practices (perhaps not as often I should have, but still).
Working for a company like compendium is a dream job for someone who has a desire to contribute immediately in a fast paced, rapid change environment. Someone who has a high energy level, enthusiasm, and passion for the business.
And guess what?
WE ARE HIRING!! Here are the open positions:
- Business Development Manager / Inside Sales
- Client Success Manager / Account Manager
- Independent Content Writer
- Marketing Content / Copy writing Specialist
- Marketing Design and Operations Coordinator
- Senior Software Engineer
You can view more details here!
Over the past few weeks I have been working with a few clients to re-design their blog. The re-designs are happening for a few different reasons - but the #1 reason is always to increase conversions. A blog for business that brings in 1500 visits a day - but doesn't convert a single
on to a lead is problematic. Check out a few great new blog re-designs:
blog.widen.comsurvey.cvent.comblog.hhgregg.com
Blogging Best Practices push for a stand out Call to Action on your blog that will easily allow visitors to take the next step with your business. Take a look at the widen blog (pictured right) the nice eye-catching image with an easy to locate call to action to "TAKE THE TOUR" immediately grab the attention of the searchers.
These re-designs have been in place for only a short period of time and have already generated more leads and/or more qualified leads on average.
Happy Halloween from Compendium! That cutie over there is my sweet little cousin Carter dressed up in his astronaut costume. He is my motivation for my Halloween post of the day. 5 spooky ideas for your next 5 blog posts that follow blogging best practices:
1. Tell a spooky story. Testimonials are a great way to allow your prospects to hear from your current clients.
2. Creepy Statistics - Your prospects want numbers. Numbers showing clear ROI from your product are great ideas for blog posts.
3. Show a Scary Video! Videos embedded right into your blog post will give your readers a different way to connect with your product.
4. Report on an evil story. Sharing a story where your company is highlighted is a great way to talk about your company's success from another angle.
5. Happy Halloween - blogging about timely holidays and events are great for search. Show your personal side and share how your company celebrates holidays and events.
Candy, pizza, milkshakes, paid time off, movies during lunch, happy hour drinks, cash... etc, etc. You name it - our blogging administrator has done it. Incentive programs that is. At Compendium all it really takes is a little friendly competition or incentives to get employees to blog. Take me for example: I am not a dedicated blogger. Typically, my name is used when referring to the idea that you "can't appoint bloggers". However, tonight, a Saturday night on Halloween, I am blogging. (and passing out candy to cute tricker treaters from the big bag of candy on the right).
Powerful blogging software needs lots and lots of content to be successful and sometimes its just takes the right type of motivation for each person to become a dedicated blogger. What did I need, you ask? What drives me to blog at 9:00 PM on Saturday night is that it is now part of my job. Each month every blogger on the client success team has a set number of blog posts they need to write. This isn't a huge number - 10-13 posts is all. But knowing that it is part of my job, keeps me motivated to get to that number.
Every day I am talking with blogging administrators on how to keep their bloggers motivated, and sometimes it just takes a little trial and error to find out what motivates the blogging team. Talk with your Compendium Client Success manger today about some ideas for your own blogging program.
Just yesterday
Julie Murphy signed on Compendium's newest client,
Western River Expedition.
I for one am super excited about our newest client and am lucky enough to become their client success manager. As a kayaker, mountain biker, rock climber and former river guide myself I love that an outdoor company is taking advantage of powerful blogging software.
Western River Expeditions has a dedicated blog program administrator (which we all know is the one of the biggest success factors for a great blog for search engine optimization), a very forward thinking owner and exciting subject matter to blog about!
Stay tuned for some of Western River Expedition's success stories in the coming months!
New clients coming on board with Compendium are always wondering if they can see some of our best-looking templates . Obviously, "best" is a relative term - and when I say best I mean a template that has great calls-to-action, high conversion rates and high read times. Here are some of the templates that I send new clients to:
CVENT Web Survey Software CVENT Event Management Lydia's Uniforms Roto Rooter ExactTarget Widen Each of these blogs has a great design that follows blogging best practice and makes it easy for the searcher to take the next step with the company. A blog for business should highlight the company's' brand and give the searcher in each stage of the buying process a possible next step. If you'd like to learn more about how to update your blog software template, email us at help@compendium.com!
Over the last month the client success team has been collecting success stories from our
clients. These stories are collected either while on the phone with a client, through email or while compiling ROI data for a client. In just 30 days we have collected over 46 clients succes stories. That's two stories EVERY day from clients. A coulple great success stories from my clients are:
While helping her husband set up a blog with a free blogging service, Nancy from DCR Virginia State Parks said she forgot how great Compendium was and that our blogging interface is what is so great.
A few days after launching the blog program for OpenView Venture Partners, Kellie Stacey said that "Everyone that I have worked with so far from Compendium has been great! The staff is professional, timely, and pleasant. Thank you for all of your help so far with our implementation!"
Stay tuned for more client success stories from Compendium!
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.
If there is one thing that makes a powerful blogging software even more powerful its a great
blogging administrator. The main job of a blogging administrator is to approve and decline the blog content submitted by the company bloggers. But a great blogging administrator does much more. A great blogging administrator typically does the following as well:
1.) motivates the team of bloggers daily with new ideas
2.) develops incentive programs for the bloggers
3.) understands exactly how to track the success of the blog program back to a clear ROI
4.) is also a blogger and contributes daily to the blog
5.) is personally excited and motivated by the blog program
6.) understands blogging best practices and enforces those with the bloggers.
A great blogging administrator can be the difference between a good and a great blog for search engine optimization.
A few weeks back the Client Success Team met up with a Google Analytics expert to learn more about what Google Analytics can do for our clients who are leveraging corporate blogging software. The more SEO tools and tracking ability a client has, the more they will know what their blog is doing for them. One feature really stood out to me during this session is the ability to tag links and track them throughout the analytics.
For example, lets say you are putting together a newsletter campaign. If you are leveraging email software, like ExactTarget, you are able to track open rates and click through rates through the software - but how do you track the reader after they have clicked through to your blog? With
Google's URL builder you can do just
that.
A few easy steps to follow:
1.) Enter the URL of your blog site
2.) Fill in the fields:
- Campaign Source
- Campaign Medium
- Campaign Name
3.) Generate Code
4.) Use the generated hyperlink to send newsletter readers to your blog and track them through your analytics.
Tracking these readers:
Find your Direct Traffic. Within your direct traffic look, for your campaign source (IE: October Newsletter). Count of the conversions, read times, pages viewed/visit, etc to understand what these readers do after they leave your newsletter!
A blogging strategy is an important investment for clients, but if you don't know where all of your traffic is coming from and where its going... then you might not understand how powerful of a tool it really is.
Calling all Compendium Clients! Last Chance! Last Chance! This afternoon at 2:00 PM EST the Client Success team will be talking about Calls-to-Actions
on your Compendium blog. Call-to-Action, or CTAs, are the lead generation gateway to your business. A blog with great search rankings, great content and no CTAs would be useless as you aren't giving your prospect any reason to continue the conversation with you. CTAs are a trackable way to ensure that the folks who are finding your blog are engaged enough to take the next step.
This afternoon, Chantelle Flannery will be discussing blogging best practices for what makes a good call to action. She will go through Compendium's guidelines for CTAs and even highlight several client CTAs that are working well.
To join the webinar just register
HERE (or click on the Call to Action in this blog post).
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