I was asked the other day by an interviewer if I could explain some Social Media and Search Marketing Trends I'm seeing. hmmmm.....
I used to do a lot of top ten lists but that's a little 2004 :-) Basically, this is what I wrote in an email to the interviewer:
From a trends standpoint, what I am focused on is a new study we are conducting to help bring some clarity around corporate blogging (http://compendium.com/survey/ )
Specifically we are looking to understand who the 'audience' really is. Our hypothesis is, and the data support, that the vast majority of traffic coming into blogs is from first time visitors.
Saying that supports the reality that your 'audience' is made up of people who don't know you....not readers really, but searchers.
Following that, should business rethink their entire strategy for corporate blogging to address the needs of this audience? Is it about thought leadership, or solving immediate problems expressed by the searcher?
The biggest trend in corporate blogging is leveraging the medium as a database marketing strategy. Similar to how email marketing has evolved from 'batch & blast" to relevant messages based on data, search is evolving from a "get in front of traffic volume" strategy to one that is about delivering relevant content to specific searches. Blogging is the best tool to accomplish this.
Supporting trends include widespread employee blogging. Edelman calls employee bloggers 5 times more credible than CEO's and of course by spreading the content creation load among many you get obvious benefits of quality and quantity. Who better to tell the stories of the problems you solve, the customers you serve and the benefits of your products and services.
Another growing content strategy involves customer or constituent feedback through direct solicitations via triggered email and specific landing pages as demonstrated by these examples.
A final supporting trend focuses on conversion. One of my favorite sayings is that "Conversion is a better conversation". Traditional blogging theory talks a lot about conversation...using blogs to engage in a dialog. What's often forgotten is that there are many many ways to have a dialog with someone. Most blogs historically have not focused on any conversion beyond "subscribe to my RSS" or leave a comment.
This has been disappointing to most Business Bloggers and to their audience of mostly first time visitors. These visitors are trying to solve a problem. That's how they arrived at the blog in the first place. Marketers are beginning to recognize that the best way to serve this audience is to convert them.
Hope this helps.
Specifically we are looking to understand who the 'audience' really is. Our hypothesis is, and the data support, that the vast majority of traffic coming into blogs is from first time visitors.
Saying that supports the reality that your 'audience' is made up of people who don't know you....not readers really, but searchers.
Following that, should business rethink their entire strategy for corporate blogging to address the needs of this audience? Is it about thought leadership, or solving immediate problems expressed by the searcher?
The biggest trend in corporate blogging is leveraging the medium as a database marketing strategy. Similar to how email marketing has evolved from 'batch & blast" to relevant messages based on data, search is evolving from a "get in front of traffic volume" strategy to one that is about delivering relevant content to specific searches. Blogging is the best tool to accomplish this.
Supporting trends include widespread employee blogging. Edelman calls employee bloggers 5 times more credible than CEO's and of course by spreading the content creation load among many you get obvious benefits of quality and quantity. Who better to tell the stories of the problems you solve, the customers you serve and the benefits of your products and services.
Another growing content strategy involves customer or constituent feedback through direct solicitations via triggered email and specific landing pages as demonstrated by these examples.
A final supporting trend focuses on conversion. One of my favorite sayings is that "Conversion is a better conversation". Traditional blogging theory talks a lot about conversation...using blogs to engage in a dialog. What's often forgotten is that there are many many ways to have a dialog with someone. Most blogs historically have not focused on any conversion beyond "subscribe to my RSS" or leave a comment.
This has been disappointing to most Business Bloggers and to their audience of mostly first time visitors. These visitors are trying to solve a problem. That's how they arrived at the blog in the first place. Marketers are beginning to recognize that the best way to serve this audience is to convert them.
Hope this helps.
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