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Case Study
Sparking CommunicationHow GuideSpark Optimized Content Marketing to
Capture Mindshare, Influence Leads & Drive 3X ROI
Problem
Solution
Results
• Sought a strategy to showcase thought leadership
in an emerging market
• Required a content destination to capture and
engage prospects
• Needed to implement technology for closed-loop
content attribution
Case Study: GuideSpark 2
Content Marketing Platform
45 42k+ ~100days to launch
new content hub + email newsletter
Engage pageviews by more than 30k
visitors
leads influenced by content resulting in
a 3X ROI
Engage
Content Marketing Advisory Servicesfor SEO & Email
Original Content Studio & Licensed Content Marketplace
Content Hub Servicesdevelopment, hosting & maintenance
Integrations with Marketo & Salesforce
+
Case Study: GuideSpark 3
As the leader in employee communication software and solutions, GuideSpark holds
several principles close to the heart: inform, inspire, and engage.
With those values in mind, it’s only natural that the organization embraced content
marketing as a vehicle to nurture its very own audience.
Soon after GuideSpark revolutionized employee communication software, the team
found itself well-positioned in an untapped, albeit relatively unknown, market. Eager
to establish the brand as the leader in the space and generate awareness around the
organization’s cutting-edge offering, the GuideSpark team realized that in order to
continue to gain readership, they would need to capture the hearts and minds of an
ever growing audience.
With industry presence and pipeline generation two company-wide priorities, the
solution was clear: accelerate (and supplement) the production of exceptional content,
and strategically optimize the content hub for lead generation.
‘‘ We set out to establish a new destination for HR leaders looking for thought leadership and best practices. At the same time, we needed to grow brand recognition and develop domain authority, while showing tangible results.”
Parker Trewin VP, Content Marketing & Communications, GuideSpark
Knowing the team would need to optimize its operation in order to own a space that
was quickly heating up, the quest to transform the organization into the market’s
unequivocal thought leader left GuideSpark with a clear option.
Case Study: GuideSpark 4
In the spring of 2017, GuideSpark selected
NewsCred as its content marketing partner, seeing
value in an end-to-end solution that spanned
technology, content, and strategic professional and
advisory services.
With its proven methodology and content
marketing best practices, NewsCred presented
GuideSpark with the plan of attack: drive new
readership through integrated SEO, social, and
content efforts, and nurture that readership
with a transformed content hub, purpose-built
for lead generation.
With aggressive launch targets in place, the
joint team immediately kicked off two work
streams—executing across strategy and
implementation in tandem.
Driving the strategic approach, the Advisory
Services team identified SEO keywords and topics of
relevance as well as significant opportunity, helping
to guide the creation of targeted content that would
drive organic traffic and maximize engagement.
With strategic planning underway, technical
resources jumped in, working hand-in-hand with
GuideSpark counterparts to design, build, and
launch the content hub. With a plan to populate
the new content destination with a curated mix
of high-quality original and licensed content, the
team also configured integrations with Marketo
and Salesforce that would enable them to track
the performance of each published asset using
content- and ROI-centric analytics within the
NewsCred Content Marketing Platform (CMP).
Finally, NewsCred’s Customer Success team
worked diligently to proactively onboard the
GuideSpark team onto the CMP. By delivering
training on all components of the platform,
GuideSpark empowered its users with best
practices to leverage technology across all phases
of the content creation process.
It was a truly collaborative effort, requiring buy-in
from cross-functional members on both sides, and
culminated in the launch of Engage, GuideSpark’s
new thought leader destination.
And just like that, within 45 days of signing the
contract, GuideSpark had officially operationalized
a content marketing program with a sound
strategic approach and a fresh new content hub,
powered by a best-in-class technology platform.
Guided to the light
Case Study: GuideSpark 5
Fast forwarding one year post-launch, GuideSpark
has transformed content marketing into an
efficient, well-oiled machine.
After working with NewsCred to implement best
practices across SEO, SEM, and email, GuideSpark
was able to drive over 42k pageviews (by more
than 30k unique visitors) to Engage within the first
10 months—a substantial uptick in traffic. And
by utilizing strategically-placed CTAs throughout
the content hub, the team generated nearly 100
high-quality leads, ultimately culminating into new
business that delivered a 3x return on investment.
Sending a new message
With an audience base in place and readership
on the rise, the GuideSpark team has turned its
attention to optimizing the operations behind
the program, using the CMP to feed its content
marketing engine and accelerate the process from
ideation through publishing and measurement.
By continuing to take a full-funnel approach to
content marketing and mapping all of its content to
different stages of the audience journey, the team
believes it can further increase engagement and
maximize conversions, ultimately generating more
leads and driving new business.
Inform, inspire, and engage: whether it’s employee
communication software or content marketing, it’s
safe to say GuideSpark doesn’t rest on its principles.
Case Study: GuideSpark 5
“NewsCred enabled us to generate awareness in a new category—simultaneously amplifying our brand presence and reinforcing GuideSpark as the leader in employee communication while directly influencing deals.”
Parker Trewin VP, Content Marketing & Communications, GuideSpark
Ready to get started? Learn more at NewsCred.com, or contact us for additional information.