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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.

sales@newscred.com