INBOUNDMARKETING EXCELLENCE

TOP

50OFFICE 365 AND SHAREPOINT PRODUCT VENDORS

2015

Featuring interviews and commentary from: HubSpot, Dropbox, Nintex, Sharegate, Christian Buckley and BuzzSumo.

and five

DIGITAL COPY

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CONTENTS

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

Sharegate: A vendor perspectiveJean-Luc Brisbois, Chief Marketing Officer at Sharegate, talks to us about delivering world-class digital marketing.

Marketing insights with Christian BuckleyChristian Buckley, Office 365 MVP and CMO at Beezy, thinks good content marketing is as much about how you use content as the content itself.

Nintex: A vendor perspectiveRuss Mann, Chief Marketing Officer at Nintex, reflects on a successful campaign at the recent World Partner Conference in Orlando.

Dropbox: A view outside of the Microsoft partner networkXabier Ormazabal, Head of EMEA Marketing at Dropbox, talks about the challenges of B2B marketing.

Content marketing with BuzzSumoSteve Rayson, Director at BuzzSumo, tells us what it takes to deliver great content marketing.

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VENDOR TOP 50

The top ten vendorsSee what it takes to top our list.

Vendors eleven to thirtyUnderstand what digital marketing excellence looks like.

Vendors thirty-one to fiftyOur top fifty is an exclusive club; discover what it takes to make the grade.

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IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS01

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ForewordDharmesh Shah, HubSpot CTO and Founder, discusses the power of inbound and content marketing.

The state of inbound marketing Office 365 and SharePoint vendors are leading the way in many aspects of inbound marketing.

How we ranked vendorsUnderstand the independent analytical measures we used to rank vendors.

The tools we usedFind out more about the tools we used to rank vendors.

Inbound marketing was the term my HubSpot co-founder Brian Halligan and I popularized back when we started the company nearly a decade ago. We didn’t know it then, but we were sparking a movement that would define a whole raft of products, services and job roles. In fact, inbound is an industry.

The impact of inbound is a testament to the effectiveness of not only the methodology, but the people putting it to use to grow their businesses. Simply, inbound marketing works. Or rather, inbound marketing done well works. Be it useful blog content, innovative use of social media, or insightful emails, I’m constantly amazed and impressed by what marketing professionals come up with to engage their customers.

The Microsoft partner network is no different, and this report is a testament to some of the great work these companies are doing. B2B technology can be a difficult sell, with long sales cycles and an inherent caution from buyers. Inbound marketing can play a huge role in successful marketing and sales.

I’d encourage those companies featured, and the wider network of Microsoft product vendors, to look seriously at how they can further enhance their inbound marketing efforts. The results will speak for themselves.

FOREWORDWORLD CLASSMARKETING

Dharmesh ShahCTO and Co-founder, HubSpot

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one of the key tools a vendor has to talk directly to customers. Across the Microsoft Office 365 and SharePoint product marketplace we saw a wide variety of innovative websites.

Nintex, the company behind the hugely popular Workflow and Forms tools, provides a great example. As well as an easy to use main website, offering everything you would expect in terms of product and company information, Nintex has an extremely strong ‘Community’ site. Powered by the Jive social platform, this public-facing standalone site is a fantastic resource maintained by dedicated community managers and contains a wealth of useful content for those using the Nintex products range.

A CLICHÉ, YET CONTENT REALLY IS KING

The next area we looked at was blogging. Blogging is the term given to the creation and dissemination of content, typically via a dedicated website blog. But in practice it is so much more, involving the development of a wide variety of useful written and visual content that can be distributed to and shared with a potentially vast audience. For many, blogging used to simply be about writing a short news post once a month. Our work has shown that for many partners it is much more important than a simple newsfeed - in many cases a blog has transformed into an almost full-time activity and the primary means of

While compiling this report we looked at a wide range of digital marketing channels, techniques and outputs. We broke our analysis down into three key areas: websites, blogging and social. More can be found on how we ranked vendors on page five.

KEY FINDINGSTHE STATE OF INBOUNDMARKETING

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What quickly became clear from our work was the sheer range and creativity of vendor marketing in the Microsoft ecosystem. We were struck time and time again by the quality of vendors’ varied digital marketing efforts.

The nature of a ‘top fifty’ means we had to introduce a cut-off point, but we could have quite easily celebrated a much larger number of vendors.

WEB INNOVATION

Chief amongst many partners’ marketing efforts was their website, and rightly so. A company's website is clearly still

An ecosystem teeming with innovation.

KEY INSIGHTSBack in the mainstream, LinkedIn and Facebook are represented fairly evenly, as we would expect. Nintex makes excellent use of Facebook, using it to show customers the more informal side of the company - photos of pancake breakfasts, videos of what it’s like to work in the office and interesting interviews with employees.

LinkedIn has long been a popular network to share relevant content with business decision makers, and Mimecast, vendors of email solutions, do this very well. Their company page has an impressive 22,874 followers and content posted there is fully engaged with by the community - shares, likes and comments abound.

A BRIGHT FUTURE

We will see time and again in this report that good digital marketing is now largely about creating great content and sharing it intelligently. Everything we have seen indicates that this maxim will hold for a long time yet. What is changing, however, is the format of this content and the channels across which it can be shared. Vendors that are enjoying the most success are pushing the boundaries beyond the obvious, and building audiences and communities in new and exciting online locations. In an increasingly competitive marketplace, this trend is surely set to become the norm.

speaking to and engaging with customers.

Take Infragistics, developers of enterprise mobility solutions SharePlus and ReportPlus. They show how blogging can really engage customers and users alike. Their daily blog posts cover some great topics, and each one is a fully developed piece of content that adds value in its own right. This content is then shared across multiple social networks and platforms, ensuring its usefulness is extended far beyond the website itself.

EXPANDING SOCIAL HORIZONS

When it comes to social activity, the product vendors we looked at are again leading the way in the field. In this report, we’ve focused mainly on the use of Twitter. But our research also uncovered some very interesting uses of other networks. Chief amongst these is YouTube and video content.

Video content isn’t a new phenomenon - far from it. However, just as with all content marketing, good video marketing is about regular, engaging and shareable content that lives long beyond its initial publication date. The nature of product marketing in the technology industry in particular, where it can be difficult to communicate how complex apps look or work, is particularly suited to video.

Sharegate, purveyors of an Office 365 and SharePoint migration and management tool, has long used video to convey the company’s vibrant personality. Besides the more traditional ‘how-to’ or product showcase videos, Sharegate uses the medium to inject a little humour into their marketing. And it seems to work. One case study style video received nearly 20,000 views in just two weeks on YouTube alone. Their website contains a host of similar examples, with everything from movie trailer spoofs to humorous instructional videos on how to pour coffee.

Instagram is a much younger social network, but one we have seen increasingly creep into digital marketing campaigns. Beezy, the enterprise social network, uses this channel to showcase their presence at events and conferences. Whilst it is clearly early days for this kind of output, it offers a great way for the company to try and communicate both its work and personality.

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Social media sites in active use withconsumers,United States, June 2015, via statista.com

1. Facebook2. YouTube3. Twitter4. LinkedIn5. Instagram

The resulting list of vendors contained a large number of companies, all of which are involved in engaging and forward-thinking inbound marketing. But any analysis of this nature needs to introduce strict criteria to rank those involved. To get to this point, we looked at and scored three specific areas:

• The vendor’s website• Their blogging output• Social media activity, specifically online influence

For each of these areas we used a different industry standard tool to measure the vendor's efforts, outputs and effectiveness. These tools allowed us to break down and measure many specific sub-categories within each channel. These tools, explained in more detail on the next page, were:

• SitebeamA tool for testing websites, from Silktide.www.sitebeam.net

• MayaOur in-house blog analysis tool.maya.fiftyfiveandfive.com

• KredThe social influence score.www.kred.net

Individual scores were then combined and weighted to give an ideal representation of inbound marketing practice. We then had our top fifty.

This report is a celebration of inbound marketing excellence amongst Office 365 and SharePoint product vendors. To narrow down a top fifty we defined a number of criteria.

TOP FIFTYHOW WE RANKED VENDORS

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We initially compiled a long list of companies with products relevant to the wider Microsoft enterprise ecosystem. This report looks exclusively at fully fledged product vendors, so we omitted all non-product companies, as well as service or consultancy companies that offered smaller utilities and tools as a side business. We also focused on products in the Office 365 and SharePoint space only, and products that rely exclusively on these platforms rather than simply integrate with them. Finally, we only looked at tools aimed at business-minded end users, rather than smaller niches like developers and development software.

We looked at hundreds of Microsoft partners; the quality of work was consistently outstanding.

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Sitebeamwww.sitebeam.net

Sitebeam, by Silktide, is an automated tool which tests many different features of a website. These include:

• Content quality and freshness

• Content spelling and grammar

• Search engine ranking• Popularity with visitors• Social optimisation • Site speed• W3C compliance • Code integrity and errors

A well designed website should always have the end user in mind. It should be easy to navigate, its purpose should be clear and it should be simple for the visitor to find what they need with minimal fuss.

Sitebeam produces an objective analysis of a website by comparing it against a whole host of metrics, to ascertain its quality.

Throughout this report we also carried out our own qualitative judgements of websites to get a deeper picture of the scores.

Sitebeam scores in this report are given out of ten, to one decimal place.

Scores were taken between 21st and 22nd of August 2015.

BELOW A Sitebeam scorecard

TOP FIFTYTHE TOOLS WE USED

Mayamaya.fiftyfiveandfive.com

Maya is specifically designed to test the overall quality of a blog. It uses a range of measures to arrive at an overall score, including:

• Readability, clarity and quality of posts• Reader engagement and shares across social

networks• SEO optimisation

While quality is, of course, a matter of individual judgement, Maya tests blogs against widely accepted best practice guidelines and estimations of popularity based on sharing and engagement. From a sample of recent posts, Maya is able to come to a robust judgement.

Of course, there’s more to writing well than following Maya’s rules, but it does provide an objective method for judging general quality.

Maya blog scores in this report are given out of ten, to one decimal place.

Scores were taken between 21st and 22nd of August 2015.

BELOW A typical Maya report

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THE TOOLS WE USED

Kredwww.kred.com

Kred produces a score that indicates a company or brand’s online influence. Its scoring guide is public record:

“We measure Influence by assessing how frequently you are Retweeted, Replied, Mentioned and Followed on Twitter.

If a connected Facebook account is also used in a Kred profile, you get Influence points when people

interact with your content on your wall and the walls of others who have registered their Facebook account with Kred.

Facebook interactions counted towards your Kred include Posts, Mentions, Likes, Shares and Event Invitations.”

Kred influence scores in this report are given out of ten, to one decimal place.

Scores were taken between 21st and 22nd of August 2015.

BELOW A Kred score badge

VENDORS:ONE TO TEN

It takes an incredible level of quality to be placed in the top fifty of Office 365 and SharePoint product vendors.

The companies listed in this section practice the very best inbound marketing techniques across their websites, blogging output and social activity.

SharegateKaseyaNintexAvePointK2BeezyInfragisticsHarmon.ieMimecastTitus

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Sharegate: A vendor perspective 19

The Sharegate website is bold, bright, well designed and easy to navigate. It doesn’t try to overload the reader with information, though there is plenty here for those who wish to find it. The team features front and centre, giving the site a good sense of personality.

A MODERN, CLEAN, CRISP SITE 8.0

Blogging is key to Sharegate, and boy do they do it well. They post often, nearly every other day. This is key to building a returning audience, and that audience is totally engaged with the content. Posts receive an average of nearly forty shares each on Twitter, and a good showing on other networks too.

Nearly every entry is a thing of beauty. Design and layout is impeccable, but also readable. The content itself, the key to any good blog, is second to none. Looking for a useful ‘how-to’? A guide to the latest version of SharePoint? Or a view on the future of collaboration? You’ll find it here. Sharegate also doesn’t litter posts with too many ‘advertorial’ links to their products. They know that good content marketing does this job for them.

REGULAR HIGH-QUALITY CONTENT 9.4

Sharegate has a good following on Twitter, though certainly not the largest in this report. What the company has mastered, though, is the perfect blend of tweets. They link to their own output, of course, but are just as happy retweeting others or letting their employees take the limelight.

A GOOD BLEND OF TWEETS, RETWEETS, LINKS AND INFORMATION 7.4

Sharegate topped our report for three very simple reasons. First, they offer a strong showing across all digital channels, including a very active YouTube channel. Second, they are consistent in their content in terms of volume and quality. Third, and most importantly, they inject a sense of creativity to their inbound marketing that is extremely refreshing and entertaining.

WE SAY

Humour and a willingness to take risks

Founded in 2011 in Montreal, Sharegate has grown to become one of the world’s most trusted SharePoint migration tools. With an emphasis on ease of use, their motto is “life should be just damn simple”.

“In today’s world, people don’t just buy software, they buy a brand and a company. Right from the start, we put our people at the front of our marketing and that has paid off.”

Jean-Luc Brisebois, CMO

Migration and Governance - Office 365 and SharePoint (Cloud and ‘On-Premises’)

en.share-gate.com sharegatetools 1-888-444-3168

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The website is sleek and modern, and scored well across all Sitebeam categories. There is a lot of content being communicated, but the information architecture is clear and logical.

We really like the terminology in use. Menu items like ‘How we help’ and ‘Customer success’ really get across a positive message. ‘How we help’ further breaks down into sections aimed at specific job roles, offering tailored content to that audience. This is a great approach when dealing with technical subjects.

GREAT COPY, CLEAR LABELLING 7.7

The Kaseya blog is a hive of relevant content, all optimised for good SEO. Content is well written, and shared across the various social networks (especially LinkedIn). Readers chip in with comments, and it is nice to see profiles for individual authors.

SEO-wise, things are well maintained. URL and title lengths are in check, images are used appropriately and ALT tags are present. Each post also includes a good number of outbound links. Overall content length could be improved a little, but this is an excellent blog.

GOOD ATTENTION TO SEO CRITERIA 7.5

Kaseya has a very strong following on Twitter and a great Kred score. They tend to focus on the promotion of their own content more than others, but to good effect. An intelligent use of images and the occasional video helps drive engagement.

A STRONG FOLLOWING 7.4

Kaseya have taken second place in our inaugural inbound marketing report with a good showing across channels. Their website most impressed us, though: tools like 365Command are not easy to talk about - even to an informed audience. The website solves this with a combination of well-written copy and sensible information architecture.

WE SAY

A clever information architecture delivers for Kaseya

Kaseya offers a number of Cloud-based security and governance tools. Their 3 6 5 C o m m a n d product is an easy way to simplify the management of Microsoft online services.

Management and Governance - Office 365

www.kaseya.com kaseyacorp +1 (415) 694-5700

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Nintex offers a number of interesting web properties, not least of which is their Nintex Connect community site. The main site is modern, offering a good level of detail and product information. Like other successful sites in this report, it tailors content for specific audiences, making it easy for visitors to find what they need. The Connect site offers product updates, forums, and blogs and is run by a community team that really seems to go the extra mile to help users.

A DEDICATED COMMUNITY OFFERING 7.6

The Nintex tech blog is part of the wider Nintex Connect community. It offers up to date content that is easy to read and understand. The Flesh-Kincaid Readability result (how easy text is to consume) was very good indeed - no mean feat for a technical subject matter.

Reader engagement is good, with a solid showing on social networks. An excellent number of comments (an average of ten per post) is impressive for any blog.

AN ENGAGED READERSHIP 6.9

A well followed account, with plenty of contributions to the wider Office 365 and SharePoint community. The Nintex Twitter account is hugely influential with a very impressive Kred score.

COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS 7.7

Nintex goes a step further than most, offering a dedicated community site separate to their main offering - and it really works. Not only is it a vibrant community in its own right, with dedicated managers, but it really complements the more ‘sales’ orientated nature of the main site.

WE SAY

Nintex is the leading workflow automation platform

“Digital marketing is a critical part of our marketing mix, contributing over 50% of our brand awareness and demand generation. My number one tip, however, is that digital marketing should not be planned or executed in a silo, but approached holistically, as a team effort, in conjunction with sales, alliances, product development, finance and with external partners like Microsoft.”

Russ Mann, CMO

Business Process Management - Office 365 and SharePoint (Cloud and ‘On-Premises’)

www.nintex.com nintex +1 (425) 324 2400

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AvePoint’s challenge is the vast array of products and services the company offers. The clean and modern website makes navigating and searching simple. Videos, how-to guides and an interactive interface make the website a pleasure to use. We were especially impressed by the design and layout of the website - the consistent use of three simple colours is very appealing.

Our Sitebeam analysis scored AvePoint particularly high for the number of inbound links it receives, as well as its effective online marketing. Overall, the website is a hit, although the nature of the content can make it a little hard to read for non-technical audiences.

A SLICK, STYLISH, MODERN WEBSITE 7.3

The AvePoint blog scored well in Maya, our blog analysis tool. Regular posts and a high number of shares are a sign of healthy content marketing, although they can be a little short. We’re particularly impressed by the community focus of blogs, which allows members to register to comment and score points; a great way of building an engaged audience.

A REGULARLY UPDATED AND WELL-SHARED BLOG 6.6

Reaching well over 5000 followers, the AvePoint Twitter account receives a high score on Kred. With numerous posts each day, tweets are used to maximum effect. The feed has a real emphasis on linking back to the company’s own blog - especially to educational/informative posts.

A STRONG FOLLOWING ON TWITTER 7.8

A strong showing across all channels contributed to AvePoint’s position in this list. We were particularly impressed by the website - easy to navigate, crisp and clean and with a strong sense of style, users can find the content they need with minimal confusion.

WE SAY

An excellent website and strong social presence

Founded in 2001, AvePoint has grown to become one of the major influencers in the SharePoint community. Although their range of products and services has expanded considerably, AvePoint's core focus remains on giving administrators and knowledge management professionals greater control over their environment.

Migration, Governance and Management - Office 365 and SharePoint (Cloud and ‘On-Premises’)

www.avepoint.com avepoint_inc +1-201-793-1111

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Scoring well on SiteBeam, K2’s website receives many shares, is well marketed and has many back links from external websites. Almost all images have alternative text for visually impaired users, making it highly accessible too. With a clean, fresh look, the website is full of big, bold images, confident content, helpful videos and calls to action. K2’s sister site - The Centre of Excellence - is fantastic for fostering community while being informative.

We found the use of background video particularly appealing and also thought the messaging structure on product pages - with clear calls to action and marketing collateral - to be outstanding.

AN APPEALING AND ATTRACTIVE WEBSITE WITH GREAT USE OF IMAGES 7.0

K2’s blog plays a clear role in the company’s marketing strategy - with informative topics which funnel into more in-depth, downloadable content. We’re particularly impressed by their MVP series and the regularity of their posts, although they could always be a little longer. K2’s bloggers know how to drag a reader in with very ‘clickable’ titles - think ”It’s not me it’s you: breaking up with outdated process”.

BLOGS USED TO FULL EFFECT AS AN INBOUND MARKETING TOOL 6.8

K2’s Twitter is very much on brand - regularly posting about company news, webinars and product updates. With close to 3000 followers, their Twitter feed scored well on Kred. This shows that they get a lot of retweets, building wider influence.

STRONG FOLLOWING WITH NUMEROUS DAILY TWEETS 7.6

K2’s digital marketing efforts are fantastic and they certainly deserve to be in the top five in our analysis. We were particularly impressed by their blog, which is full of useful articles that funnel readers into more in-depth content - a tactic to learn from.

WE SAY

A clearly defined inbound marketing strategy

Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, K2 offers a range of SharePoint workflow and form apps to help customers do their jobs faster and cut out conflict.

Business Process Management - Office 365 and SharePoint (Cloud and ‘On-Premises’)

www.k2.com k2onk2 +1 (425) 883 4200

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“K2 has always believed that being simple and authentic, even in a technically complex world, is the only way to interact with our customers and community. We are honoured to be recognized for our work in the digital space.”Sonia Martinez, VP Demand Generation Marketing

Effective content should express an idea succinctly in as few words as possible. Beezy’s website is elegant, full of white space and markets the product effectively in just a couple of pages. It’s a bold approach but we think it works well.

Throughout the site there are calls to action, problem/solution messages and the occasional spark of humour, all contributing to the impression that this is a website which has received considerable planning in its execution. While a couple of videos showing how the product works would be welcome, we think it’s an excellent website overall.

LESS IS MORE WITH BEEZY’S CRISP AND CLEAN WEBSITE 6.6

Christian Buckley, MVP, is Beezy’s lead contributor, giving real authority to the blog (and the feed is populated with guest posts from other SharePoint heavyweights too.)

With an emphasis on solving business problems, posts are regular and popular. The number of shares on social media are enough to make any digital marketer envious.

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A BLOG WITH AN EMPHASIS ON THOUGHT LEADERSHIP 7.4

While the regularity of posts could be upped, Beezy’s Twitter still scored a high 7.04 on Kred, indicating a significant level of influence. Their output promotes both Beezy releases and also shares other interesting Tweets which Beezy’s followers might be interested in.

TIMELY UPDATES 7.0

Beezy’s digital marketing effort is strong all-round. A crisp, clean website, a problem-solving blog led by a Microsoft MVP and investment in an active Twitter account demonstrates a real understanding of a joined-up approach to marketing across channels.

WE SAY

Real thought leadership

Beezy is an enterprise social network for Office 365 and SharePoint (both Online and On-Premises).

“Digital marketing is most effective when you are able to package content for distribution across multiple channels. You’ll recognize greater value when the same content is edited and re-purposed across multiple channels.”

Christian Buckley, CMO

Enterprise Social Network - Office 365 and SharePoint (Cloud and ‘On-Premises’)

www.beezy.net followbeezy 916-630-7054

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Infragistics prides itself on being masters of User Experience and they went all out on a high-spec website. Smooth transitions, background video and rich interactions make it a pleasure to use.

SiteBeam marked the website high for many aspects, but marked down the lower than average content on some pages. However be in no doubt, this a great site.

USER EXPERIENCE EXPERTISE MAKES FOR A GOOD WEBSITE 4.3

Scoring highly on our blog analysis, Infragistics posts great content regularly. Unusually, blogs aren’t kept separate from the rest of the website - instead, posts related to specific products or services are placed at the bottom of relevant pages, a clever approach to attracting an audience and influencing decisions.

With a strong community behind them, Infragistics posts are regularly shared on social networking sites, increasing their reach and impact.

A HEAVYWEIGHT BLOG WITH GREAT CONTENT 7.7

With 34,000+ followers, Infragistics has a huge following and massive influence. Infragistics uses Twitter very effectively, regularly tweeting a range of interesting and informative thoughts and information which followers will find useful - including to external sites.

AN IMPRESSIVE AND INFORMATIVE TWITTER FEED 7.8

Besides an impressive website, blog and Twitter feed, Infragistics also has a strong presence on LinkedIn and Facebook. We think their approach of placing relevant blogs at the bottom of product pages is a particularly smart move.

WE SAY

A highly effective multi-channel strategy

Infragistics has two specialised apps. SharePlus brings full SharePoint and Office 365 productivity to mobile devices. ReportPlus brings existing business intelligence resources to mobile devices.

“For Infragistics the key to successful marketing is useful content. We try to create collateral people want to share with their networks. This in turn leads to backlinks and a better search ranking for us. There really is no magic bullet; good marketing is rooted in hard work and truly useful content.”

Josh Anderson, Online Marketing Director

Enterprise mobility - Office 365 and SharePoint (Cloud and ‘On-Premises’)

www.infragistics.com infragistics +44-2078-860-680

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In terms of digital marketing, harmon.ie has certainly carved out a niche with a thoughtful and original thought leadership strategy. We also rate their product videos very highly indeed.

WE SAY

A case study in digital marketing thought leadership

Harmon.ie produces a range of apps which facilitate access to SharePoint and other productivity platforms from a single screen.

Enterprise mobility - Office 365 and SharePoint (Cloud and ‘On-Premises’)

harmon.ie teamharmonie +44-1753-722-235

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We were impressed by harmon.ie’s simple, direct and precise website. A confident use of whitespace and clear messaging reduces noise and conveys key messages effectively. A high SiteBeam score reflects the site’s fresh content, large number of shares and fast load time.

Harmon.ie’s video series is particularly good as a marketing strategy. Since their tools are focused on providing a smooth UX, it’s great to see how these would work in action on a mobile, tablet or desktop screen, but also in context. Videos portray the real-world scenarios where harmon.ie’s tools would be useful, capturing the imagination of potential customers.

AN ELEGANT WEBSITE PACKED WITH RESOURCES

Thought leadership is at the centre of harmon.ie’s blog. The company has a laser focus on a number of key themes they consistently tackle. Informative posts educate readers on news, features and updates in SharePoint and Office 365, and a series on the top influencers and MVPs in the community is particularly insightful.

A BLOG WHICH INFORMS AND INFLUENCES

With their digital marketing focus on thought leadership, harmon.ie’s Twitter feed is more than a list of company news. Tweets are used to voice opinions, ask questions of the community and spark discussions with links to more news and views. harmon.ie’s is a unique and interesting feed to follow.

THOUGHTFUL TWEETING

David Lavenda, VP Product Strategy

“Providing content to the community keeps the dialogue going as it moves the community forward. We frequently publish Q&A interviews with Office 365 influencers, covering topics like cloud adoption and Microsoft strategy. Successful content marketing is about advancing both the company and the community.”

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Although Mimecast’s blogs are a little on the short side, their resource-rich website and highly influential Twitter feed make for an impressive digital marketing effort.

WE SAY

A strong all rounder driven by personas

Based in London, UK, but with an international presence, Mimecast is used by over 13,000 customers worldwide to ensure the safety of their emails through the application of cutting-edge cloud security.

Email solutions - Office 365

www.mimecast.com mimecast +44 (0)207 847 8700

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Featuring bold background video, a clear message structure and a focus on solving problems for different personas, we’re very impressed by Mimecast’s marketing strategy. A particularly smart move is the design of pages targeted at specific roles or infrastructure, a technique few other firms on this list have implemented.

Packed full of resources, webinars and informative videos, most pages on the website lead to a call to action and include more relevant related material such as blogs, case studies and reports to download. We also appreciate the consistent use of colour in the website design.

A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE, PERSONA-DRIVEN WEBSITE

We like Mimecast’s blog. There’s a clear focus on providing readers with useful information, guides and education related to email security. As with the wider website, the blog funnels readers between the more general posts and strategy and technical posts - meaning readers are able to find what they want more easily. Although Mimecast’s products are promoted, this certainly isn’t the emphasis, so it never feels like the ‘hard sell’. Our blog analysis tool returned strong results, although posts can be a little short.

A BLOG USED TO INFORM AND EDUCATE

Scoring 7.9 on Kred, Mimecast’s Twitter received the highest score on social media of all the feeds we measured - and all credit goes to the team behind it. With numerous Tweets each day and an emphasis on tips and updates, it’s a master class in tweeting. What’s the secret behind their micro-blogging success? A large following is obviously helpful, but it’s the regularity, thought-provoking shares and informative posts about enterprise security which seem to hold them in such good stead.

A HIGHLY INFLUENTIAL TWITTER ACCOUNT

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Besides the three measures above, Titus also has a solid showing on LinkedIn and Facebook, demonstrating a real commitment to multi-channel digital marketing. The use of high quality videos on the Ottawa firm’s website is a real highlight.

WE SAY

Planning and preparation pay off Titus is a Canadian firm that produces a range of email and sharing security tools for the enterprise. With a focus on empowering users to be more security aware, they specialise in data classification, mobile protection and SharePoint security.

Apps and Add-ins

www.titus.com titus +1-613-820-5111

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Titus’ website is very well structured with a clear focus on personas and solving the challenges of their target audience. Messages are clear and concise and lead to calls to action and more information, successfully funnelling readers to the kinds of content that will be most relevant to them (including helpful guides on data security legislation in different jurisdictions). This kind of messaging is only achieved through rigorous planning and kudos goes to the marketing team.

SiteBeam scored Titus high for the website’s good quality and high volume of content. We were also impressed by the consistent use of video.

GREAT CONTENT AND A FOCUSED WEBSITE

Scrolling through Titus’ blog post list, it’s hard not to be impressed by the number of contributors, including the company’s own people as well as external contributors. Posts tend to be personable and friendly, too - crucial when writing about complex subjects. While the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease Test suggested posts could be easier to read, Titus demonstrate real thought leadership.

REGULAR BLOGGING WITH MULTIPLE CONTRIBUTORS

Titus’ Twitter feed goes way beyond pure self promotion: Tweets are informative, share news, views and tips from external websites and contribute to a real discussion on email and enterprise security. Scoring high on Kred, the Twitter team clearly knows how to increase influence.

A TWITTER FEED THAT SHOWS REAL ENGAGEMENT

Jean-Luc BriseboisChief Marketing Officer, Sharegate

Can you tell us about your general philosophy?Ever since Sharegate began, our philosophy has always been to innovate and differentiate ourselves. We always wanted to try new things with our marketing and to adapt. Sometimes this hasn’t worked, but that’s OK, we just keep trying new things! We use our guts and we adapt and we’re not so afraid of failure. And yes, it’s all about doing things differently.

So humour plays a big part in Sharegate’s branding?The IT world is very boring! When Simon [De Baene, Sharegate CEO] began the company, he really had this idea in mind. So much IT marketing is so dull, and with Sharegate we wanted to do something different. First of all, we wanted to put the team on the front line - we wanted the people who build Sharegate to feature in our marketing. Because, in today’s world, people don’t just buy software, they buy a brand and a company and I think Simon’s bet paid off.

Most companies just do boring stuff; nobody creates funny videos [like our ‘life should be damn simple’ series] and that’s something very specific to us which differentiates us from our competitors. So far we’ve done two series of videos and we’ll start filming part three in October [2015], with 8 ‘episodes’ for release before Christmas. These are going to feature SharePoint and Office 365 influencers and they’ll be in the same humorous style as the previous two series.

VENDOR PERSPECTIVE

“Our philosophy has always been to innovate and

differentiate ourselves.”

19

Which channels work best?We invest a lot in online. We’ve done a lot of SEO work and paid ads since day one and that’s paid off, it’s been a good channel for us. Our blog is popular and I think the website content is generally good too. We produce a lot of videos and although the production costs are high it’s been worth it for building brand recognition. We knew we’d need to do high quality videos; if you have poor production, no one’s going to watch it. We moved into a new office six months ago where we built a studio with a green room and we bought high quality lighting, cameras and editing equipment. We take it seriously!

Sharegate’s funny, irreverent and straight-talking style is pretty unique among our digital marketing top fifty. Jean-Luc Brisebois, CMO at Sharegate, told us a little more about the company’s vision, philosophy and inspiration.

What have been your key challenges?In a way, we’ve created our own biggest challenge - to keep pace with our own innovation. We created a lot of hype around Sharegate with videos, and people are always requesting more. But all that marketing - and the videos in particular - they cost a lot of money! So it can be hard to keep up that innovation and keep doing awesome things.

What has been your single best campaign?For me the funny videos are by a long way our best campaign. People always talk about them with us. Often when we’re first speaking to a new customer at a show, the first thing they say is “Oh I saw your video!” Because you know, no one else has a video where they step on dog mess!

Sharegate had a clear idea of what they wanted and went for it; their message of not being afraid to innovate is something any digital marketer could learn from.

VENDORS:ELEVEN TO THIRTY

Content PandaMetalogixNeudesicUnilySP MarketplaceBPAColligoPDF Share FormsBamboo SolutionsVizit

27272828292930303131

Nintex: A vendor perspective

26

Cloud 2eNowCodeTwoCogmotiveBrightWorkBonzaiCollaborisKnowledge LakeLightning ToolsQorus

21212222232324242525

Marketing insights with Christian Buckley

32

21

Based in Bradford, UK, Cloud2 offers an Intranet in a Box based on SharePoint. They have a focus on the health industry and tailor Intranets and BI solutions quickly.

Intranet in a box

CLOUD2

A website which communicates with the target audience. Cloud2 has a clear focus on the health industry, and their website is finely tuned to the needs of their audience. Scoring well in our SiteBeam analysis with high marks for quick page loads and a high degree of mobile and visual-impaired accessibility, the website has a clean, fresh feel.

6.6

cloud2ltdwww.cloud2.co.uk

11

6.1

Guest blogs bring fresh industry insights. Cloud2’s blog scored a strong 7.0 on Maya, our blog analysis tool. With regular posts and a high score on the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease measure, posts cover a range of topics related to Intranet management and thought leadership. But it’s the guest posts from industry leaders which really bring the blog to life.

7.0

Migration

ENOW

A fast website which attracts a decent number of inbound links. eNow’s website has a range of interesting features such as a ‘number of messages protected’ counter and it scored high on SiteBeam for its fast page load times. With a distinct style compared to many other Microsoft partners, pages are easy to navigate and side tabs help you find what you need fast.

6.5

enowconsultingwww.enowsoftware.com

12

These guys know how have to have a good time. eNow’s Twitter feed is fun, packed full of photos of the team’s adventures, and gives off a real community feel. Conversations with customers and partners go a long way to boosting their profile and building a direct link with end users. Humour is always appreciated and the eNow team’s feed will make you smile.

6.0

The second best blog in this list. Scoring 7.1 on Maya, eNow is clearly passionate about their field. Posting on average once per week, posts are widely shared on social media and they’re long - with an average of 1,233 words. Posts are typically a deep dive into one feature or admin role and contain screenshots, custom code and real-world examples. Top quality.

7.1

A solid investment in Twitter. Cloud2’s Twitter output is impressive. Regular posts on a range of topics and news make it worth following, and we particularly appreciate their themed Tweet series, such as the BI Pain Tweets over the course of a week to capture interest. The team also uses Twitter to promote events and competitions.

eNow builds tools to help IT administrators monitor and report on Microsoft infrastructure, including Exchange, Active Directory, SharePoint and Lync. They’re based in Aliso Viejo, CA.

22

Email and backup

CODETWO

Great content and a lot of useful guides. Scoring particularly high in our SiteBeam analysis for accessibility, marketing and quality content, CodeTwo’s website has some interesting features such as a tool for filtering through their product catalogue. The site’s knowledge base is full of great how-to guides - really handy for beginners using their products.

7.4

codetwosoftwarewww.codetwo.com

13

5.8

A brilliantly informative blog. CodeTwo actually has two blogs - one on company news, releases and solving business problems, and another that provides in-depth how-to guides for admins. It’s a great resource, packed with detailed guides with screenshots. The best content marketing is that which is helpful and educational - this builds trust with the audience. CodeTwo clearly understand this.

6.9

Compliance and Governance

COGMOTIVE

A great website with standout features. Cogmotive doesn’t hide their passion for technology. The website is smart, well designed and a joy to navigate, and scored well on SiteBeam’s analysis. The online demos of the firm’s products are particularly notable - visitors can explore a ‘real-world’ copy of the firm’s tools on the website, meaning they can try the product before they buy.

7.2

cogmotivewww.cogmotive.com

14

24/7 Twitter demonstrates a real investment. Cogmotive Tweets every day - there’s no weekend for their marketing team! The feed includes a lot of promotion and sharing of new features and thought pieces on the blog. It might be nice to see a little interaction with external sites for a more community-focused feel, but there’s a lot of potential here.

5.9

Helpful and insightful posts. Posting regularly about a range of topics - from how-to’s to general Office 365 admin advice to eBook reviews - Cogmotive definitely has a unique voice, although posts could do with being a little longer to boost search engine rankings. Most posts have a call to action, such as a free trial, at the end - proof of a well-planned marketing funnel.

6.6

Using Twitter to share and contribute. CodeTwo primarily uses their Twitter feed to share news from other sites, their opinions on Microsoft news and their own popular blog. While the feed could maybe benefit from a little more of the team’s personality, it’s undeniably useful and their tweets get a consistently high number of shares.

Established in Poland in 2007, CodeTwo has developed a range of products to extend out of the box Microsoft productivity tools, including email signatures, backup, migration and synchronisation and collaboration products.

Founded in 2012 in London, UK, Cognitive offers a range of tools to simplify and automate Office 365 and SharePoint Online admin processes to identify security risks and save on costs.

23

Project Management

BRIGHTWORK

Video used to full effect. Modern, well organised and well linked to, BrightWork’s website scored well all round in our SiteBeam analysis. We think the investment video really pays off: customer success stories, product guides, demos and more make for a varied and engaging user experience. The website is a showcase in the impactful use of video.

6.7

brightwork_www.brightwork.com

15

7.2

A fun viral blog. BrightWork has taken a very effective approach to ‘fun’ blogging. Posts are short, snappy and humorous and well targeted at their Project Management audience. We’re particularly impressed by their infographics. We tend to prefer longer blog posts (search engines, especially Google, rank these higher), but maybe BrightWorks is the exception that proves the rule.

5.6

Intranet in a box

BONZAI

A bold, slickly designed website. Bonzai has a stylish, image-rich and easy to navigate website. Content is simple yet clear and used to full effect. Heavy use of primary colours, large pictures and screenshots displays their products well, and we think the use of background video is awesome. Probably the sharpest website on this list - we’re definitely impressed.

6.4

bonzaiintranetbonzai-intranet.com

16

A Twitter feed with a clear voice. Bonzai’s Twitter is used effectively to communicate company news and promote blogs, although their Kred influence rating could be boosted by attracting more followers. The team also does a good job of sharing interesting and thought-provoking blogs, news and Tweets from external sites too, which is all good practice.

6.0

A helpful, user-friendly blog. Bonzai’s blog has a definite focus on helping readers - it’s packed with how-to guides and useful tips and advice for managing an Intranet. Typical titles include “Intranet Content ideas your employees will love” and “5 ways to inject personality into your Intranet.” This kind of stuff is so useful to Intranet managers who are looking for guidance.

6.9

An excellent, informative Twitter feed. BrightWork’s Twitter feed promotes the brand, the blog, webinars and the firm’s unique sense of fun. Linking out to a lot of interesting content on the web, the feed works as a resource of interesting information for their followers. It’s also worth noting that the Boston-based brand has a strong presence on most other social media channels.

“We provide content and resources that facilitate organisations to be more successful at project management, and in particular, project management on SharePoint. Our goal is to make people see us as a project management company that sells software, as opposed to a software company that sells a project management tool.”

“We've been more successful than we ever imagined in attracting people who are looking for an Intranet to our website. We continually share content in the form of information-rich blogs, presentations, infographics and other high-value pieces that address different stages in our prospects' buying journey.”

Donal McCarthy, Digital Marketing Manager

Sandra Keen, Marketing

24

Compliance and Governance

COLLABORIS

A website with a community at the centre. SiteBeam rated Collaboris’ website for its marketing, regular fresh content and accessibility. We really appreciate the community focus - the website is full of useful resources and guides.

6.9

collaboriswww.collaboris.com

17

6.5

A blog targeted for its audience. Maya, our blog analysis tool, rated Collaboris’ blog for its regular posting and high level of shares. There are in fact a number of different blogs on the site for different products and audiences, which helps readers find exactly what they’re looking for. The use of post series also keeps people coming back.

6.1

Apps/Add-ins

KNOWLEDGE LAKE

A website packed full of great content. Our SiteBeam analysis of Knowledge Lake’s website highlighted the marketing efforts, accessibility and large quantity of fresh content available. The additional resources are especially interesting and Knowledge Lake’s videos and webinars are key to boosting engagement.

3.9

knowledgelakewww.knowledgelake.com

18

A motivational Twitter feed. With daily themes, Knowledge Lake has developed a unique and positive voice on Twitter and this has translated into a significant following. From Motivation Monday through to Throwback Thursday, the daily themes are used consistently and to great effect - no one else on this list has developed such a unique approach.

7.4

A well-written, authoritative blog. While Knowledge Lake doesn’t post so regularly, when they do, the quality is top notch. They run informative series on business problems (which avoid heavy endorsements of their own product) and also offer a series of how-to guides with screenshots to help readers. How to’s are often so useful for customers and really draw traffic to the website.

6.5

Tweeting with a community feel. Collaboris’ dedication to the community speaks for itself on their Twitter feed - they regularly share useful SharePoint related information and retweet MVPs and other influential posts and articles.

Founded in 2007, Collaboris produces a range of enterprise tools built on SharePoint. They include the innovative DocRead and DocSurvey. Both tools help enterprises with document distribution, sign off and feedback.

Founded in 1999, Knowledge Lake has been working with SharePoint since day one. The St. Louis, Missouri, firm has developed a range of add-ins to save customers time and money.

25

Apps/Add-ins

LIGHTNING TOOLS

A slick, friendly and easy to use website. Lightning Tools’ website is attractive and easy to navigate. Good use of video and images make learning about their products a breeze and the community and support pages give end users a space to communicate with the brand. Bold, up front use of calls to action are peppered throughout the site, demonstrating a high level of planning in its execution.

5.7

lightningtoolslightningtools.com

19

6.9

Detailed, deep-dive blog posts. It’s a shame Lightning Tools doesn’t post more regularly because when they do, posts are exceptionally good. Taking a detailed look at SharePoint features, the writing is top quality and posts are typically long - which helps improve ranking on search engines. While it’s an investment in time and effort, this sort of thing is so useful to readers.

5.8

Document generation

QORUS

An appealing website built on great technology. SiteBeam scored Qorus’ website a 7.0 for its use of technology, and it’s certainly a pleasure to navigate. Pages are attractively designed with an effective use of images and video and intelligent tie-in of marketing collateral. We especially liked the industry pages, which is great for visitors to find relevant information.

7.0

qorusdocswww.qorusdocs.com

20

A full and frequent feed. Posting numerous times each day keeps Qorus’ Twitter feed relevant and fresh. With an emphasis on sharing company news, webinars and especially their own blogs, the feed is used effectively, although efforts could be made to boost the number of followers, if only to make their great content reach more people.

5.8

A targeted and strategic blog. Our blog analysis tool scored Qorus’ blog highly for its readability, yet showed there was work to be done in translating this into social shares. Posts are typically targeted at specific industries or business problems, often with a how-to element. The blog plays a clear role in Qorus’ marketing funnel, usually leading subtly to further information and downloads.

6.1

An active and engaging Twitter feed. It’s no surprise Lightning Tools has such a large Twitter following - theirs is a really active feed with lots of retweets and news. Offering prizes and competitions will always attract followers too! There’s also a lot of interaction with the community and their followers which also contributes to boosting their Kred rating.

Based in London, UK, Lightning Tools has been designing helpful tools, apps and add-ins since 2007 to make the lives of SharePoint and Office 365 admins easier. They also built Social Squared, a forum platform for SharePoint users.

Founded in 2008, Qorus has grown to become a global company. Specialising in marketing and content automation, Quorus saves companies huge amounts of time producing professional, tailored material.

“The strategies

used even five to ten years

ago no longer seem

effective”

26

Christian has been lending his knowledge

and expertise to the collaboration industry for

over twenty years.

www.buckleyplanet.com

MARKETING INSIGHTS

Christian BuckleyOffice 365 MVP and CMO, Beezy

The truth behind content marketing Whether you are selling a product or service, tangible or virtual, the marketing mix is constantly at play. In general, marketers spend a great deal of time measuring, reviewing, and strategizing around the Four P's of marketing: product, pricing, placement, and promotion. Even in the world of digital marketing, these principles have remained unchanged. Having said that, many organizations struggle to make the necessary changes as technologies advance at a lightning pace; competition becomes global, and the strategies used even 5 to 10 years ago no longer seem effective. Content marketing is no longer a small piece of your strategy - it IS the strategy. Content shapes your overall message, it helps qualify your leads, it nurtures your pipeline, and it enables your customers to be successful. Unfortunately, the proliferation of marketing automation tools, the widespread adoption of social networking platforms, and the massive wave of "experts" on SEO optimization and branding has left many companies struggling to understand what to do to stand out from the crowd. Because of this marketing confusion, many companies are deciding to stay the course despite the data - purchasing traditional advertising and relying heavily on email campaigns regardless of what the declining statistics show. In an increasingly competitive world, there is very little you can do to stand out in the market by staying the course with traditional marketing tools. Content can help a brand stand out from the rest - but not just any content. We're all familiar with the idea of providing thought-leadership through content, which, of course, is part of your goal to be viewed as the expert - with the company or brand at the center of your customer community. But it's not just about the volume of content created. Consumers can see through all of that. They want expertise, yes, but they also want authenticity. They want to know that the content being used to further your message is authentic, that there are actual subject-matter experts and experience and heart behind the carefully crafted headlines and insider-prescribed best practices being shared. The hard truth behind successful content marketing is that it is really difficult. It takes time, it needs the right person or team, and it requires consistency. When done right, content marketing can increase good-will and brand recognition. If provided consistently, it can translate into trust, influence, and authority - and can then extend and elevate the value of your more traditional marketing activities in measurable ways, such as improved open rates on email campaigns, increased web traffic, and improved conversion rates from lead to opportunity. It's easy to read these ideas and say, "Yeah, I get it." The hard part is actually doing it. It requires an honest assessment of your current marketing efforts, and identifying the right people who can consistently deliver thought-leadership pieces around which you can build your content marketing strategy.

27

Help and training

CONTENT PANDA

More delicious than bamboo. Scoring well on SiteBeam for its accessibility and regular updates, Content Panda’s website is enjoyable to navigate and looks and feels unique in comparison to many other Microsoft partner websites. There’s a big emphasis on calls to action throughout the site, which we think is definitely a positive approach.

6.7

contentpandawww.contentpanda.com

21

6.0

A blog with a community focus. Content Panda’s blog offers updates on company news and webinars and also has a big focus on community. Reading the blog, the audience really feels drawn into the company’s life, with posts about what they’ve been up to and their own insights and impressions. Updates could be a little more regular and lengthy, however.

6.0

Compliance, Governance and Migration

METALOGIX

A high-tech website. Metalogix scored well on SiteBeam’s website analysis, gaining kudos for its fast loading times, strong inbound linking and large amount of fresh and regularly updated content. Metalogix’s products are complex and the website makes good use of screenshots, videos and diagrams to explain their functionality.

6.7

metalogixwww.metalogix.com

22

A real investment in Twitter. With over 4,300 followers, Metalogix’s Twitter feed has a lot of influence. Given the effort their digital marketing team clearly puts in, this is no surprise; Tweets are regular, they retweet and share news and stories and interact with their followers effectively. 7.6 is a great score on Kred and shows Metalogix has real reach and influence.

7.6

Blogging with authority. The Metalogix blog incorporates a range of useful features such as guides, blog post series and thought leadership on various topics. Our blog analysis tool was overall positive, yet did point to a need for more regular, shareable content. We also really like the writing style - it’s friendly, accessible and often humorous.

4.4

A relevant Twitter feed with a unique voice. Content Panda has developed a personable, engaging and fun Twitter feed. Posting regularly, the team shares company news, information that is relevant to the community (such as webinars) and, above all, useful to their followers. They also interact regularly with followers and SharePoint MVPs, which is great for influence too.

Content Panda helps its users get the most out of SharePoint and Office 365. Working with Microsoft and MVPs, Content Panda offers contextual, up to date tips and advice on how to use Microsoft’s platforms without ever leaving their environment.

Metalogix is a market leader in management software, offering tools to help move, manage and store content more easily and securely.

28

Apps/Add-ins

NEUDESIC

An information-rich website. SiteBeam praised Neudesic’s website for the number of shares it received and the technology it is built on. We think the tailoring of pages and sub-sections to different industries is effective and the abundance of resources is very useful for customers. The website is peppered with well-targeted messages and calls to action - all examples of best practice.

5.7

neudesicwww.neudesic.com

23

7.2

A well-planned and executed blog. Although our blog analysis tool indicated Neudesic could post more regularly, we think their blogging is excellent. Posts tend to be thematic and industry focused, they help solve business problems and include non-pushy calls to action. This kind of targeting will be valued by potential customers from those industries, and it’s a positive to not be purely tech-focused.

5.3

Intranet in a box

UNILY

An elegant website with a great UX. Unily prides themselves on UX in their product and this is mirrored with their attractive and easy to navigate website. Unlike many of their competitors, it’s very quickly obvious to the visitor what Unily actually do - which highlights the importance of clear messaging and the value of understanding your audience.

6.8

weareunilywww.unily.co

24

A Twitter feed that plays a clear marketing role. Unily effectively uses their Twitter feed to share news, updates, videos and blog posts. By use of questions and compelling statements, Unily makes their tweets highly clickable and will do a lot to drive traffic to their blog and ultimately the website. Increasing the number of followers will only boost their influence and visibility.

6.1

A thoughtful and well-written blog. Unily have clearly invested time into developing an interesting blog with highly shareable posts. We particularly like their video posts and their use of ‘listicles’ (list articles) and problem solving posts really attract clicks. So many people begin a search query with “how do I…” and the team at Unily knows that posts answering these questions will boost traffic to the blog.

5.6

A real investment in Twitter. With over 1600 followers, Neudesic has clearly invested in their online influence. As with their blog, the feed aims at being a useful resource and also shares news and retweets from the community. Neudesic also speaks in an accessible and friendly way - “we had a blast”; “boom! it’s done”. The brand has developed a fun and engaging voice.

Neudesic provides a range of tools which boost productivity across organisations, including a social app, business directory and document review software.

Unily is an Intranet as a Service platform, offering customers access to the power of SharePoint, Office 365, Yammer and Azure, but in an easy to deploy experience.

29

Apps/Add-ins

SP MARKETPLACE

A website informed by a consistent marketing strategy. Based in California, SP Marketplace designs and builds a range of intuitive SharePoint and Office 365 apps and add-ins. We really like the product pages where data sheets, videos, demos and pricing are placed strategically to direct visitors through to the further information - a technique many companies could learn from.

7.1

sp_marketplacewww.spmarketplace.com

25

4.9

High quality blogging. Scoring well in Maya, our blog analysis tool, SP Marketplace’s blog is regular and well shared, and posts are lengthy. It’s awesome they’ve introduced guest blogs too (although it’d be great to see a few more), but we’re most impressed by post series targeted at specific audiences - a recent theme has been how the Cloud can help local government.

6.5

Apps/Add-ins

BPA

A video paints ten thousand words. BPA’s investment in a strong video profile is impressive; their video clips are fun and informative, while being short enough to consume quickly. We also like how simple to navigate the website is and find the interface clean and easy to use. Targeting solutions pages at specific industries is a really useful approach, too.

6.5

bpa_solutionswww.bpa-solutions.net

26

Twitter as a mouthpiece for company news. At present BPA mainly Tweet to announce company news and upcoming events. A slightly more consistent, marketing-driven approach could make their feed feel a little more compelling. That said, we can only praise the regularity of posts; the sharing of interesting and relevant posts show signs of the foundations being there.

5.3

Targeted blog posts. Maya was impressed by the SEO elements of BPA’s blogs, although they could post more often. BPA has separated regular blog posts from posts for developers (although this currently consists of only two blogs), a well-targeted approach which will certainly improve as contributions increase.

6.3

Twitter integrated into wider marketing efforts. While SP Marketplace could increase the number of followers, their Twitter feed is well tied in with their other marketing efforts, promoting their blogs and product releases. It’s great to see so many shares from external websites and posts which demonstrate the brand is really engaged with their topic.

BPA Solutions has been working with SharePoint since 2001 and knows the product inside out. Their apps, web-parts and add-ins help developers and end users boost control over their platform.

“Digital marketing has presented opportunities to engage and educate our audience through the blogs we publish focused on industry trends, by sharing best practices on LinkedIn Groups, and by creating tutorial videos on YouTube. With limited resources we have leveraged video DIY development sites to create high quality media, which has been critical in our positioning as a leader in a rapidly evolving market”.Ashley Johnson, Marketing Coordinator

30

Email and Mobile

COLLIGO

7.3

colligowww.colligo.com

27

6.9

An interesting blog with real potential. Showcasing opinion, news, thought leadership and guest posts, Colligo’s blog has the potential to be really exciting. While posts are a little irregular and could be a little longer, it’s clear there’s a lot of potential here. The involvement of many different members of the Colligo team shows a willingness to get involved, which is good to see.

4.2

Apps/Add-ins

PDF SHARE FORMS

A well-planned inbound marketing strategy. Our SiteBeam report ranked PDF Share Forms’ site high for its share-ability, accessibility and how well it’s linked to. More generally, the website is professional, easy to navigate and makes finding information simple. The company’s extensive video library also proves useful to existing customers.

6.8

pdfshareformswww.pdfshareforms.com

28

A well-targeted Twitter feed. PDF Share Forms know their niche. Their twitter feed is full of useful information about upcoming events to help developers and admins. While it would be good to see a larger following, their use of humour and photos of the team gives the feed a friendly vibe and prevents it from becoming generic or dull.

5.0

A blog which highlights the team’s expertise in the field. The team behind PDF Share Forms clearly know their stuff. Posts are generally in-depth, and provide a good deal of advice, guidance and how-to. While it’d be great to see the team post more often, what’s on the site is good quality. The step-through guides, driven by screenshots, make posts thorough and helpful.

6.2

Tweeting with personality. Colligo’s Twitter feed is a little like their blog - a friendly voice, lots of interesting news and promotion and real engagement with the community, yet irregular tweets hold it back. Colligo has real reach and an audience of nearly 1500 followers, meaning their posts can have a big impact in terms of thought leadership and a voice for the brand.

Founded in 2010, PDF Share Forms is popular with companies worldwide for enhancing and extending their SharePoint solutions with PDF forms integration.

“We're putting a lot of emphasis on MarTech so we can leverage our existing marketing and CRM tools to achieve better results and make more informed decisions. We have a strong culture of outbound emails and have begun to lay the foundation for a broader lead generation cycle which includes nurture programs for every lead.”Michelle Mercier, Director of Marketing

31

Apps/Add-ins

BAMBOO SOLUTIONS

A website with a strong community focus. The team at Bamboo Solutions is clearly enthusiastic about helping the community get the most out of their tools with extensive guides, community sub-sites and support. It’s great to see a company so focused on helping their customers; it’s a great way of building trust and respect.

4.3

bamboonationstore.bamoosolutions.com

29

6.7

Regular, product focused blogs. Maya, our blog analysis tool, rated Bamboo Solutions’ blog highly for its regularity - the team posts every three to four days. However, posts tend to be short and more could be done to increase shares. Bamboo Solutions actually has a range of product-dedicated sub-sites with their own blogs which serve the community very well.

5.5

Vizit has been building solutions for SharePoint since 2008. Their range of apps and add-ins helps with file preview and viewing, capturing and enhancing images and more.

Apps/Add-ins

VIZIT

An informative, customer focused website. Our SiteBeam analysis of the Vizit website highlighted the use of fresh and regularly updated content, as well as its accessibility. With product videos, effective use of demos, a dedicated tutorials sub-site and calls to action for a free trial, the site is well focussed on turning visitors into customers.

6.3

vizitincwww.vizit.com

30

An interesting if untapped Twitter feed. As with their blog, Vizit hasn’t tweeted for some time now, which is a shame since when they do, content is interesting, thoughtful and well researched. The team regularly interacts with customers too and shares thought leadership and interesting articles. More regular tweeting will only lead to more Vizit-ers!

5.6

An interesting and thoughtful blog. We found Vizit’s blogs interesting and thoughtful - posts are focused on solving problems for developers. However, their last post was over a year ago (at the time of our analysis); regular posting would certainly help increase visitors, shares and drive engagement. Fresh, longer form content ranks a website higher on search engines.

5.8

A strong following with effective digital strategies. Tweeting regularly, Bamboo Solutions’ Twitter feed is engaging and popular - it reaches almost 2,500 people. We were especially impressed by the panda toy giveaway which asked followers to engage in order to win a toy panda - a smart strategy for growing engagement.

Based in Reston, Virginia, and established in 2001, Bamboo Solutions has been building tools to extend and enhance SharePoint since its inception. The team of fifty builds apps, components, mobile extensions and more.

Russ MannChief Marketing Officer, Nintex

“Digital marketing

played a major role in

our WPC campaign,

and its power was

greatly increased when the

whole company

worked together as

one. ”

32

Nintex at the World Partner ConferenceRuss Mann, CMO at Nintex, reflects on the ingredients for a successful digital marketing campaign, drawing on the company’s achievement’s at WPC 2015.

When Phil Sorgen, senior exec. within Microsoft’s Partner Channel, offered to get on stage with Nintex CEO John Burton at an exclusive private event for Microsoft-Nintex channel partners to kick off WPC, it was already a huge win. And then when Gabriela Schuster – another senior exec. within Microsoft’s Partner Channel - invited Nintex onto the main stage at WPC 2015, it truly felt like a ringing endorsement of all the months of planning and preparation. It was great to see our co-founder Brett Campbell on stage in front of 15,000 people to announce the release of the Microsoft ‘Find a Partner’ PinPoint page on our website. However, knowing how they got there and the part that digital marketing played in that success is a reflection of a much wider campaign.

We are especially proud of Nintex’s campaign running up to WPC. The reason it was such a success? We took a totally holistic approach. Rather than doing our digital marketing in a vacuum, the whole company worked together to achieve our CEO John Burton’s vision: be the leader in workflow automation with a channel-centric, Microsoft focused view. Digital marketing played a major role in our campaign, and its power was greatly increased when the whole company worked together as one.

Gearing up for WPCIn preparation for a conference like WPC, building our relationship with Microsoft was a crucial step. We were thrilled when they invited us to become Titanium sponsors and we were also informed that we would be awarded SharePoint and O365 Partner of the Year. With our sponsorship in place, we began building a complete digital campaign:

• We refreshed our website, focusing on our Microsoft-aligned goals.

• We developed personas with improved calls to action and buyer journey plans.

• The Digital Marketing, Product Marketing and Product Development teams all collaborated closely for the new Nintex Mobile Enterprise and Nintex Forms Enterprise product launches at WPC. This included digital PR, digital social launch, follow-up emails and webinars, as well as new product content online with SEO and content marketing techniques applied.

• We set up a digital event page highlighting our WPC participation, including key executive bios of our CEO John Burton, SVP Sales Christian Smith and VP Channel Josh Waldo. We created thought leadership around Office 365 and Azure consumption, path to cloud, and at-event activities.

VENDOR PERSPECTIVE

“Our digital team were

prepared to respond to any

Tweet, photo or opportunity

to increase coverage,

grabbing any opportunities

that arose. ”

33

Five fantastic digital daysNintex sent over 70 employees to WPC and set up a ‘digital war room’ back at our head office in Seattle. Our digital team were prepared to respond to any Tweet, photo or opportunity to increase coverage, grabbing any opportunities that arose.

• When senior Microsoft execs stopped by our stand, we took pictures and these were instantly shared on social media.

• We worked with other Microsoft partners - tweeting and retweeting one another’s events.

• We were monitoring our website and social channel for real-time traffic and digital engagement, as well as partners and competitor social stream monitoring and engagement.

• Our digital team fed any useful information right back to the team at WPC.

Post WPCAfter WPC our digital marketing focused on following up leads. Our email automation meant we could turn those ‘likes’ into leads. We are incredibly proud of the hard work and effort of our teams and in terms of ROI, our campaign drew immediate and long-term dividends.

• Social media traffic swelled - interactions were at 120% compared to our average on Twitter alone during the five days of WPC.

• We had a goal of adding over 1,000 new qualified contacts to our database and we overachieved on that target.

• Our ‘Find a Partner’ PinPoint page - released in conjunction with Microsoft for WPC - saw a considerable number of visitors and our website overall saw a 25% increase in traffic during the five days of WPC.

• More anecdotally, our digital effort combined with our titanium sponsorship and booth placement led to a greatly improved perception and awareness of our brand.

So often, we see companies and even front line SEO and social media people treating digital marketing as somehow separate from everything else. For all of us at Nintex, the key takeaway of our WPC digital marketing campaign is that a 360, cross-team, cross-company approach is so much more effective. If you can get all teams aligned behind the CEO’s vision, speaking the same language and focused on the same end goal, your marketing will reach optimum levels.

VENDORS:THIRTY-ONETO FIFTY

Boost SolutionsActionspaceKanboEnovaPointEquilibriumCloudMigrator365Vyapin SoftwareFinancialsSkyKickEasyShare

40404041414142434343

Content marketing with BuzzSumo

39

Virto SoftwareAttini CommsMessageOpsCRM SharePointKWizComLayer2PremierPoint SolutionsHarepointKintivoFilamente

35353536373737383838

Marketing insights with Dropbox

44

35

Virto have been designing and building SharePoint web parts and Office 365 apps since 2009. The company earned itself the Microsoft Gold partner title for its SharePoint tools for calendaring, alerting, collaboration, workflow and administration. Our blog analysis tool showed Virto achieves just over 6 images per blog post on average, an effective way of maximising reader engagement. However, at almost 70 days between posts, more frequent blogging would be welcome.

Apps/Add-in

VIRTO SOFTWARE

7.1

virtosoftwarevirtosoftware.com31

WEBSITE

6.0BLOGGING

4.9SOCIAL

With a focus on Office 365 and Azure Cloud, MessageOps deliver a number of tools to coincide with Office 365 in order to make for a cleaner Office experience. Along with a free migration consulting service, most MessageOps tools and utilities are offered at no extra cost for community members. Maya highlighted that whilst MessageOps possesses a blog that is updated with fresh content regularly, the brand struggles to reach out to social media platforms - which drive a lot of user adoption.

Apps/Add-ins

MESSAGEOPS

5.3

messageopsmessageops.com33

WEBSITE

5.0BLOGGING

6.4SOCIAL

Specialising in a well-honed mobile experience for SharePoint, Attini’s app integrates with SharePoint and Office 365. Features include social commenting, statistics and simplified distributed publishing. Our SiteBeam analysis rated Attini for their accessibility, yet content and social elements could be improved. Blogs were generally well written according to Maya’s analysis, yet posts are irregular - at the time of writing, Attini haven’t posted for over 200 days.

Mobile

ATTINI COMMS

4.9

attinisoftwww.attini.com32

WEBSITE

5.6BLOGGING

6.1SOCIAL

A division of Micar Software Ltd, CRM SharePoint boasts over 21 years of experience in software development and a solution built by SharePoint experts. They provide collaboration and relationship management software solutions across the UK. While their Twitter page is updated regularly with informative content, it would be great to see a larger following, so a closer focus on social recognition would boost their Kred score. SiteBeam praised the website’s links, alternative text, load times and use of analytics.

CRM

CRM SHAREPOINT

5.5

ouritdepartmentcrmsharepoint.co.uk34

WEBSITE

5.3BLOGGING

5.9SOCIAL

36

TOP 6 VENDOR BLOGSSHAREGATEen.share-gate.com/blog

The Sharegate blog not only provides insightful articles and genuinely useful content, but it does it with personality and humour.

ENOWblog.enowsoftware.com

A good mix of ‘How to’ posts and commentary on the world of Microsoft makes this a solid entry in our top six blog list.

INFRAGISTICSinfragistics.com/community/blogs

Unique across the blogs we looked at, Infragistics provides a great mix of business and technical focused content. Both genres hit the mark.

1

2

3

KASEYAblog.kaseya.com

Regularly updated and always detailed, the Kaseya blog is a fountain of knowledge and a worthy fourth on our list.

Christian Buckley authors the majority of blog content over at Beezy, and the quality is thus very high. The Beezy blog is always worth a read.

CLOUD2cloud2.co.uk/category/blog

A good example of a blog that delivers detailed, useful content that is hard to find elsewhere.

4

5

6

BEEZYbeezy.net/blog

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KWizCom is a global company specialising in software components for Microsoft SharePoint. The team deliver 100% SharePoint-native forms and mobile solutions as well as a custom SharePoint experience for mobile devices. The Microsoft Gold Partner haven’t posted any new content to their blog in over 100 days, causing their Maya rating to suffer as a result. However, KWizCom boasts a high Twitter influence and a moderate Facebook following, both excellent methods of communication and brand building.

Apps/Add-in

KWIZCOM

6.0

kwizcomkwizcom.com35

WEBSITE

4.2BLOGGING

6.1SOCIAL

Founded in 2003, PremierPoint is located in Nashville, Tennessee. One of the earliest Microsoft SharePoint partners, they are best known for their Extranet Collaboration Manager SharePoint add-on, along with extensive training sessions. Achieving respectable scores from Sitebeam and Kred, their blog suffered from generally short posts but overly long sentences. A shame, given the high-quality content that PremierPoint posts. More regular, better-shared posts would boost the brand’s scores across the board.

Apps/Add-ins

PREMIERPOINT SOLUTIONS

5.9

premierpointpremierpointsolutions.com37

WEBSITE

3.9BLOGGING

6.0SOCIAL

Based in Germany, Layer2 are all about apps for Office 365, SharePoint and Azure, based on the Microsoft .NET Framework. They have been a reliable European partner for the last 20 years and offer additional consultation services as a Microsoft Gold Partner. Sitebeam commended the website’s excellent use of alternate text and multiple outbound links. However, their blog could do with a re-work; short, infrequent posts with little engagement are reflected in a lower rating by our blog analysis tool.

Apps/Add-ins

LAYER2

6.8

sharepointfranklayer2.de36

WEBSITE

3.8BLOGGING

5.7SOCIAL

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Founded in 1999, HarePoint is a trademark of MAPILab Ltd, which is closely associated with products for Outlook and Exchange Server. Wishing to add other avenues for the promotion of products made for SharePoint Server and SharePoint Foundation; a separate trademark - HarePoint, was created. Now, seventeen products are represented under the HarePoint banner. Sitebeam acknowledged the site had been growing in popularity over the past few months, as well as being updated regularly and having good overall accessibility.

Apps/Add-in

HAREPOINT

6.4

harepointharepoint.com38

WEBSITE

5.3BLOGGING

4.1SOCIAL

Filamente is a native mobile client for SharePoint, available on iOS and Android. Founded in 2010, every team member is both a Microsoft Certified Professional Developer and Technology Specialist for SharePoint 2007 and 2010. Maya identified the need for an increased outreach towards social media sites, and the combination of short posts with long sentences did make posts harder to read. That said, it wouldn’t take much to turn this into a top quality feed.

Mobile

FILAMENTE

6.4

filamentefilamente.com40

WEBSITE

3.4BLOGGING

4.6SOCIAL

Having expanded and thus retiring their previous SharePoint AMS brand name last year, Kintivo is a leading provider of SharePoint based e-commerce, membership management, forms and member site solutions. Sitebeam identified a solid technology score for the clean and professional website design. Maya, our blog analysis tool, pointed to the fact that posts are well written, yet Kintivo would reap the benefits of increasing the number of shares they receive by posting more often.

Mobile

KINTIVO

6.6

kintivokintivo.com39

WEBSITE

4.1BLOGGING

4.9SOCIAL

Xabier OrmazabalHead of EMEA Marketing, Dropbox

What are the challenges in digital B2B marketing compared with B2C?The major difference is around the decision makers - in the enterprise market you have a different set of people who intervene in making a buying decision compared with an individual consumer and their needs. You also need to think about product pricing and packaging and also think about a very different kind of buyer profile - often one that’s maybe more risk averse or adoption driven. Those factors can be very influential.

“In the B2B space you have a

longer buying cycle, which

needs a different approach.”

39

Digital marketing is evolving rapidly, yet providing fresh, relevant and, above all, useful content is crucial no matter the channel. We spoke to Xabier Ormazabal, head of EMEA marketing at Dropbox for Business, about the particular challenges of B2B marketing in the tech space.

What kinds of messages resonate with IT decision makers?Security, reliability, speed and performance are all highly relevant to business decision makers. It’s also important for them to think about user adoption - knowing that Dropbox is already a major hit with consumers helps us a lot. Many companies have the risk that when they implement a technology solution they then have to make sure their users are adopting it and that they're getting value from the application.

The other thing to consider is that companies are aware of key trends such as BYOD and the consumerization of IT. Users won't wait around and they're very opinionated. Emphasizing how your product corresponds with those trends is very important.

In the B2B space you’re generally looking at a longer buying cycle, so it’s really important to do some research into the different buyer personas that you're communicating with. Whether it's IT decision makers, the end user or all the way right up to the CIO, thinking about how your different product messages resonate with those different audiences can then really shape your content strategy in terms of the content that you need to reach them.

What makes for effective content marketing?I think effective Content Marketing is that which really engages the audience in terms of being informative, in terms of being entertaining and in terms of being something that breathes life into the subject in a new and refreshing way. The companies that are best in content marketing are the companies that aren't too preachy on a topic, it’s not too formalistic or jargon-ridden. They speak in a clear, easy to understand voice and they're informative - they're genuinely not trying to push or sell a product but they're trying to help people form an opinion or learn about a different field or area.

At Dropbox, one successful campaign we have right now is ‘Enterprise Ready’. It serves to inform IT buyers about what they should be considering when they're looking into different solutions. I think that's an example of a piece of content that can be useful and informative as well.

And how about effective social marketing?For social marketing it’s important to have presence on a range of different channels. When you're marketing in any kind of media, and even more so in social media, your credibility comes from being seen as knowledgeable around that particular topic area, and also being genuinely helpful to your readers. That’s about sharing insights and creating interesting connections between different topics. There's a lot of information out there; you have to be driven by images, you have to be short, easy to digest and offer actionable information that people will be keen to check out.

VENDOR PERSPECTIVE

40

Founded in 2007 as a SharePoint consulting firm, BoostSolutions evolved into a provider of innovative SharePoint solutions. Today, they serve more than 6000 organisations in over 90 countries. The site struggled on the technology side of SiteBeam’s web analysis; with speed, missing files and W3C compliance pulling an otherwise good site down. Their blog is home to good quality, well-written content, and a boost in post frequency and social media engagement would be great to see.

Apps/Add-in

BOOST SOLUTIONS

3.3

sharepointboostboostsolutions.com41

WEBSITE

4.4BLOGGING

5.2SOCIAL

Integrated with almost everything Microsoft - Office 365, SharePoint, OneDrive, Yammer, CRM - KanBo is a visual Project Management and contextual collaboration platform. With an impressive 12,800 Twitter followers who they consistently engage with, Kanbo received an excellent Kred score. Sitebeam noted solid Technology and Accessibility features on their website, but lacking a physical blog meant Maya gave them a score of 0, which dragged their overall score down considerably.

Project Management

KANBO

6.4

kanbohqkan.bo43

WEBSITE

0.0BLOGGING

7.3SOCIAL

Actionspace is a powerful enterprise task management and simple project management software solution, natively developed for both Office 365 and SharePoint. Actionspace also provides a web-edition with the option to migrate to Office 365 at any time. While the website and blog were rated well, Actionspace’s Twitter feed would benefit from more investment to heighten brand awareness. With good content and accessibility, the Actionspace website contains clear URLs, defined headings and fresh and frequent posting of content.

Project Management

ACTIONSPACE

6.4

actionspaceactionspace.com42

WEBSITE

5.1BLOGGING

2.3SOCIAL

41

Developing time-saving solutions to customise and automate SharePoint features, EnovaPoint values clear thinking, high quality standards and responsibility to customers. The company was established in 2007, and after one year they started focusing their efforts on developing document and communication automation solutions using the Microsoft SharePoint platform. Both Kred and Sitebeam penalised a lack of Twitter or Facebook following. However, the site is well linked to and has been increasing in popularity over recent months.

Apps/Add-in

ENOVAPOINT

3.4

enovapointenovapoint.com44

WEBSITE

4.1BLOGGING

4.3SOCIAL

Microsoft Partner CloudMigrator365 helps users to safely, securely and completely migrate their data to Office 365. Based in Manchester with a second office in London, hundreds of IT professionals trust the solution to effectively migrate to Office 365. The site uses WordPress, is optimised for sharing and is quick to load. A strong social media following is lacking, which means brand awareness is not as high as it could be.

Migration

CLOUDMIGRATOR365

4.8

migrator365cloudmigrator365.com46

WEBSITE

5.0BLOGGING

1.7SOCIAL

Equilibrium has been developing applications for the automation, transformation and delivery of high definition video, audio, image and text media since 2004. Based in California, they provide time and cost savings with their SharePoint solution MediaRich ECM. Both their blog and website contain a good number of alternate tags, which are vital for accessibility. Whilst SiteBeam commended the regular updates to their website, a lack of investment in Twitter (the last post came in 2013) means Equilibrium misses out on an important marketing channel.

Digital Asset Management

EQUILIBRIUM

5.9

dbaequilibriumequilibrium.com45

WEBSITE

3.1BLOGGING

3.3SOCIAL

42

TOP 6 TWITTER ACCOUNTS1

2

3

4

5

6

Vyapin provide a large range of solutions for both SharePoint and Office 365 including data integration, migration, compliance and governance. CIO Magazine rated them in the top 20 Most Promising Microsoft Technology Partners in India, and our blog analysis tool picked out its easy to read style. Although the blog contains a good number of ALT tags and images per post, SiteBeam identified the site’s accessibility as an area for improvement: some site links are broken, and visually impaired users would struggle with the lack of alternative text.

Compliance, Governance, Migration

VYAPIN SOFTWARE

5.0

vyapinsoftwarevyapin.com47

WEBSITE

4.7BLOGGING

1.8SOCIAL

1

2

3

4

5

6

MIMECAST@mimecast

With the top Kred score in the report, and nearly 6000 followers, Mimecast have a Twitter account to be really proud of.

AVEPOINT@AvePoint_Inc

AvePoint operate a number of Twitter accounts, but their main corporate account is a shining example of best practice.

INFRAGISTICS@infragistics

With a mighty thirty-four thousand followers, Infragistics have a considerable reach. They put it to good use with insightful content.

NINTEX@nintex

The main Nintex Twitter account has a strong following and is updated regularly. It is also an active supporter and promoter of community content.

METALOGIX@metalogix

Metalogix share a wealth of useful content via their Twitter account, and deserve a place in our coveted top six accounts.

K2@k2onk2

K2 have a strong presence across channels, and their Twitter account is a great example of what to do well.

43

Financials for Office 365 was launched in partnership with Microsoft to bridge the gap between small and large businesses in terms of affordable, available software. The company ranked in the top 5% of worldwide Microsoft partners as an innovative solution with strong levels of growth. They effectively use analytics on their website to better understand visitor behaviour, yet Maya highlighted the omission of outbound links or images in blog posts, which limits post accessibility and engagement.

Accounting

FINANCIALS FOR OFFICE 365

6.0

o365_financialso365financials.com48

WEBSITE

4.2BLOGGING

1.5SOCIAL

An award-winning Microsoft Partner, EasyShare’s SharePoint Intranet products are G-Cloud accredited. Their mission is to develop technology that helps people work and communicate better together today and into the future. EasyShare gained a 5.9 SiteBeam Accessibility rating for their clear URLs, defined headings and CSS layout. However, the absence of a blog held what was an otherwise respectable score back. Regular blogging demonstrates thought leadership and boosts search engine ranking.

Intranet in a box

EASYSHARE

5.9

easysharepointeasysharepoint.com50

WEBSITE

0.0BLOGGING

5.4SOCIAL

Providing automation for predictable, seamless and stress-free migrations for Office 365, SkyKick offer Data-only email migrations as well as a migration suite for businesses of all sizes. They received a respectable Kred score for their engagement on Twitter, and the use of analytics on their quick and clean site is a positive. But broken links, missing files and a lack of alternative text hurt the overall SiteBeam score. If SkyKick introduced a blog they’d soon see dividends in terms of traffic and engagement.

Migration

SKYKICK

4.7

getskykickwww.skykick.com49

WEBSITE

0.0BLOGGING

6.3SOCIAL

BuzzSumo is a growing platform for SEO agencies and digital marketers to source and discover content and outreach opportunities. We spoke to Director Steve Rayson about the marketing trends BuzzSumo are noticing in 2015.

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Steve RaysonDirector, BuzzSumo

“Content marketing is

actually a very simple concept,

but it requires hard work and

discipline to do well.”

What is your view on the current state of content marketing? It has never been easier to push out content, but many feel this has resulted in a deluge of poor content. Does your experience bear this out?I think you’re right in saying it is now relatively easy to push out content but a lot of people aren’t getting it right. There has been a growth in “me too” content: “X ways to improve your landing page” and so on. When done badly or too often it just comes across as unoriginal, it’s not unique or insightful - those five, ten, one hundred points have probably been taken from elsewhere and it isn't interesting for your audience.

What our analysis has pointed to is that if you write authoritative content, do the right research and write consistently on a weekly basis you will build an audience. Sites that have clearly done their research get a lot more links and shares compared to other forms of content. So, while it may be easier than ever to push out content, it still takes time and work to make sure it’s actually worth reading.

Do you have any views on the differences of B2B content vs B2C content? Do different styles work better, for example?I wouldn’t say there are many glaring differences between B2B and B2C, it’s more about matching the content style to the different stages of the buying cycle. B2B has a more structured buying cycle compared to working with the consumer and as such needs a wider range of content.

Touching a bit on the future of content marketing, what trends should companies be looking out for? What data does BuzzSumo see that bears out these trends? We’re expecting a rise in interactive content. Stuff like ‘how to’ posts are becoming more and more popular as people want to do their jobs faster and quicker. They don’t have time to keep up with everything, so effective ‘how to’ posts with instructional step-by-step images are proving popular. However, a common trend is that they don’t get duplicated - one guide in particular will dominate so make sure if you’re doing one it's an original concept that hasn’t already been done.

Have you noticed a rise in the use of video?There is no doubt that using videos helps engagement, but the one thing I would say is you can’t skim a video. I can quickly skim through a 3000-word blog post and pick out the bits that are relevant to me but you can’t really do that with a video. So, it has to be short and to the point and needs to hook the reader straight away.

CONTENT MARKETING

45

“People think the moment your work is

published most of the

work is done, but I would

argue the opposite. ”

And do you think that ability to skim-read is what’s making lists a popular feature currently?Exactly. That quick-and-easy skimmable feature means we’re likely to see a lot more lists. [laughs] I don’t particularly like them, but they work and the analysis supports that. They contain a promise in the headline, and I think the clear structure they have makes them easier to read; it kind of acts as a guideline to how long it might take you to read, whether it’s ‘3 top tips’ or ‘10 new features in X’ or something like that.

You talked a bit about how research is an important part of creating good content. What would you say are the other key features?The length of your content is definitely important. Our analysis says that over 85% of content published on the internet is less than 1000 words, and that the minority percentage of long-form content get lots more shares and links comparatively. But I think so much of what we specify as ‘good’ content hinges on your audience, and to build a good audience you need to produce a lot of content, and you have to publish consistently. It takes a lot of time.

People think the moment your work is published is when most of the work is finished, but I would argue the opposite. I’d say 50% should be dedicated to research, creating and curating, and the other 50% to amplifying your work after it’s been published.

So what advice can you give to anyone wondering which format to use?Research your audience to see which format will get you the best results. One way to do that is finding out what kind of features are the most shared at the time, and then look at who’s sharing that and find out what field those people are in.

On the social side of things, is Google+ dead as a content sharing platform? It seems to be in the consumer space, but as always, has a good reputation amongst ‘techier’ audiences.It’s not thriving but it’s not dead. With it being Google it’s still going to have some sort of substantial audience, but it’s clearly not thriving as a network and is losing out to Twitter and LinkedIn. I don’t think it’s anyone’s number one network to focus on.

We started off as a small team of writers with a focus on creating copy, but we've quickly grown to become a fully-fledged digital marketing agency specialising in the world of Microsoft.

Whether it's thought provoking blog posts, informative whitepapers, SEO driven web content, social engagement or punchy press releases, we know how to talk to the audience in question. We also help companies with larger marketing campaigns, carry out research, do eye catching design and more. We'd love to hear how we can help you.

Located in central London, we are a fast growing team of writers, researchers and designers.

ABOUT USTHE DIGITAL MARKETING EXPERTS

We help Microsoft partners communicate more effectively, reach new audiences and drive leads.

Founded by former SharePoint consultant Chris Wright, Fifty Five and Five are enterprise IT experts. Born out of a recognition that Microsoft partners face a unique set of challenges when it comes to B2B marketing, our goal is to help brands define and differentiate themselves.

We are constantly impressed by the work of partners, building amazing tools for clients that are changing the world of work. Our days are spent immersed in the Microsoft Partner Network, helping companies to communicate more effectively, reach new audiences and drive leads.

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