The Takeaway

• Monthly blog posts saw an increase in user engagement

• Total page views notably increased

• There was a 25% increase in new and returning site visitors

The Challenge

While the client’s blog was seeing steady traffic with current users, with a reach of 25,000 newsletter subscribers, social shares still had room to grow. The majority of their content was focused on unique job seeker tips, specifically targeted toward their niche user base. We stayed on top of industry trends and news, delivering specific and engaging content on a weekly basis.

However, we agreed the client needed something to make them stand apart from competitors and draw attention from various reaches of the industry. Determining and reaching experts in a niche industry that offers such diverse career paths posed the initial challenge.

The industry is also recognized as one of the more challenging fields in terms of availability of time and flexibility for professionals, so scheduling interviews in a timely manner to keep a series on track was an obstacle we prepared to face.

The Process

The obvious first step was to crowdsource expert responses through outreach and determine an interest in the industry to be featured on a niche, job search blog site.

Rounding up experts

The initial phase of getting the blog series off the ground required drafting and distributing an engaging and intriguing query. We composed a request and began collecting responses immediately. The response rate was so great, the experts needed to be filtered on a number of levels in order to begin scheduling interviews and tentative publishing dates. We worked closely with the client to select and respond to the most qualified and inspiring experts and create an ongoing strategy.

Extending the team

Once the experts had been secured and a schedule was in place, we began drafting unique interview questions for each expert and handled interview scheduling, accommodating the specific needs of experts to ensure the best quality responses were acquired.

Each expert received the same attention from the team as the client, with ongoing access to the primary editor, client relationship manager, and content specialist until the post was live. The response from the featured experts was resounding and gained the client valuable recognition from a number of major businesses in the industry.

Fine-tuning the features

We did not structure the series around a set-it-and-forget-it strategy. Each month, we strived to exceed the expectations of the client and capture the unique voice and insights of the featured expert, evolving the formatting and customization of the questions asked to ensure a valuable experience with each post.

Each expert was carefully researched for the best fit with the client’s audience, but the post was crafted in response to the most inspiring and unique experiences. The result was connecting professionals with successful industry leaders and inspiring career growth and development through storytelling.

Making the best use of insights

The inspiring and informative advice collected from the experts has been used to generate new, engaging, blog topics for a number of specific fields in the client’s industry. Experts have also been receptive to their quotes being used in the client’s contributed bylined article strategy, generating additional traffic and shares.

The Results

In the six months after the series took off, the client saw a 25% increase in new and returning site visitors. User engagement increased by 29%, and blog page views grew by 14%, overall. The blog series is seeing greater exposure than the traditional blogs through social sharing via the featured expert’s networks and their associated company.

Those seeking specific information on the featured companies are also finding the blog more easily through searches and social media. A second query was distributed due to the incredible results of the first round, and many experts were enthusiastically waiting for an opportunity to contribute to the blog series.

The client currently has featured Q&A posts for the series lined up for monthly publication, and an ongoing strategy is in place.

* I served in a variety of roles from content strategist to content creator, editor, designer, and media specialist depending on clients’ needs. I worked alongside and leading a team of marketing specialists. I am respectfully referring to ‘we’ for collaborative team decisions/efforts.