Influence & Co.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Global Chief of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Communications Officer at RAPP, and I also serve as global co-chair of Omnicom's LGBTQIA+ Employee Resources Group, OPEN Pride. Rapp is a global creative marketing agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Influence & Co.?

We hired them to create a content strategy. Over the years, they’ve tweaked the exact deliverables in that content strategy to ensure we achieve our goals and also to align with our budget. Some of the deliverables included in our content strategy have been SEO, guest contributed content, PR, blog posts, whitepapers, keyword audits, and analytics reporting.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

I was a subscriber to the ICo. blog before we came on as a client. They always shared really helpful, actionable insights on content marketing that I appreciated. When they reached out to see if I’d be interested in learning more about their services, I was happy to take the call. Their sales person was super helpful at identifying where we had opportunity to really establish our experts and company as a leader.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Influence & Co. created a content strategy consistent of earned and owned media to help us establish our website as an online resource that shows up when our leads are searching, and they also created an off-site strategy with earned media to help us earn 3rd party credibility that also helped drive qualified traffic back to our website.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We work with one of their account teams, so we had access to an account strategist, content strategist, and two editors. Sara was my first account strategist who was eventally promoted to director of account services, so she managed the team I was working with at the time. I never felt like just a client. Sara was so knowledgeable on content marketing and really a consultant for our business. Even though Sara has been promoted and moved out of her client responsibilities, we still have a great relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Since working with Influence & Co., we’ve seen our organic and referral traffic increase. They’ve also helped us consistently secure press and guest contributed placements. Some notable placement have been in AdAge, Forbes, and The Drum.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I’ve worked with a few account managers over the years, and they always do a great job keeping us on schedule and are responsive to any questions I have.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I have been working with the Influence & Co. team for years, and they are always proactive and flexible. They offer great suggestions based on my business needs, and are up-to-speed on the most current and effective ways to move my business forward.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

None so far.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

As head of consumtat relations at FIS Global, I have created and nurtured relationships with more than 300 consulting firms globally. FIS is at the heart of the commerce and financial transactions that power the world’s economy. We are passionate about helping businesses and communities thrive by advancing the way the world pays, banks and invests, serving more than 20,000 clients and more than one million merchant locations in over 130 countries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Influence & Co.?

As a consultant, my personal brand is very important. I brought on Influence & Co. to help better position myself as a thought leader in the consulting relations space, particularly in its financial services applications.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

My primary goal was building my own thought leadership in the industry, but secondarily we also wanted to use my content strategy as an opportunity to educate clients, consultants, and sales teams working with consultants about the client-centric mentality of FIS.By crafting content that highlights the capabilities of my role in FIS, Influence & Co. built a content strategy that utilized guest contributed articles to draw more attention to the important role of consultant relations while showcasing my preeminence in it.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The primary deliverables Influence & Co. completed for me were guest contributed articles.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

My primary point of contact when we started was an account strategist. Since I worked with Influence & Co. for a few years, I saw their company through an evolution on the account management side. I eventually had a full team working with me including my account strategist, content strategist, and editor. They also have a media relations team who help secure my placements. They were always very attentive and responsive to our feedback.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

They did a great job taking my expertise and turning it into digestible content. We saw some exciting wins with guest articles published in Entrepreneur and Thrive Global.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Great writing, great meetings and follow up.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I was pleased with my experience working with Influence & Co. We had to reallocate budget for other needs, but I would recommend them to anyone looking to grow their personal or company brand.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

None

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Michael Manning, executive director of global marketing at MindBridge. We are the world’s first and only AI-powered auditing solution that protects others by serving the human need for understanding business-critical data.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Influence & Co.?

We hired Influence & Co. to create a content marketing strategy focused on increasing brand awareness, influencing the buying process, and equipping our sales team with the resources they need to grow their pipeline.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Primary success metrics we monitor to determine the success of our partnership with Influence & Co. include backlinks to our site, increased sales pipeline, and the amount of sales team collateral created.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

I worked with Influence & Co. when I was president at Rocksauce Studios, an EX Squared Solutions company back in 2015. I was impressed with the results and team, so they were my first choice when I was looking for content marketing support for MindBridge.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Our package with ICo. includes a mix of services: PR, guest posts, SEO, whitepapers with email drip campaigns, case studies, and infographics. When it comes to the content they are covering our entire funnel.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

So far our work with ICo. has resulted in 118 backlinks, and we’ve had a guest post bylined by an internal expert published in VentureBeat.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We have a dedicated team at Influence & Co. who handles our content strategy. They have a flexible approach to client management and are always looking for ways to better my client experience. They attend a monthly agency round-up call so that we can ensure alignment between our work with ICo. and other agencies we are working with. I appreciate them prioritizing these calls so that our content strategy can be connected to other marketing initiatives.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I am a big fan of Influence & Co. They are leading the way in content marketing and as they’ve continued to grow, the focus they put on their clients has remained the same. I’ve seen so much value in their service that I am now an active referral partner for them as well.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

More time to gather information about our SME but that is a two-headed snake, both from our team being ultimately busy running the business and theirs working on developing content.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the General Partner at Ascend Venture Capital, a micro-VC investing in data-centric tech startups

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Influence & Co.?

We needed support with thought leadership, lead generation, and SEO.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

I met Matt at events around the St. Louis area. I had heard great things about Influence & Co. and knew I needed content, so I made the decision to test them out pretty quickly.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Influence & Co. handles all of my content needs including SEO, guest contributed articles, PR, blog posts, whitepapers, and a newsletter. This allows all of my content to align to help drive more results.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I work directly with one of their account teams where I have an account manager as my main point of contact. She leads the team who interviews me and creates the content for our content strategy. We have quarterly strategy calls to ensure we are hitting goals. A member of their SEO and analytics team is always on these calls to walk through the results we’ve seen and discuss any tweaks we might need to make to our strategy.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

In 2021, ICo. Helped land a feature for Ascend Venture Capital in the St. Louis Business Journal. This was a huge step in helping our firm be recognized as a top VC in the Midwest. I’ve also now been published in VentureBeat, Entrepreneur, and Crunchbase. From an SEO perspective, we’ve grown our page 1 keyword rankings by 11, increased our organic traffic by 166%.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

My account manager is responsive and always considering my goals. I appreciate the quarterly strategy calls because it also us to be flexible with the strategy as my business evolves.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I initially came to Influence & Co. for help growing our brand, and as their business evolved into full content marketing, they’ve helped us achieve so much more.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Not at the moment

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a keynote speaker on curiosity and innovation. I help organizations make space for curiosity and growth. My specialty is helping organizations that are over 50 years old unlearn from their past successes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Influence & Co.?

I’ve partnered with Influence & Co. for the past couple of years to help me write and place articles and create blog content.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Influence & Co. is headquartered in my town, and I was excited to try a local agency that has a great reputation as a leader in the industry.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Influence & Co. created a content strategy consistent of earned media – PR and guest contributed content.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I was given an account team, which consisted of an account manager, content strategist, editor, and managing editor. I was also introduced to the director of account services who manages my team and there were members of their media relations team who helped secure placements for me, but I did not have or need day-to-day access to those individuals.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Influence & Co. worked with me to create and publish articles in publications such as Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, TLNT, and Triple Pundit

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I have worked with multiple team members throughout the years, and each person has always been more than a content marketing vendor. They act as an extension of my team.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Over the past five years, I’ve worked with Influence & Co. to turn my ideas for articles into a system of content generation. They have helped me tackle almost any marketing problem or idea, always focusing on creating a positive ROI. And our work together on The Growth League podcast has shown me the full capabilities of Influence & Co. as an agency. From repurposing content to creating social media assets, their team is always focused on the big goal and willing to problem-solve to get there.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

None so far.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a consultant at SimplyClouds, a company that provides cloud services to the SMB market and some larger enterprises.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Influence & Co.?

We use Influence & Co. to create and submit interesting and appropriate content to targeted publications in our market. They also helped us to identify publications of interest to our potential clients.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to enable our CEO to become a recognized expert in his field an influencer in the cloud provider space.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We initially searched for companies that worked with influencers, but they didn't seem to have as many contacts or as much experience in the cloud space as we would have liked. Once we found Influence & Co. and realized they could help our CEO become an influencer, our search was over.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We had an initial meeting with their entire team to understand our business, goals, strategy, and target markets. The team asked good questions to thoroughly understand our needs, so, within a few days, they submitted a list of target publications with descriptions of each and their demographics. We then discussed potential article topics and decided on a list for the current quarter.

At the beginning of the writing process, we receive a list of questions designed to elicit the relevant information. After we submit our answers, the team reviews the answers and either starts writing or asks us for more information. The article draft goes through two rounds of editing: one for grammar and punctuation and one for style and accuracy, to be sure it meets the requirements of the target publication.

What was the team composition?

We’re working with an account strategist, a content strategist, an editor, a final editor, and a client service manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The excellent quality of their writing has gotten our articles into some prestigious magazines. We highly recommend Influence & Co.!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They’ve been very responsive to our needs and sensitive to our timelines. On the very rare occasions when their proposals aren’t quite on point, they’ve been open to our comments and made the appropriate changes.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We’ve been working with Influence & Co for almost a year and have been very pleased with the quality of the content and the knowledge and professionalism of the team. Their choice of publications for our articles has been on target. They’ve even provided us with additional opportunities to promote our business.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, we think very highly of Influence & Co.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the marketing manager at an HR software provider. Our company offers human capital management technology and services that simplify the lives of our clients’ employees, managers, and administrators. We provide a full spectrum of cloud solutions that address all aspects of employee management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Influence & Co.?

We originally hired Influence & Co to help with content creation to generate leads and increase our brand visibility online. Additionally, we paid extra for them to boost our content across social media platforms. 

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to create three to five articles each quarter, as well as a national press mention that would help strengthen our brand authority and increase online lead generation.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We had worked with other vendors on this project, but after learning that none of them specialized in our industry, we decided to hire Influence & Co.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

After signing a contract, we had a planning meeting with their team each quarter to focus on targeted articles. They then drafted content that unfortunately never met our needs or expectations for quality of articles. Our team became largely responsible for completing the work that their writers were not able to accomplish. We also found out that they were outsourcing paid media to a third party.

What was the team composition?

At first, the team seemed to care about our business and our requirements. However, over time, this shifted to an emphasis on payment and pushing deliverables to completion, even if the quality was subpar.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We worked with Influence & Co. for almost a year and were extremely disappointed by their quality of writing and customer service. It was clear that we were required to take their approach, even when it didn't meet our business needs. 

Their writers just couldn't capture the messaging we wanted to convey to our audience. Frankly, it was boring to read. They didn't make any progress that we couldn't have achieved ourselves.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had scheduled weekly calls with our project manager, which were often just informing us of further delays.

The workflow was subpar and not productive. We thought we'd be working with a well-rounded team that would help us accomplish our goals. Later, it became apparent that the writers didn't care about our feedback. They even argued with us about it. It turned into a very unpleasant and time-consuming process.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I found nothing impressive. After spending over $30,000, doing most of the work ourselves, and receiving a variety of excuses, we were not able to generate a single lead.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They need to improve their standards around quality of writing and customer service. They were consistently unwilling to adjust their processes to meet our requirements.

We pride ourselves on the support we provide to our customers. It's disappointing to work with a company that doesn't also prioritize this in their business model.