Geek Squad
Geek Squad is a nationally-recognized company providing technology diagnosis and repair services through Best Buy. The geeksquad.com website provided descriptions of services offered across seven product categories, links to channels providing online assistance and client self-help content.
At the same time Geek Squad maintained a Wordpress blog with a computer technology focus. The blog featured self-help material, technology news and explainers in the unique, light-hearted Geek Squad brand voice.
The Geek Squad online team was also responsible for maintaining the group's social media presence. The team coordinated the activities of a team of volunteer staff who posted messages on its social media platforms in an effort to keep the channels fresh and relevant.
Link to a copy of the Geek Squad site from the Wayback Machine dated 4/2/2016.
Responsibilities
- Create and manage content for geeksquad.com using its Ektron content management system.
- Assess and optimize the site's structure.
- Work with services business leadership to accurately describe the services offered.
- Track and report on site user behavior using Google Analytics.
- Manage project deadlines and deliverables.
- Maintain and tune the performance of the site's search functionality.
- Write and edit blog posts.
- Oversee the Geek Squad Twitter and Facebook accounts.
- Work with Best Buy video producers to create and publish content on the Geek Squad YouTube channel.
Considerations
In 2011 I accepted a contract position to help maintain and expand Geek Squad's online presence. Due to staffing shortages, the geeksquad.com site had a good deal of content that had become outdated so I began by working with business teams to bring the site's description of services and available fulfillment channels up-to-date. I made myself familiar with the infrastructure serving the site, working with a third-party ISP to optimize the site's SEO profile and increasing the effectiveness of its onsite search functionality. My contract engagement was extended numerous time over two-and-a-half years before I was taken on as a full-time member of the online team.
As Geek Squad built out its online team, my work focused increasingly on creating, editing and maintaining content - both copy and graphics - deployed on the online channels. We began to build out the self-help content on the site in an effort to help clients and show the expertise of the thousands of Agents "relieving tech-stress" across the country.
At the same time the online team began to expand Geek Squad's social media profile, using those platforms to share tech-help knowledge and create awareness of how clients can effectively incorporate technology in their daily lives. Using the blog and website as the effort's base, I led an effort to engage internal experts to create and distribute information designed to help clients understand how to effectively use their technology.
Late in 2015 Best Buy decided to shut down the geeksquad.com website and "integrate" its content into the corporate website. The online team spent more than six months working with the bestbuy.com team to move relevant content onto their platform, redirecting urls and coordinating with third-party providers to make sure the Geek Squad content and online services were effectively deployed on their website.
The geeksquad.com website was ultimately shut down in May, 2016. To get a sense of what the site was like before it was closed, visit this link on the WayBack Machine.
