Blogging company Indianapolis

Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2008 by Sarah Sedberry

I would like to welcome our newest client in the Compendium family, and help jump start them in to the blogosphere:

GroupeSTAHL is headquartered in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, and is a manufacturer of pre-cut felt letters and numbers. They have been a leader in the imprinted sportswear industry since 1932 and has grown into a global supplier with manufacturing facilities, distribution and customer service centers around the world.

Some of their accolades include:

World's largest manufacturer of heat presses
Inventor of Thermo-FILM, CAD-CUT, and Hotronix
Hold over 65 industry-related patents and trademarks
Have consistently obtained over 10% growth each year for the last 20 years.

They have just finished up our implementation process with Abby, and are already posting content to their corporate blog. With all of their expertise and experience, I look forward to reading what they have to say!

Check GroupeSTAHL's blog out here.

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Write a blog post in 8 minutes...

Posted Wednesday, June 25, 2008 by Ali Sales

It's 1:52. I have a meeting in 8 minutes. That's not a long time to get much of anything done, but I'm going to write a blog post during it. Why? To prove that generate content for your business blogging program doesn't have to take a ton of time.

Here are a few quick tips for writing good, quick content:

1. Use your arsenal of existing content. We tend to forget how much content all of us accumulate over just a few weeks. There is nothing wrong with re-purposing content for your corporate blogs. Some places to look:

Newsletters
Whitepapers
Old articles
Your inbox
Industry News

Tip: Subscribe to Google Alerts for the terms you care most about. For Compendium, that means things like "blogging software" and "business blogs."

2. Just do it. You can't waste too much time thinking "what should I write about." Look at your arsenal and start typing.

If you're using Compendium Blogware, you'll see the things you should write about on the righthand side of your user account, so that should help you get focused. More doing, less thinking is good for all of us sometimes.

3. Don't be afraid to reiterate and repeat. Assuming that you're blogging for SEO, you can expect that it will mostly be new visitors returning to your blog. They haven't seen your best stuff yet, as content is continually getting pushed down to the bottom of your blogs.

It's 1:59 and my post is finished. I didn't have to spend hours coming up with content (I got the idea for this post based on the conversations taking place at Compendium headquarters around time commitment and content). I logged in. I started writing. I used my keyword suggestion tool, brain, and eye on the clock to keep my content on track.

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Power to the People (with blogs)

Posted Wednesday, June 11, 2008 by Eric Romer

I was at a seminar held by Mediasauce, a "connection company" also headquartered in Indianapolis, and they covered a wide range of social media. There was a lot of interesting topics that were discussed, but one theme surrounding business blogs jumped out to me.

You now have the power. Granted, you have the power to create a Facebook profile, or a Del.ico.us page, or a Youtube channel, etc., etc. But no one has quite figured out the science of how businesses can see tangible results from these outlets. When it comes to businesses and organizations, you no longer have to depend on the local paper/magazine to feature your organization. You don't need to call the local TV station begging for a story on your business. Blogging trends are allowing people within organizations to tell their story, get found through search engines, and have more engagement than a half-page article on page 4 of the newspaper.

Get out there and tell your story. People are searching everyday for things relevant to your business. You need to be delivering fresh, relevant content about who you are, and what value you bring to the table. The power is yours, and a stagnant website is not enough.

Start blogging for your business -- you will be amazed at the the leads you will generate.

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The Human Element

Posted Wednesday, June 11, 2008 by Eric Romer

So, I was flipping channels last week, and I stumbled upon CNBC's "The Business of Innovation" hosted by Maria Bartiromo. I only caught the last five minutes of the program, but it was focusing on the "Human Element" of business and innovation. There was an all-star panel weighing in on the topic, including Jack Welch, former CEO of GE.

What really jumped out to me, so much so that I scrambled for a pen and pad, was the statement from one of the panelists that "engaging your employees is the key to innovation". Wow. That is a really powerful statement and observation. And it really drives home the benefits of top corporate blogs -- they empower employees to contribute content.

At Compendium, a blogging company in Indianapolis, we often stress the importance of being "found". That first step in the customer acquisition cycle is "how are people finding you?". Professional blogs are very friendly with search engines, and with proper blogging techniques, companies can be "found" on a wide variety of search terms.

However, the power of the human voice, and how that affects both the internal and external reputation of a company is sometimes overlooked. People like to buy from people. People want to hear from the employees that make up a company, not just the top executives. Empower them to create relevant content about your business -- make it part of your company's culture!

But don't listen to me, listen to the Jack Welch's, Gil Cloyd's and Bob Johnson's of the world. They realize that to be a true innovator in business, you must engage employees and have a human element to your messaging.

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What Brought Me Here...

Posted Friday, June 6, 2008 by Abby Rivera

So, as you can see by the recency of my blogs, I am new at Compendium. But I have to say that when the opportunity arose for me to come on board I could not have been more excited. Compendium's Blogging Software was product that just makes sense to me. It was like on of those inventions that we all think...why in the world didn't I come up with this!
I have seen companies go through website revision after website revision trying to stay on top of internet marketing. Making little tweaks to figure what the hot new thing was to get all those search engines and ultimately people to find them. With Compendium, you are constantly updating, adding new information and helping all those search engines and ultimately NEW CLIENTS come find you.
When I started, I told all of my friends and family about this exciting new blogging company in Indianapolis I was working for. I explained the concept of corporate blogging and professional blogs and as it did for me, it connected for them as well. What a better way to market your company, stay on the forefront of your field and become an expert in your industry.
I look forward to working with all of you, new clients, potential clients, current clients, and co-workers. If you ever have any questions feel free to email me.

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Are Blogs a Threat to Live Sports Coverage?

Posted Thursday, January 17, 2008 by PJ Hinton

One might get the impression that the NCAA thinks so, according to a story by WebProNews reporter Kara Ratliff. She draws attention to the organization's decision last month to put blogging conditions on media credentials for covering its events.

The conditions are very specific, setting quotas for the number of posts that one is allowed to write per segment of a given sporting event. She quotes sports bloggers who are critical of the action, noting that the policy doesn't bar an uncredentialed person from live blogging the event while watching it on TV.

I didn't see a rationale given for the rules, but my guess is that the NCAA believes that the existence of alternative, yet immediate, textual coverage about its sanctioned events must somehow dilute the value of the exclusive (and lucrative) contracts it has with radio and TV networks.

I can't help but think that the NCAA, whose headquarters are just a few blocks away from this office, is horribly misguided on this decision. Blogs are not threatening to replace TV, radio, or even print coverage of an event.

While live blogging certainly will contain references to what is happening during the game, there is no way that a reporter's fingertips are going to keep pace with the voice of an announcer or the images conveyed by a camera. The value of the broadcasts is that they are not only immediate, but also rich in factual information.

My guess is that a good deal of the live blog readers already have the game turned on via TV or radio and read the blog for the running commentary. The emphasis is on interpretation, not on the raw events themselves.

A blog can help a viewer catch up on missed plays when the fan has stepped away from the TV, and a reader can be entertained by the witty remarks that the blogger might make about the latest fumble or slam dunk.

The bottom line is that blogs enhance the total viewing experience. They don't replace it. They keep viewers engaged in the game, and that makes the broadcast more valuable, not less.

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Blogging for Non-Profits and Organizations

Posted Wednesday, October 24, 2007 by Jenni Edwards

Non-profits and organizations are notoriously 'behind the times' in regards to technology. This is not an insult...just reality; and of course there are exceptions, however, when I was trying to find these exceptions I really couldn't find one non-profit or organization that was doing a great job on blogging...anyone have an example of this for me?

Personally, I still get the bulk of my communication from non-profits and organizations via snail mail --- and while I appreciate the multiple brochures and postcards with the similar glossy message of: "Thanks for donating. Look what we are doing to change the world. Please donate again soon. Oh, and can you send a check to do that...we don't do credit cards." These usually hit the trash pretty quickly. The alternative to these mailings is phone calls; another somewhat effective method --- but this can polarize some of your potential donors and volunteers who just "hate telemarketers".

As most people in non-profits and organizations know --- frequent and meaningful communication is key to having great volunteers and donors. What a better way to do this then through an organizational blog? And there are passionate people wanting and waiting to talk about your non-profit or organization --- a few ideas for content contributors: volunteers, headquarters staff, members and even those that have benefited from your non-profit. Worried about the cost of blogging software with a limited budget? Look for an upcoming post on the overall cost savings of blogging for business (and organizations).

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Compendium Job Opportunity: Business Development

Posted Thursday, July 5, 2007 by Ali Sales

Compendium Software is growing!

The Director of Business Development (position located at our headquarters in Indianapolis, IN) will play an instrumental role in the success and rapid adoption of our blogging platform.

About Compendium Software
Compendium Software provides tools that help organizations to easily create, manage, and search-optimize multiple blogs. Unique control and compliance features enable employees to blog frequently and in a way that's beneficial to the organization, while Compendium Software's proprietary "compending" technology automatically structures and organizes blog content in the ideal way for search engines.

Director of Business Development - Description
The Director of Business Development identifies, manages, and closes new business opportunities for Compendium Software.

The Director of Business Development must be articulate, persuasive, and able to develop and close a large pipeline of business within a short period of time. In addition, the Director of Business Development must be a self-starter who can roll up his or her sleeves and wear several different hats, think and act at multiple levels of abstraction, and identify and implement key selling initiatives. As the Compendium Software team grows, the Director of Business Development should be able to efficiently train and manage an inside and potentially outside sales team.

Responsibilities include:

* Develop an agreed business development plan which will include lead generation activities such as tradeshows, cold-calling, networking, and more.

* Manage sales planning, forecasting, and analysis activities within our internal CRM system

* Manage sales opportunities throughout the sales cycle, with meetings, demos, etc.

* Increase market penetration by continual development of business partnerships and industry involvement.

* Implement new sales processes as needed.

* Maintain high activity level with prospects.

* Build and mentor a team of highly productive sales representatives.

* Meet and exceed all quarterly and annual sales goals.

Qualifications:

* A proven history of selling and closing.

* A minimum of 5 years of software sales experience, preferably 1-2 years within a start-up environment.

* Excellent oral and written communication skills.

* Thorough understanding of MS Office applications and Internet.

* Ability to work independently in a fast pace, rapid change environment.

* Receptiveness to local and national travel.

* Ability to negotiate skillfully in tough situations.

* High energy level, enthusiasm, and passion for the business.

If you are our perfect candidate (or have a great referral), please send an email and a resume to ali@compendiumsoftware.com.

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