Alberta Business Marketing

Tags: Industry Reports - Information Technology and Telecommunications, Vital Stats
Posted in Communication | | Comments Off

Telecommuting takes on a whole new meaning, thanks to my Telus Mobile Internet Stick and my iPhone.

What does my Telus Mobile Internet Stick give me – Freedom to work from whereever and whenever.  That is totally cool especially for this digital nomad!

Some of my peers escape to the mountains for hiking, mountain biking, rafting and other outdoor activities.  My perfect escape is chilling in the lounge of my favourite mountain park hotels and coffee shops – and yes it includes my laptop and cell phone.  I get my best work done when on the road travelling and being actually away from the day-to-day office distractions.

Some folks ideas of a mountain getaway includes their RV, Camping equipment or hiking boots. My Mountain escape equipment includes my hotel rewards card, MacBook and iPhone.  Having the freedom and the flexibility to escape the city is something I cherish as a Calgary Social Media Consultant and Search Engine Optimization professional.  Whenever the opportunity presents itself I pack up my MacBook, iPhone, Creative Juices and my mobile Internet and off to the Mountain Parks or Alberta badlands I go.

The mountain air is the perfect seed for creativity.

Having the tools to escape and remain connected provides this opportunity to get out of the city for the day.  I can enjoy time in the Mountains to plan and really strategize about the direction of our business and at the same time, keep in touch with my clients and continue to serve their needs when the need arises without them even knowing where I am.

What does it take to escape from the office on the perfect Canadian summer day?

Be open to an endless flow of ideas – Getting away from the rat race provides the perfect opportunity for you to escape the distractions of office life.  Leaving you completely free to focus on whatever you need to work on.  Need to tighten up your business plan, review last quarter’s sales figures or complete a project…getting away from the office facilitates the flow of great ideas and provides clarity.

Stop every once in while – Just stop and look out the window.  Be observant of everything going on around you.  Listen to the tourists speaking, the music playing in the background or the sounds of kids enjoying their family vacation.  You never know where your next great idea will come from.  Some times you need to get up and find a new spot or even just go for a walk.

Pack your own Telus Mobile Internet and Power – This is a must because you never know where you are going to set up camp.  Without your Internet  and your own power you may struggle to enjoy true freedom of working wherever you decide.  My mobile Internet stick and vehicle AC adapter provides the freedom to work from a picnic table, coffee shop or even the lobby of the hotel.  Whatever fits into your lifestyle. Don’t forget your power adapter and a spare battery as well.

What do I enjoy the most by having the ability to escape and my Telus Mobile Internet – FREEDOM!

Tags: Alberta Provincial Park, Business Success, Calgary, Calgary social media consultant, canada, Hospitality/Recreation, Internet, Internet Service, Internet stick, iphone, Mobile, mobile Internet, mobile Internet stick, mobile web, S&P/TSX 60 Index, search engine, technology, Technology/Internet, telecommuting, Telus, TELUS Corporation
Posted in Alberta Business, Communication | | Comments Off

Today I am up in beautiful Red Deer, Alberta.  I haven’t had the opportunity to come up this way for quite some time.  I believe January may have been that last time I ventured up Highway 2.  Red Deer is a beautiful city and Ulistic is still a member of the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce, however we really need to come up and participate more in this vibrant Alberta community.

Our focus today is Social Media for Non-Profits, Ulistic is working with a non-profit organization in Red Deer, assisting them in determining and understanding a social media strategy which can help them focus on those they serve and provide information to the community.   Many non-profits in Canada are concerned about costs and social media when used with purpose can drastically reduce the costs associated with marketing and advertising.

Working with charities, non-profits and others who offer similar services across Canada excites us (I was up bright and early today).  This market is another who are trying to figure out how online services, social media, search engine optimization and communications impacts their business and the way they communicate externally.

Social Media does play a huge role in the non-profit world and sometimes it is easier to attract an audience with these types of organizations or regular commercial entities.  Why?  People love to support a cause and rally behind an organization that is focused on helping those with cancer, the homeless or those who may have other challenges.  Social Media technologies is the perfect vehicle to help promote the cause and attract those in the community.

I am sure today will be an awesome day in Red Deer as we serve the non-profit community with social media support and guidance.

________________________________

Ulistic focuses on serving the needs of Canadian Small Business, REALTORS, and Information Technology firms across Canada and United States. Helping your business understand, deploy and leverage social media, search engine optimization and online communications to generate business opportunities and make an impact inside your community and industry.

My business partner David and I are business professionals first. We understand what it takes to run a successful small business.

I invite you to reach out to me personally at 403.775.2205 or email Stuart at scrawford@ulistic.com.

Tags: Business, canada, canadian charities, charities canada, media strategy, non-profit canada, not for profit canada, Red Deer, Red Deer Alberta, red deer chamber of commerce, search engine, search engine optimization, similar services, social media
Posted in Advertising, Alberta Business, Communication | | Comments Off

Earlier this week I had the wonderful experience of serving my good friend Denise Deveau from the National Post and Financial Post with some information on “social media in Canadian business” for a recent article of hers which appears in the National Post and Financial Post recently.  The article “Sweeten Sales with Social Media” focused on how Canadian Small Business can use social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to improve overall sales performance.  But more importantly, the article really touched on the importance of engagement and listening.

Kim Gans from Toronto’s Sweet Flour Bake Shop was the focus on the article.  Kim shared how her business uses social media services to connect with clients and her community.  I was there as the Canadian Professional who can help other Canadian Small Businesses figure this out but the real star of the article was Kim and her business.

Kim shared in the article how her business uses social media each day to engage in the community and work with her customers.  ”For us, social media tools are incredibly useful and a huge component of our marketing. We do very, very little advertising, with the exception of a few local placements.”

Her story is just like many of the businesses we serve daily at Ulistic.  Many Canadian small business are weathering the recession OK but they have next to nothing for a marketing budget but still want to make a big splash.  Luckily for many Canadian small business owners, the barrier to entry is nice and low and the Internet is the perfect vehicle to help them succeed with their marketing.  It is almost the perfect storm for many of my peers to take advantage of the Internet to help grow their businesses.

But it takes commitment, authenticity and persistence. This is not something you can do once and say “there, I did it…business come to me now”.  It is just like business networking face-to-face, it takes work and it takes hard work to run effective online marketing campaigns.  I am sure Kim will share with you that it didn’t happen over night.  Just to repeat, it takes work and this commitment to working on the business marketing for many often dies off over time.  Just look around and you will see “stale blogs” littered all across the Internet.  When was the last time you wrote something on your blog?

Kim summed it up “We have added a lot of different mixes based on feedback. We’re not just asking people, we’re listening to what they have to say online. For example, we found out that a lot of customers wanted gluten-free choices so we added that. Our new ice cream and frozen yogurt sandwich cookies were their idea.”

It takes effort, it takes engagement and you must listen and listen all the time.  Social Media effectiveness is more listening than talking and most of us have this backwards.  We spend more time publishing than we do keeping our finger on the pulse of what is happening around us.  We really need to shift gears back into listening and engagement mode.  Just like Kim did when her customers shared with her about the ice cream and frozen yogurt sandwich.

What is your ice cream and frozen yogurt sandwich?

________________________________

Ulistic focuses on serving the needs of Canadian Small Business, REALTORS, and Information Technology firms across Canada and United States. Helping your business understand, deploy and leverage social media, search engine optimization and online communications to generate business opportunities and make an impact inside your community and industry.

My business partner David and I are business professionals first. We understand what it takes to run a successful small business.

I invite you to reach out to me personally at 403.775.2205 or email Stuart at scrawford@ulistic.com.

Tags: Business, Business Success, Business/Finance, Communication design, Denise Deveau, Facebook Inc, financial post, Kim Gans, LinkedIn Ltd, little advertising, Mass media, media services, media tools, social media, Technology/Internet, the National Post, toronto, Twitter Inc
Posted in Advertising, Communication, Marketing | | Comments Off

How is your business sending out relevant information to your future customers, those who don’t know about your business or your loyal customers who have the potential of becoming your next batch of raving fans?  You may have a blog, podcast or even invested in some great video about your business…but really how are you reaching these new audiences?

In the past and unfortunately an ongoing practice by many organizations is the traditional press release.  Corporations would spend thousands of dollars each year and engage with a firm who specialized in sending out or distributing your news to the media, agencies and basically anyone else who had a fax machine or a telex device.  There are many firms out there who specialize in the distribution of news for organizations.

Is it a good investment.  I have never used one in the past.  I remember helping many of my IT consulting clients in the past with complex software that would submit the news stories to their respective agencies.  This was long before the Internet.  Funny, I still remember working late at Petromet in the 90’s with a frustrated Admin Assistant and some PR software.  Fortunately for many, the tide is shifting and the social media news release is starting to gain momentum in the marketplace over the traditional press release.

In the past a press release would have information about your business, maybe a quote from the CEO or a flagship client and then the news that you wanted to share.  I recently stumbled upon a 2006 article from Tom Foremski entitled Die! Press release! Die! Die! Die! which shares how ineffective traditional press releases are for the average organization.  In my experience, I think many of them are full of information but no relevant information to the average reader.

Enter the Social Media world and the new way we send out information.  Social Media News Releases now focus on interesting things happening in your business or the community.  It is real news about what your organization is actually doing and perhaps a bit of humour tossed into the mix.  The nice thing about social media news releases is that the barrier to entry has been eliminated and many of these services cost little or no money to take advantage of.

Social Media News is about engaging with the community and sharing relevant information that is useful.  Not to mention as a bonus, the great SEO opportunities associated with social media news.  It is something that many non-profits, small businesses, and entrepreneurs needs to look at and take advantage of.  Did I mention you can start to use these services with little or no investment.

Members of the Ulistic Mentoring Program spend lots of time review with me one-on-one and understand how to leverage social media news into their overall social marketing strategy.  Interested in learning how your business can learn more about social media news and how to maximum this excellent strategy?  Give me a shout at 403.775.2205.

Tags: 403.775.2205, Admin Assistant, Business, Business/Finance, CEO, Die! Press, education, Entertainment/Culture, Journalism sourcing, Mass media, media coverage, media news, media news release, media news releases, mentorship, News media, News release, Social information processing, social media, Socially-responsible investing, Tom Foremski
Posted in Communication, Marketing | | Comments Off