Alberta Business Marketing

And he should be!

I still listen to news radio (only when I am not in the mood for my usual selection of 80’s hair band metal) when I am driving to our Ulistic office in Southeast Calgary.  It is only for the 15 minute drive, just enough to get the latest traffic, stock market information and news headlines.  Sometimes, I will even tune into Dave Rutherford to hear his daily rant on QR77 or listen to what Charles Adler has to say in the afternoon.  That is the extent of my news watching, listening or reading.

I read the Calgary Herald Business Section the odd Monday morning just to see what new small businesses are starting up and the odd time will I read or even glance through the entire morning paper.  When I travel in the United States, the hotels deliver USA Today or Wall Street Journal or other US Papers which usually end up in a pile in one corner of my hotel room.  Goes to show that the news in print for me is just something I am not interested in reading.

I, perhaps like many of our colleagues are electing to tune into online sources for news.  Why?  Perhaps it is the grass-roots reporting, the real story without the right or left-wing opinions attached with the story.  I will however tune into my niche blogs on the industries I work with and have Twitter alert me when something happens which requires my attention.  How about you?

This weekend I read an interesting article online on how the President of CNN is concerned about Social Media.  I am not shocked by this concern from a major US media source and I am sure others in the world share this concern.   CNN and all major news outlets should be concerned on the power of social media has for sharing of news related items.  There is an old saying, see it in the paper tomorrow, see on TV later in the day, hear about it soon on radio or get notified immediately on social media.  This is where news is now breaking and you just need to turn to the US Airways crash in New York for an example of the power of Social Media in the news world today.

Today my news sources are guys like Chris Brogan, Joe Panettieri, Larry Walsh, Bob Burg – just to name a few.  These guys are now journalists in our online world. I truly trust what they have to say for the niches I follow.

Who is Stuart Crawford

“Stuart is the go-to person for anything social media. He has an in-depth knowledge of not only all the parts that make up social media, but also how to make them work together for you. He is an entrepreneur to the core and he understands that whatever is implemented: twitter, blog, rss, video, etc. it has to be streamlined so that it takes the least amount of time possible and yet still be laser sharp as far as effectiveness goes.

Stuart is great to work with and if technical roadblocks occur, he is an out of the box thinker when it comes to remedies.”

Service Category: IT Consultant
Year first hired: 2009 (hired more than once)
Top Qualities: Personable, Expert, High Integrity

Monica Santiago, On Page Productions

Tags: bob burg, Calgary, Calgary Herald, Charles Adler, Chris Brogan, Consultant, Entrepreneur, hair band metal, Joe Panettieri, Larry Walsh, laser, New York City, Online social networking, online sources, online world, President, Real-time web, Social Landscape, social media, Social Media Ventures Inc, stuart crawford, The Wall Street Journal Online, Time Warner Inc., Twitter, Twitter Inc, United States, US Airways Group Inc., USA Today, Wall Street Journal, web 2.0, World Wide Web
Posted in Alberta Business | | Comments Off

And he should be!

I still listen to news radio (only when I am not in the mood for my usual selection of 80’s hair band metal) when I am driving to our Ulistic office in Southeast Calgary.  It is only for the 15 minute drive, just enough to get the latest traffic, stock market information and news headlines.  Sometimes, I will even tune into Dave Rutherford to hear his daily rant on QR77 or listen to what Charles Adler has to say in the afternoon.  That is the extent of my news watching, listening or reading.

I read the Calgary Herald Business Section the odd Monday morning just to see what new small businesses are starting up and the odd time will I read or even glance through the entire morning paper.  When I travel in the United States, the hotels deliver USA Today or Wall Street Journal or other US Papers which usually end up in a pile in one corner of my hotel room.  Goes to show that the news in print for me is just something I am not interested in reading.

I, perhaps like many of our colleagues are electing to tune into online sources for news.  Why?  Perhaps it is the grass-roots reporting, the real story without the right or left-wing opinions attached with the story.  I will however tune into my niche blogs on the industries I work with and have Twitter alert me when something happens which requires my attention.  How about you?

This weekend I read an interesting article online on how the President of CNN is concerned about Social Media.  I am not shocked by this concern from a major US media source and I am sure others in the world share this concern.   CNN and all major news outlets should be concerned on the power of social media has for sharing of news related items.  There is an old saying, see it in the paper tomorrow, see on TV later in the day, hear about it soon on radio or get notified immediately on social media.  This is where news is now breaking and you just need to turn to the US Airways crash in New York for an example of the power of Social Media in the news world today.

Today my news sources are guys like Chris Brogan, Joe Panettieri, Larry Walsh, Bob Burg – just to name a few.  These guys are now journalists in our online world. I truly trust what they have to say for the niches I follow.

Who is Stuart Crawford

“Stuart is the go-to person for anything social media. He has an in-depth knowledge of not only all the parts that make up social media, but also how to make them work together for you. He is an entrepreneur to the core and he understands that whatever is implemented: twitter, blog, rss, video, etc. it has to be streamlined so that it takes the least amount of time possible and yet still be laser sharp as far as effectiveness goes.

Stuart is great to work with and if technical roadblocks occur, he is an out of the box thinker when it comes to remedies.”

Service Category: IT Consultant
Year first hired: 2009 (hired more than once)
Top Qualities: Personable, Expert, High Integrity

Monica Santiago, On Page Productions

Tags: bob burg, Calgary, Calgary Herald, Charles Adler, Chris Brogan, Consultant, Entrepreneur, hair band metal, Joe Panettieri, Larry Walsh, laser, New York City, Online social networking, online sources, online world, President, Real-time web, Social Landscape, social media, Social Media Ventures Inc, stuart crawford, The Wall Street Journal Online, Time Warner Inc., Twitter, Twitter Inc, United States, US Airways Group Inc., USA Today, Wall Street Journal, web 2.0, World Wide Web
Posted in Alberta Business | | Comments Off

Are you attending an event?  Putting on a show?  Twitter now has a feature which enables your posts to be identified with your location.  Not your exact location unless the third-party application like Foursquare or Yelp.  Twitter’s location service will identify the community or public building you just tweeted from.

In order to use this feature when it comes to Canada, you must turn “Add a location to your tweets” on within your profile settings.

So far this feature is only available in the United States.

What do you think about all this location aware stuff happening with social media services?

For more information on how this service effects Twitter for business in Calgary or even your hobby tweets visit http://twitter.zendesk.com/forums/26810/entries/78525

Tags: Blog hosting services, Calgary, canada, Entertainment/Culture, foursquare, Online social networking, Real-time web, Social Issues, social media, social media services, Twitter, Twitter Inc, United States, web 2.0, World Wide Web
Posted in Alberta Business | | Comments Off

OK, maybe it is a bit more than just 4 tweets on Twitter.

I have discussed on my blog many times in the past about the “so-called” Social Media professional phenomena that is emerging today.  Everywhere you turn there seems to be a few hundred “social media professionals” coming out of the woodwork here in Calgary.  Are you concerned as a business owner which one you should turn to for advice on how to implement this as a strategy for your business?  Or should you?

I had a friend in my office and we joked about what makes a social media professional?  We concluded that the “so-called” professionals achieve their qualification simply by sending out their mandatory four tweets.

Does your Calgary business really need someone like this?

This is a great question.

Does your business really need a social media specialist?  I would say NO, if that is all they are doing for you.  But you need more, what about your strategy?

When it comes to “so-called” professionals, you know the people who are out there.  The ones who say you have to be on Twitter!  Your business needs a Facebook page!  Just get a LinkedIn profile and you will fine.  What is the substance behind the reasoning is often something I think about.  Why? How? When? Where?

• Does social media play into your public relations strategy?
• How about your marketing and sales plan?
• What happens if you get a negative review on Yelp, how do you respond?

I received an email from one of these “so-called” Social Media experts in Calgary last week and I almost hurt myself when I read the reason why this person got into social media. It was hilarious.  I mean not for the business owner in Calgary who is concerned about the success of their business, but the overall trend that is happening in the industry today.  This person claims to have sold promotional materials for a number of years but now wants to get into to helping business with social media.

Here is the reality about Social Media in Calgary from the way I see it.

Social Media is simply a spoke in your overall marketing and corporate communications strategy.  That is it, maybe some will say a cornerstone…I will buy that one as well.

On its own, Social Media doesn’t have a leg to stand on.  But when it is combined with effective marketing and sales planning, corporate communication tactics and your staff are actually meeting the needs of your clients it can be a wonderful part of your overall business strategy.

Maybe, just maybe it is more than just 4 tweets to being a professional.  I may take someone who has business success.

Tags: Business/Finance, Calgary, Corporate communication, corporate communications strategy, Facebook Inc, LinkedIn Ltd, media professionals, Real-time web, social media, social media specialist, Social Media Ventures Inc, Strategic management, Twitter, Twitter Inc, web 2.0, World Wide Web
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