social media

Simple social media and experiential integration

You don’t have to spend lots of money, sell your first born or mortgage your house to have an integrated campaign.

ING DIRECT Canada’s latest initiative, #ChequeIn, is a testament to that.

Their mobile app allows you to deposit your cheque by taking a picture of it. (The process is secure.)  To support this announcement, ING has (among other things) undertaken an integrated social media and experiential campaign.

Street teams are going across major centres in Canada with a massive vanity cheque to promote the new digital product. As they’re explaining to people the new program they are also letting people know about the $20,000 worth of cash rewards the company id offering to support the campaign.

All someone has to do is take a picture of the cheque and upload it to Instagram and/or Twitter including the #hashtag: #ChequeIn. (Note: Imagine what the recent Lexus/Instagram campaign could have looked like? OK. Off that soapbox.)

social media strategy

This is how a simple, cost-effective and interesting integrated social media campaign should look like: The street team is out promoting the program; those who want to participate further can snap a shot with a chance at winning some of that $20,000; and ING get a HUGE spike in both mentions and exposure.

Bravo Team Orange!

social media

#FollowFriday: Jaime Stein – Campaign For All Canadians

I have had the privilege of knowing Jaime Stein for more than 3 years now. In “internet” years, that’s a lifetime. Although I consider him a friend he is also someone whom I’ve learned so much from.

I consider him a thought leader in the social media space. However, more than that he is passionate about people. This came to life especially over the past six months as he has prepared for his fundraising climb of Mt Kilimanjaro.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hySLe6tMisY&w=560&h=315]

I have “interviewed” Jaime a number of times over the years. Here’s the first time when Jaime was with the CFL:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6yKE0qzI5I&w=420&h=315]

digital media

Still humanizing digital: Shopify acquires Jet Cooper

Congrats to Satish Kanwar, Verne Ho and the entire team! It was formally announced today that Ottawa-based tech darling Shopify acquired Canada’s premier user experience agency Jet Cooper. You can read about the news on the Shopify website.

I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to know Satish from when he was with Microsoft and made the transition to business owner in 2009. Since then I’ve had the pleasure of sharing coffee’s and picking up some great nuggets from him. And for that I’m thankful.

Like many other friends and observers, I am not alone in wishing everyone all the best!

Since 2009 I’ve formally interviewed Satish a number of times. Here’s a link to an interview I did 6 months after the birth of Jet Cooper. I hope you enjoy reading it: Creating smart user experiences with Jet Cooper.

 

digital media, social media

Getting Started on Social Media

Recently, I’ve been asked a number of times how to help brands and companies get started on social media. Sometimes, these questions are being asked by companies not using social media. However, sometimes it also includes brands that have social media accounts, but are just not using them.

Here is my three-step approach to using social media effectively.  Note: For these three steps, I would highly recommend using HootSuite. Read my posts on HootSuite here.

Listening

What are people saying about your company, brand and industry. Learn what the conversations are like and who the people are. You will find influencers, thought leaders, friends and even enemies.  Like GI Joe used to say, “Knowing is half the battle!”

Get Involved

After you know who these people are and what they are saying, you are now prepared to say hello and enter the conversation. Be there to answer questions. And do not be afraid to let people know that you’re new to the social media game and are here to help in any way that you can. You will find that most people on social media embrace and appreciate honesty and authenticity. Don’t try to be someone you’re not.

Lead The Conversation

After a few weeks of listening and getting involved, you should now be ready to lead the conversation. It’s your turn (as a brand, company or independent business owner/professional) to be the thought leader and influencer. You ask the questions and provide guidance. Remember that you are the expert. Social media is just a tool to help engage with people to tell them your story as well as to listen how you can help others.

Try these three steps and let me know how things turn out.

digital media, social media

#FollowFriday: Karim Awad of big time design and communications

Karim Awad is the founder and principal of Toronto-based creative agency big time design and communications. I have had the pleasure of knowing Karim since 2009 when he and I met for him to demo his (at the time) new product called Radar. His vision for a communications system that focused on consumer relevancy was clear. It is still a problem he continues to solve with products such as Qlouds, Pro.ps and others (I’m under a friend-NDA – but it will be WELL WORTH THE WAIT!)

Besides making the web a better place, Karim can be found playing soccer, supporting the Toronto FC and being taunted by teenagers playing Ultimate.

Here is a conversation I had with him in 2011. Yes, it was a while ago. I hope you enjoy.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE70GqaYIGU&w=560&h=315]

digital media, social media

A look back at Syncapse

Just over 3 years ago I was the Toronto Community Manager for Techvibes.com. During that time I was fortunate to interview the (then new) COO of Syncapse, Kerry Munroe. He was one of hundreds of people I interviewed during my time with Techvibes. Some I captured on camera. Others became part of articles I wrote.

Syncapse was in the news yesterday as it announced a massive wave of layoffs in the midst of a restructuring move aimed at improving their financial state. With this in mind let’s take a look back as Kerry discusses the future of Syncapse.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFn3v8toXFI&w=560&h=315]

Note: Syncapse builds and delivers social media marketing software for enterprises.

digital media, social media

Don’t get fooled by LinkedIn

Earlier last week news came out that former 100-metre world record holder Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson (both also current sprinters) tested positive for banned stimulants at the Jamaican championships in June.

In the middle of the subsequent investigation is Toronto-resident Chris Xuereb. Apparently, Xuereb was hired to help the athletes recover from injuries. How Xuereb was able to even obtain access to these athletes is now under suspicion too. At least by some.

Why? Well, on Xuereb’s LinkedIn profile it states that he was a member of the 2004 Argo Grey Cup Champions. (Xuereb’s account seems to have been shut down.) According to an interview with the Toronto Star, spokesperson Eric Holmes stated, “We have no employment record for Chris Xuereb, and I can confirm he was never employed by the club.”

Which brings me to my pain point: Don’t get fooled by LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is a great tool that allows people to network with other people based on their professional “resume”. However, one must do some extra “homework” before entering into any type of business/employment relationship with a person:

  1. While Endorsements seem to be the equivalent of the Like button, it is still important to see what people are recommending and how often they recommend an individual.
  2. Does their profile include any other contact information such as email, phone number, blog or other social media profiles? While not everyone needs to have a blog or Twitter account, there should be some other ways of connecting with an individual.
  3. Recommendations. Anyone worth their salt should have for than just a few recommendations. If your candidate has none: sirens should be blaring in your head.

These are just a few simple tips to help determine whether a person on LinkedIn is really who they say they are. How do you use LinkedIn?

crowdsourcing, social media

#LexusInstaFilm: Verdict? #Fail

At first glance #LexusInstaFilm looks cool. Especially the combination of Instagram and Lexus. However, when I watched the commercial and the quick “making of” I was thoroughly disappointed.

What I thought I was going to experience was a crowd sourced commercial from Instagram via a pre-determined hashtag. Instead, what we have is a slick-produced commercial using individual’s smartphones and Instagram accounts. There is absolutely nothing unique about this. Instead of using 2 cameras to film a commercial, Team One (the agency behind this “idea”) got 200 social media happy users to bring their smartphones to the shoot.

What could have been a really cool concept turned out to be a lazy attempt at being cool. #LexusInstaFilm? More like #LexusInstaFail

What do you think?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgmQV7hGQXM&w=560&h=315]

Uncategorized

#FollowFriday: A Nerd’s World

A Nerd’s World is one of those places that makes Toronto a cool place. Located just north of Bathurst Station, A Nerd’s World is a web design studio with a twist. The twist is that the studio has a storefront. And not just any storefront. This one doubles as a boutique photo studio and an historic camera museum.

Founded by Chris and Grace Hughes (married nerd couple) A Nerd’s World is a creative shop that focuses on the small details but operates with a massive vision.

Here’s a quick video tour of their space:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=if2GabZmGI8&w=560&h=315]

social media

Rapportive makes me smarter on email

If you’re like me, you love using social media to connect with family, friends and even strangers. But you probably see huge value in continuing to use email to further solidify personal and business relationships.

Many saw the demise of email as social started creeping into the work force. However, I have (as I’m sure many of you) been using email more. Firstly, it’s hard to convey a message in only 140 characters. Second, attachments are almost impossible to send on social too.

I actually see a symbiotic relationship between social and email. And this relationship is made that much stronger via a cool app called Rapportive (recently purchased by LinkedIn).

Rapportive is an email plugin (I use GMail) that uses people’s emails to connect to that person’s social media accounts (It’s like my very own social media spidey sense.) Here’s a snapshot of what mine looks like:

social media strategy

How do I use Rapportive? To better personalize my emails. Some may call it creeping. I call it being smart. I can check the recipient’s public social status updates to further understand who I’m emailing. And thus can craft a message that is also timely and more effective. If I can see (via Twitter, for example) that the person I’m messaging spent a wonderful day at the beach with her son, then I may use that in the email. For example, “Hello Mary. I hope you had a great weekend at the beach with the family…..”

I do want to point out that I would use this sort of information when I email someone I actually know. But the same process can be used when emailing someone I may not be close to. Social media data can tell me lots of things. I might be able to determine that the recipient likes a certain brand or communicates in a certain way. This sort of information can help me not just send a more relevant email. It will also help me communicate more efficiently and effectively with this individual over time.

And that’s the power not just of Rapportive but of social media. Remember: It’s about being social.