Tag Archives: Toronto

Content Marketing – #SMWTO #SMW13

Yesterday I attended a session that was part of this year’s Social Media Week – Toronto.  I was a little underwhelmed at the presentation. It was 60% promotional and 40% thought leadership and knowledge.

content marketing

One of the points I heavily disagreed with was the speaker’s claim (and by extension the agency he works for) that there are only 5 “secrets” to successful content marketing:

  1. engaging
  2. rich media
  3. mobile
  4. shareable
  5. call to action

One could argue (and I would be in that camp) that these 5 are incorrect. And they are not even secrets. However, one things is missing: DATA. How can a professional or company claim to create successful content when they are not including the metrics and data to create content?

One of the most important things when creating content is to understand the brand and the consumer. And one of the ways we do this is understanding how people talk about a brand online (social and web) and how they behave on that brand’s website.

Without this knowledge, content that is created is only based on assumptions. We have access to barrels of data. We must use it for ourselves and for our clients if we really want to create engaging content that delivers any sort of measurable ROI.

Your thoughts?

The Art of Marketing: Creativity

The latest incarnation of The Art of Marketing hit Toronto earlier this month. Here are some of the highlights (from my notebook):

David Usher:

Creativity is breaking the rules of the real world to create something new and different.

Creativity doesn’t happen in the “real” world.

Do you roll over right after your “a ha!” moment?

Structural process helps deliver creativity.

Jonah Berger:

Remember WHY people talk and share. Psychology > Technology.

Craft contagious content.

People communicate desired identities.

Make people feel like insiders.

Find the inner remark-ability.

Top of mind means tip of tongue.

If its built to show, it’s built to grow.

Really good stories are like Trojan Horses.

Seth Godin:

Be willing to get hit.

All media is now optional because the user is in charge.

The edges are where the growth is and happens.

Does your work matter?

Connection economy is where the value is created.

You can get a coffee anywhere. But you can only get a double double from Tim Hortons.

Jobs have been replaced by Art.

Without generosity there is no art.

You can’t predict virality because people are different.

Biz Stone:

Don’t be afraid to fail big.

Creativity is a renewable resource.

Twitter is a triumph of humanity not a triumph of technology.

Friday morning with Humble and Fred

On Friday June 7th I had the fortunate opportunity to sit in on a live taping of one of Canada’s legendary broadcast “couple”: Humble and Fred. For those of you not keeping track, I enjoy the whole podcast thing. I’ve hosted my own podcast called Social Media Show  and I presently host a YouTube show.

Personally, I listen to almost a dozen different podcasts. One of my favourite podcasts (especially if I’m in need of a laugh) is Humble and Fred Radio. I recently requested (via Twitter) that someone should make my “dream” come true and help me get on the show. So Mike Boon, known to many as Toronto Mike, came to my rescue and pulled a few strings (Him and H&F apparently go way back).

If you want to listen to the show I was on, click here -> Karim on Humble and Fred Radio

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUL-W0hbKNU?rel=0&w=640&h=360]

Humble and Fred with Eileen. And My Adidas.

hf5

The Humble and Fred Studio with Humble, Fred and Eileen.

hf4

Humble (mostly) and Fred.

hf3

(Humble and) Fred.

hf2

“Let the madness take flight!”

hf1

A happy guest with Humble and Fred.

Screen Shot 2013-06-07 at 11.09.27 PM

Windows Phone 8: CBC News

I presently am using a Windows Phone 8 powered Nokia smartphone.

One of my most used apps is courtesy of “The Corporation”. The CBC News app is my go to resource for all international, national and local news.

The stories are updated on a timely basis and include the following sections:

  • Top Stories
  • Regional
  • Photo Galleries
  • Videos
  • World News
  • National News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Health
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Technology & Science
  • Offbeat
  • Sports

The app was reportedly developed in partnership with Toronto-area dev shop, Digiflare. If you’re interested in this must-have news app you can find more information and download instructions here.

thirdoceanTV: Gail Gabrielle Ordogh from RealSports

As a partner with a Toronto-based social media agency I have the opportunity to interview the various personalities in the industry on a regular basis. The following interview first appeared on our agency blog last week. I hope you enjoy the conversation.

—–

Our guest today is Gail Gabrielle Ordogh who is the community manager and host for RealSports.

In our conversation we talk about:

  • Social media and e-commerce initiatives at RealSports
  • How RealSports adapts to work stoppages and impacts experiences at e11even, a casual fine dining restaurant at Maple Leaf Square.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG6J2vY9xZA?rel=0]

Show notes:

  • 0:19 – Karim introduces Gail
  • 1:18 – Gail shares how she got into social media and what she’s learnt through her experiences
  • 5:15 – Social media users’ expectations online and how it influences the relationship between the customer and the company
  • 8:07 – Social media management through Gail’s personal Twitter account and it’s influence on the brand’s overall reputation
  • 10:33 – The impact of work stoppages (hockey strike, NBA lockout, etc.) and how it was handled on social media on RealSports
  • 14:30 – How to cater to different needs under one collective brand
  • 15:40 – Using Twitter as a conversion tool to increase foot traffic and purchases
  • 18:49 – What type of content resonates with RealSports fans
  • 23:49 – How RealSports e-commerce platform impacts social media initiatives
  • 25:33 – Working with a consumer popular brand and if it has made Gail’s social media efforts easier than it would for an unknown startup brand
  • 27:16 – How has e-commerce at RealSports impact experiences at e11even, and how such experiences will come to the social media savvy crowds at RealSports. Gail also shares the pilot project for RealSports apparel that started last year – a thirdocean exclusive!
  • 29:27 – Karim wraps up.

itbusiness.ca: Vine is making the case for business use

As many of you know, I am  a partner with a social media agency in Toronto. I am also a regular contributor on social media with itbusiness.ca. The following article was first published last week. I hope you enjoy.

——

Earlier this year Twitter released the mobile video-sharing app, Vine. I also shared my early thoughts about Vine on my agency blog here.

As soon as it came out two very distinct camps started to form. The first camp argued that nothing of real value could be created in just six seconds (or less). These were probably the same people who argued that 140 characters was not long enough to tell any sort of meaningful story.

The second camp was mostly filled with creative types. These people didn’t see a 6 second limitation. Rather, they believed that Vine was just another platform where art could be created. They focused on the medium rather than the message.

And if you have spent any amount of time on Vine or even Vine aggregators such as Vinepeek then you now know that people’s creativity knows no bounds. One of the most popular personalities (and my personal favourite) on Vine is Adam Goldberg: six seconds of pure entertainment.

However, in my circle, most people are interested in whether or not there are any business uses for Vine. Of course there is. Two examples pop into my head.

The first is Wired Magazine. On a regular basis Wired Magazine publishes six second videos of visitors and promotions of upcoming stories and features they are working on.

The second is the Humane Society of New York. In February, the Humane Society placed a cat in an adopted home courtesy of a Vine video that was posted earlier in the month.

It is still early to properly quantify the business value of Vine but here are some tangible points:

  1. If you’re hiring, Vine is a great tool to showcase the type of culture your brand lives and breathes.
  2. For those in the publishing industry (books, magazines, digital, etc), Vine is a great way to offer a preview of what’s to come.
  3. Leave a call to action (visit our website or call our number) in your Vine. It can be in the comments or tag section. Or the call to action can be part of the video.
  4. Like all types of content, content best practices still applies with Vine: Publish on a regular basis, produce interesting and shareable content, and listen to your community as you continue to publish Vine videos.

There are plenty of examples of companies already using Vine. If you’ve come across a brand using Vine in an interesting and compelling way, please share with the rest of the community in the comments section.

thirdoceanTV – Toronto entrepreneurs on how to save Research In Motion

In 2011 we interviewed a number of Toronto entrepreneurs on what they would do if they were running Research In Motion. Later this week RIM will be publicly launching their new Blackberry 10 device. Many people have said this event will determine the future of RIM. Only time will tell.

Today’s edition of thirdoceanTV features some very interesting and unedited interviews with some of these entrepreneurs.

Who was right? Who was wrong? What are your thoughts? Leave your comments below!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp3VzFQ4cD0?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

Guests:
Steve Hulford – File Mobile
Mark Reale – BNOTIONS
Jeremy Campbell – SpidVid
Ameet Wadhwani – OptMeIn
Andrew Peek – Jet Cooper and Rocketr
Greg Nisbet – Mediazoic (Greg talked about content partnerships. Here is a recent link he shared with me: http://www.newcanadianmusic.ca/buzz/item/134979/2013-01-28. Good call Greg!)

Note #2: The preceding post was first published on thirdocean.com/blog. thirdocean is a Toronto-based social media strategy and digital communications agency. I am a partner in this agency.

GROW now in Toronto – #GROWtalks

The team that produces the GROW Conference is bringing a piece of GROW right to Toronto. GROWtalks Toronto (http://www.growtalks.com/events/toronto/) is a conference built for startup teams and it will take place February 21st at Ryerson. There’s a great list of out of town and local speakers coming out for the one conference including Brant Cooper (Co-Author, Lean Entrepreneur), Laura Fitton (HubSpot), Dan Martell (Clarity), Kate Rutter (LUXr), Scott Kveton (Urban Airship), Danielle Morrill (Referly), and more.

It’s rare we get this many awesome out of town speakers at one venue and we’ve been told there will be opportunity to not only hear from these speakers, but also to ask them questions and to talk to them throughout the day.

Here’s a special $145 price for the full day event. Register here: http://growtalks-toronto-linkedin.eventbrite.com with discount code “linkedin”

Happy Birthday ING DIRECT Toronto Cafe

Yesterday marked the first anniversary of the ING DIRECT Toronto Cafe. I count myself as one of the few lucky friends/tenants who has been there since the first day.

Over  year ago ING DIRECT Canada’s Peter Aceto stood on the Cafe’s makeshift stage welcoming everybody to the Cafe. A year later I witnessed Melissa lead her team in a fun Happy Birthday dance!

In between these two events I have had the privilege of helping to move our thirdocean team to what today we affectionately call home.  This downtown space has helped our team grow and mature. We look forward to continuing to grow our business with our friends at @OrangeYYZ and #NetworkOrange.

Happy Birthday friends!