Tag Archives: ing

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!

Uncategorized

9 Tools of the Trade

There are many reasons why a business owner and entrepreneur succeed: education, family, money, street smarts, friends, etc. There are also many tools of the trade that make success a little easier to come by. And they all can be accessed regardless of any of the above. Below are nine tools that I use on a constant basis that enable me to focus more on business and less on the struggle of building a successful company:

OrangeYYZ/Network Orange

Location. Location. Location. Having a place to call home is important when building a business. It promotes stability and allows you to focus on meeting prospects and getting things done rather than having to worry about where you will work that day. When we started our social media agency we used to work out of coffee shops and libraries. Although we are still small we have had our own office for more than a year now. Thanks to ING Direct’s community/coworking space at the corner of Yonge and Shuter in the heart of downtown Toronto. I have tweeted and written about OrangeYYZ/Network Orange numerous times.

As a location that allows me access to business tools (desk, scanner/fax, wifi, coffee and kitchen services, amazing staff!), meeting rooms and a prime location to hold meetings, OrangeYYZ and Network Orange have been a blessing to me and our business.

MacBook Air

I can’t believe I went a lifetime without a MacBook. Previously I was using generic laptops and notebooks. The speed and efficiency of my Mac Air has literally given me untold hours of life back.

iPad

I never realized how impressed people are when I conduct a meeting with a tablet computer rather than a laptop or paper and pen. In my line of business, first impressions count. And if I leave an impression that shows I am up to date with the latest technology and trends, then my clients and potential clients feel secure in working with me.

The plethora of great business apps also help too!

Smartphone

You’re not in business without a smartphone. IMHO.

Google Apps: Gmail, Calendar, YouTube, Drive

Where would many of us be without the “cloud”? Our ability to have our email, documents, and calendars accessible from any device, anywhere in the world is astounding. So much so that today, it’s a given and we don’t think of it as mind bending. I conduct a lot of business with Google apps.

HootSuite

The best social media dashboard hands down. This web-based product allows me to manage both my social media personal and business lives on one screen. From monitoring and moderating to creating content, HootSuite is my must-have social media tool.

Trello

As we grew our business there became a glaring need to use a project management tool to keep everyone updated and accountable. To the rescue came Trello. Trello is a simple, lightweight, yet powerful PM tool for teams as small as one and as large as you want. While Trello does have mobile versions, their web-based platform is the best.

Evernote

Evernote helps me remember. Everything. It is my go to notebook on the go. I can input notes into my tablet, smartphone or computer and then access it from any of these devices. And because Evernote helps me remember, it makes me look smart!

HighRise

Need to manage contacts and leads and don’t want to spend lots on a customer management tool? Want something simple, east and effective. Try using HighRise to keep you on the right track to closing those sales leads. I’ve been using it for the better part of 3 years and I must say that it is the most important business tool I use.  Without a pipeline (and a tool to manage this pipeline) any business will eventually dry up.

These are my 9 favourite business “tools”. what are some of yours?

digital media, social media, Toronto, twitter

my favourite co-working spaces in toronto

Almost a year ago I blogged about co-working spaces in Canada. On December 17, 2010 I wrote a piece titled “the (in)complete list of co-working spaces in Canada”.

The impetus of the previous co-working post was the desire to find a space to work from while at the same time being able to take advantage of other people working and building.  Listed below are three places that I’ve had the privilege of working out of:

BNOTIONS:

While not officially a co-working space, BNOTIONS has had a profound positive impact on the growth of thirdocean.  We spent 6 months calling the BNOTIONS office space our home.  We held our team meetings there and also met potential clients in their space.

The culture of BNOTIONS also positively influenced the culture of thirdocean.   Every time a guest exited the elevator on the 4th floor a loud round of applause greeted them.  The BNOTIONS office is also famous for their WWE DVD collection and superhero action figures.  Today, no matter where we work, all thirdocean visitors are greeted as long lost friends.

The Work Republic:

No matter what I say about TWR it will not be enough.  Located at the corner of Victoria Park and McNicol Avenue’s, TWR is only a 5 minute drive from my home.  This has allowed me to work out of a space while still being able to drive my son to his morning and afternoon classes.

This north-Toronto space is a welcomed and quiet reprieve from the hustle and bustle of downtown Toronto.  On most days you can find Ray, Maurice and Milan listening to old school hip hop (Neil Young when I visit!), building mobile apps and making videos.

Need a space outside the city (yet still very accessible) centre to work from and bring your guests to? The Work Republic is the place for you.

Network Orange:

A slice of heaven in the middle of downtown Toronto, Network Orange is ING Direct’s contribution to Toronto’s startup and freelance community. Nestled at the corner of Yonge and Shuter, Network Orange offers our team a home 7 days a week.  Included in their package are a choice of 3 meeting rooms, wifi, coffee, a functional kitchen as well as ample desk space. Open 7 days a week, I have actually “opened” this space at 8am and left when it closed at 10pm.

Operating out of this space has also allowed us to meet with potential clients, clients and even our service partners.  More than any other space, Network Orange has helped our team at thirdocean grow from a young company looking for an identity to Canada’s community management and social media agency.

If you have a favourite co-working space please tell me about it in the comment section below.  If you want to receive this blog in your email, click on the “sign me up!” button on the right.