Tag Archives: Social media

how to twitter

June 1, 2011 karimkanji

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I always get asked, “How do I get more people to follow me on Twitter?” I figure I get asked this question because these same people have yet to meet folks like @unmarketing, @clickflickca, or @erinbury. All these folks have more “followers” than I will have in several lifetimes.

I also get asked this question because my clients (through thirdocean) and potential clients aren’t heavy personal users of social media tools. They are more interested in how to leverage these tools to grow their already successful businesses. I’m not the biggest dude on Twitter and I don’t pretend to be. However, because I’ve been asked, allow me to share with all of you what I’ve been doing on Twitter.

Follow To Be Followed:

This is the easiest way to gain a following. It’s not based on anything you’ve created or the value that you give to others. It’s only based on you following other people. Follow me and there’s a chance that I might follow back if I like your tweets and content you are creating.

Cater To A Specific Crowd:

There was a time when I was live-tweeting a Toronto Maple Leaf open practice. And guess what happened? My follower count went through the roof over a two-day period of time. Again, I wasn’t trying to gain more followers and those that did follow me have probably left. Why? Because I don’t generally tweet about the Leafs.

Provide Valuable Content:

Content is King. Content leads to conversation. Conversation leads to engagement. Engagement will lead to so much more than followers on Twitter. It can lead to opportunities: both personal and professional. Be human and be valuable. Not all your tweets have to be mind-blasting or inspirational. But please try to provide content that people will want to read and share.

@reply:

If you read a tweet that you like take a moment and share it with your followers.

Don’t Buy Followers:

Yes it is possible to buy followers. Not only does it cost you money. But, long-term, it will cost you credibility.

Well, these are just some of my recommendations. What are some of yours?

my top seven #followfriday (karimkanji.wordpress.com)

digital media, social media

President and CEO of L’Oreal Canada provides some ‘Food For Thought’

May 20, 2011 karimkanji

Yesterday I had the good fortune of being invited by Aditya Shah of Loose Button to their Food For Thought series at the La Maquette Italian restaurant in downtown Toronto.

This particular series featured guests from companies such as Syncapse, AshCity, TIFF, LinkedIn Canada, Guardly, Rogers, and Environics. Representing thirdocean and XConnect at this luncheon with these other companies was exciting and humbling to say the least.

This month’s featured speaker was Javier San Juan, President and CEO of L’Oreal Canada. To give you an idea of how large L’Oreal Canada is, they have sales of over $1 billion in Canada with a market share of over 30% which leads the entire beauty market in Canada.

The talk of the afternoon, however, was not on the state of the beauty and cosmetics industry in Canada. The discussion was on the reason L’Oreal has pursued a digital and social strategy.

Javier discussed 5 points on L’Oreal and social media:

Internal Culture and Communications. Previously, communications was a top-down activity. With the integration of internal social tools, however, employees are now obligated to voice their views. Said Javier, “We listen to our customers and our employees.”
Brand Ownership. “We don’t own our brands anymore. But we can shape the discussion and conversation that is taking place about our brands.”
Relevancy. Unlike traditional push-marketing social media marketing is more about discussion. As a result, messaging has become more relevant and more about conversations.
Content Revolution. Today when you watch or listen to a commercial, or drive by a billboard there is almost zero chance of that content spreading. The very definition of social media includes the ability to share and discuss this content with friends, family and acquaintances.
Connect. L’Oreal decided to become involved in social media not because it was sexy but because it allowed L’Oreal to connect, communicate and share with their employees and consumers.

Why does your company use social media and how does it approach a social strategy?

digital media, social media, Toronto, twitter

5 Questions with Meghan Warby

January 26, 2011 karimkanji

Meghan Warby is the first community manager working within a provincial government. In the province of Ontario‘s Cabinet Office she guides Ministries in their digital communications, online outreach and social media strategies.

Previously, Meghan has been an agency-side communications consultant in government relations, corporate communications and digital strategies, at Hill & Knowlton & Argyle Communications. A social media enthusiast, Meghan spent the winter of 2008 traveling across the United States to interview ‘pioneers’ in eAdvocacy to gauge the significant changes in communications between the 2004 and 2008 American federal elections. Blogging and tweeting as @withoutayard combines her love of music (nurtured at the Austin Music Foundation) & politics (expressed on two Election Predictor Blogs & as Vice Chair of the Churchill Society for the Advancement of Parliamentary Democracy).

What motivates you to do what you do on a daily basis?

I’ve always been passionate about civic engagement and studied political science, public policy, specifically cultural policy, for years. After working in the non-profit sector, Heritage Canada, and the consulting world, I knew that my work needed to include civic-minded values, technology and communications. Acting as Community Manager for the Province is a great balance of these three areas. As naive as it may sound, I strongly believe that citizens will become far more engaged with government if they have clear, updated, easy-to-access information online.

If you had 30 seconds to impart your wisdom on a classroom of soon-to-be graduates, what would you say?

Be humble, yet shameless. Take the opportunity of being labelled a ‘student’ to interview people you admire for your final dissertation. Glean invaluable information on their career path, habits, inspiration and experience. Make writing (real-life paper-version) thank-you notes part of your weekly routine.

In your opinion, what has been one of the most important technological developments over the past 12 months?

It’s certainly not Quora or Paper.li or any of the other tack-ons to existing systems or sites. Honestly, I think that the massive political and social chance brought by the media’s use of WikiLeaks over the past year will prove to be the most important.

If you had a crystal ball, what would you say will be the most important technological development over the next 12 months?

Hopefully in the next 12 months we crack the mobile currency ‘nut’ to develop a comprehensive/centralized network that delivers international aid, encourages donors’ to offer micro-loans & tracks behaviour (health, lifestyle, spending, etc.) in developing countries.

Who is one of Canada’s tech stars and why?

Too many to name and the field is growing! Likely the biggest and best tech star of 2011 is plugging away right now in Ryerson’s DMZ lab. If I had to pick one, my Toronto-centric lefty-pinko paradigm would note the creator of Rocket Radar, Adam Schwabe.

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By Karim Kanji