1. C8 W e dn e s day, M a rc h 1 2 , 2 014 EDMO N TON JO U RNA L edmontonj our na l .com
CAPITAL QUESTION:
Why does your business use social media?
Savvy entrepreneurs share why it pays to be social
UPCOMING:
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Cody Osborne of GNUGEN Lures (gnugen.com) says
social media is integral to his business.“Given that we do
a lot of business in the e-commerce realm,we can link
directly to our online store and have the benefits of targeted
traditional media and PR on a fishing line budget.”
PHOTO BY PAMELA PECUSH
“Thelatestreasonweareusingsocialmediais
toencouragebusinessestoavoiddataloss.It’s
toughtogetbusinessestobeproactive,and
wehavefoundsocialmediatobeawaywecan
reachouttothem.Inconjunctionwiththetypical
socialmediaoutlets,werunmonthlycontests
whereweaskouraudiencequestionsthatget
themthinkingaboutthevalueoftheirdata…and
turnthoseanswersintoaninfographic.Once
that’sdone,ouraudiencewillbeabletoseetheir
contributioninoursocialmediaefforts.”
— Cameron Bayly, marketing manager at
NIRIX (nirix.com/smb)
“We use different types of social media for
different reasons and different audiences.
My favourite is Instagram right now; I can
communicate with everyone in the company
and have some laughs through image
sharing — I find it great for team building.”
— Alyson Hodson, partner and director
of client services at Zag Creative Group
(zagcreativegroup.com)
“My business uses social media to engage and
educate potential customers and to inform
them about the benefits and savings my
company can offer.As my business focus is
local,social media also allows me to promote
other local businesses and initiatives.”
— Kris Kasawski, principal at Park Power Ltd.
(parkpower.ca)
“We use social media to increase awareness
around our brand and services, with the goal
of increasing our number of bookings. It’s a
great tool to initiate conversation and engage
with like-minded people, as well as potential
new clients and community partners.”
— Catherine Lalonde, creative director and
founder of Feel Fabulous Mobile Spa Inc.
(feelfabulous.ca)
“Weusesocialmediatoconnectwithourfansand
buildcommunity.Weshowthemwhat’scoming
up,whatshenaniganswe’reupto,whoweare,
whatwevalue,productphotos,releaseinfo,etc.,
andeverypostreflectsourbranding.Wealsouse
socialmediatoquicklyanswerourcustomer’s
questionsandgetfeedbackonproducts.It’sthe
quickestwaytoconnectwithourcustomersand
findoutwhattheywant.Socialmediahasthe
powertoimproveproductdevelopmentandmake
procurementdecisionseasier.Withoutitwe’djust
beplayingaroundinthedark.”
—ChrisMikulin,digitalstrategistatKickPoint
(kickpoint.ca)
“We’re using social media as a way to stay
connected with people we know, as well as
meet new folks and find out what makes them
tick.We tend to share tidbits of information
and links our community might be interested
in, as well as provide them with interesting
free stuff from time to time, as opposed
to taking a‘sell sell’approach.We want to
be a reliable resource as well as a friendly
presence across the digital space, and we’ve
met great people this way.”
— Pam Robertson, chief instigator
at Robertson Digital Media
(RobertsonDigitalMedia.com)
“For us, our market is very targeted:
Professionals and organizations in the
cultural and tourism fields that would benefit
from engaging with our firm.To reach and
engage decision makers in these sectors, we
utilize Twitter, LinkedIn and a blog to share
information about the sector and our services
that would be of benefit.”
— Ron Ulrich, founder of Connect Cultural
Consulting (connect-consulting.ca)
“We have found that social media is a
wonderful way to instantly connect with the
community.When attending events, you can
quickly see who is‘talking’and then make a
personal connection. It really allows us to stay
connected, grow connections and then make
those connections personal.”
— Cecile Wendlandt, director of advisor
recruiting at Freedom 55 Financial
(freedom55financial.com)
“Being a newer business,we use social media
to build our brand and get our name out.Most,
if not all,of our customers use some form of
social media,making it the easiest and least
expensive form of advertising.Plus we can
reach a broad clientele base,expanding our
brand outside our area of service.”
— Lauren Willms,owner of Modern Sole
(modernsole.ca)
“Weusesocialmediatoaddvaluethroughresource
connectivity.Somesocialmediaoutletsdonot
facilitatetherightuse-contentexchange,butthe
onesthatdoallowustoestablishourexpertise,
offerassistanceandultimatelybuildapersonal
relationshipoftrustandexpectedservicelevels.It
isnotaboutbreadthofconnections;itallowsfora
strategicinvestmentindepthofconnectivity.”
—DarrylMoore,vice-presidentofmarketingat
Executrade(executrade.com)
“Social media helps our business connect
and engage with our customers, which gives
us quick and valuable feedback that we can
use almost instantly. It also provides us with a
platform for gauging the pulse of the industry
we are in, and allows us to test the market we
are targeting.We can quickly spot trends and
behaviors, and even get a glimpse of what
our competitors are doing, all by strategically
analyzing social media content.”
— Paul Patterson, founder of Citizen 39
(citizen39.com)
“Iusesocialmediatoconnectandbuild
relationshipswithmycustomers.Forasmall
independentbusinesslikemine,individualized
customerserviceisoneoftheadvantagesI
haveoverbigboxstores.Socialmediaallows
metoreceivefeedbackfromcustomersandlets
themspreadthewordwhentheyarehappywith
theirexperience.Ithasalsoallowedmetobuild
anetworkwithothersmallbusinessowners
andsharewithmycustomersotherproducts
andservicesIthinktheywouldlike—whenwe
promoteeachother,weallbenefit!”
— Gayle Boyd,owner of Lilypad Lane
(lilypadlane.com)
“Toharnessthecollectivegeniusofsafety
professionalsaroundtheworld…Werelyon
LinkedIn,TwitterandGoogle+toengagewith
thousandsofsafetyprofessionalswhogenerously
providetheirsupport,adviceandexpertisetohelp
usmakeSafeopediagreat.Theresponsehasbeen
overwhelmingandwecanbarelykeepup!”
— Scott Cuthbert, founder of Safeopedia
(safeopedia.com)
“We use Linkedin to stay connected with clients
and as a source for reading about business
trends.We useTwitter to connect to a larger
potential audience and to support and engage
customers…Finally,our blog provides a
source of information about our expertise and
knowledge to current and potential clients.”
— Michelle Devlin, partner at Creating
People Power (creatingpeoplepower.ca)
“To stay connected to the community as well
as my clients.For me,it’s less about promotion
and more about interacting.Without social
media,I wouldn’t have made the connections
that I have in Edmonton,both for business and
for personal networking.”
— Bree Emmerson, principal at BE3Designs
(be3designs.ca)
“Not having a social media presence is like
not having a phone number or email address.
You simply can’t do business without it.Social
media allows me to prove myself as a leader
of knowledge in my industry,communicate
efficiently with customers and meet potential
clients in the online spaces they most frequent,
keeping me top of mind.”
—Janis Galloway,fashionpublicistandfounder
ofDressMeDearly(dressmedearly.com)
“Mybusinessusessocialmediatoshowoffthevirtual
toursIcreateoflocalbusinesses,andtoconnectwith,
andlearnfrom,otherbusinessowners.”
— Kyle Giesbrecht,partner
at InsideView4Business.com
(insideview4business.com)
Wellington Holbrook,
executive vice-president of
ATB Business, asked this
question of Capital Ideas
members last week. Here’s
his take: “Why does a busi-
ness advertise? Why does
a business promote itself?
Really, they are all the same
question. What makes social media so interesting is
thatitisequalizingtheplayingfieldonhowsmallbusi-
nesscangetamessageacross.Inaworldwhereittook
a million dollars to get a good advertising spot on TV,
small business can get their message out there for lit-
erally nothing more than the cost of a creative angle
or attention getting idea. Social media may not be for
everyone,butforthoseentrepreneursthatarelooking
for a way to get a message out there, it might be the
answer they were looking for.”
ForyourchancetoanswerWellington’snextquestion,
signupforournewsletteratcapitalideasedmonton.com.
ATB Business webinar
Sources of financing to grow your business
When: 1 p.m.to 2 p.m.
Where: atb.com/businesswebinars
Admission: Free.Visit atb.com/businesswebinars to
learn more
So You Think You Can Lead
Aworkshop to enhance your leadership skills
When: 8 a.m.to 4:30 p.m.
Where:ChateauLouisConferenceCentre(11727Kingsway)
Admission: $279 before Feb.15; $329 after.Tickets at
creatingpeoplepower.ca
Howdoyoumakesocialmediapayoff?
Amonthly panel discussion hosted by Capital Ideas
When: 11:45 a.m.to 1:30 p.m.
Where: EdmontonJournal (10006 101 St.)
Admission:Free.Registeratcapitalideas26.eventbrite.com.
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Want to learn more about social media and your
business? Attend the 2014 iMedia conference
on March 15 at the Fantasyland Hotel in West
Edmonton Mall. To learn more and register, visit
imediaconference.ca.
“Socialmediaisanaturalextensiontohave
real-timedialoguewithcustomersand
yourcommunity.Thewaysinwhichweare
communicatingarechanging,howeverthe
needandimportanceofbeingsocialwillnever
change.Connect,engage,andmostofall,be
authenticandhonest.Thisishowwebuildtrust.”
—Pamella Heikel,principalofEllaSaid
(missellasaid.com)
“Ithinkasabusinessin2014,youwouldhavetobe
crazynottousesocialmedia.Itisanotheravenue
forpotentialcustomerstofindyou,learnabout
youandseewhatyouarelikewithouteversetting
footinyourestablishment.Soweuseit,anddoour
besttouseitright!Accessandinformationiskey.”
—TarcySchindelka,presidentofAdvancedDJ
Services(advanceddj.ca)
BUSINESS OWNERS HELPING BUSINESS OWNERS
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