Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

As A Business Owner, Your Personal Profile Matters

As a business owner, your personal profile matters more than you might think. When it comes down to

it, as a small business owner, you are your brand. Like it or not, what you say even when you’re not speaking on behalf of your company will reflect on your business reputation.

You likely already have a presence online that you are building (hello,it’s 2018, this should be a no brainer!) or maybe you want to expand your current network through events and other face-to-face meetings. Regardless, here are a two things to take into account as you build your profile.

Always be aware of potential connections

You never know who knows who or the quality of their relationship if they are a mutual acquaintance. So, if you are thinking of badmouthing someone, one of three things could happen:

  1. The person you are speaking to actually likes this acquaintance and you have just offended them.

      2. The person you are speaking to really doesn’t like this acquaintance either and you have just bonded over                      something really negative.

      3. The person you are speaking to feels very uncomfortable and thinks,͞ “if you can so easily talk about them, are                 you badmouthing me as well to others?”

͟In all three cases, you have just opened your mouth (or let your fingers fly over the keyboard) without knowing what the response will be, and in all three cases you get a negative out come. Even though you bonded in #2, do you really want to get a reputation like that?

Your values should align with how you want others to see your business.

Put out what you want to get back

The way you interact with others says a lot about your personality. We have all heard about employers or clients who like to see how someone treats serving staff before making a final decision on whether to work together.

Consider also that having a politically charged, intelligent discussion is very different than ranting about our disgust of a specific political leader. It could make you seem like one of those conspiracy theorists who is a little unstable. Or how about that time when you unleashed your anger via a 10-tweet rant directed at a company because they treated you poorly?

If you focus on negativity, you’ll find that people will stop wanting to work with you because of it. When it comes to social media, customers have direct access to your online activity–and they will check you out before buying from you. This doesn’t mean you can’t be authentic when building your personal profile, but when it comes to  inappropriate messaging that could be seen as offensive or hurtful, think about whether it will give the right impression.

We all wish that our personal and professional lives could be kept separate. While it can be possible to do so, with the professional world increasingly moving digital, it makes it quite difficult. The solution is to be more self-aware and think twice about what you say before you say it.

Candace Huntly is Founder and Partner at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/email/Website

Develop your brand now to avoid disappointment later

It’s not uncommon for businesses to push through their initial launch only to realize that they haven’t really done any foundational brand work. In the long-run, this can actually have a negative effect on your overall business growth. After all, if you don’t figure out exactly who you are, how are your customers supposed to know? But, what does branding even mean? And how much work do you need to do to develop it? Some business owners feel like they just need to develop a product or a logo and it will all magically fall into place. It’s not quite that simple.

Not only does creating a strong brand help you stand out among your competitors, but it also allows your audience to connect with you on a more personal level. A stronger connection to your audience generally means better revenues and long-term loyalty.

Skipping over the brand development phase, you run the risk of no one knowing who you are and an inconsistent marketing and communications strategy that will confuse your target audience. And remember… branding is not just logo development. Your logo is just a visual representation of the brand you have developed.

Brand Factors

When it comes to brand development, certain factors like industry, audience, and geography will affect your approach, however, below are brand factors that you will always need to address for your own brand development:

  • Audience Segmentation: Figure out who they are, what they want, what they need, and how they want to get it.
  • Value proposition: Decide what value you bring to your target audience and how is it different than your competitors.
  • Brand messaging: These are the main points that you can use to talk about your brand. It will form the base for all marketing and communications content you put out there.
  • Brand identity/personality: Your messaging shows what you are about, and your brand identity showcases your values, ethics, and the characteristics that really make you you.
  • Brand story: Take your messaging and brand identity one step further by crafting your organizational story. Focus on the people and the things that are most important to you.

After you have gone through all of these things, you are well-equipped to create your logo and build your website and web content based on what would appeal to your audience and showcase your brand story.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Now that you have this great brand developed, you need to think about how you can establish a long-term presence with it based on three things:

  1. Consistency: Maintaining consistency when it comes to colours, messaging, tone, and all of your brand’s defining factors is important so your audience knows what to expect from you. It also helps with brand recall (your audience will remember and recognize you based on your marketing efforts).
  2. Adaptability: While you need consistency, you also have to be adaptable when it comes to evolving your brand over time. Your audience and their needs will likely evolve over time and it’s important that you don’t get left behind because you haven’t kept up.
  3. Storytelling: Weaving storytelling through everything you do will allow you to better connect over a long period of time with your audience. You took the time to develop your brand storytelling based on what your audience might want, so use it!

Brand development, while often overlooked, is an important part of the process when you are starting a business or when you are going through organizational change. It will set you up for future business success.

Candace Huntly is Founder and Partner at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/email/Website

The exact process we use to get clients social media success

When it comes to social media for business, most entrepreneurs fall into one of four categories:

  1. You know you need it, but you have no idea how to get started. Perhaps you got into social media a little late and you don’t have the base knowledge to know what will work best.
  2. You are already on it, but you aren’t seeing any growth or positive results and you’re not sure why. You’re spending time on putting content out there, but it’s going nowhere. You’re not even sure if anyone is reading it!
  3. You are already on it, but you can’t find the time to actually do anything with it. Running your own business is already hard enough. You realize the benefits social media can bring, but you just aren’t able to dedicate time to doing anything with it.
  4. You are an expert and you’ve mastered the art of engaging social media content.

If you fall into category 4, congratulations! If you fall into category 1, 2, or 3, don’t worry. You are not alone. It’s no secret that social media plays a major role in connecting with your audience, but, for many entrepreneurs, that’s where the frustration begins. Whether it’s a lack of knowledge or time, everyone has to start somewhere.

At SongBird one of the things I do is work with clients on their social media strategies. Sometimes it means building a strategy and executing it, and other times it is simply building a strategy and giving them the tools to execute it successfully on their own.

This is the 5-step process we go through with clients to help them achieve social media success:

Step 1: Social and competitor audit

This is an in depth look at what you are already doing on social media (if you’re on it!) to see what is working and what isn’t working. Then you take it a step further by looking at your competitors’ social media channels. Look for things like engagement, brand consistency, and content variety.

Step 2: Brand refresh

Make sure your brand messaging is aligned with your overall business goals and brand personality. You also need to take a good look at your audience and where they like to consume content to ensure you are using the right social media channels that will help you achieve your goals.

Step 3: Refine your strategy

You can start by ensuring your social profiles are consistent across platform when it comes to imagery, messaging, and brand story. Then you need to create a strong content strategy that will help you get your message across on all of your chosen social platforms. This means looking at appropriate posting timing, hashtag usage, types of content, and where the crossover content will be. Remember, you shouldn’t post the same content across all platforms. The idea is that you want people to follow you on all platforms, so you need to provide value in different ways to encourage this.

Step 4: Learn your tools

You need to make your social media implementation as easy as possible, so you can keep up with it. Tools like Hootsuite and Buffer will help with scheduling so you can schedule content one week at a time and not worry so much on a day-to-day basis. If you’re concerned about how your content looks, use a user-friendly design tool like Canva.

Step 5: Take it one day at a time

Only take on what you can handle, realizing that you can grow your strategy over time. As you start to see success, and your social presence becomes more consistent, you will find it easier to add to your strategy. It is also easier to track your success if you fully understand what you are doing. If you notice something isn’t working, try tweaking your strategy slightly. There will be trial and error in figuring it out on your own, so just embrace it rather than have it frustrate you. You can learn as much about your business, yourself, and your customers through things that don’t work as you can through your successes.

If you’re stuck, feel free to reach out and ask questions! You can also check out our Social Media Starter Kit!

Candace Huntly is Founder and Partner at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/email/Website

3 Ways To Keep Media Interested In Your Brand

Your company or product launch was a month ago, and you managed to connect with a few media outlets to get coverage. Now what?

It is a challenge most business owners face consistently when it comes to generating buzz about their brand. While you may not notice the lull in buzz generated for a couple of months because you are on a high from your successful launch, you are going to have to figure out how to create new opportunities for your business to garner media and influencer attention when life gets “back to normal.”

Here are three ways to create great media opportunities if you have hit a brand buzz rut.

Get involved with a charitable organization or a cause

A business that stands for something is a very powerful thing. Customers want to buy from brands that have the same values and belief system as they do. Your involvement with a charitable organization or with a cause allows you to tell your brand story in a different way as it relates to a cause. The media is looking for interesting human interest stories to tell, so you need to give them a story to tell that is unique to you.

Find creative ways to get your refreshed story angle out there, whether it is something experiential, guerrilla, or even a unique digital campaign.

Sponsor a community event

Community involvement is a great way to draw attention from local and regional media outlets. Find a community event that is in line with what you have to offer, or one that is of personal interest to you and your team. A personal connection will make the involvement more meaningful to both you and your target audience. If your connection to the event seems inauthentic, the media will likely not be interested because it just looks like you are faking your way to media coverage.

Plan a giveaway/contest

If you would like to run an influencer campaign with bloggers, setting up a series of contests is an effective way to connect with them. If you have product (or a service) that can be gifted then get them to review the product along with a giveaway specifically for their readers. Depending on how the contest is structured, you can create great opportunities for your brand visibility.

Your media and influencer buzz doesn’t have to end with your launch. When you sit down to create your launch strategy, think ahead to what happens next and try to incorporate it into your timeline. That way you won’t be left thinking “now what?”

Candace Huntly is Founder and Partner at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/email/Website

How mentorship can change the way you see your brand

Your business is your baby and your brand is its carefully developed personality. As a business owner you should be very careful about how you put your brand out there – what channels you use, the language you use, the causes you choose to support, etc. However, sometimes when you are so singularly focused on creating a successful business and brand you can become stuck in one way of thinking. Before you know it, you have tunnel vision and you aren’t able to see a variety of possibilities and opportunities you are missing out on.

One way to avoid tunnel vision is to work regularly with a business mentor. A business coach is great, but a mentor is a relationship that you foster that is mutually beneficial – not financially based as a professional service offered. Globally, 93% of small and medium sized business owners agree that having a mentor can help drive business success. The sad part is that only 28% of business owners actually work with a mentor.

Working with a mentor will help you to change your mindset and approach to both your business and your brand, which can give you a fresh perspective on the opportunities you may be missing for your brand. A mentor is someone who has already paved their own path, someone you can learn from their mistakes.

In terms of branding, a fresh perspective will help you critically question the decisions you are making with your brand so you can have more control over how your audience perceives you. Discover what is working and what isn’t working based on your mentor’s knowledge of the industry and your target audience.

If you have a mentor that has turned on a lightbulb for you in terms of your brand, I would love to hear about it. If you are looking for a mentor that will be able to help you in your specific industry, Canadian Small Business Women is a great place to start! Find someone who is in your industry or a related industry and ask if you can ask them a few questions about how they got to where they are now. Every relationship starts with a  conversation!

Candace Huntly is the Founder and Principal at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/email/Website

 

Don’t Do Marketing & PR… Until you can answer these 5 questions

CHuntly

Marketing & Public Relations (AKA PR) should be an important part of your outreach strategy. After all, PR is defined as interacting with your public, and you need to do that to communicate your brand message to your audience. If you’re not trying to communicate with your audience, you are relying too heavily on the “if you build it they will come” strategy. In a world of social media and other online channels as well as all of the visual and informational bombardment on a day-to-day basis face-to-face, there is too much noise in the marketplace to wait for someone to notice you. You need to initiate the connection.

It can be tempting to jump on the first opportunity you see to get your brand “out there” without thinking too much beyond that you just want people to see you. However, just because it is the latest and greatest idea doesn’t mean it is the right one for your business.

You have a lot of options available to you when it comes to marketing and PR. The challenge for you as a small business owner is to pick the right options that will give you the highest return on your investment (of time AND money!).

Here are a few things you need to get straight before you jump on that latest and greatest idea you came across:

  1. What do you do? Be able to identify in detail what product or service you are selling.
  2. Who would be interested in what you have to offer? When you can answer this question, you will have identified your target audience.
  3. Why would your target audience want what you have to offer? This is an important step often skipped by entrepreneurs who are launching a business. You need to be able to articulate – in writing and when you are speaking to people – what makes your product/service so great. Along the same lines, identify what sets you apart from your competitors.
  4. Where does your target audience congregate? Do a bit of research to find out where they get their information from, what organizations they belong to, their social media habits, and what their buying habits are.
  5. What are your goals? Once you have identified who you are and who would be interested in what you have to offer, you need to set goals so you can identify what a successful marketing & PR campaign would look like for you. Is it sign ups? Website traffic? Awareness?

Once you have answered these five questions, you can sit down and use the information to decide what kind of marketing & PR strategy you should run. Your audience and your goals will dictate what channels you use to reach out and your product/service offering and differentiators will help you determine what type of content and messaging to use on each channel.

While it means you need to invest more time in the beginning to help set yourself on the right track, it is worth it in the long-term.

Candace Huntly is the Founder and Principal at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/email/Website

Intellectual Property is Your Business and “A rose by any other name …”

 

ari-2

I remember my first exposure to Shakespeare in high school and the stress it caused when I realized that somehow I had to understand what looked like English, but which to me, might as well have been written in Klingon. I have witnessed the same stress in business owners when the topic and lingo of intellectual property comes up. The way to get through it, like anything else, is to start with what does make sense and go from there. So, with that in mind, let me recount to you the gist of two conversations I recently had with business owners about intellectual property and their business.

 

Do I really need to bother with intellectual property?

The short answer to that question is IP is always part of your business, so why wouldn’t you? Let’s also consider, however, the context for the question.

The question was prompted after a business owner received mixed messages from her board of advisors about the relevance of intellectual property (IP) to her business, an enterprise focused on educating young entrepreneurs. The different perspectives of her advisors ranged from “forget about IP” to “worry about it later”; focus instead on your “value proposition and managing risk”.

This thinking reveals some common misconceptions about what IP is and the role it plays in a business. The first was that IP can somehow be disassociated from managing risk and is extraneous to the brand, content, and expertise, at the core of her business. In fact, in this case, content is her product, and so the value proposition of her business is all about IP.  Selling her brand of content fundamentally relies on working with her copyrights and trademark rights. Whether or not she chooses to register these IP rights is another question, but even if she does not, she will still be using those rights in her transactions with publishers, distributors and customers.

Then there is the idea that you can put off addressing IP issues until you have some traction in the marketplace and some cash to spare. While addressing IP issues early on can indeed pull on meager start-up resources, suggesting you can cut IP out of the business incubation stage is like saying you can add yeast to bread to make it rise after you have baked it. In reality, you can make the most of the bread (and butter) of your business if you take the time to consider the legal nature of your creative assets from the get go. To do otherwise, is to risk not achieving the very thing you set out to do.

 

If I am dealing with intellectual property in my business, I don’t know it.

The business owner who raised this point works with a number of artisans and was thoughtfully reflecting on how business relationships seem to work fine without bringing intellectual property into the conversation. I get it. The more you talk about “legal stuff”, the harder it can be to get folks on board. The thing is, at the risk of being repetitive, IP is part of the equation even if not seen or acknowledged, and the math generally will not work in the long run if it is not somehow accounted for. So knowing this, would you rather address IP issues before or after they become a problem?

While the language of IP is not the most prosaic, understanding and talking about what something is, instead of around it, makes for clear, transparent and informed conversations, conducive to building solid business relationships. You can also save everyone the trouble of investing in relationships which are not a fit to begin with.

Whenever I have had this discussion with small business owners, I am reminded of my early days as a gardener, going to the nursery, buying plants and overlooking some of the details about how to care for them in different seasons. During the summer, flowers bloomed and there was new growth. In the fall and winter I would bypass a few steps to help the plants weather the colder days, and then when spring arrived, there was not much of a garden to speak of. Out of pocket and starting over, it was clear that there is no substitute for having a few targeted conversations and paying attention to the details.

And so it is with IP and your business relationships –  a more thorough understanding of your creative assets is always a plus and with this knowledge, the options for cultivating business plans and relationships become more numerous, adaptable, sustainable and reflective of the real value of your business.

 

Ariadni Athanassiadis is the lead attorney of Kyma Professional Corporation, which provides intellectual property (IP) legal services to help your business develop and benefit from the creative efforts and assets that make it distinctive. Whether it is your brand, product, services, designs, technology or business processes, Ariadni can help design IP legal solutions which let you make the most of what you give to your business.

———————————

Ariadni Athanassiadis

Kyma Professional Corporation

T: 613-327-7245

E: ariadni@kymalaw.com

W: www.kymalaw.com

5 Ways to Make Your Audience Love Your Brand

CHuntly

Without an audience, it’s kind of hard to run a business. A growing customer base will drive your business growth. There are a lot of other brands out there, so how do you get your customers to choose you over your competitors? And once you have their attention, how do you build a loyal, long-term relationship with them?

Here are five ways for you to create a strong and loyal relationship with your audience. Five ways to get them to fall in love with you.

  1. Be authentic: If you are constantly selling and trying to put a spin on your sales pitch, you will come across like a pushy and dishonest salesman who will say anything to get the sale. Your brand should have characteristics that are attractive to your audience – values and ethics that show what you stand for. When you communicate with your audience, find ways to make personal connections with them that go beyond selling. Once they are loyal to your brand, the sale is inevitable because what you are offering will be top of mind.
  2. Talk with them, not at them: Many brands get stuck in a rut where they are constantly pumping out content, but they don’t take the time to interact with their audience. It should be about generating meaningful dialogue on your marketing channels, whether more traditional or digital. In many cases, brands could put out less content if they up the engagement factor with their audience. It becomes a case of quality vs. quantity. And if you are a small business owner wearing multiple hats, it’s about finding efficiencies in your marketing strategy that will get you higher returns on your efforts.
  3. Tell them you appreciate them: That feel-good feeling is pretty contagious. If your existing customers are happy, they will tell their friends. Create opportunities to show your appreciation through loyalty programs and content that is directed towards customers. The brands that do well are as grateful for an audience of 500 as they are an audience of 500,000. You will find that once you start appreciating each individual customer they will start multiplying pretty fast.
  4. Create an experience: You should showcase the positive experiences your audience can have with your brand through your blog, social media, and other channels. Take it a step further and create those experiences through public stunts and events where they can’t help but get involved with your brand. Not only will this showcase what you have to offer, but it will generate an emotional connection with your audience because you are making a direct impact on their lives.
  5. Love yourself: Self-hype can be detrimental if you ignore things that should be improved. However, you can’t make someone else love you if you don’t love yourself. You should always start out looking internally, getting to know your brand, and pointing out everything that is great about your brand. This will jumpstart any successful marketing strategy.

Candace Huntly is the Founder and Principal at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/email/Website

The importance of small businesses blogging

FB Pic

 

When blogging made its first appearance in the late 90’s, it was mainly used by individuals wanting to express their thoughts and feels towards various topics. However, over the years blogging has evolved and is now used as a main tool for many businesses to express ideas, pass along valuable information and is a means of keeping connected with clients. Blogging is one of the biggest, easiest and not to mention free marketing strategies out there. Entrepreneurs, whether established or starting up, need to understand the importance and value of this tool.

What having a blog site can do for you:

  • Boost your websites search engine optimization (SEO): by posting blogs frequently, Google and other search engines will be able to use the important key words, which are plugged into your post and your appearance on the search engines result page will increase.
  • Causes traffic to your website: by linking your blog site to your business’s website, you will increase traffic flow, along with creating more awareness around your brand.
  • Establishing relationships: end your blog post with a question and get conversation going, create a section under your post for readers to leave a comment or additional feedback. Being able to review and respond to their comments will give you some insight as to what your customers are looking for from your business.
  • Connecting to the brand: most outbound marketing techniques do not allow you to show off your personal side, blogging gives you the opportunity to show your business’s true personality.
  • Free marketing: whether readers share your post on Facebook, tweet it or email your blog to a friend, this is helping create more buzz around your business.

 

Dwania is the Founder and Executive Director of Canadian Small Business Women Contact Canadian Small Business Women:

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Website

9 Tips For Writing a Better Media Release

CHuntly

While media relations is only one part of your overall PR campaign, being able to write a great media release (also known as Press Release) can make or break the success of your outreach. There is a lot of a competition out there and your release has to be relevant and timely. Done well, it can be a great way of getting information to media outlets about your announcement.

Here are a few tips to consider when writing your upcoming media release:

  1. Develop strong messaging

This means writing down all of the most defining points about your brand, organization, and announcement. You have to be able to identify which are the most important and which are the least important so you know which information to include in the media release.

  1. Find a relevant hook

The hook is meant to capture interest – it’s what makes your announcement unique. Just because something is happening with you doesn’t mean it’s going to mean anything to anyone else. You have to make the story interesting to a wide range of people (especially your target audience). You could include statistical research on a topic that people want to hear about or even a human interest aspect to the story. For example, you could be partnering up with a charity or community group.

  1. Use a killer headline

Put yourself in the mindset of a journalist and develop a headline that could work as a great news article headline. Keep it short and attention-grabbing. You want people to read beyond the headline.

  1. Get to the point

This is the most important aspect of your content and you shouldn’t wait to get it out. By the end of the first paragraph who, what, when, where, why, and how should be answered. Any more than this is just fluff, any less and you haven’t included enough information. The rest of the release is there as supporting information.

  1. Include an enticing quote

You should have a spokesperson that is ready to speak to the media should they call. The media often use quotes when they are covering a story and if you give them a great quote as part of your release it makes it easier for them. This means your quote should use some of your key messages and they should not be background or what I like to call “fluff” information.

  1. Keep it short

A media release should be easy to read and quick. Media outlets often get hundreds of releases daily, so you need to make it easy for them to get through yours. If you can keep it to one page that’s best.

  1. Revise, revise, revise

You should never send out a release without reviewing it first. Make sure you have no spelling or grammar errors and that the flow of the release makes sense. Any time you can get someone else to review the content for you is even better!

  1. Include contact information

Make sure the media has some way to reach you. It’s best to include more than one way for them to get a hold of you. Include the name of the contact person and their phone number and email.

  1. Watch your tone

This isn’t a marketing sales piece, so avoid the hype and jargon you would include when selling your products and services. Write in the present tense and focus on the facts of the story you are telling rather than a sales pitch.

Still have questions about your media release? Don’t be afraid to give me a call!

Candace Huntly is the Founder and Principal at SongBird Marketing Communications, an agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making it unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/email/Website

Doing What Matters – because……..

Sheralyn

It’s time for a little reality check.  This is a business blog but it’s really about the business of life.  Haven’t we all occasionally spent just a little too much time trolling the internet, facebook and LinkedIn for advice on how to live our lives, succeed in business and be happy, healthy and well- adjusted? We are locked in an inevitable search for meaning in life, for how to “add value” and how the understanding of these will provide meaning to our existence and therefore also, presumably, business success.  What we may not have done however is really figured out how to do what matters, when it matters and for whom it matters because we haven’t figured out our “because.”  The “because” is UP TO YOU and the “because” is the only thing that matters.  Whether you do what you do because you want to be successful, make money, be a great provider for your family or be recognized in your industry as a leader is, in the end, all that counts.

Doing what matters means embracing your destiny, career, business or even (if this is your choice) your decision to be a stay at home parent. Embrace this decision with full force, with no doubts, no questions, no reservations and no limitations. Let it settle in and become a part of every fibre of your being because if you don’t – it won’t. You will question your decisions, your abilities, your commitment and your competence and then your business will suffer. Quite possibly you will suffer.

It doesn’t matter what you are doing right now as long as you enjoy the doing and that you are confidant. This isn’t just a blanket suggestion to “be happy” as if life really was that simple.  No, it’s not a Law of Attraction kind of thing either.  It’s just common sense. It doesn’t need to be labeled anything other than what it is. I don’t know about you but I am tired of all the current buzzwords around being “authentic.” Buzzwords set us up for failure as we fall short of these often false and pretentious expectations.  We judge both ourselves and others by the standards of these new (and constantly changing) “realities.” The reality of our daily existence is simply that each of us has to do what we do for reasons that matter only to us. For the most part these coalesce nicely with an overall “raison d’être” that makes the world go round. In other words, by each of us doing what matters to us, enough people do enough good things to help others and to offset the people who do bad things (because unfortunately, there are people who by doing what matters to them, do bad things.)

So stop worrying about the labeling and naval gazing.  Stop reading every site you can find that will help you determine your “brand.” I don’t care what your brand is. Are you a brand? Are you a box of cereal? Seriously? We are human beings not brands and who you are as a person, as an individual, this is what matters – not who you are as a “brand.”  A simple search on Google will tell you that a “brand” is “a type of product manufactured by a particular company under a particular name” or, even better, that a brand is “an identifying mark burned on livestock or…former criminals or slaves…”* Is this what you aspire to be?

Let’s not lose sight of the fact that we are PEOPLE not an inanimate object manufactured for the express purpose of a corporation. While we may occasionally feel like a “slave” to the corporate machine, we are not.  We are reimbursed for our efforts and if you go back to my earlier point – hopefully you are doing something you love and that has meaning and purpose to you, thus negating the feeling of enslavement. This is ever more true if you have chosen the path of an entrepreneur. Be who you want to be and do what you want to do and your sincerity, drive and passion will naturally flow because it is founded in confidence and in being true to yourself. So do what matters. Do it because it’s what matters to you.

As Owner and Principal partner of “Writing Right For You” Sheralyn is a Communications Strategist – working together with entrepreneurs to maximize profit through effective use of the written word. Looking for web content that works, blog articles that engage or communications strategies that help you get noticed?  Contact Sheralyn today. Sheralyn is also the mother of two children now entering the “terrible and terrific teens” and spends her free time volunteering for several non-profit organizations.

Sheralyn Roman B.A., B.Ed.

Writing Right For You

Communications Strategies that help you GET TO THE POINT!

416-420-9415 Cell/Business

writingrightforyou@gmail.com

The Beauty in Business – 5 Reasons why looks matter

 Praveeni

Looks matter! We all know and have come to accept the fact that appearances, though sometimes deceiving do play a part in how successful we are in life in general. It may come as a surprise to some however that looks matter in business as well. Although this may be a tough pill to swallow for those who believe that clients choose you based on your knowledge, products and customer care, looks do play a large part in the business world. Here are five reasons why looks matter in the business world :

  1. The first impression is a lasting impression

You only get once chance to make a great first impression and it’s rather difficult to recover from a bad one. The initial part of a first impression is based solely on the way you look; when someone sees you for the first time they make a judgment about you before you even have the chance to speak. Thus it’s important to make sure your look represents the message you want to convey through your words.

  1. Potential clients are more likely to listen to people they find attractive

This may sound a little crazy and off-putting but research along with many hidden camera T.V. shows have proven that it is in fact true. If we find a person attractive we would like to spend more time speaking with them and listen to what they have to say. Although what each person finds attractive differs individually the overall package you present (i.e. yourself) should come across as well groomed, friendly and professional.

  1. A professional look helps establish trust

Trust is a key component of winning and retaining clients. In order to gain a client’s business you have to win their trust first. You can gain a client’s trust by looking the part – what would you like a client to think when they see you? Clients usually like to do business with people they cant relate to and those who offer a professional service. It’s important to portray an image of professionalism and approachability. Clients need to know that you have the skills required to provide them with top quality products and services, but they also need to know that they can come to you and speak with you directly if they have a concern.

  1. Looking healthy portrays energy and motivation

Clients ultimately want to do business with people who work hard for them and provide them with the best products/services. As we are now living in the health and fitness revolution maintaining a healthy lifestyle and being in shape is exceedingly important in business. If you look like you take time to look after yourself and make healthy choices clients will notice; looking healthy conveys the message that you are motivated and energized. You don’t have to be a body builder or a fitness model to portray this image but you do need to take time to evaluate your own health and fitness, an area that many entrepreneurs overlook. Make time for you and the results both physical and financial will show.

  1. Your look represents your brand

The way you look is a non-verbal advertisement for your brand. Whether you realize it or not you make a fashion statement everyday with the clothes you choose, the way you do your hair and make up and the manner in which you carry yourself. As an entrepreneur it’s important to make sure that statement accurately represents the brand you’re trying to establish.  People will judge your outfit, accessories, behavior etc. and try to draw parallels between them and the product/services you are trying to market. So before you step out each morning ask yourself – are you on brand? If not, it may be time to re-think that outfit or hairstyle.

Praveeni Perera is the CEO and co-founder of Professional Edge Consulting a corporate training company based in Ottawa offering training and coaching services to clients around the world.  She can be reached via Website, Twitter, Facebook or her Blog.

When should you say No?

Praveeni

 

“No” is something we may be used to hearing as entrepreneurs, for every yes there are at least five No’s that come before it, but saying it is something that may be unusual. As you become more established and gain more experience people will start to notice you; both for your work and your value. This attention can be a blessing and a curse as your workload and commitments will increase. But just how much work or involvement is too much? When is it time to start saying No? I’ve always had a difficult time declining business offers and saying no to people in general, until one day I realized I was agreeing just to oblige others with no real benefit to myself or my business. Here are a few rules I’ve come up with for instances when it is alright to decline an offer or say No

  1. There’s no benefit to your business
    As an entrepreneur may people will try to sell you products, services, their time etc. to “help” you. It’s important to take a step back and examine each offer to determine whether or not it actually benefits your business. If there is no direct benefit then simply say No.
  1. It doesn’t make you money
    When you run a business it’s easy to get sidetracked and caught up in pointless meetings – basically meetings that have no profit or networking potential. They’re usually the kind of meeting where someone will email or call to “hear more about your business”. Be weary of these kinds of offers, if you don’t believe you can build a mutually beneficial business relationship then decline.
  1. Beyond your expertise
    Sometimes people ask you for your help or advice. Being an entrepreneur doesn’t make you an expert at everything business related so know the limits of knowledge. If something is beyond your expertise explain that it is beyond your scope and recommend someone else who may be of assistance.
  1. Detrimental to your brand
    Being aware of your brand and the message you want to convey is key when running your own business. Thus you must be conscious about how each business decision affects your brand. If allying yourself with a person, group or company compromises your brand or company image decline the meeting or offer.
  1. You’re spread too thin
    Time is something we never have enough of as entrepreneurs. If you find your commitments are taking away from your personal time with family and friends, it’s time to revaluate and prioritize. With all the volunteer and community involvement opportunities out there it’s hard to decline calls to help out, but remember when something is no longer enjoyable it’s time to quit. Volunteering can range from sitting on a board to even helping out at your local hospital. As a rule of thumb try to engage in two volunteer activities maximum, this way you’ll be able to focus more on them and give it your best.

Praveeni Perera is the CEO and co-founder of Professional Edge Consulting a corporate training company based in Ottawa offering training and coaching services to clients around the world.  She can be reached via Website, Twitter, Facebook or her Blog.

Can Your Brand Become a Movement?

selfy photo

I just spent the last 10 days or so at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival.  Not to be confused with the very popular music festival, SXSW Interactive is a yearly pilgrimage of the Internet faithful to Austin Texas, that happens right before the music part of the festival.  There are upwards of 72 000 registrants at the festival, not to mention all of the speakers, and all of the people who don’t actually register for the conference but who travel to Austin for the networking and business opportunities.  Suffice it to say, it is packed!

The conference takes place in the giant Austin Convention Centre, and in every hotel in the downtown core, offering literally hundreds of possible sessions every day.  It is, in a nutshell, barely controlled chaos.  But it is also a unique opportunity to hear from some of the brightest minds in digital content, marketing, innovation, and forecasting.

Every year, there are themes: there is always a buzz, an undercurrent of new thinking.  This year, there was one standout theme that will change the way I think about marketing my business.  That theme is that what we think about marketing and branding, and even building our businesses, is broken.

Now, some things that were said were not new; things like:

  • The customer is in charge: social media has meant that our customers often know more about our products than our sales staff, before we even know that they are interested in us. As a matter of fact, the average person is already 57% of the way down your sales funnel before you even know they exist, having gathered lots of information about your business and your products from friends, reviews, searches, and other touch points that you don’t control.
  • Your brand is not something you can easily control: it exists as much (or more) in the minds of your customers as it does in your own marketing department. Consumers today interact with brands as if they are people: they want to trust them as much or more than they want to find their products or services competent.
  • Our decisions are not rational, they are primarily emotional. We make decisions based on guts, feelings, intuitions, and connections.  Think about buying a house (or in my case, a pair of shoes).  The spreadsheet goes out the window when you get that signal from your emotional brain that says “I’m home”.

What was new was a different way of looking at how brands, businesses, and their marketing departments need to adjust to this new reality.

 

Storyscaping

One of the most compelling cases I heard was from Darren McColl, the Global Chief Brand Strategist for Sapient Nitro.  Sapient Nitro was the company responsible for the  “Best Job in the World” campaign , an incredibly successful tourism campaign for Australia that was rolled out on a very low budget.  McColl talked about how, contrary to popular wisdom, brands are not built by telling a great story.  Rather, they are built by creating compelling experiences or worlds within which the company, the product or service, the employees and other stakeholders, AND the customers coexist, and interact with the brand.  It is described in their blog and book as Storyscaping.  Storyscaping is a move from advertising and storytelling, which they refer to as “Story Yelling”,  to creating participatory storyscapes.   He points out that brands need more than a great story: they need a storyworld that leaves room for the customer to integrate the brand into their life and their story.

 

Brands as Movements

John Hagel, Chairman of the Centre for the Edge at Deloitte, took this idea one step further.  Hagel’s talk was all about brands and movements, and he made an important distinction between story and narratives.  As Hagel points out, a story has a beginning, a middle, and an end.  It is told to a listener, and doesn’t really involve the listener.  In contrast, a narrative is something different.  A narrative is an idea, it is a story that doesn’t have an end, in which the listener is involved and in fact, is empowered to create the ending.

For example, a story might be told about an immigrant family who comes to Toronto and makes their life here.  A narrative is “Ontario: the land of opportunity”.  There is no ending to that narrative, it is dependant on the individual to create their own ending should they become involved in the narrative.

Narratives are Storyscapes.  They are open ended, experience-based worlds that great brands create.  Think about the Apple brand, and its devotees: the narrative is that the world can be a different, better place if we just “Think Different”, think outside the box, think creatively.  Apple doesn’t really tell stories, rather, it invites customers to take part in what feels more like a movement and what has been referred to as a religion!

 

Making Change in my Business

The simple way that I bring this back to my own business is by asking these questions:

  • What is the feeling I want my customers to have when they interact with my products or services?
  • What is the experience I want them to share with their friends and colleagues?
  • How can I invite them to participate in helping me make the world a better place with my business offering?

You don’t have to be Apple to create a narrative or storyscape around your business, you just have to think in a radically customer-centric, customer-experience, customer-first way.

 

For more resources and information on Content Strategy and to download a detailed description of what content strategy entails, go to analyticalengine.ca/resources or download a Content Strategy Info graphic at http://bit.ly/1qY9tYp.

Christine McGlade is a Business Analyst, Content Strategist, and Usability Consultant.  With over 25 years experience in the media business, Christine helps small business, social enterprise, and Not for Profits how to leverage the power of the Internet to grow their business.  Learn more about Christine at analyticalengine.ca

Should I Start A Podcast?

 

Malene Jorgensen

You may have noticed a spike in podcast shows over the last year, as more entrepreneurs are starting to record shows to expand their personal brands. Many people listen to podcasts to expand their business knowledge, get new ideas and connect with other entrepreneurs.

People start podcasts for various reasons, but many business owners start these shows to promote their respective businesses. For example, if someone is a health coach and advice on personal nutrition, he or she can create a podcast where the discussion will fall on health in various ways.

At the end of the podcast, the business owner can refer to various products or services to get people to go back to the company’s website. While the podcast may not generate money in itself unless there are deals with advertisers, it can be a great marketing tool to push more paying customers.

It is also a great way to self-promote, if the business owner is planning on starting speaking, blogging or being the face of the business.

There are plenty of how-to’s when it comes to starting a podcast online. A simple Google search will give you everything you need.

 

Malene Jorgensen is an entrepreneur, author and speaker. Jorgensen is passionate about online content, blogging, online business development and e-commerce. She owns an international media publishing company and a design studio. Jorgensen has written several books that are sold in over 50 countries. She is also obsessed with coffee and Twitter. You can reach Malene Jorgensen at Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram

 

Stay Social with Canadian Small Business Women: