Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

When to follow technology trends in social media

Kelly Farrell - Teach Me Social -headshot (2)

There is a big difference between jumping on the bandwagon just because “everyone else is doing it” and adding a new tech trend as part of your overall digital marketing strategy. The rate of change in the world of technology, especially for business, is extremely fast-paced and keeping up with the new apps, website trends and social media features can be a very daunting task. Despite the challenges that come with keeping up, it can be very beneficial to be an early adopter of new technologies and digital shifts.

 

First come, first serve

The first users on many new platforms, websites or apps are usually privy to special offers and features. On social media, the early arrivals are almost always the first to develop a large following of other early arrivals, who also tend to be more engaged and loyal than new followers later on.

 

Work out the kinks

Getting on board with a new feature or platform also give you ample time to work out the kinks, a time when making mistakes are part of the game and adds authenticity to your brand. Part of social media is the allure of being able to see behind the curtain of a logo and glimpse the authentic personality driving the message. Working out the kinks and figuring out a new platform with other early adopters also sets you up as a leader and expert when the rest of the crowd follows you.

 

Staying Current

If your brand stands for ingenuity, creativity or innovation in any way, then getting on board and being part of the initial phase could play a huge role in setting your brand up as a leader in forward thinking. When your brand shares their enthusiasm by joining in on trending topics on social media, it shows your followers that you are current, relevant and engaged.

 

Beware of shiny things

All that being said, the biggest danger with new technologies is the “shiny things syndrome”! It’s happened to the best of us – like children, we are easily attracted to new things and can get sucked into spending hours playing with new features and testing out new toys.

 

To avoid getting sucked into new technologies that are not going to see an overall benefit for your small business, you can ask yourself these questions:

  • Will using this tool attract new customers to my business?
  • Is my target demographic already using this tool?
  • Will my business benefit from being part of a trending conversation online?
  • How much time can I afford to spend daily using a new technology tool?

 

If you weigh the pros and cons of each new tool, it becomes easier to identify trends that will have a positive impact on your business and ones that may not be worth your time investment. In most cases, it is always a good idea to get advice from an expert or other small business owners. Attending networking events and joining online communities (like Canadian Small Business Women) are great ways to know what other entrepreneurs are doing online and where they are focusing their energy.

Teach Me Social owner Kelly Farrell has been helping empower Canadian Small Business owners through social media for over four years. Teach Me Social now offers services ranging from training sessions for small business owners and their teams to full-service social media account management. Visit teachmesocial.ca to learn more about our service offerings or to book a no obligation consultation, including an audit of your existing social media channels.

Keisha Pinto: Canadian Small Business Woman of the Month of April

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Keisha Pinto, Owner/Event Planner-Stylist-Coordinator of Ki-Events, a full-service event planning boutique specializing in lifestyle events.  Since the launch of her business in September 2014, Keisha has been building her network and business by connecting with the most influential, established and game changing individuals in Toronto. Keisha keeps on top of the trends to plan, style and coordinate breath-taking signature looks that wow her client’s expectations every time!   Keisha Plans and styles each one of her events from conception to execution without missing any of the fine details.  Growing up Keisha has always been a very coordinated person, with a keen eye for details…”everything had to match”.  Her passion for event planning ignited once she entered into the corporate field in 2001. She became more involved in the planning and execution of the social and networking events for her organization, which really sparked her interest even more. To educate herself in becoming a certified Event Planner, Keisha enrolled part-time at George Brown College in Toronto where she completed the Event Meeting and Management Program. During the course of the program, Keisha received extensive training, teachings and gained experience from some of Toronto’s best special events, meeting and conference planners.  Keisha’s passion for event planning is evident in every event she creates.  

 

You can find and view her work at www.kievents.ca  You can also find Ki-Events on the following social media handles:

Instagram: kievents

Twitter: @_ki_events

Facebook: KeishaPinto kievents.

Pinterest: kievents

 

Our ! & A with Keisha

 *What inspires you?
I love what I do!  My passion for Event Planning inspires me..it is that simple!  Every event is different and brings a different type of inspiration, my passion for loving what I do is evident in every event I create.

*As a small business owner, what achievements make you most proud?
As a small business owner, the achievements that makes me the most proud is that I am able to balance life, being a mother , supportive partner and small business owner while holding down a 9-5, this makes me the most proud, knowing that with all that life throws at you I am still standing  and standing strong.  As we all know life can get crazy and they are days when you want to throw in the towel…and then you are reminded of your whys and the passion that you have for loving what you do.

 *What advice would you give to other aspiring small business owners?
My advice to aspiring small business owners is to know yourself and know your worth.  Do not ever sell yourself short for anyone.  One of the worst things an aspiring business owner can do is compromise themselves and don’t  stand up for what they believe in.

*What new things can we look forward to from your business in the upcoming year?
2015 Ki-Events will be expanding the business and brand…not only by supporting other businesses and events, but we are offering new services and products, aside from planning-coordinating  & styling of events.  We are now offering products such paper flowers, which is trending this year, customize Sweet Tables/Candy Buffet packages.  Ki-Events is also going be adding a new extension to the brand “Ki-Notes” offering writing of sponsorship request letters, vendor request, events/wedding itineraries,  programs/agendas, bios, resumes and social media postings. Most importantly Ki-Events has collaborated with two other amazingly  talented wedding/event planners in Toronto Cassandra Scully, owner of Creative Elegance and Antoinette Dumuje, Owner of Heavenz Decor Inc. together we are CAKEvents, an organization formed to give back to the community, youths and brides on a budget, one event at a time. Look out for us!

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Why small businesses NEED to tweet at events

Evelyn

I recently attended a networking event for small business owners in Toronto. The theme of the evening was digital marketing. Overall the event was well organized with informative speakers, good raffle prizes and a nice mix of marketers and small business owners.

But what surprised me was how few people were tweeting at the event. Perhaps it’s just that I’m used to going to events packed with social media managers and non-profit communicators, but I was a little disappointed by the lack of networking being done online.

For me, events are always played out on two fields: the action happening live in front of me and the commentary on that action online. Often I find this commentary as interesting, if not more so, then the speakers I’m there to see.

Live-tweeting events is a great way to give your business a boost online. Hashtags organize the conversations taking place, making it easy to follow the action. Plugging into hashtags makes new followers, mentions and retweets much more likely than your average day-to-day Twitter activity, especially if the event becomes popular and trends.

But there are a few things you need to do before you even arrive at the event to make sure that you get the most out of your live-tweeting experience.

Know the hashtag. This seems obvious to those more seasoned tweeters, but it’s important to mention anyways. The day of the event the organizers are probably promoting the event online. Visit their Twitter account to find out both the proper hashtag and their Twitter handle. Once you have that information do a search on Twitter and save the search so that you can access it easily later.

Follow the speakers. Find out who the speakers are going to be (event emails and websites usually have this information) and then find out if they are online. Make a note of their Twitter handles and be sure to follow them. Then at event time you won’t have to scramble to find them or worry about misspelling their names.

Prepare some tweets ahead of time. This is a great way to let people know that you will be at the event and gives them the opportunity to follow you. It also increases your visibility once the event starts. Tweet about your attendance on the day and days leading up to the event. Shout out to the speakers how much you are looking forward to their talks. On the day of you can prepare some tweets to be sent out during the event so that you have more time to actually enjoy it.

Know when to put the phone down. You need to balance the benefits of tweeting with real world networking. Send enough tweets and retweets to gain visibility and make a meaningful contribution to the conversation, but make sure that you also talk to people face-to-face. That’s the reason why you’re there!

Evelyn Senyi is the owner and chief marketer for Recurve Marketing, a Toronto-based digital marketing agency that offers creative, effective and affordable marketing strategies for Canadian small businesses and non-profit organizations. Follow Recurve on Twitter @recurve_ca and on Facebook www.facebook.com/recurvemarketing.ca.

Business Research Demystified…New vs. Existing Business. What You Need To Do (Part 2)

yvonne

New Business Start-up Research

Using an analogy from the bible; when God was giving the children of Israel the land of Canaan, he asked Moses to send out men to spy out the land… whether the people who dwelt in it were strong or weak, whether the land was good or bad, rich or poor etc.

Same principle applies to when you have a great business idea, you need to research; research yourself, research your potential business partner, research the market you plan on entering, research who the players, and research the types of finances available. By researching yourself, you are able to establish whether or not you have the skills and experience required to start and run your own business successfully and the gaps you need to fill. By researching your potential partner(s), you determine what skills and experience they bring to the table, how it complements you bring, and most importantly whether you are able to work together in the short and long term.

Your Market (Industry) research is one of the most important and not to be compromised research that needs to be done. Omitting to carry out this research, even if it is minimal to start with, could lead to challenges in your business. During your research, you have the potential to discover anything, you could find the intended market is on a decline or that the potential for growth is phenomenal. By undertaking this research you are able to determine market growth potential, trends, receptiveness of the market, who the key players are such as vendors and competitors, and potential partnership opportunities.

Existing Business Research

For existing businesses, the focus is usually on growing the business an d increasing profits; better serving the needs of customers; being ahead or keeping pace with competitors; keeping abreast of the evolving economic and environmental factors; and taking advantage of emerging trends and technologies. To do this successfully starts with research, and continues with keeping abreast with the news. Research would include; competitor analysis, customer surveys, market trends, employee surveys etc.

Market trends and well as keep abreast of what your competitors are doing can be vital information that enables you be relevant. Remember, if your target market is not buying from you, they are buying from someone else. With competitor analysis you are able to identify who your competitors are; their products/services, pricing, distribution etc. Armed with some of this information you are able to make better business decisions, fine-tune your competitive advantage, and strategically position your business succeed.

Customer surveys (and feedback) will enable you gather information about the needs and opinions of your customers. Customers’ needs are constantly changing, therefore we need to be keep up with these changes and trends in order develop products and/or services to be relevant and appeal to the needs of your target market.

In general, undertaking the required research may or may not be easy depending on you familiarity with the process, knack for finding information, experience etc. It can also be very time-consuming and complex depending on the type of business or research required. With the internet and social media, research and information has become more easily available, however, it is important that you have clear objectives on what you are looking to achieve so as not to get overwhelmed. If you are finding it difficult to undertake the research yourself or do not have the time, it is worthwhile outsourcing or delegating the process.

Once your research is completed, you are now in a better position to know if and how to proceed; you have better understanding of the market you operate within and able to respond to the needs of the market; you know what your customers want; you are in a position to develop your competitive advantage; and armed with the knowledge to make better decisions and planning on the strategic development of your business.

While some businesses may have started out successfully without any research, a time comes when they have to pause and research to maintain their strategic advantage or they become irrelevant.

Get a free eBook to get started on your goals: http://eepurl.com/xeDrf

Yvonne is a Change Consultant, Coach and Speaker who is passionate about working with Individuals, Entrepreneurs and Organisations to implement change, drive results and achieve their goals.   She can be reached at:   www.facebook.com/oliveblueinc, www.twitter.com/oliveblueinc, www.oliveblue.com

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