1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to navigation

Archive for November, 2009

It’s The Most Wonderful Time…To Send Out E-Cards

Monday, November 30th, 2009


It’s been a tough couple of months for everyone, and perhaps you’ve already started to relax, thinking that the year is almost over. But then, you might have woken up (screaming?!) in the middle of the night and realized that the holidays are just around the corner, and you have yet to put together a Christmas card list.

So you scramble and try to find cards, postage and rummage through your files looking for addresses. Hold on a minute, you’re in the 21st century! These days, we have things like computers and the Internet to help make our lives easier – why not make things as easy as possible and send out E-cards this year?

Of course, some traditionalists may turn their noses up at electronic cards. Sure, there’s nothing like holding an actual paper card in your hands, but there are many reasons to consider e-cards this year.

First, it’s no secret that it has been a tough year for many sectors; people are cutting back everywhere. Holiday cards, and all the costs that go with them, are just one of those things you may want to do without this December, without worrying if you’ll end up on Santa’s ‘Naughty List’.

In fact, with everyone thinking about how to save a few extra dollars, your clients may appreciate the fact that you’re not spending cash on customized, gold foil embossed greeting cards, which they’ll probably toss out right after Boxing Day anyways. You’ll also save on time. Instead of using your employees’ time writing, stuffing and stamping, they do some actual work around the office!

Next, with all the concern about global warming these days, think of the smaller carbon footprint you’ll leave if you use electronic cards. Over 42% of trees cut down around the world goes towards making paper – yup, that’s a LOT of trees. Then, once you put a stamp on your envelopes, the post office has to pick up the cards and drive or fly your card to their intended destinations, using up a lot of fuel in the process. E-cards will not only save you money, but will help save the environment as well.

Today’s e-cards, however, are not like their Web 1.0 cousins. Perhaps the last time you’ve received an e-card was Valentine’s 1999, in which case you may have been directed to a website where animated GIF hearts floated in all their 16-bit glory, while a MIDI rendition of a cheesy love song played in the background.

Now, you can get all the bells and whistles – Full color, CD-quality songs, HD Video and you can even personalize and customize to your heart’s content. Some sites will even let you pre-set the exact date and time to send your cards and have a way of tracking whether a recipient has opened the card or not.

So why not try it out today? Not sure where to begin? Give us a ring and we can set you up with a holiday E-card option that’s right for you!

Lift Strategies: Five Myths to Marketing (Part 4/5)

Thursday, November 26th, 2009

Marketing For One Month Should Get Results

Advertising and email marketing will work most effectively with consistent frequency for nine to twelve months, as opposed to short spurts. Keep in mind that people only pay great attention your ad and notice your promotion when they realize a need for your product or service. For instance, what is the chance that an ideal prospect will need your product or service over a three-month period of time as opposed to a twelve-month period?

Consider planning your marketing strategy for a twelve-month period of time even if you have to run smaller ads or only run one to two ads a month in a weekly publication. This is how you can stretch your marketing budget over a longer period of time. Be sure to have other low-cost marketing initiatives to support what you are doing.

Jen DeTracey – One of Canada’s Top Marketing Strategists
www.liftstrategies.com

Tweetups 101: Getting Organized in 140 Characters or Less

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

First came emails, followed by chat rooms, MySpace and Facebook. And when we thought there couldn’t possibly be any other way to waste time, Twitter comes along (we kid; Twitter is awesome!) In our intense, fast-past world, many of us can’t be bothered to type in more than one sentence at a time, which makes Twitter a convenient way to let people know what we are doing at any given time.

While people argue that these online tools keep us disconnected from the outside world, many are using them to come together IRL (that’s In Real Life, for all you newbies) and Twitter is no different. Tweetups are becoming increasingly popular among users and can be a convenient way to organize a quick get-together outside of cyberspace. NASA, for example, recently organized a tweetup, inviting a limited number of their followers to personally watch the Shuttle Atlantis Liftoff in November.

If you’re contemplating creating your own tweetup, here are some tips to help you organize a successful event.

Have a Purpose and a good #
Tweetups really began as small, informal gatherings. Users would tweet “Anyone want to meet at the bar?” and show up, hoping other people would be there as well. These days, tweetups can be just as intense as the Oscars, with all the preparations involved. But before you book Wolfgang Puck to cater, decide on a purpose for your tweetups. Is it to meet your customers? Meet other people in the same business? Introduce a new product or service? Your purpose will help you decide who to invite and determine other details, such as location and activities and of course, your theme. Aside from your theme, think of an appropriate hashtag (#) so you can keep track of the buzz around your event.

It’s All in the Details

As with any event, date, time and place are important. Pick a time and date where you’ll have the most attendees. Make sure the location is somewhere not only appropriate for your event, but accessible to most of your target audience as well. Of course, you’ll want to make sure it’s a place where people can actually tweet while at the event and you may even want to have a projector in place where you can flash what people are tweeting about (another reason to choose a good hashtag!). Think of good ways people can promote themselves – for example, instead of using regular “My Name Is” nametag, have “My Twitter User Name is” tags.

Spread the Word
Of course, you’ll want as many people to attend as possible. Aside from tweeting your invite, don’t forget to disseminate information and send invites via your Facebook Fan or Group page, email, website or even offline by telling clients about your event.

You Receive as Good as You Get

In other words, attend other people’s tweetups as well! In addition to sending out good Twitter karma, you can use this opportunity to network with other like-minded people.
Still twiddling your thumbs about setting up a tweetup? Drop us a line and we’ll be happy to give you more advice or even set-up an event for you! We can take care of all the details, and you can just sit back and relax!

Lift Strategies: Five Myths to Marketing (Part 3/5)

Thursday, November 19th, 2009

Myth #3 Marketing Means Advertising


When business owners hear the word marketing, they often think of advertising. Don’t be fooled by this misconception. There are hundreds of ways to promote your business, and advertising is only one of these.

If you have a website, you are marketing your business. If you thank your customers for coming into your store and making a purchase, you are marketing. If you have a brochure that you distribute, you are marketing. Why don’t you make a list of all the things you are doing to tell people about your store? You will be surprised at how many ways in which you are actually attracting and keeping customers.

Consider taking a few of these ideas or things you are presently doing and see if you can do them more often. For example, when you update your website by adding new information about your products, updating photos or writing articles, Google loves you. Google ranks a website higher in the search engines when the website is updated regularly. The more content you have on your website about your company, your products and your services, the better.

If you decide that you would like to advertise, first find out what type of advertising will reach your customers most effectively. Then determine whether you can afford to advertise regularly. If that is not realistic, then you need to explore other options. Frequency is very important, especially when it comes to advertising.

It is also important to consider frequency for all of your marketing activities. People lead busy lives, and you can get their attention when they see your message over and over again. You may want to talk to a marketing expert to find out what methods of marketing would be most cost effective for your organization.

By Jen DeTracey – One of Canada’s Top Marketing Strategists www.liftstrategies.com

The Inside Skinny on Facebook Fan Pages and Group Pages

Monday, November 16th, 2009


Any brand or company entering the world of social networking and marketing will eventually run into Facebook (heck, even Tim Horton’s is on Facebook!). What started as a university-only networking site has now grown into 300 million users, 50% of whom log on at least once per day. That’s a whole lot of eyeballs! It’s no wonder many marketers these days are using Facebook to interact with their customers.

If you’re new to Facebook or even if you’ve only been a personal user, then you may be wondering what you can do to promote your company through Facebook. Currently, there are two options available to you – a Group Page or a Fan Page. Each one has its own advantages and disadvantages and either or both may be right for you. But which one should you choose?

Fan Pages and Groups have features which seem similar – they function as a way to bring a lot of people together, in support of a single person, event, goal, etc. They’re both a great way to keep track of a lot people at any given time. You can post photos, have your own wall discussion, contact members and comment on other people’s pages.

However, there are distinct differences. A primary difference is that Fan Pages can stand alone and function on their own. When you create a fan page, it is, for all intents and purposes, considered a separate entity (similar to when you create a corporation.) If you use Facebook for personal reasons, then your personal profile and Fan Page won’t be connected unless you become a fan of the Page. Some people find this useful – after all, you don’t really want your clients to look at pictures from last night’s bachelor (or bachelorette) party!

There may be some instances, however, where Groups are a better fit for you. Because of administrative features, it’s easier to control groups, in terms of memberships – you can invite people to your group and only they can have access to the information. Some people like the more informal and intimate group settings and the fact that you can appoint “officers” and “administrators” to help manage the group.
You can even restrict the access to your group based on age or location. If you’re the type of person who just wants everything in one place, then you can immediately get instant updates as to what’s happening in the group. Note that groups do have a limitation of 5,000 members.

While some like the “exclusivity” of Groups, others think Pages offer much better functionality. Which one you choose really depends on your objectives. Groups are great for smaller companies, events and short-term activities. You can instantly send out messages to everyone in your group and the interaction is on a smaller scale. Fan Pages, on the other hand, are better for sustaining long-term goals and are indexed on search engines – so even if someone isn’t on Facebook, he or she can still access the Fan Page.
It is possible to have both a Fan Page and a Group Page – you can create a Fan Page around your brand and create separate groups to manage sub-brands or events. You may find that both can work for you, so give it a try!

If you’re still confused, please do drop us a line ! We can tell you more about Facebook, Pages, Groups and recommend which one would be best for your business.

October 17 Media specializes in website development, paid search advertising, social media and viral marketing, search engine optimization (SEO) and email marketing.