Park Royal Village in West Vancouver was definitely the place to be yesterday evening, for the official launch of Pinkberry’s first Canadian location! October 17 Media did not miss this event, we were there!

Spotted: Cory Monteith from Glee!

Yes, the Glee star was there – rocking out on the drums! Bonnie Dune played six great songs and spent time greeting fans, taking photos, signing autographs and answering questions. There was love all around!

“Froyo” with amazing toppings

Pinkberry frozen yogurt tastes light, fresh and AMAZING! They have endless premium ingredients and topping; it’s pretty much irresistible. More importantly, Pinkberry is proud to make a product that is made with hormone-free milk, daily fresh hand-cut fruit and a one-of-a-kind yogurt masterpiece. There was still a huge line-up of people waiting for samples as we were leaving, and who could blame them?

Pinkberry even has groupies. It’s true! You can visit their Groupies web page and share your Pinkberry experience. You can also create a “Groupie” profile, participate in polls, keep up-to-date with events – all kinds of fun stuff!

Great job Pinkberry on creating great online interaction! I have converted into a Pinkberry Groupie! Were you at the big launch party? We want to hear about your experience! We will be uploading more pictures of the event on our October 17 Media Facebook Page very soon!

Do you want to create fun and creative strategies to engage with people through your website? We can help, it’s exactly what we do! Plus, if you’re getting ready to throw a big event, we have some social media tips for you! Give us a call or send us an email!

We thought we’d tell you about a really funky new social media site that is gaining speed super quickly and could be an amazing resource for businesses to show the world what they do! When the proof is in the pudding, it’s not hard to sell. Anyhow… it’s called Pinterest!

What is Pinterest?

Well, in their own words, PINTEREST is a ‘virtual pinboard’ where you can organize and share ‘beautiful’ things you find on the web. People can follow your pinboards and you can follow theirs, but at its heart it’s simply a great place to visually store things that speak to you or that you want to save. Users can set up whatever type of pinboard they like from wedding planning to stamp designs they love. The sky’s the limit.

Who would benefit from it? Here’s some examples:

A photographer friend of ours, Jonetsu Photography, has an account but ONLY after I (Tamara) showed her that people were already sharing her absolutely stunning photography on the site. (Seriously people, she does have stunning photography, it’s no understatement as they just won the American Photo’s top 10 wedding photographers in the world award).

You can find her Pinterest profile here: http://pinterest.com/camillebensler/
You can find her on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/#/JonetsuStudios
You can find her delicious blog here: http://www.jonetsuphotography.com/blog/

What does she stand to gain? Well, Jonetsu is NOT about marketing; they’re all about quality. I’m pretty sure she’s using her pinboards just because this social media tool is just plain AWESOME. But, as she pins things, people will follow her and re-pin whatever they love that she shares. Plus, they can see other people sharing their work. That alone has merits but I would think that the reward for knowing people like your work is a pretty nifty feeling that leaves you all warm and fuzzy!

My sister, Justine Brooks, is a jewellery designer from Vancouver BC. I told her to get on Pinterest and I’m sure she hasn’t done it yet (hopefully remedied by this blog post). Recently I posted two of my most favorite of her pieces (The helicopter pendant and her Ginko Ring). Within minutes they were both re-pinned onto other people’s boards. Yep… in just minutes! So, I’m not the only one who think they’re pretty cool. Who knows what this could lead to? The more people are pinning and re-pinning an item, the more likely someone may see it and think, “I have to have this!” And we all know that equals… SALE $$! I’m not saying that people such as Justine should have an account just to make money. In fact, you should get on there simply because it’s a really nifty new social media tool that you’re going to fall in love with. But you could also benefit in other ways as a business from being a part of this fabulous new visual pinboarding community!

You can find some of our team on Pinterest:

Tamara Brooks and Nikki Wong

How did Toyota accomplish this difficult task? They turned to their online presence and more importantly to social media! In a recent interview done by Marketing magazine, Toyota Canada’s managing director, Stephen Beatty gave the inside scoop on how social media, blogs and the company’s website played a crucial role to build Toyota’s reputation up again. Toyota knew their website was the central point of communication, where they provided details about their vehicles and videos on their systems, but what Toyota also quickly realized was their weak social media presence. Toyota noticed how their customers were talking about their experiences and defending the brand, but the company itself was missing from this interaction.

To encourage even more stories about what Toyota has meant in the lives of people and to be a part of their online community, Toyota re-launched their Facebook and Twitter with their “No. 1 Fan” contest. With 23,126 people currently liking their Facebook page and their success of building their online presence and brand through social media, Toyota definitely does not plan on stopping to communicate to its customer and others through this medium.

Social media activities can have a big impact on your company’s reputation and brand, Toyota Canada’s story proves it! If you need help establishing your social media presence, give us a call or send us an email! We are here to help!

Previously, a web visitor would have to leave your site for Twitter.com to start following you, but not anymore! Users won’t have to go to your Twitter profile any longer. Instead you can keep them on your website where they belong! This new tool is a great way to increase new Twitter followers right from your own website. Visitors are still able to preview profiles before choosing to follow a Twitter account, they just have to click the username next to the button.

Twitter’s Brian Ellin explains, “For publishers and brands, adding the “Follow Button” to your website and using Twitter to stay connected with your audience is a powerful combination. People who follow your account are much more likely to retweet and engage with your Tweets, and to repeatedly visit your website.” Who doesn’t want that?

You are able to add this new Twitter Button by visiting Twitter’s Follow Button Configuration Page. Be sure the placement of your Facebook Button is user-friendly. If you need any help setting-up and customizing your Twitter Profile, you can give us a call or send us an email! We welcome all your questions!

We will not share your email with any person outside of October 17 Media.

October 17 Media recently launched our very first E-book, Like me on Facebook! Written by partners, Tamara Brooks and Brenda Cadman, this book offers a do it yourself guide to creating and maintaining effective Facebook Pages for small businesses.

Facebook is becoming a popular outlet for companies to reach their customers so it is very important for businesses to fully understand what they are getting into before jumping straight into Facebook. And you thought we already had too many skills, now we are writing books too!

Ready to dive in? This guide is very simple to understand and details the step by step process behind building and marketing an effective Facebook Page. Not tech savvy? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered; the guide was written with everyone in mind, from computer rookies to experts.

The e-book is also useful for those of you who have already created your Facebook Page and now just don’t know what to do with it. There are so many different apps and tools that can be integrated into Facebook Pages these days that is important to know which ones are smart for your business, and how to use them properly.

Topics Include:

Where can you find this amazing book of knowledge? Well that’s simple; the first 5 people to comment on this post are going to receive a free (yup free) copy of the E-book. If you were not lucky enough to see this post in time, then not to worry as you can purchase your copy on our website.

Read the book and loved it? Let us know if it helped you or if you are looking for more personalized assistance with Facebook, give us a call and set up your social media consultation with our experts!