Archive for category Inspiration
Happy Holidays and Thank You So Much
Posted by The Running Start in Entrepreneurs, Inspiration, Online businesses, Random Thoughts on December 12, 2012
Wow, I can’t believe another year has passed! Where does the time go? During the holiday season, I like to look back and appreciate all of the things that I am thankful for having received and accomplished in the past twelve months.
I am so thankful for the opportunity to share my stories with you on this blog. I plan to continue to share my insights, ideas and personal challenges and successes as I work to grow my business. I am so grateful that you read, share and comment on my posts. It definitely keeps me motivated.
I am also thankful for all of the new people and clients that I have met and worked with in the past year. You have pushed me to work harder and to do things that were often out of my comfort zone. Thank you for inspiring me and teaching me new things about digital media, startups, small businesses and about myself.
Finally, I am thankful for having the privilege to work for myself and to be able to experiment and to drive my career in whatever direction I feel that it needs to go next.
I want to wish you all a very happy holiday season and best wishes for a successful and exciting New Year! See you all again in 2013.
I’ll leave you with my favourite holiday 2012 viral video, courtesy of Jimmy Fallon, Mariah Carey and The Roots. Warning: This song might inspire you to put on an ugly Xmas sweater, drink some boozy eggnog and generally feel warm and fuzzy. Enjoy at your own risk!
Warm regards,
Andrea
Can Coca-Cola Compete with Traditional Media Publications?
Posted by The Running Start in Inspiration, Online businesses, social media, Storytelling on November 12, 2012
About a year ago, I was having lunch with an old colleague in the digital advertising industry who 
asked me where I thought the Internet was headed. Now, I am not a visionary or web guru of any sort. However, knowing that I had to pivot my business in the past year towards content marketing (because that’s what everyone was requesting from me), I told him that I thought that big brands would start to create their own web-based publications that might soon rival those of traditional media publications online. He, being a digital advertising salesman, was somewhat skeptical.
I recently wrote a blog post commenting on Coke’s big plan for digital storytelling which revealed details on how the company would develop creative content for the web. Well, according the NYTimes.com, the company is re-designing it’s website to reflect something “more akin to a consumer magazine than a business portal.”
So, I guess my prediction, if Coke is successful, is on its way to becoming a reality. It’s not a big surprise. As I mentioned in this post from July 2011, social media has basically become the soap opera of the digital age. As such, brands are developing web-based media publications and channels where their stories can be shared and commented on to spread virally online. Whether all of them will succeed in this pursuit is not yet clear. However, I think we’ll see a lot of other companies following Coke’s lead in the near future.
Do you agree? Please share your thoughts below.
How Far into the Future Can we Make Predictions about Technology?
Posted by The Running Start in Inspiration, Random Thoughts on November 6, 2012
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
Yesterday, I stumbled upon details of a new book coming out from John Battelle, the co-founder of Wired 
entitled What we Hath Wrought which will, according to his blog, “give us a forecast of the interconnected world in 2040, then work backwards to explain how the personal, economic, political, and technological strands of this human narrative have evolved from the pivotal moment in which we find ourselves now.” So, I tweeted out an interview from 2011 with Brian Solis asking Battelle about the book.
Then, to my surprise, someone on Twitter commented that 30 years into the future is too “far-fetched,” as he believes that we really can’t correctly predict what’s going to happen in 5 or 10 years in the technology industry. Fair enough. But with 2012 drawing to a close, I’ve already noticed some of the 2013 technology prediction blogs surfacing on the web. So, it’s got me thinking. How far into the future can we really predict what’s going to happen with emerging technologies?
Should we even bother trying to predict what’s going to happen (even a year from now) at all? Or, are all prediction articles, books and blogs merely “sex and fluff,” as my Twitter commenter put it, that sell well or get re-tweeted frequently (guilty as charged)?
I still think it’s worth it to provide a vision of what might happen. It can only help others to dream up new ideas that push the envelope even further. But maybe I’m just one of a small few who likes to think about that stuff. What are your thoughts? Please share your comments below.
Two Toronto Real Estate Agents on Keeping it Real in Social Media
Posted by The Running Start in Inspiration, social media, Storytelling on October 24, 2012
Many real estate agents and developers use social media to attract new business. But is there a right
way and a wrong way to build customer relationships online?
To find out, I spoke with two Toronto real estate agents Chris Borkowski (@CondoChris) and Mark Savel (@SavelSells).
I was curious on their insights into what works and what doesn’t when it comes to growing your business and staying true to yourself in social media. Here are their thoughts.
Build relationships by sharing your passions
Both Borkowski and Savel believe that it’s important to build one-on-one customer relationships by sharing your passions and interests.
Borkowski, a former night-club promoter, likes to share his love of tattoos and hip hop music with his network. “I talk about what I’m into with people and comment on their posts if they mention something we have in common.
That’s when I might start the conversation about where they’re living, etc. But I don’t think you should be too direct about what you’re selling.”
Savel says that “people do business with people they like.” He also shares his love of music with his social media connections. “I once got a deal on Twitter because I jumped in on a conversation about a Black Keys concert that I had just attended.”
Sharing your passions attracts more customers than talking about your business and what you do.
Turn haters into customers by having a conversation
When it comes to receiving negative comments online, Borkowski and Savel have both turned haters into fans by continuing the dialogue.
“It’s just like dealing with an argument in real life,” says Savel. “If you approach it with an open-mind and have a conversation, rather than barking back at them, it’s amazing what opportunities you can uncover.”
Likewise, Borkowski once addressed a naysayer’s comments on his video blog (or vlog) CondoChris.ca by sending a personal letter to discuss their remarks further.
By taking the time to write a letter, build a bridge with that person and turn an enemy into a fan.
“It’s better to kill them with kindness, rather than calling them out.”
Keep it real by being true to yourself
Everyone uses different tools and approaches to social media marketing. But both Borkowski and Savel agree that you should be true to yourself when sharing your views and personality with followers.
Borkowski prefers to speak directly to the real estate industry and potential customers on his vlog. “I don’t like to sit and write and I like to show a lighter side of myself – that’s why I prefer video as a platform,” he says. “I keep my videos informative and (mostly) unscripted. I do have some points and stats on-hand to call-out but I like to be real and share my views on what’s going on in the industry. That’s how I build trust with other realtors and customers.”
Here’s a video of Borkowski sharing his insights on an up-and-coming neighbourhood in Toronto – The Junction:
Savel, on the other hand, likes to write commentary about current real estate news articles and conversations happening on Twitter on his blog SavelandtheCity.com. “I track keywords on Twitter to see what people are talking about. I then use the platform to attract readers to my blog and have conversations around the news stories that I write,” says Savel.
Catch people’s attention with off-beat titles and stories. It’s wrong to only talk about your accomplishments and your business.
Experiment and don’t be boring
Both real estate agents insist that you must experiment and see what works for you. Savel says that whatever you do, “Don’t be boring. Successful online marketers are usually successful offline ones too. Just because your profession is real estate doesn’t mean you need to talk about it 24/7.”
Likewise, Borkowski believes “it’s important to keep your blog posts and Tweets positive – especially when you’re starting out and trying to build relationships with new followers.”
If you’re a real estate agent or developer, we want to hear about your successful social media marketing strategies. Please share your tips and tricks in the comments section below.
A version of this post was originally published on the Jugnoo blog in September 2012 and has been republished with permission.
A Leap of Faith has Raised the Bar for Content Marketing Success
Posted by The Running Start in Inspiration, Online businesses, Storytelling on October 16, 2012
Felix Baumgartner’s space jump got a lot of press this week because of his heroism and 
his contribution to science. But it also received a lot of coverage from traditional media and on social media channels because of Red Bull’s genius sponsorship of the jump and their content marketing strategy before and after the leap occurred.
I’ve written a lot about content marketing on my blog in the past two years. And I continue to observe what stands out in a sea of social media content creation and sharing – both for client strategies and for stories about good content marketing. But few stories ever receive the praise from marketers that this stunt achieved.
So, it seems that Red Bull’s leap of faith in sponsoring Baumgartner’s jump certainly paid off and will continue to do so. Meanwhile, it has raised the bar as far as what it takes to catch people’s attention both online and offline.
If you don’t have millions of dollars to sponsor such an event, here are some great summaries of how any business can learn from Red Bull’s strategy:
- Five content marketing lessons from the red bull stratos jump (via Econsultancy)
- 6 Ways That Red Bull Absolutely Killed It With Stratos (via Business2Community)
- What Red Bull can Teach Content Marketers (via Digiday)
- How Red Bull Stratos Successfully Soared Across Social Media (via Salesforce)
I’m always looking for inspirational stories about content marketing. If your business has done something daring in the name of great content, please share your story in the comments section below.
-
You are currently browsing the archives for the Inspiration category.
Free Presentation
Subscribe to my feed- Looking Forward to Canada 3.0 2013 May 9, 2013Hi Everyone, I know it’s been a long time since my last post. I am still on maternity leave (and enjoying every minute with our new son) but I do plan to attend Canada 3.0 2013 in Toronto next week! I’ll be there on Tuesday to check out some amazing speakers like Amber Mac, Chris […]
- The Year Ahead January 9, 2013Happy 2013 everyone! I’m excited to start another great year of blogging and sharing my personal business stories, challenges and ideas with you. This is a very special year because my husband and I are expecting our first child. I am extremely excited and can’t wait to meet our little one. While I plan to […]
- Looking Forward to Canada 3.0 2013 May 9, 2013
