Tag Archives: marketing

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Thinking Beyond the Basics: What SAHMedia and Bigger Bubbles Can Do For You

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Over the last few months, Clare Adams of Bigger Bubbles Marketing and I have teamed up to develop what we think are better ways we can pull our areas of expertise for our clients existing and new.    Clare and I both understand online marketing and social media and we both feel that we can use that to make any business grow its brand presence.       One area of online marketing we are both passionate about is working with bloggers.

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Clare has worked with many bloggers when creating awareness campaigns.  Especially for her family focused business clients.   I AM a blogger.     Crunchy Carpets is my blog brand and I have been working with brands and PR agencies for quite a long time now.  I have seen what works and what doesn’t, both from a relationship and marketing perspective.  Unfortunately a lot of brands and PR agencies still don’t quite see the full potential of bloggers and so the campaigns out there are getting a bit stale.  So is the pool (IMO) of bloggers who are continuously courted based purely on page view numbers.    I think there  is a LOT more to working with bloggers than purely the numbers.

Here are a few ideas:

1.  Think outside the box.   Let’s get past the Twitter parties, and product reviews.   The blog/brand relationships that have caught my attention are the one’s who went beyond the usual and actually embraced what the blogger was all about and USED that to market their brands.

2. Listen to the bloggers.   As a blogger, I am always flattered when a PR agency ASKS me for input about ideas.  Although, you need to balance this with a rough plan.  A good PR agency will LISTEN to you.  Marc Smith is a fabulous example of both point 1 and 2 when it comes to this.   The brands he works with listened and they developed plans that work for both of them.

3. Don’t forget that Public Relations campaigns are MARKETING too.   PR should be tied into your over arching  marketing plan.   Make sure all departments are communicating.   I have been a bit baffled when I am hired by a PR agency working for a brand that also has it’s own PR/Marketing campaign and neither tie in together.  An example of this has been some of the work I have done with car companies.  As a conscientious blog partner I ask about hashtags that should be used when promoting my work and 9 times out of 10 they don’t have one and MY campaign doesn’t relate to the hashtags being used by the car company. So basically I am working for the PR agency and not the brand.

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Clare and I feel we can do the above for you.   We have learned from our own experiences and see what works and what doesn’t work.

We feel that online marketing and PR is based on relationship building.   Developing relationships with your community – your potential customers – is what can make you stand out from your competitors.  Creating a presence that reflects trust and respect and down right neighbourliness is what social media marketing is all about.   Clare and I have worked hard at building communities and we want to take that experience and share it with you.

If you have never worked with bloggers or tapped the online market, do give either of us a call.   We would love to sit down with you and chat.   Let’s get inspired together.

 

 

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Marketing Workshop Presented by SAHMedia & Women in Biz Network

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Last fall I had a wonderful time organizing the Women in Biz Network’s first event in Vancouver.  It was a great success due to our amazing speakers Heather White and Rebecca Bollwitt.  Since then I have been working towards ensuring that we have much more to encourage Vancouverites to join WIBN and provide the type of events that people want.  The next Vancouver event is amazingly sold out already.  On April 12th, we have the pleasure of presenting and evening with author and speaker, Danielle LaPorte at the Opus Hotel.

However, I do have another event coming up on May 5th. This will be a workshop format.   I have had a few people asking me about the ins and outs of YouTube and I was frankly not to sure on the marketing aspect of this, but being that YouTube is HUGE, I knew I had to find people that DID know about it all and could help.  And that I did.

On May 5th between 9 am and noon at the Marriott Pinnacle Downtown we are presenting four amazing speakers who will get you and your business ready for the cyber screen.

Next Level Brand Marketing with Video Internet Radio and YouTube  wants to give you a visual edge over your competitor and  help you engage and speak face to face with your potential customers/clients.  Our speakers will be able to take you through every step to get you ready to shine above your competition.

Christine Till Portraits025FINISHED_PRINTINGChristine Till is with Practical Podcasting. Christine’s goal is to help small business find their unique position in the marketplace through the use of podcasting.  She has 20 + years of marketing experience was a business consultant with the Fraser Valley College and taught marketing and business there. She specializes in podcasting and public speaking. She teaches people how to use podcasting to build relationships with their clients.

 

Mick HeadshotMick Lolekonda is the driving force behind Red Sneakers Mediaworks.  Red Sneakers believes that people have natural gifts that they can leverage to not only lead fulfilling and meaningful lives on their own terms, but to also make a difference in other people’s lives around the world.  They believe that these people and their businesses are worth promoting because the world needs to know they exist.

 

Pamela WisePamela  Wise of Personal Brand Stories.  Pamela Wise is a triple threat expert: marketing people for the screen, lifestyle advertising and the boardroom.  As a talent agent for print and TV, and acting coach specializing in auditioning, she has matched hundreds of people and brands.  In social media our client want to connect with us more then ever thru video and images.  As we emerge from behind our logos, understanding our personal brand and how what we are projecting is paramount to building solid and successful business relationships.

Jaeny Baik says learning how to be great on camera is a crucial life skill that goes beyond video. She’s experienced it herself. As a former CBC TV host and seasoned journalist, Jaeny worked 10 years at the CBC as a host, reporter and producer.  Her first TV program, “Living Winnipeg” won a prestigious Gracie Allen Award from New York City. When she took the hosting helm at “Living Vancouver” viewership shot up by 40%. Jaeny also spent years helping to produce million dollar film shoots for advertising commercials. She knows what to say and how to say it with fun and impact! Jaeny now coaches on-camera performance, creates online video strategy and web videos for businesses through Jaeny Baik Media,http://www.JaenyBaik.com

 

As the Vancouver Director for Women in Biz Network, I want to keep doing more events and workshops.  I urge you to take a look at their membership page and sign up.  Businesses are more successful when we can network and support each other.  WIBN is a great organization for that.   They are also on their second year of their two day conference in Toronto and it would be fabulous to have a similar conference here in Vancouver for us West Coasters.  They key to social media is engagement and that is why I am passionate about organizations like the WIBN and the networking and educational opportunities they allow.

 

 

 

Influencing the Infuencers…

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With some wine and cheese!

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Christine Pilkington of Vancouvermom.ca with the logistics surrounding her 2nd annual Top 30 Mom Bloggers celebration on May 19th.   I have an event planning background (yes I can help with that too!) and so was ready to jump in and do what I could to help make the evening a success.

And success it was.   We had amazing sponsors and amazing mom bloggers as our guests and the two mixed and laughed and connected.

Social media marketing is all about mixing real life with online life.  It is about community.  It is about a back and forth dialogue, not shouting the virtues of your products or services to the world.

Platforms like Twitter require developing relationships with the followers who, when you are a business, are also your customers.

Thus when sites like Vancouvermom host Top 30 Mom Blogger events it is the savvy sponsors that respond.    The celebratory party on May 19th was filled with the newest Top 30 Mom Bloggers and many from the 2010 list.   The guests loved their door prizes and goody bags and the attending sponsors loved the chance to talk one on one with some of Vancouver’s influencer’s.

The savvy marketers understand that a target blogger isn’t necessarily the BIGGEST blogger with the largest following, page views, etc.  A good target blogger is one who is PART of a greater influential group.  Someone who has built a large social circle around her online life.    A good target blogger is one who understands and enjoys their cyber relationships.

Building a relationship with a connected blogger is more important (in my opinion) than building a relationship with a top tier blogger.

A successful party like the Vancouvermom event proves it.

 

Welcome To SAHMedia

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Hello….thank you visiting!

I am very excited about SAHMedia.

Blogging has allowed me to find and connect with amazing people…and because of my own ‘mom’ status, it has been mostly mom’s….those who work, those who work from home and those who are dedicated stay at home mom’s.  All amazing…all with incredible skill sets beyond their mom abilities.

For many, like myself, blogging has been a way to keep up with business and keep our skills sharp…because you never know right?

SAHMedia is my way of connecting you (the business owner) with those with the skills you may need.

The term ‘outsourcing’ gets bandied around a lot.    Call centers and manufacturing has been outsourced to many countries.   But the term can be used on a small scale and locally too.  For a business that needs extra hands for a project, outsourcing can be the simplest and most economical solution.

SAHMedia can help.

What can you outsource?

Well anything really.    From data processing projects, and contact management to developing a social media presence, marketing and branding.

Outsourcing simply means looking beyond your own staff for the skills and knowledge that you need.

Why use SAHMedia?

Apart from our myriad backgrounds in business AND our time and ability to get the work done when YOU need it….if you are a business that has a product or service that is geared to the women of the household….we are the people to talk to.

Mom bloggers have been heavily targeted by Marketing and PR firms representing a variety of products or services that they HOPE will appeal to the bloggers.  Why?  Because we are the online influencer’s when it comes to product endorsement.  Why? Because we have large online and offline social networks that we communicate with through our blogs and also through things like Twitter.

Simply put, social media moms talk to each other.  We talk about brands we love and brands we hate.  We advise and we look for advice.

Marketers have always known that the women of the household make the majority of purchasing decisions, hence the enthusiasm for approaching social media moms.

But there is a right way and a wrong way….and therefore why not speak directly to those very influencers yourself?

We ARE mom bloggers.  We ARE review bloggers.  We have been working with marketers for a long time now.  We know what works and what doesn’t.

SAHMedia can help you reach out to one of the most powerful markets on and offline.

Feel free to contact us at info@sahmedia.com for any questions about what we can do for you.