Vancouver
Vancouver Social Media Day & Canada Day
This past week has been full of celebrations. If you missed out, here’s a recap for you.
On June 24, Victoria, British Columbia became the first city to proclaim June 30 as Social Media Day. See the signed Social Media Day Proclamation. Vancouver was not far behind as you can see in this photo of Pete Cashmore holding the Vancouver Social Media Day Proclamation.
On June 30, people around the world celebrated Social Media Day, which was initiated by Mashable on June 8. Check out what people did to celebrate on Flickr and on YouTube.
Of course, Social Media wasn’t the only big event that happened this week. Canadians across the country took some time to celebrate Canada Day on July 1. Everyone had their own way of celebrating which were shared through photos and videos.
Through online media, these two celebrations, one in its inaugural year and the other being the 143rd year, allowed people to share, connect and communicate across boundaries, time zones and cultures. The way we celebrate together today is vastly different from what was possible, 10 years ago, 20 years ago, let alone 143 years ago.
The world has changed.
Victor
eMarketing Strategist
Tags: canada day, flickr, online media, social media day, Vancouver, what's cool, youtube
A Vancouver Marketing Strategist’s Day in 20XX?
Photo Credit: skippyjon
7:00am
I woke up to my alarm clock, yawned and wondered what day it was today. Realizing it’s Tuesday, I brushed my teeth, took a shower and got dressed for work.
7:30am
I sat down at the kitchen table to eat my favourite cereal, Honey Nut Cheerios. As I poured out the cereal, a small holographic sticker fell out of the box. Picking it up, I thought, “They still make these?” and had a good chuckle at myself. Stretching out, I reached for my iPad across the table and opened up the Vancouver Sun. The Headline News was “Google Bought Another Country”…go figure. Right beside the headline I saw the Flash video playing an ad for our client. Yes, it was Flash!
8:00am
My iPad suddenly spoke, “It’s now eight o’clock”. I took a quick glance at the clock, hoping my iPad was somehow lying. I jumped off my chair, grabbed my MacBook Pro and darted for my car, knowing how bad the traffic would be in the morning.
8:30am
I slipped into my car, where the fun begins every morning. My Google Android equipped car powered up and gave me a report on any traffic accidents on my route. After that I told Jessie (Yes, I named my car, Jessie) to login to Twitter and read the latest tweets from my Twitter List. Hands-free of course, it’s great how voice-recognition technology has come along.
As always it’s cloudy and raining in Vancouver. Pulling up to a red traffic light I started daydreaming about what it was like back then, driving without a HUD windshield. The windshield is great especially while driving at night or in the rain when visibility isn’t that great…
“The traffic light has turned green”, Jessie spoke.
…or for drivers who are often preoccupied.
I drove past Cambie & Broadway and Jessie prompted me, “Moyra checked in at this Starbucks 15 minutes ago. She recommends the Chai Latte”. Jessie’s hooked up to Foursquare, of course, and all my other social media accounts. Location-based social media marketing at its finest wouldn’t you say? I was tempted to stop by, but I was going to be late for work.
9:00am
I arrived at work. (To be continued…)
Victor Chan
eMarketing Strategist
Tags: foursquare, google android, hud windshield, ipad, marketing, Social Media, starbucks, strategist, technology, Twitter, Vancouver
#Canucks Take Top Spot – In Canadian App Store
The Vancouver Canucks iPhone App reached the top spot in the Canadian App Store. The App features include, exclusive news, photos, video, an interactive schedule, access to message boards, scores and stats. This is a great way for the Canucks and fans to be connected. (Source)
Tags: app, canucks, iPhone, Vancouver
Future Digital Media Ninja at a Vancouver Internet Marketing Agency
The most interesting part of being an intern at Magnify so far has been participating in the process of ALERT (Assess, Locate, Engage, Respond and Track) for clients. Participating and contributing to the strategy from start to finish in all of its stages has been definitely a first for me. In my past experiences my tasks and responsibilities have been pretty much focused on one specific thing. It is very rewarding and refreshing to have a strategy, where one had a meaningful role in crafting and executing from start to finish, giving positive results for a client.
The most fun part of ALERT was participating in the team brainstorming sessions. It’s a great opportunity to get your ideas out there, as well as be exposed to new ones. Even when the ideas might not fit that specific client, they can be fine tuned and used for another project or client. The open nature of the discussions made it easy to engage other teammates and pick their brains on creative ways to use social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.
The less entertaining part of the process, but probably the most necessary would definitely be tracking. The procedural nature of tracking results and stats on a daily basis can get a little bit monotonous. However, one quickly learns that it is not any less important. Monitoring the performance of the implemented strategies will allow you to react and make the necessary changes to ensure that we meet client needs and project goals.
As an amateur web developer I have been able to observe firsthand the necessity of taking social media into consideration when developing a website. In order to be able to boost quality traffic and create online buzz, the site needs to have the ability to share content. The other interesting aspect is that the content needs to tap into online culture and add value to online conversations and interactions that occur on the different social media platforms.
It’s been an awesome learning experience working at Magnify for the past few months, and I can’t wait to learn some more in my quest to become a digital media ninja.
Tags: digital media, digital strategy, internet marketing, online marketing agency, Vancouver
Social + Search = Marketing (Part 1)
The internet marketing, social media and search engine marketing scene in Vancouver is changing at a rapid pace. The industry, as a whole, is moving even faster. In the excitement of trying out the latest new gadget, developing a new profile and making that next connection, it is easy for a business to forget the basics.
Social media marketing, search engine marketing, internet marketing or online marketing all have one thing in common, and that boils back down to marketing. Frameworks have often been created to organize the thought process to help companies identify the best strategy to market a company.
Getting back to the basics may be the key to developing that next biggest and greatest campaign. I thought it would be useful to write a series on Marketing basics. In part 1, I will discuss the 4 P’s of Marketing.
4 P’s of Marketing
The 4 P’s of marketing are Product, Price, Place (distribution) and Promotion. It is important to have a clear understanding of each of these elements for your company and how these elements could work together in your marketing strategy. Here are some questions to consider.
Product (goods and/or services):
- What is your product?
- Can your product be changed to better fit your target customers?
- What is the single, most important benefit* your target customer gains from buying your product?
*NOTE: There is a clear distinction between a feature and a benefit. Your customers are not interested in product features. They are interested in the benefits they can get from a product. For example, cell phone plans with unlimited calling to a certain number of friends is a feature, being able to speak to your best friend anytime, all the time, without a massive phone bill is, in the customer’s perspective, the benefit.
Price:
- How does your product price compare with that of your immediate competitors?
- Would you offer price promotions?
- Would you offer different pricing strategies depending on your sales channel?
Place (distribution):
- Where can your customers purchase your product?
- Can a good or service you offer be more efficiently provided online? (Eg. after sales services).
- Is there an additional good or service you can offer your customers online to provide them added value?
Promotion:
- What is the key message you want to convey to your target customer?
- What perception do you want your customers to have of your company?
- Through which communication channels will your target customer be most receptive to to receiving your message?
This is only a sample of questions to consider when thinking about your marketing strategy. The 4 P’s is a basic framework, but is still applicable in the online environment. Do you agree?
Stay tuned for more of the Marketing Basics series.
Victor Chan
eMarketing Strategist
Tags: 4 P marketing, basics, internet marketing, marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Social Media, Vancouver
