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

Marketing? No Thanks.

by Flickr member Petrov Escarião

This is a story of the power of word of mouth…online.

Anyone from the Canadian Prairies will tell you there isn’t a lot of motivation for spending top dollar on a raincoat. It does rain in the Prairies, and hard, but compared to the West Coast, it’s infrequent enough that you’d be fine with a big ugly *cheap* poncho that you can replace every few years. A winter coat on the other hand, you buy wisely and spend freely if it keeps you warm (and alive!) at minus 48 with a windchill.

When I moved to Vancouver in 2001, I still had this mindset. I continued to acquire cheap raincoats, wimpy umbrellas – and fabulously warm winter coats.

Believe it or not, it has taken me 9 years to resist the urge to purchase an expensive winter coat. It was time to instead use the money to buy a quality raincoat.

I wanted something stylish, not sporty. I started my quest, not by hitting the stores, not by Googling, but by direct messaging some fashion-forward friends on Twitter for advice.

Within minutes I had several options. Within a week I purchased THE BEST raincoat I have ever had or even seen from a little bustling store on Alberni Street. It was expensive but when it pours I am covered – literally. And judging by the quality and versatility of the coat, I will have it for years to come.

What’s interesting about this line of outerwear is it has never marketed its products in a traditional way (newspaper ads, magazine ads, TV commercials, etc..). That is to say, according to the folks in the Vancouver store, and my friend who recommended them to me, m0851 didn’t feel traditional marketing was worth the money. Online marketing appears to be another story as they have a Facebook Page, a blog, and a website.

What this speaks to, in my opinion, is a belief that if you sell quality, people will notice and then talk – and that is the most powerful advertising of all. Add to that the steroid effect of talking online.

m0851 has 7 stores on 3 continents. I think the word is getting out.

Erin Garrity
Sr Web Producer

Tags: advertising, facebook, marketing, Vancouver