Embracing what you have.

Whether we like it or not, believe in it or not - times are different. People are spending less, cutting corners and budgets and may not be living like they use to.
Many business are struggling to stay afloat and are cutting back on budgets and halting all marketing efforts.
I've written and spoken about this many times before - your marketing budget should be the last thing you cut out.
Instead, shift your focus to innovative techniques and new methods such as social media, customer appreciation and embracing what you already have.

So I have decided to shift my focus to help you shift yours.

Embrace what you have, is taking what you have - such as your existing customers and focusing on making sure your relationship with them is strong
and successful. After all, a large percentage of business survive through referrals and repeat business.
Your customers are the ones that are keeping you alive and afloat - so show them that you appreciate them by giving them the products, service and
attention they deserve.

Internet is another item accessible to most businesses. Shifting your funds and focus to social media strategies will allow you to lower your budget but not your
results. Most people, especially in challenging times turn to online, to shop, search and learn. So why not embrace the new movement and create
a campaign that focuses on social media, building relationships and online exposure.

Innovation is the key to continued success. Using innovative concepts are sure to make you stand out and continue to grow.

For more information on how I can help, feel free to contact me at:

Rachel Azagury
647.886.5323
rachel@creatingabuzz.ca

Why Everyone Needs a Community Manager

The Community Manager role is becoming quite popular for large corporations and people are starting to realize the importance of them. And how about start up companies? Do they need a Community Manager when they have yet to build a community?

Let me begin with my definition of a Community Manager...
A Community Manager is someone who assists the company or organization communicate with it's community and users. At the same time the CM allows the community to have a voice within the company. The role of a CM is customer service at it's finest. Listening, engaging and participating in the customers conversations and allowing them to feel open and connected to the brand.

Think of a Community Manager as a company spokesperson merged with a super savvy customer service representative. A person who represents your products and/or services to the public and a spokesperson that welcomes audience participation, questions and discussions.
With social networks growing at a rapid speed, your brand is being discussed whether you like it or not. Social media allows everyone to have a voice and megaphone over a crowd of millions of people.
They are happening 24 hours of the day and although it is nearly impossible to keep up with every conversation, ignoring them is not the answer.
So you have a choice, you can let these conversations happen and not participate, which can result in negative reviews, attacks or feedback. Or hire someone to take part, monitor and embrace them.

So, do start up companies require Community Managers when they have yet to build communities.
My answer? Yes.
Hiring a person specifically to engage your customers is what helps build a community. Showing your existing clients and potential clients from the start that you are open and willing to participate in their conversations and appreciate their thoughts and opinions will build a strong following, quickly.

How about the larger brand? They're already well established, do they need a Community Manager?
In some cases, I believe even more so than a start up. A brand that relies on it's name and doesn't accept the changes in customer service will be left behind and hung out to dry.

Every brand needs a face that people can recognize, rely on and respect. Someone to build relationships, be a community advocate and create internal community input.
After all, the most integral part to any business are their customers, without them they would not exist.
So if you could build relationships with your customers which allowed you to grow as a brand and understand their needs and wants and cater specifically to your market - would you do it?

I will be happier.

Every morning I wake up, promising myself that I will take on this day and whatever challenges it has to offer. I will be excited, happy and positive. Obviously everyday is different and there are days I'd like to just crawl into my bed and stay there - but being negative and unhappy doesn't help that.

So today, I'll be happier than a bird with a french fry, no matter what.

Inspiration in Social Media

Last night I was inspired.

I was asked/offered to be one of the ignite speakers at the Refresh Events Ignite event last night. Let me start off by sharing a lesson I learned. When presenting DO NOT try to memorize a speech, I tried to memorize my speech and ended up not being able to "wing" it because all that kept popping into my head was paragraphs from my speech. Be confident in yourself and pick a topic you're interested and use notes as reference points!
In any case, you learn from everything you do. So lesson learned.

With that being said, before my presentation I was delivered some discouraging news. Just a decision that did not go my way. It definitely delivered a blow to my confidence and it was quite hard standing up in front of a crowd (attempting to be confident) after that. But as they say, the show must go on. I finished my speech and sat down to listen to the rest, that's when my frown turned upside down. ;) I was inspired. By the people I met, the speakers I heard and the amount of talent we have in this city. Amazing ideas, passionate individuals and such accomplishments. It was so inspiring and yes, refreshing to be amongst a crowd of people who were excited about the future and who were full of positive vibes, especially with all the negativity in the world today.

I spoke about whether or not social media was making us anti-social. I don't think I even needed to present - I think that last night was proof in itself how social media is forming our future and allowing us to reach a whole new level of 'social'. The social experiences that I've, well, experienced have been nothing short of incredible. Not only have I made new, wonderful, supportive friends - I am inspired on a daily basis by YOU.

So a big thank you to Justin and Elaine at Refresh Events for putting together such an exciting evening. And to the presenters, Erin Bury from Red Wire, Saul Colt from Freshbooks, Kieran Huggins from MyTTC, Noah Godfrey from GigPark, Leila Boujnane from Idee Inc and Peter Flaschner for his passionate presentation on PASSION!

Off to discover and develop my passion!

Get Creative!

Creative boards are used to express ideas and thoughts in an unstructured manner in order for brainstorming ideas to flow naturally. By creating a board you are able to brainstorm freely and hopefully finish the exercise with a new mindset and some great ideas!

1. Start with a paper & pen, computer, white board, magazine and scissors - whatever is most natural to you. You're about to get creative.

2. Clear your mind of everything else, turn off music and other distractions and allow yourself 20-30 minutes of creative and fun brainstorming!

3. Write, cut, draw, list. Anything that comes to mind. It could be words, sentences, ideas, people, examples, colours, inspiration - nothing is a silly idea. All are valid, smart and encouraging ideas when you're creating your board.

4. Now that you've set yourself free and completed your board, step away for a few minutes.

5. Return to your board with a new sense of excitement and begin looking through everything you put down. Divide them into groups or clusters. It's up to you to define those clusters. I like using two clusters A+ and A. (Yes, none of my ideas are bad. :D)

What you have now is two lists filled with exciting, new ideas. Before analyzing your clusters, go over your needs and wants. Were you trying to come up with a business name? A colour scheme? Start to cross off all those that don't fall under your criteria and circle those that do.

Remember, this exercise is a creative outlet. I know how hard it can be placing your thoughts and ideas on paper and bringing them to life. Have fun doing this! Get creative and the ideas WILL COME!


HAVE FUN!

As a side note, I'd love to hear you guys set your creative mind free. Let me know! Always looking for new ways!

5 Simple Networking Tips

Be yourself

Simple, be yourself. Don't put on an act, most people can see through that. Trying to remember which character you're playing today will only make you nervous. Not sure what to talk about? Act natural, talk about your interests, who you are and why your there. 

Small Talk 

Similar to the first point, don't write up a script and rehearse it. Make small talk. What would you talk about if you bumped into an acquaintance? The weather, something important in the news, a new course you're taking. You're interesting, trust me.

Listen

Good thing is, if your small talk fails and you seem a bit nervous, you can always ask a question and then listen. Listening is a key point to networking. Take an interest in what they're saying and ask questions. You're networking with this person for a reason, right? You want to know more! So this is your chance. 

Memorable 

Make yourself memorable. An interesting point, comment or even joke. Make eye contact, be genuine. If you're in a group of people, make sure you stand out. Don't get lost in the crowd while everyone else becomes memorable. If you're speaking with someone you know a little about, mention her/his company most recent accomplishment, or a project of theirs you liked. Make sure she/he leaves wanting to know more about you. 

Closing Argument 

Walking away is hard. When does a conversation end? When have you said too much? If you feel the time is right to bow out, say something to the effect of "I don't want to monopolize too much of your time, I'm sure there are more people you'd like to speak with." Always thank them and hand them a business card. Let them know you'd love to continue the conversation at a later time. 

Help!

Maybe someone can help me? I have writers block.

I’ve been chirping about this for over a week now. I’ve tried reading, looking for tips online about “how to get out of writers block.”  And nothing. Nada. Zip.

It’s even taken me a few minutes to get this out.

I’ve been asked to write a few guest post – and I’m honoured (yes, I’m Canadian) and flattered that they would want lil’ ol’ me to write something. By the way…Shh… don’t tell them I’m not a writer.

Thing is, I’ve been given two topics and that’s where my problem always seem to be. I can write away about my feelings, my day, my thoughts, I can make lists! I’m great at lists. Steps “How to blah blah in 10 steps!” I’m great at that.

Maybe I’ll specialize in lists and steps, can you do that?

I’ve been able to write a few articles and pieces over the past couple years and they’ve been good. But for some reason I can not get down what I’m thinking on paper. I start typing and words come out, not sentences. It’s beyond frustrating and I DON’T KNOW HOW TO STOP IT.

Can anyone help me with this? 

Why I think this is a freelancers time to shine.

Companies are being quite cautious with every dollar they spend. They're re-evaluating employees and making cut backs. Hours have been cut and many people are taking salary reductions (rather than losing that salary completely). 

If you're a freelancer, contract worker or looking for part time work - this is your time to shine.

As a freelancer, you're able to offer your experience, your dedication, your commitment without a full time salary. 

If you're an employer - consider this, your company is on a downward spiral and you know that your marketing efforts have to be pumped up. You don't have the budget to hire a full time employee, but you need more help. Freelancers allow you to work with the budget you have and project to project. Your relationship with a freelancer can evolve into an amazing one, your projects are completed and your budget is intact. 

As a freelancer, don't let these troubling times scare you. Take the time to explain the benefits of your services and abilities to work project to project. 

Work still needs to get done - so why can't you be the one to do it?

E-Book.

A call out to anyone who's interested. I'm working on my first e-book. It's a collaboration of stories and experiences. 

Here's a little clipping from the description I'm forwarding to interested people..

"About this E-Book:

In this book you’ll find people’s opinions, quotes, blogs, articles, published pieces and stories about how Social Networking can and is changing our world.

It will be a light read for anyone interested on how social media is affecting our world and the people in it. This book will show the differences of opinions and how many avenues there are to social networking. It may give studies and experiences or quotes and successes.

 

This E-Book will be free.

 

What I’m looking for:

I’m looking for contributors, in any form - Blogs, Articles, Quotes, Studies, Experiences, Testimonials.

It can be humorous, educational or both.  I want to know how you think Social Networking is changing our world.

 

Who you are:

You may know first hand because it’s affected your life or business.

You may teach social media.

You may have found your dream job through social networking.

You may have lost a job because of it.

You may think that social media is the end of the world, as we know it.

Regardless of who you may be, if you have an interesting opinion, a story, a testimonial, you may have something to contribute to this book.  "

Everyone has goals...

I don't necessarily believe in new years resolutions but any excuse to re-evaluate and start fresh, sounds great to me. 

I figured if I put down more literal goals as opposed to "eat healthier & lose weight" I may follow those (I have a tendency to let my resolutions 'slip my mind'). 

So here's what I have so far...

Less time watching TV, more time reading

Develop an idea into a reality 

Complete my ebook 

Launch BOJ (top secret operation :p) 

Appreciate more art

Spend more time in galleries and libraries

Become the entrepreneur I always wanted to be 

Build my clientele

Travel more

Study social media and networks

So far, it's been great. T-353 days until 2010. Let's see how far I get.