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Words That Get Your Content Shared!

Well, this is one handy Infographic!

We do quite a lot of Social Media Management over here at Engine. It certainly is true that WHAT you SAY and HOW you SAY IT makes a big difference in engaging people online. Of course the ‘Likes’ of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and so on, change the rules all of the time, but your audience always reacts to engaging content. Because, guess what? They’re human!

What’s the Rule?

Be real. Be transparent. Provide interesting, valuable information (CONTENT) via images and text to keep user’s interested. Practice different ways of sending your message. Here’s a handy guide that offers great insight on how important your words really are.

Need help with Content Marketing? Contact Us >

April showers bring PR Disasters?

Spring is a time of birth, renewal and PR crises it seems. Sony, Facebook, and a NHL player, agents and broadcaster are in the midst of protecting their image.

First up: Sony Debacle (here too)
Sony has been dealing with hackers stealing their users’ information. Sony has terribly managed the situation. It took them a week to notify their customers of a breach (7 days too late) and two weeks for the CEO to apologize (13 days too late).

Second:
Aside from debacles, a great article on how to use social media within your corporation: Implementing Social Media in Business

Thirdly:
Sean Avery, his agent, and an NHL sportscaster (now fired) get embroiled in the same-sex marriage debate. Twitter can cause controversy quickly, and lose you your job. Always think before you Tweet!

And to round things up:
Facebook pays a PR company to send bad news and reports about Google to bloggers. Too bad the agencies forgot to tell the bloggers that they were working for Google… oops!

Presenting…The EC Interns!

It’s April, which means that the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and students everywhere are celebrating that school is almost over. I say “almost” because we here at Engine are pleased to be working with three dynamic, talented interns from Loyalist College, for the month of April (just before graduation). We love working with the college, and are excited to be able to collaborate with them once again. Jerika and Laura hail from Loyalist’s Advertising program, and Micheal is a post-grad Public Relations student. They were awesome, and put together small bios to help me introduce them to you.

Without further ado, let me present the EC Interns!

Jerika

Jerika

Jerika

Jerika has over two years of experience in marketing and communications…Well, in the Advertising Program at Loyalist College that is. She will graduate in June 2010, and wants to focus her career in communications. She’s energetic, a real people person, and a go-getter. Jerika loves to travel and always wants to learn new things.

Laura

Laura

Laura

Laura Wallis is a small-town Manitoba girl with big ambitions. She moved to southern Ontario 3 years ago with the hopes of becoming a writer, and found her calling in the Advertising Program at Belleville’s Loyalist College. After graduating in June of 2010 she hopes to stay in Belleville and find a job in the industry. In her spare time she enjoys  daydreaming and chatting with her family back home in the prairies. With a previous certificate in Web and Graphic Design, Laura has a lot of experience in front of a computer (preferably a mac).

Micheal

A charismatic, energetic and passionate student, Micheal has just completed his fifth and final year of college, with Sales & Public Relations as his majors. Micheal has a passion for jet skiing, billiards, cooking, baking and a full body glass of Cab Merlot; or even a rich Shiraz. His wide range of skill

Micheal

Micheal

sets including a vast knowledge of customer service, a broad knowledge of Adobe CS4 and a creative mind accompanied with top-notch writing skills, makes him an asset to Engine, and any team that he has the privilege of working with.

We plan on keeping these guys very busy! They’re already working hard, and we’re looking forward to a great month with them.

Make sure to follow them on Twitter: @JerikaBradford, @ellewallis and @MichealBMcCaul.

Welcome to the team Jerika, Laura and Micheal!

Social Media for Small Business

Thanks to the team at Hastings County for inviting me to speak to a group of entrepreneurs, from all over the region, about Social Media for Small Business. Despite some technical difficulties with the internet (which ended up being a good illustration for the technology gap business owners face in rural Ontario), the day was really successful.

We introduced the group to the basics of social media, explaining how it could benefit their businesses. There was so much more I would have liked to accomplish, but we covered quite a lot with limited internet access. However, I did promise that I would make my slideshow for the workshop accessible. (We didn’t make it past the fourth slide, but we did have some lively conversation!)

For those in the group who were able to sign up for Twitter, here are a few people you’ll want to follow:

Daryl Kramp, MP Prince Edward-Hastings – @darylkramp

Mayor Neil Ellis – @MayorNeilEllis

Councillor Bob Dolan – @Councillorbob

Hastings County – @HastingsCounty

Bill Glisky – @BillGlisky

Dan Taylor – @CreativeDanT

You can find a list of local folks on Twitter, HERE.

This is also a great resource: Time Magazine’s list of Eight Big Ideas for Small Business.

Thanks to those of you who were able to join us, and to Hastings County, and the Marmora Town Hall for their hospitality!

Why We Should All Be a Little More Like Steve Nash

nashI’ll admit, I’m not a huge sports fan. I think Sunday’s match up between Canada and the USA in Olympic Men’s Hockey, was the first time I’ve watched a full, televised game…Ever. But before you start throwing sweaty gym socks at me, I have to admit that I really, really enjoyed it. How could you not?! I can finally understand why sports is such big business.

Hockey aside, I’m not totally ignorant as to what happens in the world of professional sports, and who the players are. One name that’s always stood out is Steve Nash. I know he’s an amazing basketball player. I know that he didn’t even start playing basketball until he was in eighth grade, and that at a mere 6’3″ he beat the odds in terms of making it big. I even know that he’s a five time All-Star and two-time NBA MVP with career per game averages of 14 points and 7.6 assists. That’s right.

But when I picked up February’s Fast Company Magazine and saw him on the cover, I was intrigued. What business lessons could I learn from an NBA player?

It turns out that there aren’t many lessons we can’t learn from Steve. This reluctant “anti-brand,” household name, holds up in his off-court ventures as well as he does on the court.

Here are my Top 10 reasons we should all be a little more like Steve Nash:

1. He gives 100% – No one can call Steve a slacker.

2. He focuses on opportunities rather than setbacks – The man plays pro basketball despite the odds against him, namely height and a serious back injury.

3. He trains hard – Whether physically prepping for his day job, or becoming an intern at a marketing firm for the summer to understand this side gig, Nash isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty.

4. He’s not afraid of failure – He improvises on the court, and off. The man isn’t afraid to take risks.

5. He gives back – Remember when we were talking about corporate social responsibility a few weeks ago? Steve takes “giving back” to heart. The Steve Nash Foundation is a prime example of this.

6. He’s action-oriented – Rather than simply waiting for others to do the work, he takes on jobs himself, like writing scripts for commercials, and producing his own videos. He does it all. (See #4.)

7. He embraces change – Despite his reluctance to become a “brand,” he assumed the role with zeal when he saw how much good he could accomplish by doing so.

8. He’s a new media pro star – Production company (Meathawk Productions)? Check. Viral videos? Check. Twitter account? Yup. If Nash is doing it, maybe you should too.

9. He’s humble – With so many people feeling the need to “be somebody”, Steve exudes a reluctant celebrity status, marked not by the need to impress, but to make a difference.

10. He plans ahead – He knows he’s not going to play basketball forever, and has already assumed other roles to plan for this future. Staying innovative counts.

Steve is changing the game of business by making his own rules, and forging ahead with intent and creativity. How are you changing your game?

Tweet Up Outtakes

Thursday’s Tweet Up, at the Boathouse Restaurant, was a huge success! We had lots of fun, gave out a tonne of prizes and we were able to raise some money for a good cause. What better combination could you ask for?

We here at Engine wanted to take a moment to thank the students from Loyalist PR, who partnered with us to put together this evening of networking and fun. Special thanks to Marina, Jeremy, Michael, Jordan, and Eri for all of their hard work! Thanks to Kerry Ramsay, co-ordinator of the Loyalist PR program, for her direction and guidance.

Another huge thank you goes out to Winding Violets, for taking the time out of their busy schedules to photograph our event. They also donated our grand prize: A private portrait session! (So cool!) Despite poor (very poor) lighting, they took a bunch of great photos, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results. Make sure you follow Lucas on Twitter, and check out their Facebook Fan Page for an album of pictures from the event.

Thanks also to all of the vendors who donated door prizes: The Boathouse Restaurant, Classic Hits 95.5 & Cool 100.1 FM, Polish Day Spa & Salon, Essential Relaxation, Capers Restaurant, L’Auberge de France, The Organic Underground, The Empire Theatre, Chumleighs, Kernels Popcorn, Sweet Escape Dessert & Coffee Lounge, Belleville Art Association, Symphony Boutique, Stephen License Ltd., The Bull & Boar, and Foxy Hair Salon. Wow – that’s a lot of amazing donations!

You can take a look at our Facebook Fan Page for more pictures from the evening, but here are some outtakes that you won’t find anywhere else.

@brynajones (Me) having a great chat with some tweet up guests

@brynajones (Me) having a great chat with @KerryRamsay and some tweet up guests

@ariel_54 (Ariel) signing in with the help of @TweeterBird82 (Jeremy)

@ariel_54 signing in with the help of @TweeterBird82

What do you call a whole group of Tweeters? A flock? A gaggle?

What do you call a whole group of Tweeters? A flock? A gaggle?

@youresovanilla chatting it up

@youresovanilla chatting it up

@quinterecycles enjoying the company of @SaraHamil

@quinterecycles enjoying the company of @SaraHamil

@QuintePR and @jerikabradford

@QuintePR and @jerikabradford

@jessgrigg

@jessgrigg

@HastingsCounty

@HastingsCounty

@jayzeb deep in conversation with @ariel_54

@jayzeb deep in conversation with @ariel_54

@dantruman and @brynajones having some fun with @maltesefalcon behind the lens

@dantruman and @brynajones having some fun with @maltesefalcon behind the lens

Thanks again to everyone for a successful evening! My only question: Who’s hosting the next Tweet Up?!

Collaboration, Photography and Tweet Ups!

19246_257781601065_257755301065_4875631_4067735_nHi everyone! Wow, has it been a busy week for anyone else?!

This morning I had the privilege of speaking with the students from Loyalist College’s Art & Design Foundation program. The subject: “Social Media for Creatives”.

I’ve had the chance to work with the group before, and I couldn’t have been happier to be invited back by program co-ordinator, Robert Kranendonk. We love working with Loyalist’s faculty and students, and it’s always a pleasure to visit the college. On top of that, one of the highlights of the morning for me, was guest presenting with Lucas Tingle, and his wife and co-owner, Melissa Howlett, of Winding Violets.

These two incredibly talented professional photographers are based in Kingston, Ontario, but have worked throughout North America. They came in, literally at the last minute, to help me explain to the group why social media and personal branding are of the utmost importance for young, creative entrepreneurs. You must take a look at their website to see why I was so excited to bring them on board.

And it gets better!

Tomorrow, we’re partnering with Winding Violets and Loyalist Public Relations, to present the next Quinte Tweet Up! Lucas and Melissa have generously come on board to chronicle the event, pictorally, and we couldn’t be happier! With their avid use of social media, and their gifted photographic skills, they’re the perfect people to work with for the event.

And it gets even better!

Winding Violets is donating our grand prize: A personal portrait session for one lucky guest!

How do you qualify to win? Easy! All you have to do is show up to the Boathouse Restaurant in Belleville, Ontario, tomorrow night between 5:30-7:30pm, and donate to Flights of Hope and their relief efforts in Haiti. This is such a win-win scenario!

Why do you win? Once again, may I direct you to Winding Violets’ website. Also make sure to become a fan on Facebook, and follow Lucas on Twitter.

There’s still plenty of time to RSVP to this event via our Facebook Fan Page, our event profile, or by tweeting me, @brynajones, or @EngineCom.

Hope to see you there!

It’s Official: Tweet Up!

As I’m sure you’re aware, we here at Engine have partnered with the students from Loyalist College’s Public Relations program to host a tweet up for all Quinte area social media users. All of the details can be found on our Facebook Fan Page, and you can RSVP via our event profile. You can also tweet, email, call or fax in, your attendance.

Heck, we’ll take anything but carrier pigeon and smoke signal.

There are so many ways to connect! That’s why we’re hosting a tweet up. We want to take all of our great online connections, and translate them to the real world.

You’re all so cool! We want to meet you, and introduce you to some other great people in our community.

You know what else is cool? Our logo for the event! (Fillmore is my hero.)

tweetup_bird_textsmallishtweetup_birdsmallish