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http://www.dhptoronto.com Marketing strategies for budget restricted businesses Thu, 31 Mar 2011 20:02:02 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 Essential Facebook for New Business Launches http://www.dhptoronto.com/2011/03/31/essential-facebook-for-new-business-launches/ http://www.dhptoronto.com/2011/03/31/essential-facebook-for-new-business-launches/#comments Thu, 31 Mar 2011 19:55:43 +0000 Debbie Horovitch http://www.dhptoronto.com/?p=1870 #1 Rule for Facebook – Beginning today, you are using Facebook as a networking and marketing promotions tool.   There are many other business uses for Facebook, which you can and will pick up as you grow into your business.  You can and should also network, connect and interact with your friends, family members, friend’s businesses, spouses, spouses employers, etc.  These are the people right now who really want to see you succeed – use Facebook to network with them to earn early referrals and recommendations (early sales and $ for your business).  If you are going into business hoping to have anyone invest in your business (even as a client), having a large, active community of customers ALREADY on social channels will validate your opportunity/offer.

#2 Never, ever put anything on Facebook that you wouldn’t be thrilled to see leaked and viral out on the web, especially images/information about your personal life.  There IS some information that you would be thrilled to see go viral about you or your business?  THAT’s what you put on Facebook, on as many channels as you can find, network with, build and maintain every day, from now until you are no longer vested in your business.

#3 Every piece of information you share on Facebook & everything you say, every page you interact with is being broadcast to your Facebook network and is building your personal brand – be careful to only share things that support the image you want to project for your business – professional, positive & reflects your chosen brand style well.

#4 Take advantage of EVERY opportunity to promote your Facebook, Twitter  accounts vs. website or URL. Print ads, PR, flyers, radio, store shopping bags, email signatures, bookmarks & SWAG, etc.

COMMUNICATION CHANNEL #1: Create your Facebook Profile:

1.      Create (1) Facebook personal profile to your real, given and most-often searched name.

2.      Fill in profile including the name of every school/program/education (link) you attended & can find

3.      Fill in profile including every employer (link/network) you’ve worked for under your info tab (trust me!)

4.      Add yourself/your profile to the primary school/city networks that are relevant for you

5.      Fill in your current city

6.      Fill in your hometown, especially if not in Canada

7.      Add a picture of yourself/headshot (preferable) that just shows your face/smile

Connect your Facebook profile:

1.      Friend Request me, Debbie Horovitch, on Facebook  Debbie_h2o@rogers.com

2.      Friend request everyone that Facebook suggests as a friend to you, who you’ve ever met, even if only in passing (excluding only mortal enemies)

3.      Friend request all of your family members (important if you are planning to pitch venture capital or investors)

4.      Friend request everyone you’ve ever worked with, worked for or who has worked for you – ever!  (despite the years passing, they are still your “customer/client “ and you still have a financial relationship with them that is positive or could be improved to help out your business)

5.      As you come across pages of people, brands or businesses you like on Facebook, “Like” them!

Especially those that are related to your business or industry and that have large #s of Page fans

This tells the Facebook ad system what you as a unique human being Like, and allows advertisers to target you more specifically – the advertising served to you on Facebook will be more relevant for your needs.  Otherwise, you will still be served ads, they just won’t be useful/valuable to you.  This also gives other business people a quick insight into who you are as a human/person (running your business), so they can approach you with business ideas & opportunities that are already formed to fit your unique personal style and preferences.   This also allows you to keep up to date with the goings-on of those businesses/profiles (competitors?) so that you can find the right times to interact with their already-built community/audience.

6.      Like DH Partners Media Planning on Facebook

COMMUNCATION CHANNEL #2: Create a Facebook Page for your business http://on.fb.me/fe9oJw

1.      Add a picture that represents your business, logo, storefront or products

2.      Fill in all the relevant info about your business that you have available today (check back once/month to update)

3.      Add the Twitter app to your FB page, so that when you update your FB status, your Twitter is also automatically updated  http://on.fb.me/TwitterFromFacebook

Connect your Facebook Page:

1.      Find the Facebook pages of your past employers, schools, etc and “Add to my Page’s Favourites” for both your personal profile and business page.

2.      Find the Facebook pages of every industry association & media that talk to your target customers (which media would you most like to get publicity in?)

Share web content to Facebook so you can be viewed as an Expert in your business field/category:

1.      Add the “Share on Facebook” button to each computer with internet access that you use (whether or not you access Facebook on that computer) http://on.fb.me/ShareOnFB

2.      Share 1 web page that supports the need for my business type/category, to your Profile

3.      Share 1 web page that supports the need for my business type/category, to your business Page

4.      Share your new Facebook business Page to me, Debbie Horovitch (as soon as you do, I will Like it and if it looks ready, I’ll promote it out to my list of 1,000+ Facebook friends)

Network yourself on Facebook, daily:

  • Check on your Home Page (login) for friend’s and Page’s updates that are interesting, relevant or helpful to your business and Like or comment, converse, or Thank them for sharing the valuable content.  “Share” the updates that are most entertaining, relevant or useful to YOU (don’t worry about what your friends or other people find interesting or relevant).
  • Check your Home Page daily for Birthdays – wish them ALL a Happy Birthday, individually (broadcasts frequent demonstrations of you being nice & sharing good feelings)
  • Update your status with what you are working on, finding surprisingly fun in your adventure in new business (people want to know!), learning about yourself or the world as you go through your days
  • Use your status and new network connections to let people know what you are looking for now – Accountant?  Web designer with Facebook examples?  A dog walker?  A new social activity for your kids?
  • Your posting the request essentially recruits your friends to get them out networking for you!  You won’t likely get a lot of useful info/answers at the start, but you will generate a lot of activity on your profile/page and your growing network will want to connect you with the type of people you’re looking for, as they come across them… Facebook may become your primary networking tool!

Network your business on Facebook daily:

  • “Add to my Page’s Favourites” DH Partners Media Planning on Facebook
  • Write a status update on your page including @DH Partners Media Planning, and confirm you can see it posted to my page (and exposing your page to my Page fans – mostly ad agency people)
  • Of the Pages you’ve added to your favourites, regularly include status updates on both your Page and Profile that include @names of other pages (not too frequently and in no way spammy or advertising!)
  • Regularly engage your fans by asking them questions to learn about them, understand them and give them what they want

Community Engagement Example:

Share a photo of your pet doing something clever, whether it’s finding hidden food, playing tricks on the cat, or just looking smart digging into some nice hay.

We’ll award the 4 most popular submissions (based on comments and ‘likes’) with a case of free Tidy Feeders (4×24oz, or 8×12oz, approx $50 retail value). The winners, as well as honourable mentions will be featured on our website to show off how clever their pets are to the whole community.

FIN ALLY – If you want an example of a Facebook page that was built and engaging the audience with NO previous advertising or business communication materials to draw on, check out the page I created and am managing for Cougar Boots.

]]> http://www.dhptoronto.com/2011/03/31/essential-facebook-for-new-business-launches/feed/ 0 University of Toronto, Social Media Marketing http://www.dhptoronto.com/2011/03/31/university-of-toronto-social-media-marketing/ http://www.dhptoronto.com/2011/03/31/university-of-toronto-social-media-marketing/#comments Thu, 31 Mar 2011 19:48:06 +0000 Debbie Horovitch http://www.dhptoronto.com/?p=1863 Overview Class: Links & Resources

March 31, 2011

State of social media:

Social Media Revolution: 2  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFZ0z5Fm-Ng&feature=related

Seth Godin on Social Media Networking: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0h0LlCu8Ks&NR=1

Discuss:

þ  What is applicable/not to them

þ  What is surprising, but believable

þ  What needs to be taken with a grain of salt

Learning social media takes time (hours, months and years) and has to be learned bit by bit through experience, as you socialize yourself on social networking platforms.  Think of it just like learning another language – you have to practice and apply your lessons a little bit every day to improve the most.  And no one else can really learn another language for you.

Who’s already operating at an elite level?  These great people are my recommendation on who to read, network with & share their content to your growing network of professionals colleagues and clients:

þ  Mitch Joel:  Six Degrees of Separation   http://www.twistimage.com/blog/

þ  Gary Vaynerchuk: http://garyvaynerchuk.com/

þ  Mike Michalowicz: http://www.toiletpaperentrepreneur.com/video/index.php

þ  Dan Schawbel:  http://www.personalbrandingblog.com/

Real-Life Social Networking Communities

Your online relationships are only as valuable online as they are in real life.  Nurture as many close real-life relationships as you can:

1.       Tech Tuesday MeetUp: http://www.meetup.com/TechTuesdays/

2.       Third Tuesday:  http://www.meetup.com/third-tuesday-toronto/’

3.       Mobile Monday Toronto: http://www.mobilemondaytoronto.com/

4.       CIBC Presents: Entrepreneurship http://www.marsdd.com/ent101

5.       Cause2Market MeetUp: http://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Cause-to-Market-Meetup/photos/669279/9956953/

6.       Sprouter (online) and monthly SproutUp MeetUps  http://www.meetup.com/SproutUpTO/

7.       BizLaunch – Andrew Patricio & Daniel Patricio http://bit.ly/gsPcsO

8.       PodCamp  http://podcamp.pbworks.com/w/page/17344268/FrontPage

9.       WordCamp  http://central.wordcamp.org/

10.   FreelanceCamp  http://freelancecamp.org/

11.   Centre for Social Innovation (coworking community) http://socialinnovation.ca/

12.   Camaraderie (coworking community)  http://camaraderie.ca/

13.   Etc.

If you can’t find one that suits your needs – why not start your own?  Try MeetUp.com


Digital Networking Resources

Learn how to do it yourself from these news & service provider’s communities:

7.       HubSpot: http://www.hubspot.com/webinars/press-release-optimization-monthly/

8.       http://mashable.com/ and Pete Cashmore on all platforms

Email System Providers:

9.       http://www.aweber.com/videos.htm

10.   http://www.getresponse.com/learning-center

11.   http://www.constantcontact.com/social-media-for-small-business/index.jsp

Press Release & Publicity Tools

12.    H.A.R.O. Help a Reporter Out http://helpareporter.com/ and Peter Shankman on all platforms

13.   http://www.pitchengine.com/

Social Media Listening & Engagement Tools:

14.   Google Alerts (free)

15.   Nutshell Mail

16.   http://www.sysomos.com/

17.   http://www.radian6.com/

Recommended Advertising Resources:

23.   http://IWearYourShirt.com

24.   Facebook Cost-Per-Click advertising, especially when used to promote a Facebook Page

There are MANY free and paid measuring, monitoring and publishing tools for social media.  Carefully consider the pros and cons to using each – does it really support you in fostering authentic relationships and an active, engaged community?

Remember you are a real, unique person and so is each of your community members.  Anyone you’ve ever met or communicated with, or would like to, is already a member of your community. You just need to establish more open free-flowing lines of communication so that it’s easier to build a stronger relationship.

Debbie Horovitch

Debbie@dhptoronto.com

416-553-2157

http://dhpToronto.com

Twitter: @Debbie_h2o  @dhpToronto

LinkedIn

Facebook

]]> http://www.dhptoronto.com/2011/03/31/university-of-toronto-social-media-marketing/feed/ 0 Community Management Intern http://www.dhptoronto.com/2011/03/31/community-management-intern/ http://www.dhptoronto.com/2011/03/31/community-management-intern/#comments Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:35:36 +0000 Debbie Horovitch http://www.dhptoronto.com/?p=1844 I need your help in my rapidly growing business!  Be a part of the inner circle of social media professionals, consultants and bloggers.

Community Management Intern a.k.a. Social Media Intern

I’m looking for a community management intern to be the first new member of my growing team, who will join me along the roller-coaster ride of recruiting & building a new kind of social media agency.

Requirements:

  • Curious, driven, self-educating, resourceful
  • Loyal, responsible, reliable, high-energy (fast response!) and committed to getting it right, no matter how late it takes you with tweaks
  • Social butterfly, with a positive attitude, rarely complains but often identifies problems and challenges, with a number of suggested solutions
  • Has active, authentic social media profiles currently connected to bloggers, brands, media and small businesses owners
  • Comfortable researching, finding & connecting individuals, media and organizations on social networks
  • Passions, hobbies and dreams that you are comfortable talking about for hours (on social media)
  • iPhone or Blackberry owners

Special preference is given for:

  • Current or past education or employment in Advertising Media Sales, Media Planning or Buying
  • Capabilities and confidence in Microsoft Office, blogging, smartphones, Photoshop or ANY other tech are preferred
  • Current or past education, employment or passion for social media, gaming, advertising, PR, marketing, writing, design, filmmaking, radio broadcasting, entertainment, art, music, publishing, fashion, food, professional sports, travel or hospitality

….or if you are actively working towards education, employment in any of the above!

If you are an ambitious, money-hungry and serial or social entrepreneur with a heart or you just want to start your career right in the thick of the social revolution, you could find a great launching pad in this opportunity.

Currently, role responsibilities would include but not be limited to 10-15 hours/week of:

  • Working on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn to connect and network for clients including:
    • Cougar Boots
    • Canada’s Baking & Sweets Show
    • Baking & Sweets Show: Vendor’s Social Media Prep Kitchen
    • My new agency blog website, social channels and social media profiles
    • Creating documents, researching information to prepare for speaking engagements, presentations, courses & workshops
    • Coordinating social media publishing projects, contributors and guests; coordinating and organizing launch events and presentations
    • Researching social media profiles and activities (“creeping” and “lurking”) of prospective clients, social circles and competitors
    • Attending social media, advertising and tech events to network and help promote my agency

APPLY NOW:

Send your resume and a list of links to your social profiles to Debbie [at] dhptoronto [com], so I can check you out!

]]> http://www.dhptoronto.com/2011/03/31/community-management-intern/feed/ 0 TweetChat for & about Community Managers #CMChat http://www.dhptoronto.com/2011/03/06/tweetchat-for-about-community-managers-cmchat/ http://www.dhptoronto.com/2011/03/06/tweetchat-for-about-community-managers-cmchat/#comments Sun, 06 Mar 2011 20:43:18 +0000 Debbie Horovitch http://www.dhptoronto.com/?p=1853 Join me tonight on Twitter or Tweetchat.com at THIS LINK for the first ever #CMChat – a tweetchat for and about social media Community Managers.  Community Management is generally a new job title, and we’re all working to define what it really means to be a good community manager.  Some of the questions that beg to asked in this weekly, lively, interactive Twitter chat include: how do you know what your community manager should be able to do for your business?

I’ll be joined by a few of the awesome social media people I’ve been networking with recently in Toronto, and I’d like to ask you and them to help me determine the final list of questions.

This is what I have so far for questions, but depending on the size of this Tweetchat (I’ve been branding for a month on YouTube videos at my Debbieh2o channel like this video I caught on the first day of Social Media Week Toronto with Sean Moffitt, president of Agent Wildfire and author of Wikibrands):

~ Twitter participants introduction: Please introduce yourself: Tweet your job title, location and your reasons for joining us/what we can provide you.

1.      Guest intro tweet who you are & what you do

o   @amirad  communities you manage/contribute to, recent talk/PR points

o   @40deuce

o   @ReggieRamone

o   @Talya_talks

o   @DigitalFemme

o   @CarolynVan

o   @Fohnee

o   @CammiPham

o   @Bl0gatron

2.       How do you describe/define Community Management?

3.       What is the biggest challenge you face in your current role?

4.       What machines do you use most often to manage communities? Desktop, notebook, netbook, iPad, smartphone?

5.       Which software applications are most important to add efficiency to community management?

6.       Where do you most often access information, guidance and ideas for your community management?

7.       Aside from online on social media platforms, what do you do to build your community?

8.       What percentage of your daily life/work is networking?

o   Online/offline %

o   When time/day does it happen?

9.       How important is offline, face-to-face networking for Community Managers?

10.   Are there differences between #nonprofit & for-profit business Community Managers?

11.   Why are authenticity and transparency so important?

12.   Do you look for creative ways to write/build your updates to get more Facebook update comments/Likes and engagement?

13.   Facebook recently made page updates (wall posts) not chronological – does this affect how you look at managing Facebook pages/communities?

14.   Is a blog always necessary?

15.   Who has taught you the most about social media overall?

16.   Are there other networking groups specifically for Community Managers?

Please send me a Tweet @Debbie_h2o to let me know which questions you’ll be most interested in answering and hearing from myself and my guests.

Chat with you all soon!

~Debbie

]]> http://www.dhptoronto.com/2011/03/06/tweetchat-for-about-community-managers-cmchat/feed/ 0 Globe & Mail Comment: Power of Facebook’s Like Button 01/25/11 http://www.dhptoronto.com/2011/01/25/globe-mail-comment-power-of-facebooks-like-button-012511/ http://www.dhptoronto.com/2011/01/25/globe-mail-comment-power-of-facebooks-like-button-012511/#comments Tue, 25 Jan 2011 21:57:08 +0000 Debbie Horovitch http://www.dhptoronto.com/?p=1837 There was an interesting, but misunderstood article today in the Globe and Mail about the Power of Facebook’s Like Button.  I found the comments so much more interesting than the article, which was interesting too!  I was 894 characters over my space allotment on my comment, so I decided to share it here instead…

Here’s the thing: there’s two types of people operating on Facebook – consumers and marketers.

Marketers job on social media is partly to help guide and direct the consumer experience online so that they think/feel better about the brands we represent.  Facebook is constantly changing and evolving (getting better over time), and their users are changing and evolving as they grow, so many businesses, marketers and ad agencies are just learning and testing.  A lot of the time we make mistakes, but its the first time ever for us and we just want to try and see what happens.  Even a failure is learning, for the smart agencies.

Facebook is worth the amount of money they are because their advertising platform is self-serve and priced accessibly for everybody from your daughter’s Girl Guide Troupe to your own Real Estate business – $5 minimum campaign.  With 500,000 worldwide users filling in at least some of their demographic (profile) and psychographic (Likes) information, anyone with a cause, hobby-business, charity event, small business, etc CAN advertise to any conceivable niche target group worldwide.  That includes you.

More importantly, and unique to Facebook, the advertising software allows advertisers to hyper-target (choose to show their ad message ONLY to i.e. Women in Toronto who have just become engaged AND who “Like” Weddingbells Magazine on Facebook), and only pay when someone actually clicks through your ad.

As a consumer, on Facebook, you cannot turn off advertising.  But, the more you tell Facebook what you truly “Like”, the more you are allowing the software to match you up with companies who’s products you’re most likely to appreciate.

Also, consider your “Like”s as a form of currency you are paying either to a friend (lol / Like is a compliment to their humorous update) or a business (the more Likes our status update or page generates, the more consideration social media gets within the business).

A Like is also a voting mechanism – when you Like a brand/business comment or page, you are telling them in real time, right now, you are OK with them/what they’ve posted.

To the marketers and businesses, your Likes are really valuable feedback.

We are well aware that YOU hold the power and that if we offend your chosen experience on Facebook you will UnLike our page and we will never be able to talk to you on Facebook again- until you decide to relike us again : )

For marketers Facebook is a whole new world and we’re all just trying to keep up with how it’s changing everyone’s life in society and our opportunities in business.  One reason businesses get on Facebook and start talking to the community they build is because it’s the first time that we’ve had access to a low-cost, self-identifying group of ONLY our biggest fans/cheerleaders, and they happen to be socially empowered and already talking about us.

Personally, I also use the Like button as a bookmark. I leave a “Like cookie crumb trail” through my exploring Facebook, so I don;t have to take notes of where I want to remember to go back, I can document on my own profile ‘bookmarks’ made out of Likes.

Finally, you as a consumer can look at the Facebook Like button as though you are placing a “bug” listening device on that business’s Facebook page. If you’re unsure about a prospective employer across the country or a new product line at your favorite store, just click the Like button and see what they say for as long as it takes for you to feel you have enough info from them to make your decision.  I use Facebook, Twitter and Google as research tools to plan out who I want to do business or work with next and to truly get to know my prospective clients before I approach them.  I often follow a prospective client on Twitter 6 months before I ever reach out to them, just to listen and learn about them and wait for the right opportunity when they say they need me or are asking for someone like me.

]]> http://www.dhptoronto.com/2011/01/25/globe-mail-comment-power-of-facebooks-like-button-012511/feed/ 0 Welcome to DHP! http://www.dhptoronto.com/2011/01/11/welcome-to-dhp/ http://www.dhptoronto.com/2011/01/11/welcome-to-dhp/#comments Tue, 11 Jan 2011 14:50:26 +0000 Debbie Horovitch http://www.dhptoronto.com/?p=1831 Thank you for taking the time to connect with me digitally as well!

I hope you’ll also connect with me as a Friend on Facebook, add me as a connection on your LinkedIn profile and follow my Twitter feeds @Debbie_h2o and @dhpToronto.

Anytime you need help or advice on your social media activities or contract negotiations for your traditional/digital media campaigns, please reach out to me!

(416) 553-2157

]]> http://www.dhptoronto.com/2011/01/11/welcome-to-dhp/feed/ 0 Social Media for Small Businesses http://www.dhptoronto.com/2010/11/07/social-media-for-small-businesses/ http://www.dhptoronto.com/2010/11/07/social-media-for-small-businesses/#comments Sun, 07 Nov 2010 16:31:15 +0000 Debbie Horovitch http://www.dhptoronto.com/?p=1816 Do You Really Need Facebook & Other Networks, Or Can You Get Away With Less?

Small business owners and new entrepreneurs often tell me how they’re unsure of how much time, money or energy they should really be investing in social media.

There are so many options, its easy to be overwhelmed, and so many experts it seems like having Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, LinkedIn, Blogging, a Tumblr, a PodCast or Webseries or TwitterChat and social media optimized press relaeases are all necessary, right now!  Let me assure you, they are not.

Social media is first and foremost about building a community of people around your business, all who have a vested interest in seeing your business succeed.   Your contribution to building & hosting communities on social media will be returned in business value – only if you can be authentic, open and honest with your community.  What is it that sets you apart from everyone else?

Since every business is unique and operates in an individual marketplace, the best way to determine the right mix of time, effort and money to invest in social media is to start with considering how your competitors are using social media to develop a community to support their businesses.

By starting with a clear, realistic understanding of how each of your primary competitors is using social media poorly or properly these days, you’ll be able to:

  • learn from their past successes/failures
  • identify the most important social media influencers (individual consumers)
  • identify the most active communities for your business to join

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As you start the process of exploring your competition’s house (their social media profiles), don’t forget to chart the information you collect on our free downloadable template here: Competitive SWOT Analysis

When reviewing the various websites and social media activities of your competitors, make note of these items:

  • Facebook
  • # Friends and/or Likes
  • What are they doing right/wrong – are they authentic and engaging?
  • Does the owner have an active, authentic personal profile and is it optimized to work as an ongoing press-kit and publicity development tool?
  • Are they using a Facebook Page; is it active and well-used?
  • Highlights of community-development activities
  • Twitter
  • # Following, # Followers, # Listed, #Tweets
  • Frequency & Quality of Tweets – are they interesting, engaging?
  • Are they using a Custom Twitter Background, Innovations on Twitter; community-development activities
  • LinkedIn
  • # Employees listed with personal profiles
  • Business Profile and # Followers
  • Foursquare – do they appear to be engaging with their customers in Foursquare?
  • eNewsletter – do they have one
  • Cause/Charity alignment and key events for each competitor

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Don’t have time, patience or expertise to do it yourself?  Want us to do it for you?  Our Package #1 (starting at $200) provides you with all these considerations, plus guidance on your top-line approach to social media marketing and community development.  These packages are available to only a few clients each month, and the prices go up as the inventory remaining goes down.  Check out our rates on the New Clients tab.

]]> http://www.dhptoronto.com/2010/11/07/social-media-for-small-businesses/feed/ 4 Resources: Competitive SWOT Analysis Template http://www.dhptoronto.com/2010/10/24/resources-competitive-swot-analysis-template/ http://www.dhptoronto.com/2010/10/24/resources-competitive-swot-analysis-template/#comments Sun, 24 Oct 2010 21:46:46 +0000 Debbie Horovitch http://www.dhptoronto.com/?p=1801 Think your competitors aren’t on Facebook and haven’t figured out how to use it profitably for business?  Find out for sure!    

Download it here: Competitive SWOT Analysis

It’s exciting to find out all the valuable competitive information available to you on social networks, put out there by your competitors themselves~

The reason I’m such a big fan of a thorough SWOT analysis before planning out a client’s social media strategy and campaigns is because it arms you with so much valuable information, and allows you the opportunity to develop a get an immediate, current big-picture view of your business in social media.

Don’t Burden Yourself Trying To Reinvent the Social Media Wheel

No matter what category, industry, specialty or niche you’re in, there are similar people to you already active in Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, LinkedIn or on a niche social network or blog.  If you take some time to observe their current activities, you’ll be able to identify opportunities for potential alliances, learn from their mistakes and understand where your market opportunity is – what do you offer customers that is different or better than your competitors?

Your business in social media is complex and constantly evolving.  A SWOT can help you understand:

  • existing clients/customers conversations that reflect the group sentiment about your business
  • competitor’s (possible) strategy for developing a community & their content strategy
  • your own business brand perception and community development opportunities

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 Do you use a SWOT regularly?  Have you done one for your business marketing plan, social media strategy or other situational analysis?

]]> http://www.dhptoronto.com/2010/10/24/resources-competitive-swot-analysis-template/feed/ 7 “Price Race” Strategy Pays Off In The End http://www.dhptoronto.com/2010/10/18/price-race-strategy-pays-off-in-the-end/ http://www.dhptoronto.com/2010/10/18/price-race-strategy-pays-off-in-the-end/#comments Tue, 19 Oct 2010 03:26:18 +0000 Debbie Horovitch http://www.dhptoronto.com/?p=1783 This is BIG News!  For November 2010, December 2010 and January 2011 we have just released our packages and pricing today.  Only a limited number of each packages are available per month, and clients who want to enjoy significant savings will have to book first!

Download a copy of our November Price List here: DHP November 2010 Packages or check our New Clients page.

We’ve been experimenting and observing various pricing strategies of many internet marketing and social media marketing companies over the Summer to help determine a pricing strategy for DH Partners Media Planning packages that will excite & delight our clients and encourage early consideration and even earlier decisions.

Interested in offering our packages to your clients?  Please contact Debbie to discuss Partner opportunities.

Call 416-553-2157 or email debbie at dhptoronto.com to book/reserve your package.

]]> http://www.dhptoronto.com/2010/10/18/price-race-strategy-pays-off-in-the-end/feed/ 4 Introducing Venture Vultures, our new blogger conversation series http://www.dhptoronto.com/2010/10/14/introducing-venture-vultures-our-new-series/ http://www.dhptoronto.com/2010/10/14/introducing-venture-vultures-our-new-series/#comments Thu, 14 Oct 2010 20:16:38 +0000 Debbie Horovitch http://www.dhptoronto.com/?p=1695 Picking At The Bones Of CBC’s “Dragon’s Den”… Social Media Opportunities for Rejected Pitchers

Like many Canadians, I am a dedicated fan of the entrepreneur entertainment series Dragon’s Den on our national Canadian Broadcasting Company.  The basic premise of the show is that Canadian entrepreneurs have the opportunity to pitch the 5 Dragons for their millions of dollars in venture capital cash in a game show with high energy and anxiety similar to Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice”.

The 5 “Dragons” are each highly-established Canadian entrepreneurs and venture capitalists:

  1. Jim Treliving (CBC profile); Chairman and Owner Boston Pizza International
  2. Arlene Dickinson (CBC profile); sole owner of Calgary-based  Venture Communications; @ArleneDickinson on Twitter
  3. Robert Herjavec (CBC profile); CEO of the Herjavec Group (website); @RobertHerjavec on Twitter
  4. Kevin O’Leary a.k.a. “Mr. Wonderful” (CBC profile); O’Leary Funds website; @KevinOLearyTV on Twitter
  5. W. Brett Wilson (CBC profile); W Brett Wilson (website); @WBrettWilson on Twitter

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If they pitch well, know their stuff and convince any of the Dragons to invest, they could enjoy both the investing Dragon’s cash and experience/contacts.  If they aren’t able to convince the Dragons their investment is the right opportunity, there is still fantastic ripple-effect opportunities many Pitchers experience, just from the exposure of being on the show.

Part of the enjoyment in watching Dragon’s Den and similar events, TV shows is in projecting yourself into the position of either the Dragons or the Pitchers and pitching in your own head, or in conversations with other fans, often on social media platforms.  For some viewers, Pitchers even call us out - merchants and buyers of prospective retail chains – gaining publicity or early sales of the product from exposure on Dragon’s Den and giving a heads-up to the marketplace of competitive opportunities.

The most common reason the Dragons give for not investing is Pitchers come in with company valuations that are range from “not convincing” to “absurd”.  A realistic current valuation for your business can be prepared with research, expert advice and an online caculator.  Most of the time, the bottom line question is “What are your current sales?” as the most reliable thumb-test of a company’s actual valuation.

My theory is that if you can demonstrate to the Dragons the support of your community (active, engaged consumers on your company’s social profiles) at the time of your pitch, it could be used to support future revenue estimates and successfully pitch for the Dragon’s own investment capital.  As an example, for my business this would translate to “If I can build an active social community around the conversations we have at DH Partners Media Planning and use that community to support my marketing plan and create revenue, that will support my valuation.” – essentially I’m looking at the opportunities of social media to better prepare Pitchers for the hard-numbers valuation questions they’ll face in front of the Dragons.

Dragons Kevin O’Leary and W Brett Wilson even competed this Spring in a good-natured online race to first to have 10,000 followers on Twitter.  Smart – and I think I know the brain it came from - since in my opinion Twitter is the most commonly overlooked, misused and undervalued resource for startups.  Show staff are also blogging occasionally about recent show Pitchers featured in the  ”Tales From The Suite” blog series.

I love the drama of the series, and especially feeling like the “Pitchers” are going through it first for me, so I can learn from their experiences.  Prior to this series launching four years ago, I had never seen a veture capital pitch before.  I like to believe that I am better prepared for my own daily “pitches” to prospective clients and business partners, and even wonder if I might someday pitch the Dragons myself and will this series of blog posts position my business better for their investment?

Stay tuned for occasional reviews of Dragon’s Den, Shark Tank and other rejected Pitcher’s social media opportunities, and if you have ideas for contibutions, supporting or arguing the conversation please email me debbie at dhpToronto.com!

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