Monthly Archives: October 2009
Blog World Expo 2009 Reviewed
I’m back from the panel presentation I blogged about last month and wanted to share my Vegas experience with you.
First and foremost, I talked a lot about word-of-click advertising. People are using “social media” to learn as much as they can about a company they are doing business with. It’s not new. Our neighborhoods have always done this: over the back fence, at the post office or the water cooler. And, now people use online tools to do the same thing.
What one attendee learned
Julie Gallaher attended my presentation and here is a little of what she reported back to her newsletter:
“Pierre Martell is a young Canadian home builder who is exclusively using social media (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc.) to market his business. He said that people often ask him how much time he spends online marketing his business. He said – “I spend a lot of time online, but it’s really paying off.”
I wanted to send huge thanks and congratulations to my fellow panelists. It was a great panel; with great action items for the audience. For my blog readers; here are a few of the big lessons we heard regularly at the conference.
Some big lessons reenforced at Blog World Expo:
- Small business need to be online; but they don’t have to be online everywhere. Use your skills: photographers use Flickr to great effect, and writers are natural bloggers
- Social media allows people to get to know you, like you and trust you before you meet them in real life
- Don’t engage without listening first; hear what your clients think, learn how the social media you choose operates and slowly engage
Las Vegas: an impressive city
I always like visiting Las Vegas. It’s a city that makes people smile at every turn. This was my fourth visit to Vegas and my biggest tip for people heading down to the casinos, those massive buildings are a lot farther apart that you think: comfortable footwear is a must.
Radio Ads Playing in Saint John
We’ve actually had these done for over a year now, but wanted to really understand our social media marketing strategy before we went with more traditional approaches. As we expand into Saint John, NB – we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to test them.
Let me us know if you hear them play?!
Kitchen Party Contest Winner!
When you are having a great time in an Atlantic home chances are good that you’re partying in the kitchen. It’s just a thing we do on Canada’s east coast! A lot of folks want to make sure the kitchens in our homes are big enough to act as a gathering spot for a good evening of drinks, friends, stories and music.
The Winner
In honour of this Atlantic tradition we held a contest! The photo above is out contest winner – Trish MacDonald!
Using a Facebook application for contests we asked for your kitchen party pictures.
Martell Home Builders has found real value from Facebook. We have a community of friends, family and company supporters are willing to chime in and create conversation on our Fan Page. It’s great to stay connected to folks who have bought our homes, are looking to buy a home or are just fans of our work.
Wallace McCain Institute – Lessons Learned
As some of you might know, I was accepted as a participant for the Wallace McCain Institute. About once a month I’ve been spending a weekend-at-a-time learning about great business tactics and strategies.
Valuable Experience
As soon as I heard about their mission at the Wallace McCain Institute, I knew I wanted to be a part of this program. Here is the part that really stood out for me:
“Participants work closely with each other and some of Atlantic Canada’s top business icons, drawing inspiration and encouragement.”
This program has been a very valuable experience for me. I wanted to provide an update on what I’m learning from this group of fast growing high-paced business people.
Similar Challenges
The Wallace McCain Institute is really about mentorship; the people who come to coach us have been where I am as a new business owner. They have faced similar challenges.
These are business people who have been working towards and achieving goals for decades. At our monthly retreat in Square Lake (near Alma) – there is no cell-phone coverage, no internet really (just a slow satellite connection) – the Institute brings in high level business speakers and we learn from them, meet them for one-on-one consultations and pick their brains for ideas and direction.
Here are my big “lessons learned” so far:
- Empower your people & all business is about people
- It’s about the experience of buying a product; not just the product itself
- Believe in yourself and your team; confidence is key in all aspects of business
