COM0014 – Blog #7 – My Personal Reflection

Storytelling is not new to us, it has been around for decades adapting to the world’s communication forms as they change. Digital communication is the newest form of storytelling and is crucial to creating engaging digital content. Digital storytelling for businesses allows the employees to humanize the business’s online presence. Furthermore, this blending of personal and corporate branding builds and maintains a trust with the audience that will positively impact brand recognition.

Our content will demonstrate to the reader that we are listening and we can improve their business if they use our services. There will be a much more personal approach to the content chosen instead of stiff, boring business chatter. I believe that because we are a small family-run business we will have great stories to tell of our achievements and disappointments. My dad is my boss and also the President of the company, it can’t get any more personal than that! Our stories will always tie back to our ultimate goal of creating brand awareness and maintaining trust with our fellow readers.

I am excited to put our new digital storytelling content into motion. I am constantly observing my surroundings listening for any opportunity that may arise for a great story to be told.

COM014 – Blog # 6 – My Unforseen Greatest Achievement

Two years ago at a large military convention I was tasked with deploying lead retrieval devices to clients. Clients could rent a device with the application on it or use one of their own devices and we would upload the app for them. It is a stressful convention with many new clients who we wanted to create relationships with. I was at a booth ready to upload the application onto the client’s device when he hands me over a brand new Samsung cell phone I have zero experience with. I had to teach myself how to use it while trying to teach the client how to use our application. It was very stressful but I made sure to relax and just go with it.

I was very lucky that the man was not in a hurry and not bothered by my “lets figure this out together” approach! I spent nearly twenty minutes with him and in the end he thanked me profusely like I had done something so incredible. In all honestly I felt like an inexperienced idiot but I got it to work and now knew how to use this alien phone. He stopped by to see me a few times during the convention with questions which I was thankfully able to answer promptly.

At the end of the show he came to see me one last time and asked for my boss’s email address as he wanted to let my boss know how thankful he was for all my help. Later in the week my boss, who is also my father and the president of the company I work for, received a wonderful email telling him how much of an asset I am for his business. It was remarkable how my exceptional client services conquered my inexperience!

COM0014 – Blog 5 – My Personal Brand

Richard Branson, founder of Virgin, was bang on when he said, “Build brands not around products, but around reputation.” How I create that reputation is deeply rooted in the path my father has paved ahead of me. As a small business owner my father has developed a network of faithful clients through exceptional client services. He has formed a solid reputation in our industry setting us apart from our competitors. I have very big footsteps to fill it but I have a great mentor to show me the way.

As I am the first point of contact with clients, my personal brand directly reflects the company’s corporate brand. By remembering client names, faces, and company I gain a level of respect that is important to maintaining relationships. I go above and beyond what is asked of me to make sure the client is happy. Ways that I do this include being prompt to respond to emails, phone calls etc, ensuring to make contact with the client throughout the rental period, and following up after the rental is complete.

My colleagues would say my best trait is my ability to multitask and the attention I pay to details. Working in a small business both these qualities are extremely valued. I tend to juggle three or four tasks at the same time and am able to prioritize accordingly. Sometimes when people multitask things can be overlooked, I make sure this never happens by paying attention to even the smallest details.

In order to make myself stand out I have turned to social media. I have kept my LinkedIn account up to date and followed clients that I frequently work with. I believe that seeing my personal profile and learning more about me on a personal level shows them that I am more than a voice on the phone or words in an email.

COM0014- Blog #4 – B2C Case Study Dove

According to Dove, their brand is rooted in listening to women. In 2011 Dove conducted their largest global study and discovered that only 4% of women consider themselves beautiful. Dove went on to create a campaign entitled “Real Beauty” using emotion to connect with their target audience: women. They are delivering powerful emotional messages in the hopes of creating a sense of understanding and trust with their consumers. They are frequently referred to as a genius for marketing their brand so successfully.

Dove’s Facebook group is very active; they post frequently and engage in conversation with their followers. Their Twitter account is not as active but their YouTube channel definitely makes up for it. They post many videos and their United States channel has over 92 million views. The viral videos are shared across all social platforms including Google +, Twitter, Facebook and Linked IN.

Focusing solely on their viral video, “Real Beauty Sketches”, Dove currently has over 62 million YouTube views. The video is of a FBI trained sketch artist who first draws a woman as she describes herself and then secondly draws the same woman as described by a stranger. The results concluded that women are too critical of their appearances. According to Business Insider – “in the first two weeks it attracted an incredible 3.17 million shares, that’s more than any other ad has managed in the same period.”

Dove’s social media approach is definitely working. They are creating positive conversation amongst their social followers and at the same time positioning their brand. I know that when I see Dove products I appreciate all they are doing to help women boost their self-esteem and I will purchase their products to support this.

http://www.dove.us/social-mission/campaign-for-real-beauty.aspx

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-doves-real-beauty-sketches-became-the-most-viral-ad-video-of-all-time-2013-5

COM0014- Post #3- Target Audiences

D.E. Systems Ltd. provides events technology to Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and the surrounding areas. Event technology is a booming business; we rent laptops, printers, copiers, projectors and much more to the government, audio visual companies and many other small and big businesses. We also provide online registration for any event such as conferences or trade-shows.

Our target audience’s demographics are predominately male aging between 25-60 years of age. Although I am a female in the technology world, the majority of clients/companies we work for consist of men.  There is no specific ethnicity attributed to our target audience, nor marital status. Their education level is a college diploma to a University degree and they are highly tech savy.

The interests of our target audience are technology, events, conference and trade-shows. They are very active in the technology community. They have a disposable income in the middle and upper classes allowing for rentals and technology services.

Our audience is very active in the Twitter and Facebook communities. As they are very tech savy they utilize their social networks and engage with others frequently. Blogs will be another great tool to use to reach our target audience as they are frequent web-surfers reading web content.

Rentacomputer is a competitor of ours that I believe have a successful online campaign going. They are very active on all of their social media networks including a great blog. I believe they have successfully understood their target audience and create content that caters to them.

COMM0014 (Blog #2) – Storytelling & Communication Styles

Why has storytelling been such a fundamental aspect of human life?

There has been a great transition throughout the centuries in storytelling and communication, beginning with scratches on cave walls to now on the World Wide Web. It is on the internet that we capture, share and preserve our stories in a new age digital form. The shift in communication form is a direct representation of our culture, self-identity and even our societies as a whole. When telling a story you are speaking in a universally understood format and in a relatable context that brings people together.

What type of communication style is used for business?

As with any communication style it is the: who, what, when, where, why that needs to be addressed. When including these details it is important to use an active voice and persuade your reader to do something, to take action. Be sure to know what action you want your reader to take by writing clearly and concisely in a familiar and friendly tone.

How do you encourage interaction with your audience?

Before you begin writing you must research and listen to your audience. Make sure you know them well in order to select the appropriate tone and writing style. Think about what action you want them to take and write positively to encourage your reader to respond. In order to be positive avoid insecure wording such as perhaps, apparently and usually. Lastly, be concise in this request but complete and your reader will be inspired to act accordingly.

COM0014: POST 1 – What I did on my Vacation

This past July I went to Kelowna British Columbia for the first time with my boyfriend. Friends of ours were getting married and invited us to spend some time with them beforehand. We tried new things (elk jerky.. yuck!),  made new lifelong friends and took in some of Canada’s most beautiful landscapes.

Some of the memorable experiences we had were wine tasting at Greata Ranch in Peachland. We were told when visiting the Okanogan a winery is a must! Sure enough the wine was delicious and the view absolutely breathtaking!  http://www.greataranchwinery.com/

 

I highly recommend if you are ever in Peachland BC to go to Parrot Island. It is a sanctuary for abandoned and abused exotic birds and the 6$ admission goes towards their care. Unfortunately we got there just as they were closing for the day but got to chat with one of the owners.

One of the beautiful landscapes we saw was from the top of Knox Mountain overseeing all of Kelowna. I have never witnessed anything so beautiful in my lifetime.  The vast mountains and bodies of water made me feel so little in such an enormous world!

 

Although I experienced a lot of new exciting things, there is one memorable part of the trip I will carry with me for the rest of my life. It wasn’t a physical experience but much more of an emotional one. The groom’s father was diagnosed with Sarcoma, also known as Terry Fox cancer, a few years back. They were unsure if he would make it to the wedding but thankfully he did and was even able to dance with the bride. He said “as most of you know, we were unsure if I would be here today…” the thought of that alone was devastating.  His speech brought tears to all and reminded us of how precious life really is.

Throughout the trip he always had a smile on his face even when you could tell he was in a lot of pain. He had a bag of pain medication inside his body that would release with the click of a small remote control. His strength and will to live reminded those around him to never take anything in life for granted and to make the most of the time you are given.

My boyfriend and I have decided we are without a doubt going back to British Columbia this summer. We were quite busy with the wedding for most of the trip and only got a bit of sightseeing in. Does anyone have any recommendations on where to go or things to do in Kelowna?