Social Media: 3 Steps to Protect Your Brand

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I, as well as many of you have read the latest social media backlash that took place on Friday.  Sarah Saunders, Press Secretary for the White House was asked to leave a restaurant in Virginia when dining with her husband and children.  Ok, not so cool.  Everyone should be allowed to eat where they prefer, regardless of where or who they work for.  I actually felt bad for this incident and thought of how humiliating it must have been for the whole family.

Then, more news on this incident over the weekend when the President of the United States, decided to tweet about the incident and attack the restaurant in such an unprofessional way.  Something a President should never do! What a shameful an act!

It turns out there are several “Red Hen” restaurants in the US that are unaffiliated with the restaurant where the incident took place. These establishments have since received negative feedback, acts of vandalism and threats to the owners and staff.

This rhetoric has even reached as far as Canada. A restaurant with a similar name called the “Olde Red Hen”  in Collingwood Ontario.  Their Facebook page has been inundated with negative posts from people in the US mistakenly associating this restaurant to be, that of the Virginia location.

The owner of this restaurant was quick to post on social media that the comments being seen by her fans were inaccurate.  The people posting were simply mislead to her page due to improper research or no research at all. This has lead prominent social media platforms to temporarily suspend “comment” and “review” sections.

In my views, I can only see this as a positive event for this Canadian restaurant and I am hopefully this will bring in new customers.  But this shows how quickly an incident can destroy someone’s brand, hard work and presence in their community.  The Olde Red Hen clearly has some very loyal customers and many people on both sides of the borders were quick to come to its defence.

Here are 3 steps to help project your Brand:

1. Always respond quickly to posts

As we have read in this article, the owner of the Restaurant was quick to get to the bottom of the problem. She was able to reassure her patrons that these comments were unsubstantiated and directed at the “Red Hen” in the US.

2. Know how to determine a troll verses a dissatisfied customer

The owner of this restaurant knew that the sudden backlash and several notifications coming to her, were not that of dissatisfied customers.  Having done her research, she was able to determine what the root cause of this incident was. A simple case of mistaken identity.

3. Actively monitor your social media community.

By having the social media notifications to come through her phone, it allowed her to act quickly. Effectively responding to this social media crisis with dignity and grace. She not only responded to the negativity in a professional manner, she asked them politely to remove their negative posts and advised they had been in error.

Our businesses are at risk every minute of the day on social media platforms and it is up to us to apply effective methods to protect our brands.  What methods do you use to effectively protect your brand?  Would you have done anything differently to save your business brand?

References:

https://globalnews.ca/news/4294743/donald-trump-red-hen-sarah-sanders/

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/ontario-eatery-targeted-online-by-sarah-sanders-supporters-1.3987505

 

Facebook: 3 Steps to protect your brand https://bit.ly/2K88y7W

Twitter: #protectingyourbrand https://bit.ly/2K88y7W

Has Social Media Spooked You?

The power of social media can have quite the impact on what you decide to do in your life.  Have we become isolated due to what information is being portrayed to us? 

Earlier this year when planning our winter vacation, there were several news articles that certainly made me uncomfortable with the thought of travelling.  After searching for the best vacation deals down south, my husband and I decided on 2 best locations that we wanted to visit.  We had our hearts set on a sunny destination.  We had two beautiful resorts chosen, one in Mexico and the other in Jamaica. Since I had never been to Jamaica,  we decided that would be the perfect location for our next getaway. 

Days before we were ready to book our trip.  We saw breaking news all over twitter advising travellers to exercise extreme caution when travelling to the area of Montego Bay, Jamaica due to high violence and crime.  You can read that article here: https://bit.ly/2ME1YDQ

This being our destination of choice, we had to make a quick decision, either ignore these social media posts and go on with our plans, or choose the resort in Mexico.  Since we had been to Mexico before, and new somewhat of the area of where we would be, we made our decision. We were so happy to have finally booked our vacation and planned to leave in March 2018 right after March break.   We had one month to go before being on our way to the sunny beach and beautiful palm trees, and lets not forget the unlimited food and beverages, Yes please!!

A few days after booking this trip we heard the devastating news of the bombing on the ferry in Playa Del Carmen.  Thankfully no life-threatening injuries but still so scary.  The details to that event can be read here: https://bit.ly/2ypy57e

This was minutes away from where we were going to be and I was quite frightened at the thought of going there.  I no longer was as excited to leave and knew cancelling our trip was out of the question.  The fear of social media took over me and I wanted to become a hermit.

Well guess what? ! I’m here!  I travelled to Mexico, I explored, I even went into Play Del Carmen and visited the site where the bombing took place and I survived!  The vacation was absolutely amazing and I felt completely safe the entire time I was there. 

 

 

Sometimes, don’t you think we might take these social media articles a little too seriously and let it run our lives?   I feel it is best to do what you think feels right and sometimes a little risk is worth taking. We all need time to disconnect and free ourselves from the world around us.

 Facebook: Has social media ruined you?

Twitter: #livefreefromsocialmedia

 

References:   

https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/caribbean/jamaica/travel-alert-jamaica

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/three-canadians-among-25-injured-in-mexico-ferry-explosion-1.3813589

The backcountry: A Campers Paradise

For the past 8 years I have really become a lover of the wilderness! That was the time I went on my first backcountry canoe trip. I came from knowing very little about camping to being the person responsible for planning and preparing for my family and friends.

Backcountry camping is a very different from camping at a campground as you have no access to any facilities and you are completely off grid and must survive on your own.

Over these years, I have complied my own list of camping preparations that will surely make for a good trip.  With the help of social media and internet, all the best information can be found in various blogs.  It is always best to do some research and prepare yourself for camping beforehand.  Take a first aid course and most of the Ontario parks give a “Learn to Camp” workshop, which is fantastic for newbies.  My suggestion is once you are prepared to go through with your adventure, choose websites and blogs that work for you, and through trial and error you will determine your own preferences for camping in the wilderness.  I have never been on a disastrous camping trip but have been on a few rather dangerous adventures at times. There are always many things that can go wrong and it is how well prepared you are, that will make all the difference.

This is me, unwinding after a long trip to our camp spot and rescuing our friends who over turned their canoe in the middle of white fish lake in Quebec last year:

1. Find a backcountry camping location and reserve your spot, as well as your canoe rental if you do not have your own. The last thing you want to do is drive 3-4 hours with a car full of people and camp gear, just to find out your favorite spot has no availability.  My favorite place to camp is Algonquin Park, Lake Opeongo.  Going back 5 or 6 years, we never even thought of reserving a spot. There was always availability, but now thanks to social media my favorite spot has become more and more popular.  I was planning a trip to Algonquin Park a few years ago and came across the parks twitter post stating that there was limited space available for that weekend.  I thought, oh no, I better see how I can reserve a spot.  Once getting to their website, I was informed all spots were unavailable.  A very disappointed me, had to find an alternate quickly.

 

2. Plan out your trip at least two weeks before you leave. This will allow you to have enough time to dig up your camping gear and get anything you may need to replace.  I like to make a list of everything I need for shelter, fire, meals and activities.  While packing, I will go through these lists to make sure nothing gets left behind.  Remember not to over pack!  You have limited space and weight restrictions on your canoe, it is important to bring only the necessities.

 

3. Always remember the rules of 3 for survival:

• You can survive 3 minutes without oxygen.
• You can survive 3 hours without shelter (in a harsh environment)
• You can survive 3 days without water.
• You can survive 3 weeks without edibles food.

 

4. Once arriving at your camp location. The first thing to do is find a nice flat area to set up your tent, then seek enough firewood for the evening and ensure you have a water source and food.  This is especially important if you are arriving late.

 

5. Enjoy your time unwinding from every day routines. Camping brings great health benefits. It helps relieve stress, you breathe cleaner air which instantly makes you happier and the intake of Vitamin D from the sun helps you give your body a healthier glow…to name a few.

There are many advantages to being out in the wilderness and it is definitely something you must try if you haven’t already.  In my opinion, I find an immense feeling of calmness and it is a great way to relieve the stress of every day living.

What are your camping secrets?  What adventures do you have?

 

Facebook: The Backcountry: A Campers Paradise: tips to a no fail camping https://bit.ly/2JL2C3G

Twitter:  The Backcountry: A Campers Paradise #campingstips  https://bit.ly/2JL2C3G

 

References: https://www.well-beingsecrets.com/health-benefits-of-camping/

https://www.tentree.com/blogs/posts/how-to-prepare-for-your-backcountry-camping-trip

https://www.parksbloggerontario.com/beginners-guide-to-backcountry-camping-in-algonquin/

http://www.backcountrychronicles.com/wilderness-survival-rules-of-3/

5 Tips to Boost Your Facebook Page Posts Without Paying For It

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Ok, so let me tell you a little bit about my part time business.  I am an Avon representative and have been for 5 years now.  That’s right, I joined a leading direct sales company selling cosmetics, empowering women and offering a whole wide range of items 5 years ago. It’s been a great challenge and turns out this is something I love doing.  I have passed out books and flyers in my neighborhood door to door, got the support of Friends, Family and co-workers. But everything we do now is leading to social media and online purchasing.  I have been doing “ok”, but I don’t just want to do “ok” anymore. I want to get known, I want my name out there, I want to increase sales and customers. Who’s with me?

Whether for personal or professional reasons, we all have our goals and most of us all have something we want to share to the world.  How can we use our social media knowledge to help us succeed?

Slow and steady

Only in the past 7 months, have I took the leap and started a Facebook page posting about my business. I should’ve done this much sooner but hey, I was comfortable where my business was and was too busy with other things. It is my first and only social media page that I manage, or try too, but I now feel it’s not really getting me anywhere.  It started off as hit and then it just went dull. My followers are not seeing my posts anymore and I am getting very little traffic, likes, and new followers. I started seeing other the pages I follow, posting the same questions I had.

What am I doing wrong? How can I change this? Why aren’t people seeing my content?

It’s all in the research

I started researching the internet looking for Facebook page information.  There is so much information out there but how do you know where to start?  I have read many blogs containing useful information about Facebook Algorithms and how to get your Facebook page more visible. Out of all this information, I have chosen these 5 tips that in my opinion would be quite useful to help get my page visible in my audience’s eyes.  Although I have not applied these to my personal page yet, I have seen other similar Facebook pages in the past few months use some of these tips. They have had tremendous success!

• Encourage people to take action on your posts

The more people are engaged with your posts the more visible your post will become.  People who not only like, but comment and use other emoticons actually boost your post presence and potentially gain you more likes and followers.

• Post a 10 -20 second video clip or live video rather than a text post

It is said that people would rather watch a video then have to read through content, so making a short clip or Facebook Live post, will help your post gain viewers.

• Link a website in the comments section instead of in the body of your post

Your post is much more likely to appear in news feeds if you’re not posting a link. Getting your viewers to click on a link and pull them away from Facebook, is not beneficial to Facebook.  However, posting a link in the comments section on your post will still help you gain these visitors.

• Create a social media posting calendar

Creating a social media calendar will help you know when you should post and when you have posted enough. Take a bit of time and plan out a posting calendar.  Select the right times to post to get the most “organic reaches”.  This will help your page gain more activity.

• Capture your audience’s attention with images

Just like video’s, people are more attracted to posts if they contain visual images.  Create some curiosity with an image/images and have your readers want to visit your page.

I came across this very useful blog called A Cup of Lee.  In the blog there are so many great ideas, some of those I have shared above.  I think these changes to the way we market our Facebook pages will help in the long run.  It may not happen overnight but creating posts with these tips in mind will definitely help.   Have you used any of these tips for your own page?  What tips do use to remain visible?

I look forward to reading your comments and any tips you might have below.

-Sylvie Richer

 

Facebook:  5 Tips to Boost Your Facebook Page Posts Without Paying For It  https://bit.ly/2xiWquE

Twitter:  5 Tips to Boost Your Facebook Page Posts #fbpagepost  https://bit.ly/2xiWquE

 

References:

http://acupoflee.com/2017/12/13/facebook-tips-for-small-businesses-in-2018/

https://neilpatel.com/blog/facebooks-algorithm-revealed-how-to-remain-visible-in-the-cluttered-facebook-news-feed/