by Nicole Ouellette | Jun 1, 2010 | Marketing Monday
I’ve had a tough sell recently and I thought I’d take it to the Breaking Even Blog readers.
A local small business counselor who sees a lot of people come through his office told me he is skeptical about social media/online marketing working for small businesses in rural Maine.
I highlight examples of businesses doing this well every week with the Marketing Monday feature on this blog. That said, I could use some small businesses, particularly in rural areas, using blogging, email newsletters, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr, Youtube, and other online promotion techniques to communicate with customers and increase sales. Bonus points if the business is in Maine.
Please share your idea(s) below! Thanks for your help and ideas!
by Nicole Ouellette | May 25, 2010 | Marketing Monday
Every Monday, I talk about an individual, group, or business doing something neat marketing online. Have an internet marketing idea you’d like me to write about? Let me know!
You know you haven’t been your usual blogging self when you are only posting twice a week (three times if you include a regular guest post at another blog). I have been busy business-wise (more on that this Thursday) which means that all my creative energy has gone into ideas for other people and at the end of the day, I’m reduced to a heap of Peep-eating, reality show watching woman.
My friend Sarah A., as if my blog idea angel, sent me a great email idea this morning for Marketing Monday.
Matt Holt is “Walking for Art,” through-hiking the Appalachian Trail to raise awareness and funds (through trail sponsorships) for New Sense Studios, an art program for at-risk youth in Raleigh, NC that is completely volunteer-run. The Will Walk for Art website is http://walkingforart.wordpress.com/.
by Nicole Ouellette | Mar 15, 2010 | Marketing Monday
Every Monday, a post about websites, web promotions, and how to do it well. Let me know if you have an idea!
I was going to write about something else entirely until the task of transporting 25 pounds of cuteness consumed my life.
To be clear, let’s take a look at what all this work has been for:
*Sigh* Ok, that was helpful. And gives this whole situation perspective.
Regular readers may be aware that I had to put my dog down in January. She was 15 years old and I had watched her slow decline for almost an entire year. As someone who lives alone and works at home, I’ve missed the companionship of an animal. And while I am not expecting another Sadie (who was irreplaceable), I know my new dog will add a lot to my life… if only there wasn’t the slightest issue.
Corky the Corgi lives in Georgia. And I live in Maine. (Unrelated: Yes, I am changing her corny little name the second I get her.)
I have spent days investigating how I can get this animal to where I am, and would like to offer the folks who run animal shelters a few tips to help people adopt more animals, as I have been ridiculously patient throughout this process in a way that others might not be.
If you’re going to offer it, be ready to know what that entails, and how much it costs.
On the front page of the shelter’s website, they say transport is available to the northeast. The transporter I talked to (an affiliate of but not exactly connected to the shelter) could only get my dog to Rhode Island. Last I checked, there is still a lot of the northeast to go after RI.
by Nicole Ouellette | Feb 1, 2010 | Marketing Monday
Most of the time, I try not to use this blog to promote anything in particular but I do want to let people know about an event that’s coming up. (Full disclosure: I am on the board of this organization.) Domestic violence is an issue close to my heart and answering the phone line for a couple years only solidified this belief.
Next Step Domestic Violence Project is holding their annual Chocolate Festival and Silent Auction on February 13. It’s the organization’s biggest fundraiser and every year, Next Step looks to tweak it to make it better. This year is the first time they are using social media to promote the event. (Gee, I wonder which board member pushed that one…)
Here are a few things NS is doing to promote this event, both online and off.
All the board members are contacting businesses for donations, and I’ve noticed a much higher success rate via email.
If you have a lot of information to give someone, it feels like you completely and blindly attack them when it’s over the phone:
“Hi my name is Nicole Ouellette and I’m a board member of the Next Step Domestic Violence Project. We’re soliciting donations for our annual Chocolate Festival and Silent Auction fundraiser on Feb. 13. Is your business interested in making a donation?”
Could I make that any shorter? No. If you were listening to that on the other end, would you feel overwhelmed? I sure would!
In each email, I shared the Next Step’s website address and Facebook page so that those I would solicit would understand the legitimacy of the organization. So if you’re an organization that’s hesitating to get a website, there’s a compelling reason to finally do it.
The Next Step Facebook page has been very active, which has grown the fan base.
The Next Step Facebook page has recieved more fans since beginning its daily posting of a domestic violence fact. And building a lot of fans on your Facebook business page is not only a good way to make you feel popular but when you do have an event or idea, you suddenly have a much larger, more engaged group of people to share it with.
We created an event associated with the page, and invited our friends.
Nothing like using a little social media peer pressure. In creating an event and getting people to RSVP, as an organization we can have an idea of who is and isn’t coming
I made a web-sized ‘ad’ that people could share on their websites or Facebook pages.
If something is already created and formatted correctly, people are much more likely to share it. Events are no exception.
Creating a small text ad that is 450 pixels wide and putting it on my Facebook page made it easy for other board members and fans of the cause to share the event with their friends, on their Facebook page or on their blogs.
Since Facebook is such a visual interface, taking advantage of a ‘photo’ along with the event listing seemed like a good idea.
http://www.facebook.com/username
by Nicole Ouellette | Jan 18, 2010 | Marketing Monday
Know of a company or individual marketing themselves well online? Let me know about it and they could be featured on Marketing Monday!
The human spirit is often most inspiring in the middle of terrible events. The earthquake in Haiti was certainly on everyone’s minds this past week. I was personally quite proud of the role that internet marketing and in particular social media played in not only raising awareness but fundraising around this tragedy. Here are a few ways that the internet moved efforts along:
Social media resulted in pressure to give.
I think we can all agree that sometimes, peer pressure can be good. In the case of the Haiti earthquake, on Friday afternoon, I felt like the only person on Twitter who hadn’t donated to the cause. And I felt guilty, which made me finally make my own donation.
In addition to regular media coverage, social media was able to bring up-to-date and user-generated information about the latest news in Haiti.
