Archive for the ‘Public Relations’ Category
Social Media – Part 5
Social media remains an important topic for leaders/managers of growth companies. That’s what you, our listeners are telling us. And, that’s exactly what the research says too. While we’ve covered social media from several angles in previous episodes, in BusinessCast #136, we sit down with the founders of Biz Launch — known country-wide as the trainers for new businesses — who have recently conducted “state-of-the-nation” research on social media.
Listen to BusinessCast #136 and you’ll get some practical tips that you can use tomorrow to begin or hone your social media strategy. At the same time, you’ll also get a sense of where most companies like yours are today — as far as their social media plans, initiatives and successes.
Also check out the following BusinessCast episodes that focus on social media:
#130 – Choosing the Right Social Media Tools – Robert and I speak with social media guru Michael Seaton. He shares with us the social media essentials for all entrepreneurs.
#104 – Leveraging LinkedIn - Robert and I chat with Doyle Slayton on how to cost-effectively leverage the Internet’s most popular online social networking tool. See this episode’s blogpost for useful LinkedIn-related links.
#101 – Leveraging the Groundswell - Robert and I talk with Charlene Li, co-author of the Groundswell – which has become the ‘Bible’ for many social media marketers — about how entrepreneurs can effectively leverage social media.
#64 – Blogging for Business - Robert and I get practical advice for new and experienced bloggers from Matthew Vernhout — a digital media veteran and an up-and-coming social media maven.
Be Prepared: Continuity Planning
When was the last time you and your team planned for an emergency? If you’re like most entrepreneurs, your answer is “We’re far too busy to plan…” or “We’ve already taken precautions to prevent emergencies…” or “We aren’t at risk…”.
Well, the truth of the matter is that all you have to do is open up a newspaper to find instances of business leaders just like you who have suffered great personal and professional losses from not having a current, relevant and flexible continuity plan (i.e. business disaster plan).
That’s why in BusinessCast episode #133 — Be Prepared: Continuity Planning — we reached out to get the most current insights about how and when leaders in growth companies should plan for emergencies. Our guest is American Express’ VP and General Manager, Howard Grosfield. Howard shares with us the results from American Express’ recent cross-Canada research of growing companies’ current state of continuity planning.
Listen to BusinessCast episode #133 and you’ll understand how your emergency planning stacks up against your competitors. At the same time, you will find practical tips for helping you determine how and when to cost-effectively develop a relevant continuity plan for your company.
The Art of Storytelling for Business Success
Are you a compelling storyteller? Not sure? Let me rephrase this question in terms of two fundamentals to your business’ growth, profitability and longevity: (i) Do you inspire prospects and clients so that they genuinely want to purchase your products/services? (ii) Do you effectively excite your employees so that they feel good about what they do and are always looking for ways to innovate?
The most successful entrepreneurs have long recognized that to achieve these two mission-critical goals requires the ability to use stories to capture the hearts and minds of bright, busy people. And yet, so little attention is actually devoted to helping entrepreneurs hone their storytelling skills. That’s why for BusinessCast episode #131 — The Art of Storytelling — we sat down with Chris Carder, President of ThinData. A Transcontinental Company.
Chris, who is an accomplished business storyteller, shares his insights about what goes into an effective story and shares great example of a ThinData story that has a long history of getting propsects, clients, employees and strategic partners alike truly excited.
Listen to BusinessCast episode #131 — The Art of Storytelling carefully and you will become a stronger storyteller — and that will mean more business success.
Other storytelling resources that are practical for entrepreneurs include:
- A Leader’s Guide to Storytelling – Stephen Denning.
- The Story Factor: Secrets of Influence from the Art of Storytelling – Annette Simmons
- Khruschev’s Shoe and Other Ways to Captivate Audiences form One to One Thousand – Roy Underhill.
Business Crisis? What Crisis?
No-one likes a crisis. That’s why it’s far too common for even the most successful entrepreneur to overlook crisis planning. The challenge is that once you’re in the middle of a true business crisis, you rarely have the time or the resources to deal with it as well as you would want to.
After all, you could find yourself thrown into a very tense situation — trying desperately to deal with members of the media, angry clients, disenchanted employees, wary investors, intrusive regulators and other critical stakeholders.
It’s an emotional time and all it takes is saying ONE wrong word and your business can suffer. That’s why in BusinessCast episode #123, Robert and I “pick the brains” of one of the Nation’s leaders on crisis communications. Dr. Allan Bonner and his team have advised Canada’s most senior business leaders, political figures and sports figures to successfully avoid a crisis, deal with a crisis and turn around a crisis to their advantage.
Listen to BusinessCast episode #123 and get some practical insights on how you can make sure that you’re prepared when a crisis hits your business.
Entrepreneurs — In Action
Robert and I are always looking to identify events that help entrepreneurs succeed. Given that there is such an array of online and offline activities, it’s difficult for any entrepreneur to know which events and forums are truly worth their time.
That’s why we’re so pleased to have been invited to be official media guests for the 7th Annual Business Networking Night. The event has become one of the most worthwhile and fun evenings for up-and-coming business leaders in the City. In BusinessCast #121 – Robert and I captured the energy and enthusiasm from the event — organized by Toronto’s leading business networking facilitator, Jennifer Beale.
While at the event, we spoke to dozens of entrepreneurs and asked them two key questions:
- What is their biggest business challenge today; and
- How are they overcoming that challenge.
Listen to BusinessCast #121 and tap into the secrets behind how entrepreneurs are successfully tackling today’s most difficult challenges.
BTW, we’ve just added a new title to our ever-growing library of books — available for any of our listeners at no charge. The new book: “Upstarts: How Gen Y Entrepreneurs Are Rocking the World of Business.”