The Marketing Association for Credit Unions (MACU) recently held its annual Strategic Marketing Conference and Achievement in Marketing Excellence (AIME) gala at the Fairmont Empress hotel in beautiful Victoria, BC. 

I was lucky enough to be able to plan and execute this conference and event for them.

This year MACU rolled out the red carpet as they celebrated the 20^th anniversary of the AIME Awards.  Along with fantastic speakers and excellent networking opportunities, delegates from across the country attended the AIME gala dinner to find out who would take home a coveted AIME award.  

Delegates were able to walk the red carpet with celebrity look a-likes and pose for photos with simulated paparazzi during the cocktail reception leading up to the main event.

The red carpet, celebrities and step and repeat (which I now know is the name for the wall with all the logos on it) was well received by all.  The small touches with any event are the key to ensuring your guests feel welcome and remember the event.

I have been busy lately with client responsibilities which has prevented me from posting to my own blog.  Social media is a hard thing to keep up with –Facebook, Twitter, Blog posts and keeping up with the latest trends take a lot of time. 

In my spare time, I have been reading the 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss.  I enjoying working and have no desire to go down to 4 hours per week however, I enjoyed reading his perspective on hiring a virtual assistant (VA) to assist in automating and outsourcing portions of your business.  

VA’s from developing countries charge, on average, between $4 – $15/hr, whereas a VA in North America typically charges between $25 – $100/hr.   He points out that it isn’t always best to go with the lower priced person and you should look at the “cost per completed task, not the cost per hour.”

Finding the “right” VA may take a bit of time.  I suggest you pick one task or project that you require the most assistance with and outline, in detail, what your desired outcome is.  Then send out the proposal to a few VA’s and ask for their “plan of attack.”   You will then have a good handle on their strengths; including problem solving skills and ability to follow your direction.  

You will not be able to predict how well things will work out with your VA unless you give them a try. 

If you have tried this route, let me know how it went.

I recently learned, via one of my clients, about a great organization called Kiva.org.  Their mission is to connect people through lending in the hopes to alleviate poverty.

For as little as $25 you can lend to an entrepreneur in a developing nation to help them build their business.   Lenders can browse the profiles of entrepreneurs and choose who they would like to lend money to.  As the entrepreneurs business grows, they repay the amount owing allowing lenders to re-donate to someone else in need.  It really is that simple!

$25 may not seem like much, but to a business owner in a developing nation it means a lot. 

To get involved visit kiva.org or see a great promotion one of my clients is running (March 25-March 31)

I just returned from a trade show, where I got to see the latest and greatest in promotional items.  From pens with hand built in hand sanitizer, branded bubba kegs, custom chocolate and gift baskets, stainless steel water bottles to stress balls in all shapes and sizes! 

One of the things that caught my eye was the Flexi-Vase.  It is shatter proof and the water takes on the colour at the bottom of the vase.  Totally customizable and it folds flat for storage. These are priced as low as $2.03 a vase.  I think these would be great for nursing homes, customer giveaways with a spring flower, even wedding giveaways!

There are also a lot of great promos on right now that I thought I would share with you:

• Great pricing on pens
• Business items – business card magnets only $0.23 each! 
• Hand sanitzer spray pens – yes they write too!

If you see anything you like, or would like some giveway ideas for your employees, clients or delegates please contact LAiNE.

Are you wanting to test out the twitter waters, but are not sure what to do or how to do it effectively?   Do you wonder what a tweep is, or how to use a hashtag?   Here are some quick tips to get you thinking about the endless possibilities and how it can apply to your business:

• Keep in touch with those you know and let them know what you are up to.
• Follow others and they will, in turn, follow you.
• Personalize your page with company logo and photo of you.
• Share links to your site, blog, website or sites your followers would be interested in.  Be the first to let them know about new products or services.
• Announce news about your business or things going on the world that affect your business.
• If you have a public event, let your “tweeps” know the details so local followers can attend.
• Feed your blog through Twitterfeed.com so that items you post on your blog are automatically “tweeted”.
• Share video, photos and even music!

The possibilities with Twitter are endless and are constantly evolving.  If you would like some guidance, or someone to set-up and monitor your Twitter page for you, contact LAiNE to discuss.

I have been recently doing some research to see what others are doing at their conferences to keep things “fresh”.  Here are some of my favourite finds:

• Virtual conferences
• Online exhibit halls
• Electronic program materials to ensure a green environment
• Podcasting some or all of the sessions
• Encouraging delegates to engage in live tweeting by creating a conference Twitter page. Have a large screen in the room for everyone to read what others are thinking of the sessions.
• I thought this was a pretty cool idea!  Provide each delegate with a MingleStick. With the click of a button, delegates can connect with hundreds of people and upload their mingle connections.  It is like providing a business card to a new connection but with more information on it.  You can upload your connections online so you can view contact information AND profile pictures. This facial recognition helps recall your conversations at the event. 
• Offer delegates a sunrise walk, which can easily be sponsored!  Delegates can start their day off energized and clear headed.
• Have an internet cafe available so, during breaks, delegates can catch up on business or upload their data from their MingleStick!
• Create a blog prior to the conference asking potential delegates for their ideas, suggestions or speakers that they would like to hear.
• Instead of a regular coffee and tea break  mix it up and have a candy bar or carnival themed break complete with popcorn and caramel apples!

 If you have any great ideas that are tried and true, let me know!

Seth Godin created a blog post today titled “the best reason for a big event”  …check it out.

Speaking of holidays and events…do you have an event coming up that you are busy planning, or putting off planning?

There is a lot of organization and details to consider when planning a meeting or event.  Each one of them is critically important to ensuring success.

If you have an upcoming trade show, conference, meeting or special family event that you would like assistance with please contact us.  We will help you avoid unnecessary obstacles and challenges that come with the planning process.  

Here are some services that we can offer you:

• Site Selection & Inspection
• Catering Selection
• Menu Planning
• Floral Arrangements
• Audio/Visual Arrangements
• Guest list / Registration Coordination
• Invitations
• Decorations
• Entertainment Selection
• Marketing & Promotional material ideas

There is no need to feel overwhelmed by all the things on your to-do list. Contact us today to discuss your options (905) 617.7059 or info@laineamp.com

Everyone loves to watch the Super Bowl ads and advertisers know it!  Why else would they be willing to pay what they do for 30 seconds of your attention?

I recently read an article on how Budweiser is utilizing social media, specifically FaceBook, with this year’s ads.   Not only has Budweiser secured 5 minutes of ad space but they have also created a Fan Page on Facebook allowing “Fans” to choose which ad will air during the Super Bowl.

For those of you who are not familiar with Fan Pages this is super smart advertising.   Once a person becomes a “Fan” it is posted on their wall so all their friends know (silent word of mouth). It also gives Budweiser the permission to send them messages about their products!  Of course there is always the opportunity for a person to “un-Fan” themselves, but by that point the product message will have been passed on to all their friends and some of them will likely have become Fans as well.

I love exploring new ways to do things and enjoy it even more when it saves me or my clients money.

I was speaking with a friend and fellow entrepreneur last night and they told me about the VentureOne program from Canada Post. VentureOne is a FREE loyalty program for small businesses that ship parcels and documents.  I had no idea such a program existed!

Members receive an average of 5% savings at the post office on selected shipping products and can get an additional 3% discount when preparing documents online.  Who doesn’t love a good discount?

To learn more and to sign up to the program click here.

At first glance LinkedIn looks like just another “find a friend” social networking site.  It is much more than that, if you put some work into it.

Here are some ways you can use LinkedIn most effectively:

• Fill out all aspects of your profile so people know who you are, what you have done and what you are currently working on.
• Build your network by importing contacts from your hotmail, Gmail, AOL, or Yahoo accounts
• Add applications such as TripIt, Twitter or WordPress to keep your connections up to date on what you are doing and integrate your posts into your LinkedIn profile.
• Utilize the Poll function to easily find out the opinions of your connections on marketing research questions.
• Join industry groups related to your field of work.
• Create a group – post jobs, start discussions and post news about your product or company.
• Ask for recommendations from friends, colleagues, suppliers and customers.
• Provide honest and detailed recommendations of others.
• Ask your contacts to introduce you to their contacts expanding your network
• Purchase DirectAds to advertise your business to targeted individuals.
• Use your public profile link on all marketing materials and social media posts so people know who you are.

Give it a try and see how fast your network grows!