Archive for SaultSteMarie

FAQ’s from our #SocialBusiness Marketing Seminar 2020

On February 6th 2020, CC Communications hosted our #SocialBusiness Marketing Seminar to focus on igniting the marketing potential of our attendees and to provide advice on how to enhance their overall brand presence.

I recorded some of their questions with my responses to help provide this information to all of our followers. If you have a question regarding your use of social media or how to better enhance your online presence, please send it forward to connie@cccommunications.ca or request a FREE 30 minute consultation.

Thank you for attending CC Communication’s #SocialBusiness Marketing Seminar which focused on helping our attendees recognize their brand’s potential and identified ways to help them #ConnectMORE


Q) How do I carve out my identity within the guidelines of a brand?

A) If your business/brand has a series of guidelines or a social media policy in place, it is always a best practice to follow those guidelines. Review the particulars of the guidelines and work to establish yourself as an employee of the organization both in the professional workplace and online. Keeping a consistent brand identity within the overall brand identity is a professional action that can help build your credibility.

Communicating your specific skills and experience on social media platforms like LinkedIn can also serve to help you build your personal brand identity within the umbrella of your organization. As this social media platform allows you to receive testimonials personally, LinkedIn is a great option for someone looking to enhance their brand identity within a brand identity.


Q) Is there any way to have our clients become more engaged and interactive online?

A) The first step would be to define your target demographic and develop an emotional appeal or educational purpose for that audience.

Understand that your audience is human and will interact with social media content in a similar manner that you do. Think of social media posts that inspire you to become engaged and interactive. Visual posts that have vivid colour and short informative videos are often very well received.

Acknowledge that SEO (search engine optimization) is very important in the development of your online content and that a “marketing plan” that addresses your overall branding goals should be in place. This is highly recommended instead of publishing content “whenever you can,” with the hope to capture interactive followers.  


Q) I am not a big “social media person.” How do I get started in building connections so I do not lose interest in being connected?

A) Start building your social media following by creating posts that inspire you.

Learn to use social media as a tool to promote your products/services to a larger audience rather than cold calling or relying on traditional forms of advertising. Social media allows for you to start a two-way conversation with your followers and answer any questions they may have directly – you can’t do that will a sign or print ad!

Social media platforms have insights and data for you to analyze and use to create future sales leads. The conversations and insights you receive provide you with feedback and further information to help you work closely with potential customers who have an interest in your business, brand, and services which should motivate you to remain socially connected.


Q) For B2B services, do you think it is important to have a Facebook/Instagram account when most clients are likely not active on these social platforms?


A) Yes! Facebook and Instagram are ideal places for businesses to showcase their story and to target an audience in a compelling, memorable, and engaging way.

Understanding what types of content to post for B2B businesses, however, will be more important to plan out in your overall marketing strategy – which every business should have and revamp routinely. The demographics for both Instagram and Facebook will be different and catering your content to attract these audiences will be different than your approach for platforms like LinkedIn or your corporate website.

Considering the wide use of Facebook and Instagram, the decision makers of an organization you would like to interact with – are likely using these platforms socially – and being visible online is imperative in 2020. If you haven’t considered using these platforms previously, now is the time.


Q) How can I analyze social media data based on people’s life experience and genuine interests? How can I generate more followers/shares, overall?

A) Ask questions. Social media is the one form of marketing (advertising) that will allow you to receive insights and data you can use to generate a “plan of action” to retain future sales leads.

Focus on building a following of genuine customers versus trying to reach a million likes or followers. This will allow you to learn more about the people who follow you, why they are following you, and how your product/service can help them.

This idea of building a genuine and authentic following has encouraged Facebook and Instagram to rethink the use of “like counts” and examine how the profiles could operate without them. Yes, that’s right… “page likes” may disappear in 2020 and push business owners to be more authentic and organic with their overall social media strategies.

Q) Facebook has regulations against “like and share” giveaways. How can I host a compliant campaign that will ensure the integrity of my business page?

Like and Share contests violate the community guidelines Facebook has established as they do not allow for administrators to actively track who has participated. With high privacy settings, participants can like and share and you would have no knowledge of this interaction.

The like and share campaigns also do not provide an administrator with proof of participation and further can compromise the integrity of your participants information as there is no official rules or request for a collection of information. Some like and shares may be “hidden” by users. This sends a signal to Facebook that you are posting low quality content and they will show your posts to less people in the future or even worse, may render your page inaccessible. Some campaigns may also violate Ontario Promotional Law as alcohol and lottery tickets are not to be given away as “prizes.”

In a compliant campaign, participants are informed about their opportunity to participant, how and if their information will be used, and are provided with a fair and equal opportunity at winning. When hosting a compliant campaign with CC Communications, you also receive quality marketing feedback from your participants WITH their permission – something a like and share cannot provide.

Interested in attending a future seminar or hosting Connie as a guest speaker at your next event? Email connie@cccommunications.ca and let’s talk!

It’s time to #ConnectMORE with your online audience!

Business owners recognize the power and potential social media networks offer. Having a Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIN, or Twitter account keeps you in contact with your clients and offers potential customers the opportunity to become familiar with your brand.

Learn what it takes to be successful at social media marketing during CC Communications #ConnectMORE social media seminar on May 31st at Solo Trattoria from 5:30 pm until 8:30 pm. I will explain key terms such as “SEO” (search engine optimization) and the importance of using #Hashtags!

In addition, you will learn how to develop a strategy to put “promoted ads” on Facebook to use and identify new ways to start finding customers online. You will also learn how to also measure the success of your efforts while utilizing new information regarding the ever-changing world of digital marketing!

Avoid the costly mistake of going it alone and running campaigns without a goal in mind. Save time and marketing dollars by becoming more proficient in understand HOW social media platforms operate. I train business owners how to create content and use social media to help reach their overall business goals.

In this seminar, I’ll show you how to add a social component to your online approach by looking at your products and services from a customers point-of-view. I’ll give you ideas on how to develop and manage your upcoming posts and identify key differences in your current approach to help you build a strategy for future content creation and management.

Also enjoy the opportunity to network with others and enjoy special finger foods prepared for us while taking in a fresh new approach to the potential social media marketing has to offer your growing business and brand.

Click here to purchase your ticket and reserve your spot today!

Realtors, It Pays to Use Social Media!

Realtors, Open more doors with the use of Social Media! 

Real Estate Agents continue to build their credibility and relationships in person, over the phone and through the visual promotional materials as well as signage. It is a well-known fact that realtors have a great opportunity to increase their reach and sphere of influence by using social media to interact with the market. With close to 200 realtors (according to the Sault Ste. Marie Real Estate Board) in the local market of Sault Ste. Marie, it is becoming increasingly important for realtors to use social media as an effective marketing “tool” and to avoid using it in a manner that could be counterproductive. Knowledge of keywords, stunning photography that highlights the attributes of a listing, and consistent management make for a successful social media recipe!

It’s pays more. Here’s how: 

  • Offers Increased Exposure Being on social media drastically opens up the sphere of influence and opportunity for referrals. It allows you an opportunity to showcase each individual listing in a professional manner. Your clients want to know that you, as their realtor, are invested in the sell of their home. Social media publication is a visual example that you are going above and beyond to showcase your client’s home but, also, in an affordable manner.
  • Connects you to a larger clientele and showcases your brand Followers can communicate with you directly to learn about your listings as well as request a walk-through through private message. This takes convenience to a new and higher level. Have you ever held a conversation with a sign?
  • Provides business credibility and offers accountability Social media gives brands a chance to interact directly and immediately with their customers. Using LinkedIN for example, allows potential buyers to research your credibility, previous employment experience, and provides an overall professionalism to your brand. The magnitude of social media’s usefulness comes from its ability to connect with new audiences while helping engage potential clients. It helps establish a trustworthy image of you, as the realtor of choice.

CC Communications assists professionals with the set-up and management of their social media networks including profiles such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIN to ensure that the overall reach of your published posts will be successful. We specialize in creating interactive, conversational content proven to increase traffic and brand exposure while making it convenient for realtors to #ConnectMORE with potential clients.

Stand Out with Professional Photography

In today’s social media world a picture is worth a thousand words! As a realtor you have only a few seconds to catch a potential buyer’s attention as they scroll through their newsfeed. CC Communications provides professional Real Estate Photography services with the intention of showcasing your listing to potential buyers in a manner that is captivating.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 9 out of 10 house hunters start their house hunting experience on the Internet.

Buyers are increasingly judging a home’s character by the photos used to market it. Bad photos may cost realtors a showing, or, even worse, they can impact the overall perspective a potential buyer may make of them. One way of improving your presence in the “real estate game” is to invest in a real estate photographer.

“I can do it myself, I own an Iphone that can take pictures”  – Did you know that Facebook can discern whether or not a photo has been captured by a phone and a DSLR camera? Having photos with a high resolution, that have been professionally photographed have 30% more visibility due to Facebook’s new Algorithm.

Grainy photos can make a house look unwelcoming. Dark shadows and reflections can fall into the frame from the wrong angle. Make a positive first impression with each listing you post on social media by having well developed photos to capture the beauty and detail of a listing to potential buyers.

To learn more, book you free 30-minute consultation! I would also love to learn about your current listings!

How can hiring an agency help my business grow?

According to the Public Relations Society of America, Public Relations is defined as “anticipating, analyzing and interpreting public opinion, attitudes and issues that impact, for the good or ill, the operations and plans of an organization.”

The perspective a client has of your brand is extremely important and can impact your overall growth. How you structure your organization, the business practices and services you offer, and your presentation to the public, are all essential components of maintaining a positive brand image.

Public relations agencies help businesses, including start-ups, with research on a continual basis to put campaigns into action that will allow the public to perceive the business in the “light” it wishes to emulate.

Public relations agencies direct courses of action and communication, plan public policy, set campaign objectives, and employ a series of tactics to brand a business. CC Communications specializes in the following public relations services: performing market research to provide overall brand direction including logo development, the composition of press releases and online content, the organization of media relations or press conferences, the creation of special events and marketing promotions designed for public outreach, and of course, social media management.

Businesses should consider hiring a public relations agency when they want to enhance and build their brand through modern forms of media. At CC Communications, we work very closely with our clients to analyze their organization and create positive stories that translate to the public to create “top-of-mind” consciousness.