Newsletter - Spring 2011 - Page 6
EXPERT ADVICE: HOW TO START A SMALL BUSINESS BLOG
Not everyone is born a writer and you don’t have
to be to start a blog.
As a business owner, you are the expert and you
know everything you need to
know about your business, your
customers and the industry and
that’s more than enough to get
you started.
Here’s how the popular bloggers
do it.
1. Read before you write
The most important step before
starting a blog is to read other blogs that are rele-
vant to your business. This will guide you in terms
of the type of content you want to create and it will
give you an idea of what your customers are read-
ing.
Aside from reading other blogs, it’s a good idea to
begin to comment on some of these blogs to start
getting your name out there and to position your-
self as a knowledgeable source in your industry.
Resources like All Top and Technorati are avail-
able to help you find blogs that speak to your in-
dustry.
2. Write & Share
Now that you know what you will be writing about,
you can begin to outline any number of subjects
that you would like to cover over the coming
weeks or months.
Keeping an editorial calendar of what you will
write about and when is an effective means of
keeping you on a consistent schedule so you al-
ways have content to share with your readers.
If you are linked to social networks like Facebook
and Twitter, this is a good place to share your
blogs with fans and followers and they can share
with their networks easily.
3. Engage
The buck does not stop with
sharing your blog. Engaging
readers in the conversation and
responding their comments is
the ‘cherry-on-top’ of effective
blogging. Invite your fans and
followers to read and share their
comments and thoughts on your
blog and be sure to respond
(where necessary) in a timely fashion.
As you have read, blogging entails more than just
writing and you don’t need to be a strong writer to
do it. Always start with your ear to the ground to
be aware of what is being said and what the is-
sues and challenges are and speak to those top-
ics that matter most to your audience.
Once your readers start becoming engaged with
your blog and your business, then you will be well
on your way!
Sandra Gabriel is Chief Relationship Officer at
Gabriel PR, a boutique PR firm in Toronto. You
can follow her on twitter @CafeGabriel or visit
www.gabrielpr.ca for more info.
Editor’s note: For free blogging applications,
complete with tutorials and tools, go to
www.blogger.com and www.wordpress.org
 Newsletter - Fall 2010 - Page 4

LEVERAGING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZE BUSINESSES

A survey conducted by Regus found that 60% percent
of medium-sized Canadian companies and 34% per-
cent of small companies won new customers through
social media. So how did they do it and how can you
do the same?
• Develop a strategy - How often do you plan to up-
date your blog or profile? How will you share it with
customers? Will you allow comments? Are you
prepared to respond to comments or questions
posted by the public?

Start a dialogue with your Facebook fans and Twitter
followers to connect with your cus-
tomers and collect feedback. So-
cial media is also effective in
monitoring the competition to see
what you can do differently or bet-
ter.
Blogging is the new arena to
share with and learn from your
customers. Share tips and best
practices that will benefit them and
allow them to comment. You can also use your blog
to promote any sales and promotions you have going
on. Cosmopawlitain Pet Boutique + Spa has a blog
that features their latest sales and promotions as well
as FAQ’s on how to choose food for your pets and
training your cat to become accustomed to a harness
or leash.
• Define your target audience and offer content tai-
lored to their interests.
• Keep your account active and
update it regularly.
• Improve your content based on
customer feedback.
• Familiarize yourself with privacy
and computer security issues.
• Use humour, be kind and pro-
fessional, and share about more than just your
work to create a connection with your customers.
The most important thing to remember about social
media is that it’s not always about selling, in the
words of social media mastermind Brian Solis, it’s
about listening, learning and sharing.

Canadabusiness.ca offers these tips on getting Sandra Gabriel is Chief Relationship Officer at Gabriel PR,
started with social media: a boutique PR firm in Toronto. You can follow her on twitter
@CafeGabriel or visit www.gabrielpr.ca for more info.

A FREE PROMOTION… JUST FOR MEMBERS

THE WATERFRONT EXPERIENCE “WE” CARD, is an exciting
new discount card program for participating retailers in the area.

You provide the details of the offer and we will post the info to our website.
Your initial offer must be valid to December 31, 2010 and you will have the
opportunity to revise the details on our website periodically. Please go to
www.waterfrontbia.com to review and complete the participation form.

HRReporter
THE NATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Published by Carswell, a Thomson Reuters business
Surviving the M&A
Open, honest communication – even if the news is bad – goes a
long way in helping employees through mergers and acquisitions
BY SANDRA GABRIEL
orporations enter into
C mergers and acquisi-
tions in an effort to
grow the company, ac-
quire clients or increase profits.
While M&As may result in
greater market share for these
companies, it’s important to be
aware of the employees’ per-
spective.
M&As can be a time of con-
fusion and uncertainty for
workers, reducing employee
morale and threatening the suc-
cess of the M&A.
“Potentially dangerous
things could be happening that
you’re unaware of, not antici-
pating, or even ignoring on the
employee level,” says Dan
Stockdale, author of Helping
Employees Through a Merger or
Acquisition.
Build a
change management team
The change management
team should include manage-
ment from multiple levels
across all functions in the com-
pany. Some of the most impor-
tant members of the team will
be from HR and communica-
tions. If the company is large
and multi-faceted, each depart-
ment head or supervisor should
be on the team.
“Top-level and mid-level
management must be directly
involved in and assume respon-
sibility for communications up,
© Copyright Canadian HR Reporter, October 20, 2008, by permission of Carswell, Toronto, Ontario, 1-800-387-5164. Web site: www.hrreporter.com
C A N A D I A N
down and across the organiza-
tion,” says Deborah Barrett, au-
thor of Change Communica-
tion: Using Strategic Employee
Communication to Facilitate
Major Change.
Develop a plan
The change management
team should develop a strategy
of how and through whom in-
formation should be filtered to
employees. The following ques-
tions should be addressed:
•Who are you communicating
to?
•What are you communicating?
•Where will communications
take place (face-to-face, through
e-mail, voice mail, meetings,
conferences, webcasts, person-
al letters)?
•When will you communicate?
•Why are you communicating?
The plan should clearly out-
line who will be the key con-
tacts for information in each de-
partment and where more
information will be available for
employees, such as the compa-
ny’s intranet or newsletters.
The team should also create a
strategy to measure how effec-
tive the plan is and make ad-
justments and improvements as
needed. The team may also
wish to appoint “opinion lead-
ers,” an employee in each de-
partment who has influence
over other employees and who
will assist the department head
with easing employee anxiety.
www.hrreporter.com
Communicate, communicate,
communicate
Think of uncertainty as the
enemy. If employees are uncer-
tain, they cannot and will not
perform to their fullest poten-
tial. It is important to foster on-
going, consistent communica-
tions before, during and after
an M&A to avoid uncertainty,
maintain employee commit-
ment and help employees
through the process.
A 1998 report by Hewitt As-
sociates, Mergers, Acquisitions
and Joint Ventures: Critical HR
Success Factors, found commu-
nicating with employees early,
often and honestly is consid-
ered essential for M&A success,
with 57 per cent of organiza-
tions surveyed identifying em-
ployee communication as a crit-
ical contributing factor to the
success of the transaction.
In her book, Barrett high-
lights five primary goals for ef-
fective employee communica-
tion during major change:
•Ensure clear and consistent
messages to educate employ-
ees in the company vision,
strategic goals, and what the
change means to them.
•Motivate employee support for
the company’s new direction.
•Encourage higher performance
and discretionary effort.
•Limit misunderstandings and
rumors that may damage pro-
ductivity.
•Align employees behind the
company’s strategic and over-
OCTOBER 20, 2008
all performance goals.
Employers need to be hon-
est, open and upfront about the
entire process and the resulting
fallout. Even though the news
won’t always be good, employ-
ees will appreciate the honesty.
But employers shouldn’t do
all the talking. Acquiring feed-
back from employees through
surveys, focus groups, one-on-
one meetings or a comments
section on the M&A page of the
company’s intranet can help
employees feel they’re being lis-
tened to.
Be sure to stay well in-
formed of the thoughts, ideas,
challenges and concerns of the
employees. This will enable the
change management team to
better construct messages that
respond to employee needs.
Recognize the efforts of those
who go above and beyond the
call of duty before and during
times of change. Recognizing
and rewarding excellence in the
workplace will motivate employ-
ees and keep them committed to
improving their performance,
even during uncertain times.
Sandra Gabriel is president and
CEO of SG PR Consulting in
Toronto, a firm offering
consulting and
communications services to
businesses and entrepreneurs in
the Greater Toronto Area. She
can be contacted at
sandrangabriel@
hotmail.com.
PR or Perish:
Why your Business Can’t Survive without Public Relations
“If I was down to my last dollar, I’d spend it on public relations.”
- Bill Gates, Microsoft Founder

The key to a successful business is through

your relationships. And I welcome anybody
who wishes to challenge that claim. Dr. P.M.
Forni says "The quality of our lives depends
on the quality of our relationships. But the
quality of our relationships depends upon our
relational skills;" relational skills that are not
only learned but come naturally to your PR
consultant. Your stakeholders (the people you
sell your products and services to, your employees, investors, the media and so on)
are all people that you want to support your business. Every business is operational
through its stakeholders and it's important to know where your relationship stands
with each of them. Your public relations department has tremendous relational skills
and is responsible for creating and maintaining these relationships and developing
new ones along the way.

The truth is that you're not perfect. Many businesses start by offering products or
services that appear to be a good idea, yet they do not fill a need. One of the first
things your PR department or consultant can work with you on is how to make your
business valuable to your target audience. Through careful research and analysis,
your PR consultant can identify the needs in your market and tailor your product or
service to meet those needs. They can also develop your brand identity to one that
your target audience can identify with and believe in. The same applies for larger
corporations that are possibly looking to expand into new markets. Even if your
product or service does not align with the needs of a new market, there is always a
creative way to make opposites attract.

And who will stand by your side and speak for you during times of crisis? You PR
department of course. In fact, crisis communications is a specialty of the PR
function. It's important to remember that if you practice effective PR before a crisis
can take place, the crisis may have little to no effect on your business. When
stakeholders know you and believe in you and the promise of your brand, it builds a
loyalty that is not easily broken. This loyalty (strengthened through the relationships
that you build and cultivate) will fight half the battle for you during a crisis. The other
half is fought by how you react and respond...all of which is advised by your PR
department.
The cultivation of your stakeholder relationships is managed through public relations
as well. Whether it's a customer appreciation day or prize giveaways, ongoing
communication with the media and being a source for them, a weekly or monthly
newsletter or a mail-out to say 'Thank-You for your support" is all part of the
relationship building strategy of your PR department. Public Relations recognizes
the importance of keeping in touch, showing gratitude and appreciation, keeping
stakeholders updated so that, not only is your business top-of-mind with
stakeholders, but it let's them know that you care about this relationship and that
you are doing your part to keep it going.

As your business grows, there will surely be stories to tell. Stories about how you
got started, the challenges you've faced, major milestones and breakthroughs,
special guests or celebrities that have walked your office halls, employees who are
making a difference in their communities and more. This is another specialty of the
public relations function; to tell the stories that are relevant to your stakeholders.
This is how they get to know more about you as a business and see you for more
than the products and services that you offer. Adding that human element of story
telling can do wonders for growing and developing your stakeholder relationships.

Business relationships should be treated like any relationship. Before one enters a
relationship they should be clear about who they are and want they want. They
should then identify who they want a relationship with and why? What will be the
goals in the relationship? How will the relationship function? Do there need to be
any compromises (from either party) to make the relationship work? Communicate,
communicate, communicate and by all means check-in. Evaluate the relationship
as it goes to assure that mutual benefits are maintained and needs are being met
on both ends on an ongoing basis.

In sum, public relations is the personality and character of your business. It's the
part of your business that allows people to engage, interact and get to know and
like you. It's through your communications that people know anything about you or
your business and some good PR can build a solid reputation for your business
and help you to gain reputational capital. If you expect to have good business
relationships, you should expect to have good PR. Don't do business without it!

PR or Perish: Why your Business Can’t Survive without Public Relations P.2
DIY PR is as Safe as DIY Surgery
While I believe that Do-it-Yourslef PR (DIY PR)
is as safe and effective as DIY surgery, I think
I should still offer some guidelines to avoid
tarnishing the PR profession even further.
Already, we in the PR Profession are seen as
flacks and spin doctors when the truth is that
when PR is applied properly, you'll find that
there is so much more to it than the tools we
use to communicate i.e. media relations,
employee relations, social media, etc.

Let us first define this profession called public

relations. In it's long form, public relations is
the strategic management of
relationships between an organization and its diverse publics, through the use of
communication, to achieve mutual underst anding, realize organizational
goals, and serve the public interest. (Flynn, Gregory & Valin, 2008). In simple
form (and this is derived by defining both "public" and "relations" separately) public
relations is the mutual dealings or connections or communications among
persons or groups or a body of people sharing some common interest. So with
these definitions, let's make it clear that public relations is more than our dealings
with the media and writing press releases. The foundation of any PR plan is always
about who we want to build relationships with and how we are going to build that
relationship and what will the relationship look like or how will it function in the long-
term.

There's one more thing that should be made clear and that is the difference
between a publicist and a public relations professional. A publicist deals specifically
with the placement of stories in the media; they are also known as press agents
and work mainly with celebrities and entertainers whereas the public relations
professional is involved with the research, analysis, policy format ion,
programming, communications and feedback from numerous publics. We
operate as advisers to clients or the senior management of an organization and we
are also technicians who produce and disseminate messages through multiple
mediums. (Public Relations Strategies & Tactics, Wilcox et. al. 2003).
So now that we've made a few things clear, here are some things to keep in mind
when attempting to DIY PR:

Be careful about what you say In your attempt to be as transparent as

possible, one little slip could mean the beginning of your PR nightmare. Develop,
define and refine your message to avoid inconsistencies and to assure that your
message is properly reinforced. Once you define a message that both you and your
public can believe in, you should stick to it as much as possible; live it and breath it
and only step outside the box when your spontaneous thought can still be applied
in the same context of your message.

Give the media what THEY want Having a relationship with the media is more
than having them as a contact and telling them your story. Remember in PR, the
relationship has to be mutual, so don't think of it only in terms of what they can do
for you, but also think about what you can do for them. Provide them with as much
information as possible: photos, videos, quotes and comments, various sources to
support your story; you'll get even more points if you provide a source that does
not support your story, this way you are giving them all the angles and reducing the
amount of background checking that they have to do and it increases your
credibility with them. But of course, you want to make sure that you can give your
rebuttal to the non-supporting source, and the more you can be available as a
source to them, the better your chances of creating that mutually beneficial
relationship.

Do your research Don't use PR tools because they seem like a good idea, use
them because you know they will work. If your public or stakeholders consist of
over 65 retirees that spend 90% of their time on the road traveling, it's not likely that
you will reach them through the multitude of social media vehicles available to us.
While social media offers the opportunity to reach hundreds and sometimes
thousands of people at one time (and for free), if your audience is not a part of
those forums, they will never see or hear your message, let alone respond to it. Get
to know the people you want to build a relationship with and find out how best to
communicate with them.

Consider all audiences I can't reinforce enough that PR is more than media
relations and with this being said, you should think of all the groups in your
stakeholder network. That would include employees, government, industry, the
community, shareholders, clients/customers and more. This way, when you roll out
your PR plan, you not only know what you want to communicate, but you know
who you want to communicate with and because you've done your research, you
also know how to communicate with them and your message is consistent across
the board.

DIY PR is as Safe as DIY Surgery P.2

Measure the outcomes and not just the outputs. It's great to be able to say that
you had 1,000 new visitors to your website or that you handed out 100 brochures
and business cards in any given month, but did it change anything? Do your
stakeholders have a different attitude, opinion or behaviour towards you? Are more
people buying from you now than from your competition? Or have more people
begun to accept you as a leader in your industry? Do you realize the tremendous
effect that these outcomes could have on your overall market capitalization? It is as
important to know the outcomes of your PR plan as it is to know the outputs and
so processes should be put in place to assure the measurement and evaluation of
your PR efforts.

While I do not endorse DIY PR, most people are going to do it anyway. I only ask
that you do it properly and not just according to my guidelines, but any and all and
as much guidelines as possible. A PR plan based on what may seem like a good
idea (without any research) does not a PR plan make.

DIY PR is as Safe as DIY Surgery P.3

The “Investable” Entrepreneur:
How to make you and your business attractive to investors
If you are an entrepreneur looking for sources of funding
for your business, you have surely heard about obtaining
small business loans through your bank, applying for lines
of credit, and possibly, asking for funding from family and
friends. There is, however, another popular source of
financial support: funding through investors.

According to the Angel Investment Network, a Canadian

web-based service that matches investors seeking
investments with entrepreneurs seeking capital, Angel
investors are currently investing over $3 billion in Canadian
businesses each year. “This number would be substantially
higher if these Angels were better able to find and review
new types of investment opportunities.”

So how can one become better prepared to approach investors? What does it take
to be perceived as an “investable” entrepreneur? Black Ink spoke with Joanna
Track—the president of Sweetspot.ca, Canada’s first online, trend-spotting lifestyle
guide of its kind. Starting with a newsletter in 2004, Sweetspot.ca has tripled its
revenue since an investment from Rogers Communications Inc. made Joanna’s
“sweet” dreams come true!

BIM: What motivated you to create Sweetspot.ca?

Joanna Track: The concept was inspired by a similar business in New York called
DailyCandy. I worked in advertising and transferred to New York where I was
introduced to DailyCandy . . . I found that there was nothing like it in Toronto when
moved back about six or seven years ago. I always knew I wanted to be my own
boss. I had a good base to take the leap and I ended up digging into my RSP to
get it started.

BIM: How simple or difficult was it for you to get enough people on Sweetspot.ca?

JT: There were 600 people the day I launched, and it was through friends and
friends of friends and we reached 10,000 a year later. Our first newsletter went out
in June of 2004 and the first advertising sale of that year was in November. A lot of
it was viral, through bartering and partnering especially with marketing help.
BIM: When you start a small business, there are a number of challenges and small
wins along the way; what was the experience like for you when you first got
started?

JT: The challenges were big, the biggest being the month-to-month expenses and
being able to pay them. But it takes money to make money. Everything costs
money so [it summoned] bartering and good PR. I had to get creative on spending
effectively. The wins are what kept me going. I started by sending emails to my
contacts and then it grew virally as I began getting calls from companies to get
featured.

BIM: Tell us about the day when you got the call from Rogers.

JT: Two years into it, I had been approached by other companies but it didn’t work
out or feel right and I was turned off by these big companies. When Rogers came
along I wasn’t [initially] too excited; I had the confidence that I can do it on my own,
but partnering with Rogers could make it faster and easier.

BIM: In your online discussion with the Globe & Mail you said: “I think the thing that
Sweetspot has that attracted them, was a unique business model, with good profit
potential. But as they told me, they were buying into me, even more than the
company. I think I showed them that I had a good balance of creative ideas, and
strong, effective business skills. I think at times there are entrepreneurs out there
with fantastically creative business ideas, but have a challenge managing the day-
to-day business operations. I was able to show Rogers I was good at both.”

Tell us more about your personal brand and some of the inherent attitudes and
behaviours any business owner needs to make the business work?

JT: They were impressed with me. I remain very professional and at the end of the
day it’s always business. Business cards and invoices are essential, even if it’s two
people; and have all your financials organized and ready. Treat it the same way as if
you were a large corporation. Rogers saw my confidence and organizational skills.
Confidence comes from knowing your strengths or weaknesses. Know your stuff,
or if you don’t know, ask somebody.

BIM: How can an entrepreneur go about making themselves more attractive to

potential investors?

JT: Have the confidence, looked polished and professional and not just
aesthetically, but also in substance; keep your financials in order, have your
business plan ready. The business plan gives you a starting place and you need to
have a vision and a revenue plan. In a few bullet points you can outline [your] vision,
mission, how you operate, and how you make money.

The “Investable” Entrepreneur: How to make you and your business attractive to investors P.2
YES YOU CAN…go digital:
A look into Obama’s digital campaign

On November 4, 2008 Senator Barack Obama was named

president-elect of the United States of America. While there
were many forces at play to help Obama win the election,
marketers will tell you that it was all due to his wide and robust
digital marketing campaign.

In fact, he has been Advertising Age’s marketer of the year for

2008. President-elect Obama won the vote of hundreds of marketers, agency
heads and marketing-services vendors gathered at the Association of National
Advertisers annual conference.

According to a blog post on Triple O (short name for Obama’s Online Operations)
he took advantage of most of new digital tools like facebook, Myspace, YouTube,
Flickr, Twitter, Digg, LinkedIn, Eventful, FaithBase, BlackPlanet, Eons, Glee,
MyBatanga, MiGente, AsianAve and Party Builder. All these tools had some sort of
fan page for Barack Obama and they were used for both fundraising and for
growing a community.

Text and mobile messaging were also a part of the grand marketing scheme. In his
article Obama epitomizes frontier of digital marketing: Ogilvy’s Lazarus at ad:tech,
Dan Butch says, “Mr. Obama was the only candidate to effectively harness the
power of SMS and the mobile Web.” Butch adds that Obama’s use of mobile
contributed to tipping the election in Obama’s favor.

Obama’s digital campaign is exactly the type of thing that is touted at our ad:tech
events. For more than ten years, ad:tech has provided media, marketing and
technology professionals with the tools and techniques they need to succeed in a
changing digital world. As the digitization of media continually redefines the
business of marketing, it is ad:tech’s mission to provide brand advertisers,
agencies, portals, online publishers and technology providers an unparalleled forum
– one that supports the exchange of ideas, experiences, new practices, emerging
models and expert opinion.
Mike Amour, Chairman & CEO of Grey Global Group says, ad:tech is the most
inspiring digital marketing forum I've found. It's an efficient way of keeping current,
networking with premier practitioners and spawning ideas.”

There couldn’t be a more opportune time to implement a digital marketing

campaign. Tough economic conditions threaten to diffuse traditional marketing
campaigns, but, Becky Charles, author Marketing Digital Leagues 2008, says,
“Digital remains a strong growth area and is propping up the media market.”
According to the Internet Advertising Bureau, Internet ad spend grew 21% year on
year to reach £1.7bn in the first half of 2008. In value terms, online has grown by
£2bn in three years and is forecast to hit £3.6bn this year.

In her keynote at ad:tech New York, Lazarus advised that we need to spend in new
ways, to engage people to share, to move, to motivate. Lazarus says, “This is a
time of enormous creativity and possibilities, and we must lead our industry into the
digital future. If the next president of the United States can do it, so can we.”

YES YOU CAN. . .Go Digital: A look into Obama’s Digital Campaign P.2
KidStarter makes PCs Fun and Safe for Kids
New software allows young children to safely use any PC on their own, while giving parents
complete control over the content their kids see. FREE 30-day trial available at KidStarter.com

Toronto, ON July 22, 2010 -- In recent studies conducted by Brilliant Software Inc., parents with
young children said they were concerned about their children's activities online, but didn't always
have the time to spend with their children on the computer.

KidStarter (www.kidstarter.com) takes care of these issues by giving children an easy-to-use

Windows Desktop environment that allows them to play and explore without getting into trouble.
KidStarter only gives kids access to their own safe and secure desktop, with all websites and
programs just one click away and pre-approved by their parents. The software also comes with a
built-in daily timer that allows parents to control how long their children spend on the computer each
day.

“With KidStarter installed on the family laptop, I feel comfortable letting my 5 or 3-year-old play alone
on the computer.” says Sean Snider, an IT manager. “I am confident that they won't be able to get
into trouble or go to any sites that my wife and I don't approve of. One of the best features is that
there aren't any more fights to get them off the computer once their 30 minutes a day are up,
KidStarter takes care of it for us.”

“It saves valuable time for parents and they don’t have to constantly watch over their kids,” says
Greg Valiquette, VP Brilliant Software, makers of KidStarter. “KidStarter keeps your children and
computer safe and you don’t have to worry about them deleting files, downloading viruses and
visiting sites that they shouldn’t.”

Valiquette adds that, “monitoring your children’s activities through KidStarter is one thing, but
parents should also talk to their kids about online safety and ensure that they have an ongoing
conversation with their kids.”

Parents can download a FREE 30-day trial at www.KidStarter.com.

###

About Brilliant Software & KidStarter

KidStarter is the newest product in the Brilliant Software line of products. It gives children a safe,
easy-to-use environment where they can only use programs and websites that are parent approved!
With KidStarter, the parent is completely in control and can rest assured that their kids are safe
using the computer. A fully functional FREE 30-day trial is available at KidStarter.com. If you require
a longer reviewing period, please contact Brilliant Software for a complimentary software license key
at support@brilliantsoftware.ca

Brilliant Software is a software company driven by experienced professionals who create and deliver
high-quality software both independently and for large corporate clients. For more information, visit
www.BrilliantSoftware.ca

Co ntact: Greg Valiquette, VP, Marketing and Business Development

Brilliant Software Inc. | Tel: (416) 887-3908 | Email: greg@brilliantsoftware.ca
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Verb Strategy Completes Revamp of CABJ Website

(Toronto, ON) January, 18, 2011—Verb Strategy & Creative (Verb), Toronto
marketing agency, recently completed the revamp of the website for the Canadian
Association of Black Journalists (CABJ).

“We needed a website that visually communicated our

vision and satisfied the end-user experience with fresh
and up-to-date content and resources,” said CABJ
president, Michelle Lynch. “The new site needed to
serve as portal to the association and we needed a
way to allow for real-time member renewal and
registration,” added Lynch.

Dean Lloyd, principal at Verb and project lead of the CABJ website revamp, notes
that the website needed more focus and direct call to action.

“The purpose and messaging of the website was unclear and user benefits were
not apparent,” says Lloyd. “We wanted a contemporary design that offered a quick
glimpse of the wealth of information and resources available through the homepage
as well as control the amount of content that appeared on the homepage without
being overwhelming.”

The websites new user interface design allows

information to be displayed only when
requested by the user, making the website less
cluttered and more user-friendly.

Another key area of the website development

was the Content Management System (CMS)
that would allow the association leadership to
easily manage and update the content on
demand.

“We chose WordPress for the CMS as it is easy to use, search engine friendly, it
allows for multiple users and there is no issues with spamming,” adds Lloyd. “The
added value to the website and our service is the member management
component that provides the CABJ with a number of tools that is vital to their
growth plans.”
The member management plugin is said to give the association the ability to create
free, trial or paid membership levels, content view is controlled depending on the
level of membership, the plugin integrates with shopping cart systems like PayPal
and the CABJ admin team can see a list of members, their registration status,
membership level and more.

“We are so pleased with the finished website,” says Lynch. “We’re looking forward
to the facilitated communication that we’ll have with our members and the ensuing
growth as a result.”

- 30 -

About Verb

Established in 2001, Verb Strategy & Creative is a Toronto-based, marketing and

branding agency, serving clients in Canada and US. They show measurable return
on brand investment to clients by specializing in multicultural marketing and building
brands for small, medium and large companies and providing a range of strategic
and creative services.

www.verbiage.ca

About CABJ

The Canadian Association of Black Journalists (CABJ) is a Canadian media industry

association whose vision over the last fourteen years has been dedicated towards
the diversifying the media through developing and mentoring students and
professionals of various cultures and ethnicities, while increasing the number of
talented individuals in front line roles and decision making and management level
positions.

www.cabj.ca

Press contact:
Sandra Gabriel
Chief Relationship Officer
Gabriel PR
(416) 907.2560
Sandra@gabrielpr.ca

Verb Strategy Completes Revamp of CABJ Website P.2

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New Fitness Challenge to be launched in Toronto

(Toronto, ON) February 9, 2011—Ayanna Lee-Rivears, Founder of SocaCize
Fitness Inc., an exhilarating Caribbean workout, recently announced the upcoming
launch of the SocaCize Fitness Challenge; a 6-week work-out and meal plan
guaranteed to help participants lose 10lbs in less than 3 months.

“I’m so excited that we’re finally launching this program,” says Lee-Rivears. “We’ve
been planning this one for some time and we’re looking forward to working with the
participants to help them realize their weight loss goals.”

Registration for the SocaCize Fitness Challenge will open at the end of February
2011 and kicks off in Spring 2011. Participants will attend an info session regarding
nutrition and also meet with an image consultant to get educated on how to dress
for the season in their new bodies.

“The unique part about this program is the empowerment factor,” adds Lee-
Rivears. “Aside from being a simple workout program with a meal plan, we want to
educate women on style and fashion as well as help them build self-confidence and
self-esteem through the style and beauty advice offered with our image consultant.”

Participants receive a SocaCize Fitness Challenge booklet with their workout

schedule, meal plan, recipes and area to record your measurements, post before
and after pictures and an area to journal the journey through the challenge.
Sponsors in beauty and fashion are also invited to submit their ads or coupons that
will be included as part of the package.

The SocaCize Fitness Challenge comes not a moment too soon as the Heart &
Stroke Foundation recently released a report on Canadians health which warns that
nine out of 10 Canadians are jeopardizing the quality and length of their lives.

“We believe that if more Canadians engaged in a regular cardiovascular program,

the threat of things like heart disease and certain cancers would be drastically
reduced,” comments Lee-Rivears. “We highly recommend our SocaCize workouts
as they have the perfect combination of cardio, strength training and fun to get
more Canadians on the path to healthier lives.”

The SocaCize Fitness Challenge will be offered in Downtown Toronto, Scarborough

and Brampton.
- 30 –
About SocaCize

Established in 2000 by Ayanna Lee-Rivears, Fitness and Dance Instructor,

SocaCize is a creative blend of high/low African and Caribbean dance movements
performed to Calypso, Soca, Zouk, Reggae and Dancehall music and drumming.
The exhilarating mode of the work-out also focuses on cardio, weight and strength
training and targets all age groups.Visit www.socacize.com for more information

Press contact: Sandra Gabriel, Chief Relationship Officer

Gabriel PR | (416) 907.2560 | Sandra@gabrielpr.ca

New Fitness Challenge to be launched in Toronto P. 2

WHO’S
DRIVING
IN
YOUR
R.A.C.E.?

PUTTING YOUR PR PLAN

BACK ON TRACK

Date www.gabrielpr.ca 416.907.2560 25 Sheppard Ave. West, Suite 300

10-08-10 sandra@gabrielpr.ca Toronto, ON M2N 6S6
What is Public Relations?

Public Relations, for some time, has been perceived as a function dealing primarily with the media
or media relations. Our theory is that one doesn’t really get exposed to all the inner workings of a
PR department, until it is pushed through the media. This is only a partial explanation as to why PR
is largely associated with media relations; but whatever the reason, we must not forget the brains
behind the media relations outfit.

The Canadian Public Relations Society defines Public Relations as the strategic management of
relationships between an organization and its diverse publics, through the use of communication,
to achieve mutual understanding, realize organizational goals, and serve the public interest. (Flynn,
Gregory & Valin, 2008). 1 Therefore, a successful PR plan should not rest solely on earning a
number of media hits. The two key ingredients in any public relations initiative is, your public and
the relationship you have with them. Simple enough? Not quite; not for many.

The Public Relations plan vs. The Communications Plan

Our definition of the public relations plan is the overarching umbrella plan on how you will
build and sustain YOUR public relationships over the long-term and focuses on measuring
outcomes i.e. public attitude, perception and behaviour. The communications plan drills
down a little further and gets more specific about the particular types of communications
you will employ to engage YOUR public and focuses on measuring outputs i.e. the
number of presentations delivered, the number of sales calls made, social media metrics,
website analytics and more.

The goal for a PR plan, for example, would be to begin to build a relationship with a
particular stakeholder group or to improve client relations, investor relations or social media
relations whereas a communications plan goal would be to attract more attention to the
website or to create an e-newsletter that will create sales leads.

You public relations plan will embody a communications plan to build and sustain YOUR
public relationships over time.

Who are YOUR public?

YOUR public consists of: clients or customers, employees, investors, the media, social media
groups, the government and more. Effective public relations requires that you get to know your
audience; know their needs; know what media they read, listen to or watch; know what they think
about you; know what they expect from you; know how to communicate with them, what moves
them to action and causes them to turn away, thus making YOUR public the driver in your
R.A.C.E.
YOUR public map

Source: Gabriel PR, 2010

R.A.C.E.???

R.A.C.E. is an acronym used in PR (similar to the 4P’s of Marketing) to lay-out the foundation of the
PR plan: Research & Analysis, Communication and Evaluation. Following these four steps will
enable you to create an effective PR plan for your business and produce extraordinary results.

How is the relationship with YOUR public?

In public relations, the emphasis is on the relationship. Keeping an ear to the ground (listening) and
monitoring public attitudes, opinions and behaviour is the guide to creating your public relations
plan. Dr. Margaret Wheatley, organizational consultant and management professor says, “through
relationships, information is created and transformed, the organizations identity expands to include
more stakeholders, and the enterprise becomes even wiser.” Dr. Gina Hernez-Broome and Dr.
Richard L. Hughes at the Center for Creative Leadership agree that, “relationships among
customers and suppliers, individuals and the organization will make or break us in the ‘networked
economy.”

If you want to measure the status of your relationships, we recommend building a Relationship
Measurement Process (RMP) that allows you to continuously collect and monitor feedback from
YOUR public on an ongoing basis, so you are prepared to respond to any issues that may arise.
Relationship Measurement Process (RMP)

Source: Gabriel PR, 2010

Research & Analysis: don’t start planning without it!

We live in an “information society” with a wealth of information at our fingertips 2 which means that
there’s a lot of information right under our noses, without having to spend the majority of your PR
budget on research. Feedback from YOUR public can be collected through a number of mediums:
case logs from customer service and sales calls, emails, interviews, focus groups, your website
and those of your competitors and industry associations, your twitter and facebook accounts,
google searches, media coverage, the employee suggestion box and the list goes on.

Wherever you get your information, it’s important to know where you are coming from, before you
can map out where you want to go. Ask yourself: “Where are we now?” and begin to take the
steps to look into what messages you’ve been communicating and what kind of response you
have been getting to those messages.

In their book, Using Research in Public Relations 3, professors Glen Broom and David Dozier say,
“research is the controlled, objective and systematic gathering of information for the purpose of
describing and understanding.”

Broom and Dozier quote Blair C. Jackson, a former PR executive from Rogers & Cowan, Inc.
saying:
 “The most compelling reason for using research is to make sure that your
program is the best it can be—that what you are doing is as “right on” as it
can be. You will be confident that you are addressing the right audience,
that you are using the right messages and that you are focusing on the
right perceptions or attitudes. Evaluation research will tell you whether or
not it works.”4

The Research & Analysis Process

1. Identify a research problem

What is the problem you are trying to solve? Have sales been too low in this quarter? Are you not
seeing as many visitors to your website? What group on your public map does this problem apply
to?

2. Research design

Where and how will you find the information? In your research design, you should be open to
getting your information from any combination of sources: Google searches, literature/book
reviews, focus groups, surveys, twitter and facebook.

3. Develop research strategy

Your strategy will include the goals, objectives, timeline and budget available to carry out the
research. This is where you will also identify the individuals on the research team including the
research project manager.

4. Generate data

Now you are ready to carry out your research strategy and generate the data necessary to
determine a solution to your problem.

5. Analyze data

This is where you will take a look at the data and identify any glaring statistics or correlations. For
example, you might find that there was quite a bit of negative feedback on one of your products
which resulted in lower sales or that 15% of those who did not buy your product last quarter, also
lost their jobs. What an amazing opportunity to build a relationship as you can now create a
promotion to have a sale on your products or create a direct mail campaign to send coupons or
gift cards to those families who can’t afford your product for the time-being.

6. Produce report

Lastly, put together a report that will outline your finding and recommendations to solve the
problem which gets the ball rolling on your communications plan.
Research methods and tools

The most commonly used methods of research today are survey’s, focus groups and textual
analysis. Tools like Survey Monkey and Poll Daddy are popular in conducting survey research.
Focus groups can include anywhere from 3 to 10 people and are usually carried out in a
boardroom setting. Refreshments can be provided and focus group participants are normally paid
between $50 to over $100 depending on how much of their time is used. Textual analysis is simply
reading books, articles or essays. Databases like Lexis Nexis and Factiva are used to find articles
relating to specific industries or categories.

The Communications Plan

Your communications plan will guide you as to what communications or communications activities
need to take place to achieve certain goals. Communications is not only about your messages and
what you will say, but it includes where and how you will receive messages from YOUR public as
well as, what internal communications need to be altered to carry out this plan, or what advertising
or website changes do you need to make. Consider all aspects of communications at the stage,
both internal and external.

Set S.M.A.R.T. objectives

Create a plan with objectives that are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and
Timely

Specific: What do you want to achieve specifically? Increase in sales, more facebook fans? Or
reduce your carbon footprint?

Measurable: To make an objective measurable, you simply need to attach a number to it. Gain
100 new customers, move 1,000 more units of product, add 200 more twitter followers.

Achievable: Are these objectives that you can achieve in the time required and with the budget
you have available?

Realistic: Can you realistically achieve these objectives or are they far fetched?

Timely: By when will you achieve these objectives? In 6 months or 1 year?

Develop key Messages

It’s important to set out some clear messages and statements in relation to your communications
objectives. Determining your messages before-hand will assure that you will always know what to
say and when to say it. These messages should also be made clear across all your
communications, whether it’s on your website, in a brochure, the employee intranet site or in a
presentation.
What’s your strategy?

Your strategy is a high-level overview of what your plan will be. A strategy for a business launch
might be to introduce the business to the local community by holding a launch event, continue to
meet prospective clients and promote the business in the 6 months following the launch and keep
your company top-of-mind through ongoing communications.

Tactics: communicate, communicate, communicate!

Tactics are a more detailed and fleshed-out plan of exactly how you will carry-out your strategy.
Using the business launch example your tactics would include:

Launch Event

• Identify potential customers in the local community

• Create a mailing list of potential customers
• Create invites/e-vites announcing the launch
• Book venue for event
• Collect gifts and prizes to give away
• Invite guest speakers
• Create form for post-event feedback

Ongoing Communications

• Develop editorial plan of email marketing campaign

• email blast series
• news and media releases
• blogs
• Newsletter

Grow Customer Base

• Identify and schedule to attend networking events

• Apply for public speaking opportunities

Team, Budget & Timeline

As with any business related plan, you need to determine the people on your team, your available
budget and you need to map out a detailed timeline.

Team

Make sure you are using people who have strengths in each aspect of your plan. Your team might
consist of a project manager to oversee the entire plan, a skilled copywriter/copyeditor for your
communications, a graphic designer to design your website or marketing materials and a social
media specialist to manage all your social media tools.
Budget

What will it cost to roll out this plan? Consider costs for design, printing, distribution, the hours
contributed by your team, event venue, catering and audio-visual if necessary. Always add an
additional 10% to 15% to your budget for miscellaneous expenses. Your project manager controls
the budget and assures that it does not go over what is available.

Timeline

Setting deadlines and milestones is crucial to the success of your communications plan. Your
timeline will help you keep track of where you are and what needs to be done on any given day,
week or month. Milestones let you know when you have reached major points in your timeline.
Booking a prominent speaker or acquiring all sponsorship dollars necessary would qualify as key
milestones in your plan. Your project manager will be responsible for making sure the team stays
on track and short-term goals are achieved.

Evaluate

Just like your research, evaluation needs to be planned and analyzed. It’s one thing to
generate monitoring reports, but what do these reports tell you about your company and
the way you’re doing business?

Planning your evaluation means determining what you’re going to measure and how. Your
evaluation tactics should also relate directly to your plan objectives. For example, if your
objective was to increase website visits by 10% in one month, then you would plan to
generate a web analytics report and focus on unique visitors for the month.

What does it mean when you don’t meet your objective? It means that whatever you set in
your plan to generate more website visitors did not work and that it’s time to return to the
drawing board. This is exactly what your evaluation is intended to do. The evaluation
phase gives you a clear picture on what works and what does not work.

Conclusion

There is a great deal of emphasis on the importance of relationships and the

communications that take place to create and build those relationships. It is equally
important to assure that you are speaking to each group in YOUR public map through the
mediums they prefer and using the language and messages that will have the greatest
impact on them.

Public Relations encompasses more than media relations. Public Relations considers all
audiences and uses any number of communications tools and strategies to create and
build relationships. Where other functions of your business contribute to the bottom line,
public relations takes a focus on people and goes beyond the bottom line.
 Communication Plan Template

Objective(s)

Key Messages

Strategy

Tactics
Team

Budget

Item Cost Tax Total

Timeline

Tactic Month 1 Month 2 Month 3

Evaluate
Bibliography

1Retrieved from http://www.cprs.ca/uploads/PR_Definition.pdf on July 29, 2009. The Canadian Public

Relations Society Inc., 2010
2Frey, L.R. et al. (2000) Investigating Communication: An Introduction to Research Methods Needham
Heights, MA, Allyn and Bacon
3 Broom, G. & Dozier, D. (1989) Using Research in Public Relations, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice Hall
4Wilcox, D. L. et al. (2003) Public Relations Strategies and Tactics 7th edition, Boston, MA, Allyn and
Bacon