Our Blog

With the coming holidays and some new interests, there are a few big changes coming to The Like Button! 

Of course, as most of you know, The Like Button is now solely a product of Dani G Inc. Since our incorporation, The Like Button is the social media marketing branch of the main company. 

But all octopi have more than one tentacle. 

Thus, the creation of Tentacle Studios. 

We'd like to welcome our producer, Angie Feret, to the team. Make sure to check out her demo-reel. If you have any interests in what Tentacle Studios can do for your biz, check out the media section of our website!

Later Gators! 

October 5th 2012

8pm 

Brass Vixens, downtown Toronto. 

Make sure to come check out another one of our epic networking parties! 

More details to come - join the event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/371784019557961/

Later Gators

This summer has been exceedingly beautiful - the weather has been hot as hell, and most of us (or at least me) have spent all our time drinking Rickard's White beer on patios. This summer has been action packed - I've gone to Las Vegas, Cape Cod, and next week I'll be heading to Mont Tremblant to soak up the last few weeks of hot summer sun. I've been to Vans Warped Tour, Edgefest, Heavy TO and a bunch of other fun concerts. 

But what happens when summer draws to an end? 

Let me tell you about all the wonderful things that will happen, this fall. 

1) Layers

We all love layering. I am excited to rock jeans, with a pair of fluvog boots, and a t-shirt or polo with a flannel and a good jacket (perhaps of the jean or leather variety.) I'm going to layer everything - cakes, burgers and I'm even going to layer my hair. Maybe. 

2) The Like Button Networking Parties

I hear one is potentially happening in September...are all of your ready for a bigger party than last time? I have a few fun things planned, including a photobooth! 

3) People start spending money on things other than beer and flip flops... 

For all you retail businesses, don't worry. If you don't sell beer, flips flops or ice cream, your time will come this fall when people start spending money on things again. Maybe they will need to buy snowboard boots for the winter, a blanket to snuggle their loved one in by the fire, or maybe they will come in and eat at your restaurant that does not have a patio. It is time. 

4) Leaves will turn orange, yellow and red. 

Halloween is soon. This year, I'm going to be Justin Bieber for Halloween. Who will you be? Kids are back in school. 

All fun aside, fall brings along a few important things relating to business, for me especially. The Like Button has noticed that over the summer a lot of businesses in Toronto want to start up their social media marketing plans for September, since that seems when everyone is back in action. It means that we are preparing ourselves for a busy month. During the months of July and August, a lot of people were going away on vacation - this made it difficult for us to keep in touch with clients every week. Fall brings consistency in business - and while this summer has been a blast, I am looking forward to what will be going down this fall! Seeing as I will be around more as well, blog-writing will also start taking a bigger precendent in my life. I promise. 

Later Gators! 

One of the reasons why The Like Button took off the way it did in it's first year of business was because I have a natural ability to market myself, and whatever I do - it all comes into play when networking. Networking parties, groups and websites are all the rage right now - with things like BNI, social media sites and bartering communities, we all have an endless supply of connections of people and therefore a limitless possibility when it comes to growing our businesses. But what is so hard about selling yourself to someone you don't know? In this blog, I'm going to talk about a few methods I use when I am meeting new people to ensure that whether they are potentially a new client or not, I am unforgettable. 

1) Don't stop smiling 

Nobody wants to meet a grumpy person - really, it is just natural that people flock to someone who has good energy, and is the only happy person in the room. When I'm at networking events, I ensure I am awake, alert and that I never drop my smile. This is important - even if you are discussing serious business opportunities, or something seemingly boring that you don't understand, do NOT stop smiling. 

2) Don't talk about yourself too much 

I want to talk about myself all the time - I think I'm pretty awesome. But when networking, I have to switch this desire off, and focus on the other people. I ask questions that are non-business related: Where are you from? Do you have kids? What kind of stuff did you do before your current job? Many people see this as useless small talk, but it isn't (small talk really consists of conversation fillers like the weather). If you ask people questions about themselves that really get them thinking that you are 150% completely interested in them, they are sure to want to come back to you for more conversations that night. 

3) Don't stay in a conversation for too long 

While you may be asking someone really intriguing conversations, and you are extremely interested in what they are saying, hanging on to the same person all night is not a good idea, especially at big events. It is better to come back to them later, even a few times, than stay with a person for a long-period of time at a party. Once you meet someone, cap the conversation off at 10 minutes with a "Oh shoot - sorry, I have to go say hello to someone I know that I see over there" and leave them wanting more!

4) Body Language

How should you act while you talk? Relaxed but alert. Remember that touching isn't always flirting, and it doesn't mean that you are creepy - touching someone's arm while you are saying something can instill a great form of trust. And don't forget about that first handshake - firm and confident. 

5) Attracting the Room 

Once you've hit up quite a few people, and you're feeling welcomed in the space, now is your time to shine and do that talking. Try to get a few people together in a group, and tell them a few great stories. Make sure you are speaking loud (not obnoxious) and that you are being extremely friendly - include them in the dialogue with questions like "Can you believe that?" or "Has that ever happened to you?" If people get really rowdy around you and are laughing and enjoying themselves, more people will crowd around. 

And look at that - you're the centre of the party. Congrats :) 

I am honestly sick and tired of hearing people constantly complain about Facebook changes. 

The newest addition to the Facebook world - Facebook Timeline. The minute it was released, I jumped on the opportunity to get it. I wrote all about it on my newsfeed, telling people to get it now, instead of being forced to get it on the 24th of December. Embrace the change, choose the change - you will love it! 

But instead, I got a bunch of messages from people saying they were tired of Facebook changes. And I got a link to this article: http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1103614--mallick-facebook-timeline-is-a-thief-of-lives

Who is this women? How is she actually critisizing Mark Zuckerberg's creation, as well as the 800 million people who have taken part in a world-changing invention. Has she created something this massive? Has her writing for the Toronto Star reached as many people as Zuckerberg's Facebook posts? No. 

I honestly feel as though nobody has the right to critisize Facebook's changes. Facebook is a free social media site that we use regularly for communication, storage of files, a waste of time, research, advertising and marketing and entertainment. It is FREE. I am thankful, daily, that such a wonderful tool is free to me. When Facebook makes changes I know they are doing it for the better of man-kind (I know this sounds dramatic, but it is true!). So I am going to go through the amazing changes Facebook has made in the last few years that everyone hated at first, but is now completely used to. 

1) Facebook chat 

We all hated how weird Facebook chat was when it first started - but now it is a staple in my Facebook life. Complete with video chat, messaging to cell phones and e-mail addresses, Facebook chat has changed the way we can instantly communicate with people around the globe - for free. 

2) Viewing photos

When Facebook released a new way of viewing photos that took you out of your browser, to make pictures bigger and have the background faded so focus was on the photo, not on Facebook, everyone freaked out. Now, it feels normal. It feels great to have a different way to display and view photos with friends than to see them directly in the Facebook browser. 

3) The Ticker 

What is the ticker? That thing that is now about your Facebook chat that at first seemed like a really annoying and pointless sharing of information. Really, the ticker takes people's posts that have no comments, no likes, no tags and seem like random banter (ex: I am drinking a coffee) and takes it away from your newsfeed, so you can focus on what is important. Ever wonder why your newsfeed nolonger features so much crap? It is because of the ticker. 

4) Facebook "top stories" 

People questionned "Who is facebook to decide what my top stories are? How are they deciding what is interesting to me?" It is amazing that they can figure this out, and it is all based on likes, comments and tags! I think Twitter is really annoying sometimes because I could have missed a really important post from someone that just gets bumped down the list because more people posted after it. Facebook changes this problem by seeing what is of interest to people who know you, and placing them into top stories. 

5) Timeline 

Ok - now let's talk timeline. Timeline is awesome - what is everyone so scared of? Firstly, it has the new cover on your profiles, which is awesome. Finally, Facebook has brought in a large space for people to become creative - it will blast off new ways for people to advertise, and to demonstrate who they are and what their skills are. Secondly, timeline is a really great way to keep track of your life. It is like a virtual scrapbook. What were you doing January 2007 for new years? Who was at Christmas in 2009? Just check your timeline! New applications that have been added will also give people the opprtunity to be even more connected with businesses, people, places and things. The opportunities are endless. 

All I have to say to Facebook, and Mark Zuckerberg, is thank you. Thank you for taking the time to think about my best interests, and for making these changes. And I'm sorry if people are so critical all the time!

Later Gators!