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The One Of A Kind Show!

Yesterday, I decided to brave the crowds of Toronto's One of A Kind Show for Good Friday - definitely one of the busiest days I have ever seen the show in all the years I have been going. But it was totally worth it! Here is my summary of some of my favorite booths, and products!

Hot Pop Factory

I have to start with Hot Pop Factory - these guys do 3D printing. To be more specific, I can get a ring "printed" with my face on it. In 3D. Pretty much the best thing ever. At the show they were doing free scans so you could see what your face would look like on jewlery or bobble heads. I hope all you know that at the next party I host, I will definitely have some of these rings with my face on it, for a prize.

The Quarrelsome Yeti

This guy does amazing illustrations and his apparel is even better. Just check out this beaver t-shirt below. I don't even need to explain why I love this guy's stuff - but if you check out the website, you'll see lots of tentacles around...

Handsome and Lace

While I was at the show looking at someone's booth, they suddenly came to me and said "Oh my gosh, you need to go around the corner here. You're going to freak out!" As I went around the corner, I saw why. Handsome and Lace brings handsome things (bowties, and ties) into style with lace and other nice fabrics. Finally bowties and ties that are trendy, pretty and nice! Make sure to take a look at their website - their ties would make great presents (especially to me.)

Karen Kalashnik

Karen designs unique leather handbags - I would describe a lot of them as being perfect for a night out on the town in Toronto, or going to a rock concert. Or maybe your life is a rock concert, and you need one of these bags all the time. Karen and her team were friendly and helpful, and didn't seem outraged by my idea that they design a leather studded custom collar for my cat, which I think I will have done!

Cloud 9 Cat Trees

For any of you obsessed with your kitties, you will need one of these.

Ccomme Ca

Nothing gets me more excited than meeting fellow French Canadians at the One of a Kind show - and it happens every year because Ccomme Ca is always there, and every year I say the same thing - "I need one of these bags." I think the bags are great and different and would also provide the modern business person with a stylish flare going into meetings. What do you think?

Crywolf Clothing

How can I do a blog about the One of a Kind show and not name-drop the company responsible for our awesome octopus logo? Crywolf clothing has always been a huge favorite of mine - I have so many of their t-shirts, tanks, stuffed animals, mousepads and now bandanas, but I still can't get enough. Their illustrations are detailed, funny and trendy featuring anchors, sailors and cute/weird animals and monsters.

All in all, One of a Kind was awesome this year, and every year there are lots of great new vendors. If you haven't gone yet, tomorrow is the last day! Get on it.

Later Gators!

Facebook Fun

While I have been really enjoying my vacation and trying to stay away from the computer, today I fell upon the most fun app! If you haven't used it yet, go and try it.

For it, you will need to be logged into Facebook. In the Facebook search bar, look for bitstrips and sign up for the app.

You can make an avatar of yourself, and your friends and make your own hilarious comics. Like these.

I promise, if you were slowly getting bored of Facebook as a workplace distraction - this will re-ignite your passion for online procrastination.

Later Gators

We made it!

Well, we made it to Florida (an hour ahead of schedule). The drive was actually really fun, and it didn't feel as long as 26 hours. We brought the cat in the car and drove 15 hours to Atlanta from Toronto - the cat literally slept the entire time on our legs, so he was great. And we listened to all 6 seasons of the Glee soundtrack, which was also awesome. Another awesome thing was that we spent about $9 on food on the way down - between McDonalds free coffee and Little Ceasars $5 pizzas, we were well fed and caffienated the whole time.

We used Airbnb to stay in Atlanta, and we were hosted by a guy named Tim and his fat cat. We slept at 9:30pm since we had left at 5am, and we woke up at 7am the next day to take off for Florida.

The next day of driving was a bit weird. We had to stop off a few places in Georgia for gas or coffee and it was then that I realized how lucky I am to live in Canada. I felt most of the time like people were staring burning holes of inferno into my soul at every rest stop. It was unsettling, but better once we got into Florida.

Two days of practically no Wifi was hard, just because whenever we stopped somewhere to pee and had wifi for 5 minutes, I'd get a slew of emails from clients and it was hard to drive and keep my eyes on the road knowing I might be missing some new business.

More pictures and adventure notes to come. Here is a picture of our cat in the car. Cheers!

Adobe Illustrator

Recently, I've been training myself (and with the help of my girlfriend) to use Adobe Illustrator. It is a tool I've always said I would never use - back in the day in highschool we were trained to use Photoshop and Flash - but never Illustrator.

At first, it was insanely confusing. What was this pen tool? How could I possibly trace, draw and invent things by connecting points instead of actually drawing it? How could I form curves? And how does one colour something in without actively painting it with a mini-computerized paint brush?

But the ansewrs came to me quickly with practice.

This is what I suggest doing if you yourself want to learn illustrator:

- Start with basic shapes. Find pictures of things on the internet to trace - practice curves, straight lines and using pen tool handles.
- Understand your layers! Layers can go in front of or behind each other and it is key to understand where your layers are before you handle something complex.
- Remember shading and colouring in making a drawing seem realistic is key!
- Save, save and more saving. You never know when your computer will randomly lose all your work.

Anyway, here is one of my first shots on illustrator! I hope you can get on there and start getting artistic too! And for all you advanced illustrator gods, let me know what you think!

New and exciting things

Well, again it has been forever since I have blogged. But fear no more - lots more blogging coming soon. I promise. And there is a reason for that. But I will get to that in a minute - first, we must talk NEW THINGS.

Who doesn't love a bunch of new shiny things?

1) Cat

That's right, we have an official company cat. His name is Davy Jones, and he is pretty awesome. Pretty much, he is the cutest thing ever.

2) I aquired a company car! While the scooter (yes, I drive a little vintage looking 50cc scooter in the summer) is super fun downtown, it has been a bit of a pain going long-distance when the weather sucks, and when I need to take more than one person somewhere. My new little Nissan Versa is a real treat to ride in, and the cat loves it too.

3) Tentacle Studio is rockin' - we have been getting some great jobs in, and we've been working on a little treat of our own which will be coming out in a few weeks! An infographic video...that is all I will say as a hint.

4) Amazing Race is coming to Canada! And I have applied to be on the show, with my girlfriend (and the Tentacle Studio animator) Angie Feret.

Let me know what you think of our audition video!

5) A website that my good friend Rebecca Mountain from Impetus Consulting has been working on forever is finally out, and we are handling the content portion of it! Good news if you are a realtor - www.socialagentpro.com - for now, it is just for Toronto realtors, but if you are in Toronto get on it! $30 a month gets you so much social media care!

6) Road trip is soon! Angie and I are taking Davy Jones on a road trip to Florida, and I will be blogging all about it. We just watched the movie Craig'slist Joe (And I LOVED it) - and we're going to try along to way to embrace some of his ways! Since I already barter like a maniac, I am going to see if we can use Air BnB to find us some sweet places to stay along the way there and back, that we can trade our services for (Services like...graphic design, social media etc...) We will be staying in Florida with my parents, and getting lots of work done, in the sun!

Well, that's it for now.

More news soon.

Later Gators.

New Things

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!

The Like Button Networking Part-ay

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

Summer Lovin'

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!

How to Network

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 love Facebook changes - why don't you?

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!

Scared to Post

Recently, I have been speaking at a lot of networking events and parties regarding social media strategy, as well as addressing many issues and concerns surrounding social media's invasiveness. It seems as though the larger part of my client-load is above 35 years of age, and the main theme they bring up regarding social media is - fear.

Fear of what? Lots of things. Fear of posting pictures of their normal lives on Facebook; fear of tweeting where they are during the day in case someone uninvited may show up; fear of stalkers, abductions and robberies; fear of being too open or being too secret; fear of being tagged in inappropriate photos by "friends"; fear of slander; fear of your business failing due to negative customer service - the list could go on and on.

I devised a test at the last networking event I attended. I went up to the strangers I was meeting for the first time (who also did not know me), and I started asking them questions about themselves. Where did they live? Oh, I know that area...what street? Do you have any kids? Cute! Can I see pictures on your phone? What are their names? What school do they go to? I asked if they were married, who their partners were and what they did as a living. I got pretty in-depth information about these people, and I took their business cards with their phone numbers on them.

And them, as a group, I asked them "What are you scared of putting on Facebook?" I got these answers: phone number, real name, pictures of family, address, business (if it was going to connect to their personal profile) and date of birth.

And here, I asked them - but you gave me all this information at the beginning of the night, in person, without questioning it? Is sharing all that information really problematic? Why does it bring up so much fear?

I think older generations are so scared of sharing personal information on social media sites, because they don't fully understand the sites themselves. I see Facebook like a giant networking party. It is my perception of Facebook that has allowed me to acquire clients in such a short amount of time, as well as meet such great people. I see a "friend-add" as a business-card exchange. If I check out the person's account and they don't seem like someone I would trust, I simply do not friend them. But there is an advantage to trusting people - whether it be in person, or on social media sites. It opens up one's opportunity to network infinitely.

And I know if I have the whole business world at my fingertips, without even having to leave my house, I can accomplish anything I want to.

Later Gators!

The Like Button Networking Party - November 21st 2011

Hey all you fishy friends!

I'm sure you are all thrilled about our new website. We have to thank c-Seven for this one!

We have an exciting event coming up, that we wanted everyone to get really stoked about. It is time for, The Like Button Networking Party! If you came to our last networking event, it probably knocked your socks off. We had hundreds of cupcakes from Bobbette & Belle, ping pong and a great photographer. This party is going to be even better. Why? Let us tell you...

- Delicious food catered by Essential Meal Delivery and Eadrey Foods

- 15 minute massage demos by an RMT, Heather Alexander

- Comedy-Rap by Abe-Easy

- Live music by Kelly McMichael

- Marketing assessments for businesses by Larry Easto

- Gait analysis by Dr. Jennifer Wise from Thrive Natural Family Health

- MAGIC by Rayn

This is definitely going to be a night to remember. What better way is there to network with your business, than in a fun environement?

Come by The Inner Garden (401 Richmond St. W - Suite 384) at 7:00 pm on November 21st, 2011 (Monday nights rule!) to experience The Like Button Networking Party, firsthand.

Bring:

- $5 for cover

- Your friends

- 30-40 business cards

- Alcohol is permitted (BYOB!)

See you there!

Later Gators!

How does a business use Foursquare?

One of the growing social media sites that I push a lot of our clients to use, is Foursquare. You’ve probably all heard of it. Some of you may have used it. Others think it is extremely “creepy” in that people can constantly see where you are, and what you are doing. I think these people are a bit narcissistic – most people aren’t going to try and follow you or stalk you.

For those of you who do not know Foursquare, it is a social media site where people can use their smartphones, using GPS, to check-in to venues around the globe, getting them points, winning badges and mayorships and giving businesses props or thumbs down for their service and products. It is, the ultimate form of business referrals.

But apart from the personal uses of Foursquare, what is the business value to using this social media site?

1) Getting on the Map

Whether you are on Google Places, Facebook places or Yelp! Foursquare is, in my opinion, a more worthy path to follow – especially if you are looking at growing in the future. Getting your business onto Foursquare means a few great things:
- People can leave tips about your business, that other people can see even if they check-in somewhere in the area.
- When someone checks-in to your location, a map of where you are shows up on their Twitter and Facebook (all their friends get notified!)
- You can link your Foursquare business page to your Facebook and Twitter, directly people to come to your business, to “like” you and “follow” you!

2) Specials and deals

Once you’ve verified your location on Foursquare by getting them to phone or mail you a code, you are now a venue manager! Congrats! Being a manager gives you access to a few valuable things:
- You get to check out all the stats from your venue (who is checking in, when and from where?)
- You can make specials, that Foursquare manages for you (this is ideal for any business who doesn’t want to bother giving a huge cut of their profits to Groupon or Livingsocial). Ex: “Get a free coffee on your first check-in! “or “Check-in ten times and get 10% of your next purchase of dog food!”

3) Make your business fun

One of the best parts about Foursquare is that checking-in gets you points. You can battle your friends to see who has the most check-ins, at the best places. I know I was so eager to get to Florida last year to check-in at Disney, and get some serious points for travelling (I was not so eager about the cell phone bill I got later…)

4) Get your staff trained

OK, so after reading this, you may understand why Foursquare is great. But let’s get real – your staff is going to be the ones dealing with your customers and clients who are checking-in to your business. Make sure they are trained! Get them clear on why Foursquare is important on getting you out to your target market, and ensure that they tell ALL your clients to check-in, and about specials.

5) Represent your brand around the world

Many people don’t see another great feature for businesses to use Foursquare for – if you have a staff, why don’t you create a Foursquare PERSONAL account AS your business? Give the staff you trust the password and log-in, and get them to check-in at places as your business. This is ideal for businesses who are B2B, or ones who travel a lot. The more you get out there, check-in or get checked-in to, the more you are on google, and the more you are on Facebook and Twitter and the more you get seen!

Get it? Now go do it! Or e-mail me: dani@thelikebutton.ca

Later Gators!

How much worth does a like have?

I recently downloaded the white paper created by Facebook and Comscore – a great analysis of how Facebook marketing truly works. I found some interesting facts, and thought I’d share them with you in a easy-to-understand version.

- Facebook newsfeed is more powerful for branding than Facebook fan pages. This means that people are less likely to visit your fan-page, and more likely to simply read your posts in their newsfeeds every day. Users are 40-150 times more likely to see you on their newsfeed, than visit your page. So stop spending thousands of dollars on customizing your page!

- When you spend money on acquiring and engaging fans, you are also benefiting from the secondary effect of acquiring and engaging the friends of fans, who see all your newsfeed posts.

Looking at these results, I’ve think about how I always tell clients that every new fan, follower or friend they acquire on social media sites, really counts for hundreds of new potential clients. Facebook and Twitter are such complicated webs, that once you advertise to one person, it is likely being seen by hundreds of others, without you knowing or being able to keep track. It is here that you need to ensure that your messages that are getting posted on newsfeeds are exciting and informative, so that friends of fans become fans, and you acquire more friends of fans etc…

Another point that the white paper mentions in their conclusion is that time needs to be spent ensuring that whoever your social media manager is, they are directing your newsfeed posts at people who are part of your targeted demographic, and that whoever they are directing it to, also has friends who are part of your target market.

Whenever one of my clients gets a new “like”, I get an email about it. Every time I get an e-mail, it makes me feel as though I have branched out that client so much further. Sometimes I analyze who has liked that page – maybe they have 1500 friends who have seen that they have liked my client. One single like, if targeted appropriately, is worth a lot.

Guess that why my business name is what it is…

If you want to read the white paper, go here.

Verve Photo Co.

Well today I had about 7 firemen in my house. While I was out this morning, it seems as though my fire alarm went off for about fifteen minutes, for no reason, which caused massive drama in my neighbourhood. Luckily, it was just a false alarm, and I apologized over and over again to the firemen in hope of not getting charged.

After sitting around for a bit and shooting some contracts out to a few new clients, I’ve decided to write a short blog today featuring one of our new clients – Verve Photo Co.

Verve is composed of two women with extreme talent – just check out their blog! These girls find creative places for wedding and engagement shoots, and even do some maternity shoots as well. They get featured in all sorts of magazine, including Wedluxe. The best part about their services is that both owners of the company show up for wedding shoots – two perspectives from two professionals gets you better memories.

Make sure to check out their Facebook page, and give them a like!

Later Gators!

The Crave Company

We were recently featured on The Crave Company’s blog! Check it out: http://thecravecompany.com/blog/2011/07/26/dive-in-head-first-and-jumpstart-your-business/