Monthly Archives: May 2010
CIK Marketing has donated $500 to the OSPCA Kent’s annual Friends for Life Walk-a-thon event, which will take place Saturday May 29th in Chatham’s Mud Creek Park. Company founder, Chantielle MacFarlane, will also be on-hand at the event, awarding fellow fundraisers and walk participants with free doggy bandannas.
This is the second year CIK Founder, Chantielle MacFarlane, has participated in the fundraising event. “Last year I participated as a community member and was amazed at the generosity of Chatham-Kent residents,” remarks MacFarlane. “Now that I am a local business owner, I feel compelled to continue supporting this worthy cause, and hope to become a major contributor to the OSPCA Kent Branch for years to come.” In addition to the company’s initial donation of $500, CIK Marketing has also raised an additional $250 through community donations. Donations can still be made online at http://ontariospca.akaraisin.com/p/cikwalkathon.aspx.
MacFarlane will be on-hand at the event, which gets underway at 10am. Participants are encouraged to drop by the CIK Marketing table to pick-up a complimentary doggy bandanna before heading out onto the walk route. “It takes a lot of dedication and kindness to fundraise for an event like the Friends for Life Walkathon” notes MacFarlane. “These bandannas are CIK’s way of thanking each and every walker for their hard work and support.” CIK will also be selling handmade catnip mice at the event, with all proceeds going to the OSPCA Kent branch.
The Friends for Life Wallk-a-thon will be grand marshaled by Craig Venn and Matt Dumouchelle from Rock Mornings 95.1 and 100.7FM. CFCO’s Dave Palmer will also be there with his dog. Face painting, pet contests, clowns, and games will also be set-up for participants to enjoy. “This event encompasses the heart of our cause – animal rescue, care and adoption services. This event is an opportunity for our community to help the many animals of the Ontario SPCA Kent Branch waiting in hope of finding someone to share their life and love with,” remarks Angela Belleau, Community Relations Coordinator, Ontario SPCA Kent Branch.
About the OSPCA Kent Branch
The Ontario SPCA has been saving and protecting animals for over 130 years while providing province-wide leadership on animal welfare issues. Every year, the Ontario SPCA Kent Branch provides shelter and care for more than 4,000 abandoned, neglected and abused animals, and investigates over 275 complaints of animal abuse. Through successful local adoption programs, many of these rescued animals are adopted into new homes and given a second chance.
If you’re in the neighbourhood, stop by the CIK Marketing table – we’ll be taking pictures of puppies modeling their doggy bandanas and posting them on the CIK Marketing Facebook Page next week!
Remember in high school how rumours spread like wildfire through the hallways? It didn’t matter whether the news was of a break-up or hook-up, if it was juicy enough it was sure to get around. A similar concept can be applied to the Internet. The World Wide Web is basically the world’s largest rumour mill, pumping out millions of gossip updates every nanosecond. Like it or lump it, someone is talking about you. Only this time you aren’t dealing with a high school crush; this time the conversation is all about your brand’s reputation. Don’t you think you should be listening in?
Five Simple Tools for Brand Monitoring
Online marketing isn’t just about selling your product or service online, it’s also about listening and reacting to what consumers are saying about your business. Here are five free, easy-to-use online tools that your Chatham-Kent small business can use to help you monitor the conversation around your brand.
1) Social Mention
If you don’t have time to manage a company Twitter account (contact CIK – we can help!), but are still interested in monitoring the site, I highly recommend checking out this service. Social Mention allows you to monitor any number of keyword phrases across a variety of social networks including blogs, forums, bookmarking sites, and Twitter. Simply provide them with your terms and email address and enjoy daily updates right in your inbox.
2) Google Alerts
Wouldn’t it be nice if Google told you every time someone posted something on the Internet about your company? Sign up for Google Alerts and the search engine will do just that! Provide the tool with your keyword terms (make sure one of them is your business name) and Google will notify you every time a new webpage is published that mentions the phrase. You’d be surprised how many people are referencing your brand in news articles and blog posts.
3) Netvibes
For a more comprehensive look at your brand online there’s the NetVibes dashboard. Users can input their brand name into the search tool and NetVibes will instantly pull up mentions in news, videos, conversations, search trends, and Google search results. Users that signup on the site will enjoy extended features.
4) Addict-o-matic
Like NetVibes, Addict-o-matic features a useful dashboard that allows you to monitor brand mentions across a number of platforms. Insert your keyword term or brand name and Addict-o-matic will present all mentions of your requested term in one easy-to-read format. Users will see images from Flickr, YouTube uploads, Google blog mentions, and much more.
5) KnowEm
Brand hijacking is becoming a major problem online. Squatters are constantly buying up domain names and parking on social media networks with the hopes of cashing in. If you’re looking to use a consistent username across multiple platforms be sure to run a check with KnowEm. Once you’ve found a username that is available across multiple platforms (the service checks 350+ popular social networking sites), go ahead and register. Just don’t forget to use your profile – social networks are starting to crack down and disable inactive users in order to combat domain name squatting.
Want help monitoring your brand reputation? Contact CIK Marketing about our Social Networking Services and we’ll help customize a plan that suits the engagement level of your Chatham-Kent small business.
