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10 Years of Saying Thank You
October 2, 2015 In Blog 3 Comments

A few weeks ago, my husband learned one of his favourite professors at Brock University had passed away. This particular professor was an ongoing inspiration to my husband and upon his passing, he wrote a short, heartfelt blog about the professor’s impact.

This struck me. What would the conversation had been like if this conversation was face-to-face, or even if the professor had been able to read my husband’s blog.

I wanted to dedicate this blog a professor who was an inspiration to me: Marilyn Cottrell (aka Econ Diva).

Background

In 2003, despite my keen interest in business and economics, I applied to universities that offered Child and Youth Studies. Eventually settling on Brock University’s Child and Youth Con-Ed program, I was faced with the opportunity to select two electives. Like any good nerd, I chose Canadian History with Donald Wright (also an amazing professor), and micro and macro economics. Having taken OAC economics in high school, I felt prepared for these courses.

First Year Microeconomics

When creating my university schedule, I chose a Wednesday lecture from 19:00-21:00. That’s right. Three hours of microeconomics on a Wednesday evening. The professor was a stereotypical professor – quirky, intelligent, with a side of dry humour.

The following day was my tutorial, a small class-like setting in which a teacher’s assistant (TA) would review material discussed, as well as deliver assignments, quizzes, and exams. Marilyn was different. She was energetic, funny, and enthusiastic about the otherwise dry, topic of economics.

Within a short period of time, I found myself writing my first university midterm, which was comprised of 50 multiple choice questions. When the midterms were returned in our tutorial, Marilyn smiled as she returned the majority of the exams. When it came time to retrieve my exam – she had a disappointed look upon her face. I got 55%.

Terrified that I had jeopardized my entire university career, I learned how study properly, as well as implement techniques to master multiple choice exams. When I received the second midterm back, Marilyn had a smile upon her face. I got 96%.

By this point, I had made the decision to change majors from Child and Youth Studies to a BA in Business and Economics.

Macroeconomics 

Because economics was not a full credit, the second course was macroeconomics. Having signed-up for another 3-hour lecture, I was surprised to learn that my previous TA Marilyn, was a professor. She was energetic, enthusiastic, and many times, used props to engage students. Throughout the semester I went to visit her to chat about economics and clarify anything I didn’t understand. She was always willing to help. She cared about her job and her students. She also inspired others to be their best, and encouraged students to succeed.

Second Year University, First Year Business & Economics

By the following September, Marilyn, my formerly disappointed TA, had hired me to proctor midterms and exams for the economics faculties.  At the end of my second year, I was hired as a Research Assistant for another professor in the economics department.

Life as a Teaching Assistant

In my third year, Marilyn hired me as a teaching assistant (TA) for three sections within the economics department. Terrified, nervous, and questioning what I had gotten myself into, I went to my first tutorial. I loved it. I couldn’t get enough of teaching, watching students learn, and the “AH HA!” moment. I was hooked.

I was a TA from 2005-2009, teaching as many as three tutorial a semester: fall, winter, and summer. I loved the concept of teaching, and thinking of better ways to explain concepts, theories, and formulas to students. I had students transferring into my tutorial (which was a huge compliment), as well as asking to be in my tutorial. I still keep in touch with many of my former students.

One semester I was tasked with teaching two evening tutorials. The class demographics were different than I was used to, as it was filled with people who were twice my age, and held full-time jobs like, ‘financial advisor,’ ‘real estate agent, and ‘mortgage broker.’

Marilyn and JenThis was my “AH HA!” moment. At the tender age of 21, I realized that education does not end with a degree. Adults will continue to seek learning and education, for either professional or personal reasons. This idea has become a huge part of my life, as someone who provides training to adults.

Thank you Marilyn for having faith in me 10 years ago to become a teaching assistant. Thank you for giving me a chance to teach – allowing me to discover my true passion.

Jennifer Baker Consulting

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Confessions of a Social Media Manager
May 13, 2015 In Blog No Comment

After operating my business, Jennifer Baker Consulting: Simplifying Social Media, for four years, I inevitably still have friends, family and colleagues asking: “What would you say you do?”

While many people may have the impression that I “play on Facebook all day,” there is more to my job than meets the eye.

Customer Service, with my clients

First, and foremost, on a daily basis I correspond via phone, email, Facebook chat, and text message with my clients. On average I have ten clients to whom I provide social media account management services. These clients hire me to manage their company’s image on social media, create and distribute e-newsletters, purchase advertising on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, create social media-ready graphics and images, provide guidance towards their online marketing strategies, as well as provide reports and analytics on their progress.

My clients are my priority. Since all emails and social media notifications come to my phone, I am able to respond quickly and efficiently to any questions or problems they may be experiencing.  Moreover, since I am a sole proprietor I always provide advance notice to my clients when I will be out of the office or on vacation.

As my husband can attest, I talk a lot about my clients, including updates about their company, events, and sales. I love having the opportunity to work with such a diverse client-base that provides great products and services within Ontario.

Strategy & Planning

How do you know you have achieved your goal if you never set one?

When taking on a new account management client, the first step is to develop a simple strategy, answering the questions: “what does the client want to achieve?” followed by “what are the steps to achieve that goal?” Before getting started with a client I must understand the client’s existing marketing strategy: “what marketing tactics do they employ?” and “are these tactics working?” Social media is not a standalone silo – rather it is integrated across a company’s marketing, human resources, and customer service departments.

Brand Management

Perhaps it’s my a-type personality, but I am all about brand consistency! When JBC was in its infancy I was always told: “Your company is everywhere! I see your logo/name/face all over the place.”

Do you know why? Because I only use the bright green logo, with Arial font, and one professional photo for everything – website, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Vine, Google+, print collateral… even my pens are bright green with Arial font! While my brand strategy is simple, it is seemingly effective.

I do the same thing for my clients. I ensure that their company’s brand is consistent across online mediums including social media, e-newsletters, websites, and anywhere online. When I find something that’s not consistent I will bring it to their attention, and we will take steps from there to find a solution.

Listening

Social media management is not just about scheduling and posting updates to Facebook and Twitter. If that was the case we could just go back to using a fax machine for all of our communication and marketing needs. Social media should not be one-sided. Social media is meant to be social!

Companies should be listening to what people are saying about their company and responding. When I say ‘respond’ I don’t mean boiler-plate responses like: “Thank you for your inquiry. Someone will be in touch shortly.” I mean responses like they are being written by a human, by someone with a brain, pulse, and personality. This is called ‘social listening.’

Social listening can be done through social media management platforms like Hootsuite by setting up search queries related to your company. Users can set-up a search query that finds social media messages that include common misspellings of your company name (Think autocorrect!). Social media users may think they’ve correctly tagged your company in a post, and may get angry when they don’t get a response – even if they’ve incorrectly tagged you! This is why social listening is important.

Social listening will take time, but it sure is fun to hear what people have to say about you!

Customer Service, with the customer’s customers

Being responsible for 20+ social media platforms, I am responsible for reading and responding to a lot of customer questions, comments, and complaints. There are some days I think: “Why are people so angry?” Here are the three types of people I deal with on a daily basis:

Happy: These posts characteristically come with smiley-face emojis. J Positive, happy comments are wonderful! I love responding and interacting with these social media users.

Unhappy, but polite: These users had a negative experience, are upset, but polite. These users are also easy to respond to and rational. When finding a solution to the problem, they accept suggestions with grace.

Unhappy, but angry: These users had a negative experience, are rude and irrational. These users do no respond well to suggestions and are typically demanding and use vulgar language. When solutions are offered, they quickly respond with threats, like “I will never shop here again” or “I will tell everyone how terrible you are!” Despite our best efforts, unfortunately sometimes there is nothing you can say to please these types of individuals.

Playing on Social Media

Yes. Lucky me! I get to “play” on social media all day.

Not quite, folks.

When I do get time to “play” on social media platforms, I am actually poking around to self-educate myself on recent updates and changes, reading FAQs, and updating my social media skill-set. The more I know the better service I can provide for my clients. Social media is an industry in which life-long learning is critical!

Closing

While I do spend a lot of time on Facebook, there’s more to my job than meets the eye. There’s a significant amount of work that is completed offline so that when information is presented online, it is effective!

Confessions of a

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jennifer Baker Consulting

 

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Battle of the Public Service Announcements
November 3, 2014 In Blog No Comment

While sometimes corporate communication becomes bogged down with red-tape, there are times when they get creative with their PSAs.

Here are my three favourite:

1. North Carolina Department of Transportation: Yadkin River Bridge Replacement

2. Public Service Announcement for Recycling from Sweden

3. Dumb Ways to Die: Metro Trains Melbourne

 

What are your favourite PSAs?

Jennifer Baker Consulting

 

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Simple Social Media
July 10, 2014 In Blog 2 Comments

This past week, while I was on vacation with my husband, I was reminded that social media doesn’t have to be complicated.

During our time off we visited Konzelmann Winery, one of my favourite wineries in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. The winery is situated on the southern shores of Lake Ontario overlooking the lake. Konzelmann recently completed renovations on their property, which included the construction of an elevated viewing platform that overlooks both the vineyards and the lake.

Listening to Customers

While on this viewing platform, visitors, myself included, take pictures of the vineyards, the lake, the view of Toronto… and of themselves (aka Selfies).

During this visit I noticed that the viewing platform included a simple sign that said: “Don’t be selfie-conscious. Share with us. #Konzelmann.”

Simple Social Media

Konzelmann clearly understands what its visitors are doing on their property: they are taking photos of themselves from the viewing platform. With this observation in mind, Konzelmann created a sign that would prompt to visitors to tag Konzelmann winery using #Konzelmann when uploading selfies to Twitter or Instagram.

Benefit to the Business

Once a visitor uses the hashtag #Konzelman on either Instagram or Twitter, it is simple for the winery to track interaction and engagement.

First, Konzelmann can track the organic number of photo uploads to Instagram, as well as Twitter tweets. This is measurable, and can be recorded and compared with weekly and monthly statistics. More important, however, Konzelmann can easily engage with users who upload photos. This additional level of interaction will further develop Konzelmann’s brand with its customers.

This task has been rated as medium because although creating, printing, and hanging a sign is easy, the difficulty lies in understanding what customers are doing when you may not be watching, as well as the follow through once the photos are uploaded.

Time: 10-15 minutes

Budget: $0.10

Difficulty: Medium

Jennifer Baker Consulting

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The Hashtag #YGK in Kingston
June 12, 2014 In Blog 2 Comments

You may see it popping up on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

You may also see it appearing on websites, and traditional marketing forms like business cards, banners, and posters.

#YGK

This blog post seeks to shed light on the #YGK craze in Kingston.

#ygk 

  • Defined: Unofficial hashtag used to identify Kingston, Ontario, Canada
  • What Does #YGK Mean: YGK is Kingston’s airport code (Note: I had one person tell me they thought it meant “Your Greater Kingston. While this could also be true, the origins are different)
  • Why: Given that there is substantial noise (i.e. other Kingston’s in the world) #YGK is unique to our area, as well as short and memorable.
  • Creator: Limestone New Media Group (2011). Read the article here.


 

#ygkroads

  • Creator: City of Kingston
  • Defined: Update residents on road reconstruction/construction within the City of Kingston.

 

Crews will continue to repair #ygkroads on Hwy 2, Alfred St just north of Princess St, Woodbine, Front Rd and King St. Weather permitting. — City of Kingston (@cityofkingston) June 12, 2014


#ygkc 

  • Defined: Update residents on City of Kingston council meetings. This hashtag is used primarily by the City of Kingston’s official account, local media (i.e. TVCogeco Kingston, Whig Standard, CKWS), city councillors, and residents as a means to comment and engage on council topics.

#ygkcia

  • Defined: Used in conjunction with TVCogeco’s local program “Council In Action,” which addresses municipal politics in the City of Kingston.
  • Creator: TVCogeco Kingston

#YumGK

  • Defined: Used by foodies who are sampling and enjoying the local Kingston restaurants.
  • What does #YumGK mean: It is a combination of the unofficial hashtag #YGK and the word “YUM” = #YumGK

#ygkstudents

  • Defined: Used by the City of Kingston and the Kingston Economic Development Corporation as a means to communicate with students of St. Lawrence College, Queen’s University, and the Royal Military College.

#ygkfire

  • Defined: On December 17th 2013, there was a significant fire at a construction site in mid-town Kingston. The fire, which destroyed an apartment building under construction, caused many evacuations from the area, in addition to a dramatic rescue of the crane operator. The volume of usage caused this hashtag to “trend” for a period of time on December 17th.

For those that don’t know Kingston this is very central area 1/2 MT @niicruttaan_: Massive fire #kingston #ygkfire pic.twitter.com/Xb2zy5srB0”

— Colette Kennedy (@colettetown) December 17, 2013

#ygkice

  • Defined: First used in 2012, #YGKice has been known to be used during weather events like ice storms. It gained traction December 2013, when a significant ice storm layered eastern Ontario.

#ygkstorm

  • Defined: First used July 2013, the hashtag #YGKstorm has popped up for severe summer and winter weather events. Many users will include #YGKstorm, as well as #ygk in tweets.

#ygklove

  • Defined: First used in 2011, this hashtag has gained momentum with the recent Downtown Action Revitalization Network (DARN). In 2014, DARN created and distributed posters to downtown businesses with catchy and colourful statements about reasons they love downtown. Included on the posters was the hashtag #ygklove.

One of many signs in Kingston celebrating downtown, applies to all great cities! #ygklove @darnkingston @ednns.ca pic.twitter.com/MOVGsMRuRK — Brian Aird (@brianaird) May 11, 2014


#ygkarts

  • Defined: Gaining momentum is the hashtag #ygkarts. You guessed it. Artists and supporters of the arts who are in Kingston. This hashtag was first used in 2011 regarding Kingston Writer’s Fest. This hashtag moves like an ebb and flow – high usage one day, and then nothing for a long period. Most recently (June 11) it has been used by the Agnes Etherington Art Centre.

 Am I missing any #YGK variations? Let me know!

Kingston YGK

Jennifer Baker Consulting

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