Solid Reasons to Pay your Staff to Use Social Media

This time of year, companies review their year, including their staff duties and staff levels.  More and more, HR Managers and Sr. Managers are deciding: Should we pay our staff to engage in Social Media?

More companies are employing teams to Manage and Engage on Social Media

Ryan Holmes, CEO of Hootsuite says yes, and here are his 3 Reasons Why:

1. It helps you hire better people.

This fosters community among job hunters and staff right from the start,  and highering companies get to know candidates on a more personal level.

2. Social media breaks down old hierarchies in the workplace.  

Social media has also been an equalizer in our companies—closing the gap between management and entry level.  A high percentage new hires are internal referrals, and this is due to the dialogue amoung employees on social.

and

3. It empowers employees to become brand evangelists.

At the end of the day, your staff are your best brand advocates.

Ryan Holmes, CEO of HootSuite

Do you Employ Staff to assist in your Social Media Mission?

Now may be the time, to get your team Engaged for many of the Solid reasons above.

- Mark

Preferred Airlines, Hotels & Rental Cars - Choose your Travel Partners wisely, to make your job easier.

Throughout the Fall Season, it's a challenge, to get as many of our Supplier Partners' products and ideas in front of our Distributor Customers, and their Customers. Whether it's visiting with our Suppliers to see new products, or making sure we have the best of the best to highlight at Clients' Customer Showcases . . .  Each week, brings a new city and sometimes a new state, and all of this, while balancing home and family life.

Sprinting through airports, is not preferred, so partnering with quality travel partners is Key.

Over this past month, I've found myself from San Diego to New York City, Washington D.C. to Washington  State, and Phoenix to Philadelphia, working with Suppliers and Distributors on current and new projects.

Helping along the way are my three primary travel partners, Alaska Airlines, Hertz, and Marriott Hotel Brands.  Each of them, provide the consistent and quality service I can count on.  Each one in their own way, provide benefits to their preferred customers and this allows my business travel to be a problem-free.

Starting most every trip, from the Alaska Airlines terminal is a breeze. Smooth clearance through check-in lines, expedited security and many times a 15-20 minute chance in the Alaska "Boardroom" to re-check schedule and send off some notes to my associates and customers.  The team at the Boarding lounge is always there with a fresh cup of coffee or snack, before heading on my way.

Before, during and after, Alaska is also there to offer free checked bags, no change fees and preferred seating as available while I offer them a top share of my Airline Travel.  After landing, they guarantee my bags will be there for me within 20 minutes of connecting at the gate, which usually is soon after arriving at the Baggage Claim.

Once there, it's off the the Hertz lot, where they have my car lined up, with my name in lights, and allows me to be on my way usually not more that 30-40 minutes after arriving in my travel city.  Along the way, they'll have sent a text to me, which stall my car can be found.  My preferred choice of car is most always there, and if not, many times they've upgraded me to the next class.  Allowing to drop at other nearby airports, allows me to not always have to return to the same one, and helps to cut some valuable time before my flight home.

While traveling on Business now for over 30 years, I've stayed a a number of hotel brands.  Over the last 12 or so years, I've chosen the Marriott brands of Hotels for their clean and quality properties, and their friendly and well trained staff.  Depending on the trip, they have multiple levels of hotel chains to service the business traveler needs.  If enjoying dinner with a customer is in the plans, many times their Marriott brand has restaurants and Sports lounges to fill the bill.  Most often, I choose their Courtyard hotels for the ease of getting work done and again, consistency of service. All have work out facilities to keep my energy up on the road.  For longer trips in the same location, I usually prefer the Residence Inn or SpringHill Suites as they have meal services included, and allows for an even more, productive day.

By tying in my Business Partners with every trip I can, I have found that it makes my commutes and stays to cities away from home, much more enjoyable.  Just like most all of us in business, we appreciate good service, quality and value and each of these bring it the their office each and every day.

Simple Facebook Tips to help get more Engagement

In his post today, John Jantsch, with Duct Tape Marketing shares 3 quick and easy ways to help get more engagement with your followers of your facebook page.

Duck Tape Marketing

He suggests 3 Simple Steps:

1. Post Images as Updates
2. Use Tab Calls to Action
3. Schedule your Posts

Are you Using any of these Practices?

We at Incentives West are using 1 and 2 as we can, and will begin to be using #3 as we get more developed in our systems.

BTW, this Post today is brought to you by our Natural Trends Ultimate Fix All Kit 

Ultimate Fix All Kit with WD-40 and Duct Tape

With So many ways that WD-40 and Duct Tape can be used throughout the home, work or just about anyplace, it's perfect promotion to integrate a marketing message.

Getting your Juices Flowing and Concentrating

Whether it's a Monday after a weekend, or Tuesday, like today, what gets your juices flowing?

Here is a Top 8 List on how to Get Organized and Concentrate from "WikiHow":

2. 1
   Make a list of daily and weekly tasks.
   
   
   • A bullet-form list is quick and easy to read and follow.
   • Be thorough and include extra tasks that may inevitably arise in your day. It's best to be realistic.
3. 2
   Decide what's most important. Some tasks may have priority, such as making a meal, doing homework or keeping an appointment.
4. 3
   Divide tasks throughout the week or month.
   
   
   • Give yourself additional time to relax.
   • Get plenty of sleep to think more clearly and creatively.
   • Leave time to do work that is not a priority.
   • Set aside time to take care of anything unexpected.
   • Some things take a little longer than anticipated.
   • Leave time for error.
5. 4
   Accomplish small tasks.
   
   
   • Break down your more time-consuming tasks into smaller increments.
   • Do your math homework in two half hour sessions, taking a break in between.
   • Have fun in between chores.
   • This creates less stress with a more reasonable use of your time.
6. 5
   Stay focused.
   
   
   • Try not to start a new project until a previous project has been completed.
   • Concentrate on one thing at a time and do it well.
   • Write "Focus on Priority" on post-it notes. Keep them near the phone, computer or on the refrigerator to remind yourself.
7. 6
   Review your progress. Sit back and look over your work.
   
   
   • Have you progressed as far as you should?
   • Is there a more efficient way to accomplish what you're doing?
   • Reassign portions of your project to another day.
   • Delegate to others, if needed.
8. 7
   Be flexible. Try to complete your projects, but if unable to do so, complete them up to a certain point and leave them for another day.
9. 8
   Plan a deadline. Stay on track and on schedule. If you are scheduled to do something, do it, unless it is very inconvenient or impossible to do so.
11. 
    
12. I have an additional checklist that I go through at least mentally before hoping in the car, on a plane or on the phone to start my day.  Using a simple checklist of items that are important to have checked off of your list, allow you to focus on the current tasks at hand even more, and allow a clear understanding when tackling new ones.
13. 
    
14. 
    

Promotional Products Work . .here are some stats

REACH
     85.5% of people received promotional products in past 12 months
     58% of people hold on to promotional products received for > 1 Year
     91% keep promotional products in the kitchen
     74% keep promotional products in the workspace
     55% keep promotional products in the bedroom


RECALL
     82.6% of people can recall the company and brand advertised on a
promotional product
     74.6% can recall the product, service or message
(15 to 50% higher recall rate than any other media outlet)


Everywhere. Everyday. Build Your Business With Promotional Products.

Top Ten Uses


Brand Awareness
Tradeshows
New Customer/Account Generation
Dealer/Distributor Programs
Public Relations
Employee Relations & Events
Not-For-Profit Programs
New Product/Service Introduction
Employee Service Awards
Customer Referrals


Top Ten Buyers
Education
Financial
Not-For-Profit
Healthcare
Construction
Trade & Professional Associations
Real Estate
Government
Professionals: Doctors, Lawyers, CPAs, etc.
Restaurants & Bars

Visit Incentives West on 
For More Ideas and Successes . .http://www.facebook.com/promosuppliers

Cause Related Marketing >> Supporting Your Clients and their Causes

Today's Marketplace is full of opportunities to support causes, incorporating promotional merchandise to support fundraising and awareness campaigns.

Seeing how causes that I've personally been involved with from Breast Cancer initiatives, to MLB and NFL campaigns in support of various causes have used various products, it's obvious that some industry pros are leading the causes with the right products for their clients.

From an Article from PPB Magazine, May 2012  Link to article here:  Cause Marketing - Bridging Commerce with a Cause

It’s Time For Cause Marketing

93% Percent of consumers who want to know what companies are doing to make the world a better place. 2011 Cone/Echo Global CR Study

31% Percent of millennials who prefer active engagement in cause campaigns, such as volunteering their time (versus 26 percent for non-millennials), cause-support purchasing (37 percent versus 30 percent), encouraging others to support a cause (30 percent versus 22 percent), and participating in fundraising events (27 percent versus 16 percent). Thirty-seven percent of millennials report being drawn to products co-branding with cause campaigns where their purchase is a form of support, such as Tom’s Shoes One for One campaign. American Millennials: Deciphering the Enigma Generation, a report from Barkley 

86% Percent of consumers around the world who believe that business needs to place at least equal weight on societal interests as on business interests. 2010 Edelman goodpurpose

2/3 Number of brands that now engage in cause marketing (up from slightly more than half in 2009). 2010 PRWeek/Barkley PR Cause Survey

97% Percent of marketing executives who believe cause marketing is a valid business strategy.2010 PRWeek/Barkley PR Cause Survey

Source: Cause Marketing Forum, Inc. (www.causemarketingforum.com)


Today's Blog is highlighted, thanks to the Awareness Line

Award and Presentations. . . Presentation is a Key Part

Awards and Presentations should be:    Sincere, Meaningful, Adaptable, Relevant and Timely:

When announcing and presenting awards, take the time and effort to do it right.  Doing so will enhance the credibility of the process, make an impression and unlock the emotional commitments that should continue to pay dividends long after the occasion has passed.

A good reward should be:

Sincere – Above all else, a good reward should reflect a genuine expression of appreciation.  Token acknowledgements leave something to be desired.

Meaningful – To endure a motivating influence, rewards should be aligned with the values, goals and priorities that matter the most.

Adaptable – The diverse workplace demands alternatives.  Consider creative options to keep your program fresh. No single reward format works for everyone all the time.

Relevant - Some personal dimension is essential to a good reward.  No matter how formal or informal, expensive or affordable, the relevance of any recognition will be improved with a personal touch – it’s a little thing that makes a big difference.

Timely – It is important that rewards respond to the behavior they are intending to reinforce. Don’t let too much time pass or the reward will be devalued and credibility eroded.

 Source: “What makes a good reward?”   National Association of Employee Motivation, http://www.recognition.org


Brought to you today by our friends at HOWARD MILLER:

Click Here to see what's new for 2012 : http://store.howardmiller.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=14151&categoryId=64656&catalogId=15551&langId=-1

President's Day 2012, Holiday for Some and Always a Key Check Point in the Year

Each President's Day is always a good day to reflect on how our business is starting out, and help to set up some plans for the upcoming Spring and rest of the year.

This year like most all others included lots of travel and getting out to see a number of current clients and even more at seasonal trades shows, so they can then get the best of what works and what's new, to their clients.

So far this President's Day Checkpoint has been a very good on so far!  Most all of our Supplier Partners are showing sizable double digit increases from last year and many at all time YTD's so far.  Great Start!

Part of the great things that we are seeing are testimonials from our customers, like this one today,  that we never get tired of hearing!

“Alyssa, the (Handstands) screen wipes you did for our client was a huge success and the most talked about item at our meeting with them last week.  I have another customer that is interested in using these for a event soon and I need some pricing.”

-          Tim Trieb

Merrill Corporation

Thanks Tim! for your comments and continued trust in our Supplier Partners.  We're here to help you grow your business!