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So you want to get more clients? Who doesn’t! Here’s how to…

Most people overlook a number of important steps when it comes to marketing their business to get more clients. It’s not about glossy advertising and SEO tricks. No. It actually starts with you and your business. Here are some tips that will change the way you look at your business and help you market your business.

The best way to explain good marketing sense is from a book by Simon Sinek, “Start with Why”. It may not be an original concept, but it deserves to be spread to the communities. It’s an inspiration for any business looking to be a success in today’s world of marketing.

When most companies or people think, act or communicate they do so from WHAT, to HOW, to WHY. And for good reason, they go from the clearest thing to the fuzziest thing. We say what we do, we sometimes say how we do it but we rarely say WHY we do WHAT we do. But not the inspiring companies, not the inspirational leaders. They start with WHY and end with WHAT. Choosing to inspire rather than manipulate.

People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it. It’s the discipline to never veer from your cause and hold yourself accountable that enhances an organisations ability to work to it’s natural strengths. When you start with WHY, your organisation’s product or service gives life to a common cause. It’s not WHAT that distinguishes you it’s WHY.

Instagram-Based Annual Report, the first of it’s kind?

Calgary Zoo & Trigger Co. have released “the world’s first annual report on Instagram”! An annual report is created to inform, inspire and draw in stakeholders, so trying something creative on a popular new platform generates additional benefits: Press coverage and buzz for the cause.

Using quirky and fun photos to illustrate report findings is certainly an interesting way to breath new life into the traditional annul report format. I’ve designed many annual reports over the years and I have to say, no matter how creative you get with them, reading the “message from the CEO” and pie charts is not exactly riveting.

Here’s a video from last year, you’ll see that this isn’t the first annual report idea they’ve had!

After the buzz for this project dies down however, I wonder if they will continue to use Instagram? If it’s true that #calgaryzoo is a popular hashtag, maybe the zoo should consider being active on their official Instagram account.

Here’s some visual examples of how they did it….

Gen-Y, Gen-X & Baby Boomers Comparison of Employment Traits

Baby Boomers. Gen X. Gen Y. We are a culture that loves labels and so names have been given to various generations based on our dates of birth and framed by socio-cultural experiences and similarities.

While I’ve seen variations in dates categorizing Baby Boomers, Gen Y, Gen X, andTraditionalists, the following chart will give you a good idea of what people are talking about:

• Traditionalists: Born before 1946
• Boomers: 1946 – 1964
• Generation X (Gen X): 1965 – 1980
• Millennials or Generation Y (Gen Y): 1981 – 2000

Which generation are you from? Check out the comparison:

Pencil sculptures

These amazing pencil sculptures are carved by Hungarian artist cerkahegyzo from a single lead pencil. Cerkahegyzo says he started carving after coming across the highly detailed sculptures of artist Dalton Ghetti.

Any Product Can Become Remarkable.

“Remarkable”, “fantastic” or “great” may seem like a rather unreachable goal for your product or company but knowing what being remarkable means, gives you the power for greatness.

Most people think that being remarkable is unattainable, too hard. When they compare themselves to the likes of Apple or Nike who make remarkable products they simply don’t believe they can achieve anything quintessentially that remarkable.

I’m here to tell you this: YOU DON’T HAVE TO.

Who hasn’t had a difficult client?

I think it’s not an inaccurate statement to say most businesses have to deal with clients at some point and that it has not always been the greatest experience. This infographic by Ciplex describes the different types of difficult client you come across. Helping you identify the signs of trouble and how businesses can identify and successfully work with them.

Enjoy! Hope you find this funny if not useful!

The Most Overused PR Words of 2012

Global is number one…  Everybody is going global these days. Check out the infographic:

24 Hours in the Google AdWords Economy [Infographic]

After Google announced its “disappointing” 2012 third-quarter revenues of $10.8 billion via AdWords ads, WordStream released findings from an analysis of the economics of Google’s AdWords platform in an attempt find out how Google makes more than $100 million a day with search advertising.

Marketing Is Building a Brand in the Mind of the Consumer.

The world of advertising and marketing is full of empty blah and technical-babble that it seems to be created for no other reason than to confuse people. A successful branding strategy makes customers believe there is no other product or service quite like yours in the market.

Here are the key qualities of a great branding strategy:

The simpler the better

The most typical mistake that marketers make is that they say far too much. A world-class product or service is hard to create, there’s plenty to communicate about why your stuff is better than everyone else’s stuff. You don’t want to leave anything important out. Nevertheless, in reality – when you say too much, no one listens.

Social Media is Not as Helpful as You Think

Did you know search engines do not have access to social media accounts?

This means that SEO through social media is limited. However, it is possible that in the near future, social media could have a significant effect on SEO. Google is presently looking for a way to measure the quality of people’s Facebook and Twitter followers. So if you are one of those people that thought it was a good idea to buy 50,000 fake Facebook likes or twitter followers, they’ll find out and it will not, after all, help your SEO.