Eden Spodek I Bargainista

I’ve moved! Visit me at EdenSpodek.com

2014-03-20T12:08:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone! It’s been a while since I blogged here and wanted to let you know I launched a new website and blog on my own domain. I hope you’ll join me there. Please visit at EdenSpodek.com.

Thanks for all your encouragement and support over the years.

Eden

It's still a mad, mad world

2013-06-09T22:44:00.000-04:00

It’s Sunday night and after a weekend of work, errands and relaxation, there’s no better way to wind down the week than watching an episode of Mad Men.

Earlier this week, I had the honour of being asked to provide quote for my friend Elissa Freeman’s article for Ragan’s PR Daily, “Lessons from Peggy Olson’s ‘lean-in’ moments”.

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Tip of the Week: Think beyond the blog

2013-05-25T16:54:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the eighth in a series of tips to help bloggers build communities, find an audience and get the most out of working with brands.*

“Be prepared to offer your content ideas up for brand usage,” suggests Matthew Stradiotto, Co-founder, Matchstick, “today brands want to ‘co-create’ content with publishers. Think about how your content could live brand-side, and not JUST on your blog!”

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Rob Ford, Ron Burgundy has a message for you...

2013-05-19T23:57:00.001-04:00

Tonight I was pleasantly surprised when the latest trailer for Anchorman 2 played before Star Trek Into Darkness. Ron Burgundy has a message for Rob Ford, the mayor of Toronto. I hope he’ll listen and stop embarrassing the residents of our wonderful city.

Recent articles

2013-05-12T10:52:00.000-04:00

Recent articles

Social Media Goes to College at Social Capital Conference

2013-05-11T17:27:00.001-04:00

Social Capital Conference is taking place in Ottawa May 31 and June 1. It’s an event I’ve always oogled over but never been able to attend due to a recurring scheduling conflict. Three times lucky they say because this year they moved it up a month. I’ll be there, not only as an attendee but also as a speaker. Diane Bégin, Susan Murphy, Martin Waxman and yours truly are presenting “Social Media Goes to College” – a panel discussion based on the session we tested out at PodCamp Toronto last February.

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Tip of the Week: Network

2013-05-04T21:46:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the seventh in a series of tips to help bloggers build communities, find an audience and get the most out of working with brands.

In the early days of blogging and social media adoption, there was this idea that everyone publishing online and surfing the web was an anti-social nerd who hung out in his basement. Today we know nothing could be further from the truth as people connect with like-minded online friends, their desire to meet in real life grows. And as powerful as the web is for establishing relationships, nothing beats getting out from behind your screen and meeting people in person.

Calgary Zoo takes a big risk and produces 2012 annual report on Instagram

2013-04-24T21:33:00.003-04:00

Calgary Zoo, Instagram and Annual Reports

What do these three things have in common? Not much until now. Believe it or not, the Calgary Zoo ditched a more traditional annual report format for their 2012 Annual Report and produced an Instagram-only version, including financial statements. Yes, you read that correctly. It looks like they posted the report over a four-day period with 55 photos, each one includes a detailed description.

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A Minute of Peace by C.C. Chapman

2013-04-18T10:29:00.001-04:00

Like many people, I’ve been feeling kind of melancholy this week. I haven’t felt like blogging or sharing much content. It’s been a time of reflection. Moments ago, an email showed up in my inbox from C.C. Chapman with a link to a video called “A Minute of Peace”. Although C.C. lives outside of Boston, he shot the video in the White Mountains of New Hampshire yesterday. I hope you’ll find it comforting.

A Minute of Peace from C.C. Chapman on Vimeo.

Thanks C.C.!

What’s helped you deal with difficult news this week?

Recent articles

Tip of the Week: Discovering new blogs

2013-04-13T20:20:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the sixth in a series of tips to help bloggers build communities, find an audience and get the most out of working with brands.

One of the highlights of being part of the team of instructors for the Digital Strategy certificate program at U of Toronto SCS is the opportunity to meet with many interesting and talented students. Martin Waxman does a great job of summing up his experience with the class.

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Photo credit: kakisky

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Case Study: What’s in a (Yummy)Name?

2013-04-08T15:49:00.000-04:00

How a rebranded company found its name by starting with a domain search

One thing you probably don’t know about me is that I’m a bit of a domain name geek hog. I own 24, most of which aren’t in current use. So, when I heard about how the newly rebranded Atom Agency (formerly known as Sequentia Environics and the consulting arm of Sequentia Communications Inc.) got its new name, not only did it appeal to my geeky side I thought it was also pretty darn smart.

Tip of the Week: How to create a sponsorship pitch like a pro

2013-04-06T18:40:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the fifth in a series of tips to help bloggers build communities, find an audience and get the most out of working with brands.

As blogging and influencer relations evolve so does the acceptance of sponsored content. I’m still a big fan of earned media and that will never change. It’s value may diminish once money exchanges hands. However, I recognize the value of sponsored content when it makes sense for a brand and relationships are clearly disclosed.

image credit: Xavier Calle

Recent articles

Starbucks birthday bevvies, better late than never

2013-04-05T20:37:00.002-04:00

I'm a huge Starbucks fan. I’m not entirely brand loyal but I do need my decaf Starbucks every morning whether it’s VIA or freshly brewed. Sometimes I’ll even splurge for skinny lattes with one-pump sugar-free vanilla syrup. No snickering!

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Where’s the beef?

2013-03-29T20:14:00.001-04:00

There are certain basics bricks and mortar businesses, such shops and restaurants, need to get right before they consider incorporating social media into their marketing mix. Face-to-face customer service, competitive pricing and signage are but a few.

Do you think the new Hero Burger in our neighbourhood considered what customers would see as they walked by their window?

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Tip of the Week: Display your contact information prominently

2013-03-26T09:06:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the fourth in a series of tips to help bloggers build communities, find an audience and get the most out of working with brands.

I hope you’ll enjoy these tips I’ve assembled with the help of other bloggers, brands, PR consultants, marketing pros, community managers.

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Customer service tips for my hair salon

2013-03-23T18:24:00.000-04:00

Dear hair salon,

I’ve been a regular customer of yours for more than two years now. I love that you’re with in walking distance from my home. The colour tech team is awesome, especially Sabrina. She does a great job of keeping my colour in check and making sure everyone else takes good care of me when I visit.

As much as you hold yourself up as a salon excelling in customer service and charge clients a premium for that privilege, here are some tips:

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Reception (Photo credit: austinevan)

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west elm's Neil Gazmen connects with local customers

2013-03-21T15:10:00.003-04:00

According to his bio, “Neil Gazmen is a retail people manager with over 9 years experience in managing high volume, complex stores in the Toronto area. He is a strong supporter of relationship based selling and grassroots type marketing that targets building a community of loyal followers, one customer at a time.” The last sentence is quite telling.

I met Neil on Twitter several months ago and recently in real life. He’s always bright, friendly and busy making everyday conversation with his Twitter community. Although he’s always quick to answer customer questions, he makes a point of being himself and not overtly promoting west elm or its Toronto store – the first Canadian location – where he is Associate Store Manager. A of couple weeks ago we had a chance to chat and in a few minutes shared each of our “how we got into social media” stories. I was fascinated by how he’s been helping west elm build relationships with customers one tweet at a time and asked if I could share some of his story with you.

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Photo credit: Eden Spodek

Tip of the Week: Be brand loyal

2013-03-18T09:30:00.000-04:00

photo: Eden Spodek

Welcome to the third in a series of tips to help bloggers build communities, find an audience and get the most out of working with brands.

I hope you’ll enjoy these tips I’ve assembled with the help of other bloggers, brands, PR consultants, marketing pros, community managers.

Tip 3: be brand loyal

Michèle Bosc, Director of Marketing at Chateau des Charmes says, “Don’t be afraid to endorse a brand you love. Stay loyal to that brand within a category… Be professional and true to your voice.”

A week of firsts... #digitaledu, Storify and Spin Sucks

2013-03-14T16:27:00.000-04:00

This has been a week of firsts.

Last night, I gave my first lecture to our amazing students in U of T School of Continuing Studies Digital Strategy and Communications Management Certificate program or #digitaledu for short.

This morning, I used the Twitter backchannel discussion from last night’s class to create my first Storify.

Recent articles

Tip of the Week: Develop a publishing schedule

2013-03-12T21:05:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the second in a series of tips to help bloggers build communities, find an audience and get the most out of working with brands.

I hope you’ll enjoy these tips I’ve assembled with the help of other bloggers, brands, PR consultants, marketing pros, community managers.*

Tip 2: Develop a publishing schedule
Brands, and those representing them, want to know that your blog is being updated regularly and that you’re publishing new posts frequently. You don’t need to blog every day but they will want to see that your blog is up-to-date before they approach you with opportunities. If you’ve published 800 posts but haven’t blogged in more than a year, no matter how high your search rankings, a brand worth its salt won’t be interested in what you have to say, except perhaps if you've blogged about them a lot in the past.

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Photo credit: Jade

International Women’s Day – progress, passion and a little bit of cattiness

2013-03-08T15:11:00.000-05:00

If my math is correct, today marks the 104th International Women’s Day.

I’ve spent a good chunk of the morning thinking about how I’d like to honour women doing amazing things who inspire me. One recurring theme throughout my life has been how so many women are catty and bring each other down, unlike men who tend to be less threatened by their male peers and support them, particularly in business.

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S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef recipe – a hit at home

2013-03-07T21:10:00.000-05:00

Rarely do I talk about clients in this space. But today is my husband’s birthday and there is always room for exceptions.

For the past three years, I’ve been fortunate to work with the S. Pellegrino® Almost Famous Chef Competition – the Canadian Regionals to be exact. It marries two of my passions, education and food.

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Tip of the Week: engage your audience

2013-03-02T11:30:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the first in a series of tips to help bloggers build communities, find an audience and get the most out of working with brands.

Despite an extended on Bargainista vacation last year, I’ve been working behind the scenes helping clients with their blogs and writing the occasional guest post or two. Friends, family, colleagues and students often ask how they can become better bloggers.

I hope you’ll enjoy these tips I’ve assembled with the help of other bloggers, brands, PR consultants, marketing pros, community managers.*

Tip 1: Engage your audience

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Photo credit: Flying Pete

Recent articles

Blogger relations: PR dinosaurs need to retire or get with the program

2013-02-25T12:36:00.001-05:00

I wasn’t planning to write another blog post about blogger relations so soon and then this showed up in my inbox this morning.

It pretty much sums up why it’s critical for PR people to stay current, build relationships with bloggers and do their research.

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Social media goes to college at PodCamp Toronto 2013

2013-02-22T12:54:00.000-05:00

After five wonderful years and having the pleasure of working with a stellar and dedicated group of volunteers and supportive sponsor partners, I’ve stepped down from the organizing team. I’ve remained a contributing member of the PodCamp Toronto community.

For those of you who don’t know, PodCamp Toronto – is a free unconference for content creators and other digital media enthusiasts – taking place February 23 and 24.

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