The nomination asked the questions “Does she have proven passion for her work, her family and her causes?” “Does she consistently tackle new projects with a positive attitude, a little SASSY moxie and a significance in all that she does?”

We have looked on while SASSY Magazine listed its Women to Watch year after year, awed by the caliber of women named among the pages.  Our dear friend and client Stephanie Krol, at Stephanie Krol Public Relations, was honored a few years ago and was even featured on the cover! Stephanie nominated Jillian for this prestigious honor. 

Women to Watch have been business leaders, mothers and philanthropists, leaders of industry, and this year according to the flowers that arrived a few days ago, our very own Jillian Koeneman. 

“I cannot explain how grateful I am for the honor to be named as a nominee in a category with such amazing women. I truly love what I do here at Freshlime Digital Marketing. I love the people I get to work with everyday, I work my hardest for the clients that I’m privileged to represent and each and everyday I’m thankful for those who have helped me along the way. I strive to pay it forward and be a go-giver. Helping others drives me,” said Jillian Koeneman. 

SASSY Magazine will introduce all of its 20 “Women to Watch” at their “Glitz & Sass” Fashion show on November 6th at the University of Notre Dame. Jillian and the other women in her class will be featured in the December issue of the publication, but one lucky woman will be featured on the cover.  

Congratulations to all of the woman nominated for the Class of 2015 Women to Watch. You inspire us!

(A special thanks to Classic Image Photography for the photo!)

by Kelly Kenny, Freshlime Social Media Strategist

I’ve always been told that admitting your addiction is the first step towards recovery. So, today I, Kelly Kenny, would like to publicly declare that I have a pop culture problem.

My affliction outwardly forces me to quote movies constantly, ask all of my coworkers if they watched “Game of Thrones” last night, or if they’ve heard that Beyoncé released an entire album in the dead of the night. The less publicly exposed side effects of my pop culture addiction manifest themselves through the uncontrollably clicking on cat videos, hours of buzzfeed-ing and very secretly keeping up with the Kardashians.

However embarrassing my predilections for celebrity gossip or viral videos can become, I am not alone. I am one of billions out there who can’t help but click and share or take part in online conversations about pop culture. Brands that are technologically savvy enough are leveraging this to their advantage. Some call it “newsjacking” but when done right, I call it pop-culture marketing “genius.”

Let’s start with some examples.

Last December. millions tuned in to NBC to watch Carrie Underwood take on the role of Maria Von Trapp in a live version of “The Sound of Music”. MILLIONS tuned in. Although Underwood was praised for delivering a strong performance under pressure, the big winner of the night was not the country superstar, but DiGiorno Pizza who live tweeted the entire broadcast. With tweets like “#TheSoundofMusicLive I can’t believe pizza isn’t one of her favorite things – smh,” and “The kitchen is alive with the smell of fresh baked pizza.” The brand gained thousands of followers and was trending that night all because they saw an opportunity to interact and entertain their audience in real-time.

Cats are so hot right now, so when Friskies teamed up with Buzzfeed to create the “Dear Kitten” video series, social media users reacted in a big way. The videos went viral, garnering 10 million views in record time and the hashtag #DearKitten became popular without Friskies even seeding it.

Brands like Oreo, Pringles and even Clorox have also leveraged pop culture within their social media marketing efforts using the premier of “Game of Thrones”, as well as the 2014 FIFA World Cup to personally connect with their audiences.

Although I thoroughly enjoy pop-culture marketing that is smart, witty and entertaining, there are some companies that have gotten into trouble.

This summer FAFSA tweeted a popular meme from the movie Bridesmaids that dropped the Federal organization into some seriously hot water. The tweet prompted followers not to forget to register for financial aide and was accompanied by a popular picture and quote from the film which read “Help Me, I’m Poor.” Needless to say, the public did not take kindly to being the butt of a federal organization’s joke and FAFSA was forced to issue a public apology.

Pop culture marketing at its best is relevant to the brand, light-hearted and entertaining. Customers develop authentic relationships with friends the same way they do with brands on social media; based on shared interests. So don’t be afraid to take part in existing conversations about pop culture happenings as long as you find a unique way to make them relevant to your brand. #DiGiorNOSHEDIDNT

Each team member at Freshlime shares a common core belief – the belief that you have to choose to be happy now, to celebrate the beautiful, small gifts in life now, so that success will magnetize itself to you in the future.

We believe that play, joy, and happiness is just as important as hard work, drive, and dedication. We choose to focus on the positive and the possibilities. We choose to be go-givers of our time and talent to help the greater good. We believe in constantly learning and improving ourselves.

We believe that happiness is a precursor to success, not the other way around.

When I stumbled across Shawn Achor through a TED Talk, I was refreshingly intrigued.

Here was a guy who not only understood the power of happiness and having a positive mindset, but had the scientific data to back it up!

In the book, The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor, who spent over a decade living, researching, and lecturing at Harvard University, draws on his own research—including one of the largest studies of happiness and potential at Harvard and others at companies like UBS and KPMG—to fix this broken formula. Using stories and case studies from his work with thousands of Fortune 500 executives in 42 countries, Achor explains how we can reprogram our brains to become more positive in order to gain a competitive edge at work.

Not only is Shawn Achor an incredibly powerful and knowledgeable story teller, he is also uniquely humorous. I decided to pick-up Shawn’s book as an audiobook through Audible.com so that I could listen to the book as I traveled and in between client meetings.

I am halfway through the book and it is honestly, one of the most eye-opening, refreshing books I have ever encountered. I was already tuned-in to the power of positivity and how your mindset creates the world in which we live, and The Happiness Advantage has opened the door even further.

The Happiness Advantage will have a serious impact on your business, your bottom line and the overall culture of your business. I highly recommend it.

One thing that I’ve learned recently as a social-media-maven for-hire, it’s that small businesses are scared of Instagram. Maybe the term “scared” is a little strong, but small business are for the most part, still unsure of the ways in which the dominantly visual platform can add to their success. Currently, Instagram has 150 million users, who on average upload 55 million pictures daily. As someone who has worked in and with small businesses the thought of standing out in that type of online pool can seem daunting, so I’ve put together a list of ways your small business can utilize Instagram to its maximum potential and expose your brand to the hash-tagging, Valencia filtering masses.

• Pay Attention to the People Behind the Curtain
  With Instagram’s layout being purely visual it is easy for small businesses to fall into a purely promotional trap. Show them something more.  We all love to feel privy to something special, so include pictures of your company’s employees. Give your followers a “behind the scenes” look at the people and preparation that goes into your business. It’s ok to promote your products and services, but sell what makes you unique as well.
• Hashtags
  You want to make sure that you’re taking part in the larger conversation happening relevant to your business. Utilizing hastags will help broadcast your post to a wider targeted audience. Do some research about which hastags are being used that applicable to your business, and hashtag everything!
• #Follow4Follow #Like4Like
  Instagramers enjoy being liked and followed, so that’s what you should do. Following people who follow you and liking their posts will humanize your organization and will cultivate a positive reputation for your brand.
• Branding
  Instagram provides a unique branding opportunity for your business that other platforms can’t. Our brains process images more quickly than text, so by sticking with themes and consistent imaging your company can be more easily recognized.
• Reward your followers
  Who doesn’t like to win every once in a while? Who doesn’t like a sale? By offering your Instagram followers special opportunities to win prizes or access to exclusive sales, you’ll show them how appreciative you are for their loyalty.
• Connect your platforms
  Lastly, connect your platforms. If your organization already has an established Facebook or Twitter account, make sure you connect your Instagram to them so your posts get displayed there as well. It will help with gaining followers early on, and most certainly help co-brand your social media presence as a whole.

Meet Kelly

My name is Kelly Kenny, I’m a New York City transplant, a new graduate of the public relations masters program at Ball State University, someone who takes karaoke way too seriously, an avid fan of Harry Potter and the most recent edition to the Freshlime Digital Marketing team.

Since moving to Goshen, the first question people ask me upon hearing my brutally thick New York accent is “Why did you come to Indiana?!?” Well, the abridged version goes something like this: I graduated from the College of Staten Island in 2010 with my Bachelors degree in creative writing and French, and had absolutely no idea what came next. So I took two years off and worked a lot, and traveled the world, and had an amazing time doing whatever I wanted all in the name of “finding myself.”  

When my two years were up, I sat down, and as my mother would call it, harvested my talents. I had realized looking back over my life, and my jobs, and my relationships, and my schoolwork ,and my passions that I had inadvertently been doing public relations my whole life.  I learned the importance community relations as the Vice President of Nothing New Thrift Shop Inc. I learned the intricacies of client relations as the administrative assistant at Park Slope Plumbing Supply. I learned event coordination and promotion working as a host for an entertainment company. I realized I had the practical knowledge; all I needed was the theoretical. I applied to Ball State’s masters program, got in, and moved three months later. 

Let me preface my next statement by saying that I am in no way annoyed with having to answer the “why Indiana?!?” question. I’ll tell anyone my story should they care to hear it. What I can’t help but think while I’m answering is: why not Indiana?!? I have learned incredible things here. I have made amazing friends here. I have worked with the Delaware County Court System, the Ingelhart Scholars program, and the College of Communication Information and Media at BSU. Yet, probably the most incredible thing of all is how whole-heartedly this community has welcomed me in such a short amount of time. For that, I’m forever grateful. I love it here, and I’m so excited to be doing what I love while working with such an incredible group of people. Thank you!

]]> https://freshlimemarketing.com/freshlime-founder-jillian-koeneman-awarded-volunteer-of-the-year/ Mon, 23 Jun 2014 14:54:43 +0000 http://www.freshlimemarketing.com/?p=1604

JIllian Koeneman pictured with HSEC Board President Stephanie Krol

Humbled and so honored. Words cannot adequately describe how profoundly impacted I was to receive the “Volunteer of the Year” award from the Humane Society of Elkhart County (HSEC) in May 2014. There are so many volunteers worthy of this great honor, I feel blessed to have been chosen!

I am passionate about many things in life, but perhaps the one cause I am most passionate about is helping animals in need. When the opportunity arose for me to be able to use my time and digital marketing talents to help homeless animals in the Elkhart Community, I jumped at the chance. It’s not very often in life that you can combine multiple things you are passionate about to impact the greater good.

In the past year Freshlime has developed a brand new WordPress-based website for the HSEC, created several logos for various campaigns and events, assisted with social media efforts, and we have been actively putting together a web strategy to move the HSEC forward.

The HSEC is an AMAZING organization and is changing lives for both humans and animals alike. In 2013, the HSEC impacted more than 8,000 animals in our community. The staff and volunteers who work hands-on with the animals are the true heroes. I’m humbled and honored to be a part of this special group.

I was completely blown away when I was approached by the President of the Women Business Owners of Michiana (WBOM) to be a part of the Board. The women involved with WBOM are pure rockstars. They seemingly effortlessly balance life, work,  family, health, and relationships all while heading up thriving businesses. I look up to these women as much now as I did when I was first launching Freshlime three years ago!

Obviously my answer was a resounding “YES!” when it came to being on the Board. I will be filling in as the WBOM Secretary for the rest of 2013.

If you are a business woman here in Michiana and have never attending a WBOM meeting or luncheon, I highly recommend it. It’s an hour out of your day that you will truly get valuable information out of.

To view the upcoming events happening at WBOM or to learn about membership, please visit the WBOM website.

If you’d like to attend an upcoming meeting as my guest, please let me know!

Photo Credit: Information Week

People who copy the creative work or ideas of others and call it their own, suck. In fact they suck just as much as an adult as they probably did in third grade when they were cheating off the kid next to them to get ahead.

Not only is it horribly unethical but guess what? IT DOESN’T WORK and it doesn’t get you where you want to be.

It’s probably a safe bet to assume that the kid cheating off your test in grade school isn’t a successful entrepreneur, doctor or lawyer. So really, where did it get him other than a temporary, shallow gain?

Successful marketing is all about telling your unique story. It’s about explaining why you do what you do. After all people don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it. Just ask Marketing Expert, Simon Sinek.

Successful marketing gives stakeholders a glimpse into the inner workings of your business and what makes you tick.

All of these things are absolutely unique to you and your company’s culture and cannot be replicated.

It is often said that the more successful you become, the more others look to imitate and copy your work – something we have definitely found to be true over the last few years.

Most recently we’ve been working on a project where a competitor copies every single marketing initiative – almost word for word even – and uses it as their own. While it’s quite unbelievable, it definitely shows both us and our client that they don’t have a clue about marketing.

While they are busy looking at what we are doing, we have our eyes firmly focused on our goal and are using proven marketing tactics to get us to where we want to be.

Because we are true marketing experts, coming up with original ideas, we will never run out of marketing fuel or new things to try. Our resources are vast and our commitment is long term.

Business and marketing strategies are marathons, not sprints. You have to be in it to win it, for the long haul.

In marketing we are constantly sharing content that others have created, but giving them full attribution and the credit/respect they deserve.

Marketing (and life really) is all about building mutually beneficial relationships. It’s about being a connector and helping others get to where they want to be.

These solid relationships and helping others is what has led us to the overwhelming success we’ve had here at Freshlime – and we couldn’t imagine it any other way. We encourage the same type of goodwill and go-giver type mentality in our clients as well.

So if you ever find yourself in a position of copying someone else’s work or ideas (without giving them credit) – STOP. It’s not going to work in the long run and you’re going to feel bad about doing it.

Take the higher road. Come up with your own ideas. You and your business are worth it.

Getting your business or product mentioned by the media can be huge! Not only will it boost your sales but also is invaluable for raising brand awareness and credibility.

When I first started Freshlime, media hits by major publications like Crain’s Chicago and InStyle magazine catapulted my business in a way that would have not been possible otherwise.

Media mentions in the right outlets can do the same for you and your business.

There are a handful of things you can do to attract the right journalist and media outlets to your biz, but a recent study shows that businesses and PR pros are falling short in two key areas that journalists are looking for.

PressFeed’s study, released in August 2012, finds that many businesses (and PR pros) are missing opportunities for media coverage because they are not supplying visuals and SEO-enabled content.

This infographic sums up the results of the study.

Click here to view this graphic in PDF form.

So what can you do to help your business get the media hits you want and need?

1. Learn as much as possible about what Journalists are looking for. You can download the full PressFeed report and recommendations here.
2. Seek to build relationships with Journalists in your area or at the publications you are targeting. Journalists are constantly inundated with sales pitches. Be different and unique. Be helpful to them.
3. Join an organization like PRSA Chicago and connect with other PR pros.
4. Sign up for HARO.

As the first digital agency to be a part of WBOM, Freshlime is excited to be able to build long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with the other women owned businesses in the Michiana area!

We’re eager to learn from the fantastic business leaders in this very special group, as well as to be able to help other business leverage the full power of the web and social media to grow!

To learn more about WBOM you can visit their website or connect with them on Facebook!