By Caroline Kealey
Recently, I was honoured to have the opportunity to deliver a session at the IABC Canada 2012 Business Communicators Summit on the top 10 questions in strategic communications. As is always the case when you have a room full of smart, innovative communicators, the discussions were animated, the participation eager and the shared experiences invaluable.
The workshop was all about being prepared, being strategic and saving your sanity in managing client relationships. I shared my Top 10 Questions that every communicator needs to have in their back pocket — the questions that help you show off the fundamental value we contribute:
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By Megan Totka
Devices like smartphones and tablets have become such a part of everyday life that they’re almost an extension of our bodies. As technology progresses, so does the ease of use. The capabilities of personal electronics today would have been the stuff of science fiction only a decade ago. It stands to reason that the emerging technology of contemporary times will be fodder for pop culture jokes a decade from now.
While all of this rapidly-evolving technology serves entertainment and convenience purposes, it has also revolutionized the way that businesses reach customers. If you have a website, social media accounts or a mobile app attached to your company, you are already very aware of the power that instant technology has in the marketplace. Just when you think you know all there is to know about cutting-edge customer experiences through technology, something new emerges.
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By Alexandra Reid
This month saw a lot of action in the Canadian startup scene and we covered much of it here on our blog. Most notably, Startup Canada launched its much anticipated Startup Blueprints, an ambitious web platform that summarizes what the organisation heard this past summer, and sets out what needs to be done to turn those ideas and reflections into concrete action.
But that shouldn’t eclipse the wonderful work of Maple Leaf Angels and CanWit, two organisations that have fostered a partnership to create new investment opportunities for women-led startups in Canada. The National Angel Capital Organization also held its annual conference in Halifax, where important debates took place about the value of crowdfunding and how investment in this country could be improved.
Of course, those stories don’t even scratch the surface of our coverage this month. In case you missed any, here’s a handy roundup of our posts, ranked by the enthusiasm of our readers.
November 19: Lessons for entrepreneurs who wish to globalize their startups upon inception: Part 2 by Tony Bailetti
November 28: If Jack and Jill had worked together to engineer a well water system … by Leo Valiquette
November 20: Celebrating 25 years of community support by Alexandra Reid
November 29: A clarion call to make Canada an entrepreneurial economy by Francis Moran
November 6: CMI-MarketingProfs report reveals B2B content marketing confusion by Alexandra Reid
November 12: The CMO is dead by Dominique Turpin
November 27: Product management: Give the user the best possible mobile experience by Peter Hanschke
November 13: Hey, kid, I hear you want to be an entrepreneur by Leo Valiquette
November 26: Supporting investment in women-led startups by Alexandra Reid
November 7: Give capitalists the ball, let them run by Leo Valiquette
November 14: Lessons for entrepreneurs who wish to globalize their startups upon inception by Tony Bailetti
November 5: The neuroscience behind elections by Bob Bailly
November 8: Hootsuite CEO Ryan Holmes inspires hometown crowd: Video by Fiona Campbell
November 14: The subsistence diet of government — and some VC — funding by Francis Moran
November 21: Walking the digital tightrope: The perils of co-branded employees by Megan Totka
November 22: Startup Canada to call for urgent action to support Canadian entrepreneurs by Francis Moran
November 1: Even angels are going enterprise by Francis Moran
November 16: How to create brighter lives with content marketing by Alexandra Reid
Image: Oana Befort
By Francis Moran
Startup Canada, the grassroots organisation that spent six months consulting entrepreneurs and their support ecosystem about what was needed to foster a stronger entrepreneurial culture in this country, Tuesday issued a sharp clarion call to make Canada one of the top five entrepreneurial economies in the world.
In a series of six news conferences across Canada, including a national version that I MC’d here in Ottawa, Startup Canada released its Startup Blueprints, an ambitious web platform that summarizes what the organisation heard this past summer, and sets out what needs to be done to put those ideas and reflections into concrete action.
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By Leo Valiquette
Alex’s post on Monday about the economic necessity of supporting investment in more women-led startups is all the more timely as it comes the same week that we cheer the release of Startup Canada’s Action Plan to drive economic development, job creation and innovation coast to coast.
During its 40-city Canadian tour over the past year, Startup Canada confirmed what those of us involved with the startup community already know:
- Canadians in general are hyper-rational and risk averse, and view entrepreneurship with disbelief, mistrust and apathy.
- Young people are often unaware of what it means to be an entrepreneur, and are not educated in the basics of what it takes to launch and grow a business.
- Young people are often dissuaded by parents, school guidance counsellors and other influencers from pursuing entrepreneurship as a career path.
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Product management: Give the user the best possible mobile experience
November 27, 2012 by Peter Hanschke
Welcome to the second post on my journey toward building a mobile app. In my last post, I talked about why I decided to write my own app. In a nutshell, I’ve never had the opportunity to product manage myself through the process of app development, so I thought […]
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Supporting investment in women-led startups
November 26, 2012 by Alexandra Reid
Maple Leaf Angels is working with Canadian Women in Technology to create investment opportunities between angels and women-led startup companies […]
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Great articles roundup: Entrepreneurshit, startup equation, booby CEOs, innovation, accelerators, and marketing
November 23, 2012 by Alexandra Reid
As a regular feature, we provide our readers with a roundup of some of the best articles we have read in the past week. On the podium this week are Mark Suster, Joseph Jaffe, Milo Yiannopoulos, Marla Capozzi and Ari Kellen, David Meerman Scott, Peter Cohen and Mikael Cho […]
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Startup Canada to call for urgent action to support Canadian entrepreneurs
November 22, 2012 by Francis Moran
The results of the largest consultation ever undertaken within the community of Canadian entrepreneurs and their supporters will be unveiled in a series of six cross-country news conferences on Tuesday when Startup Canada releases its national Action Plan […]
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Walking the digital tightrope: The perils of co-branded employees
November 21, 2012 by Chamber of Commerce
Before businesses began to really cash in on the power of social media, people were signing up for Twitter, Facebook and MySpace accounts in the privacy of their homes. These platforms allowed a new medium for self-expression, along with networking […]
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Celebrating 25 years of community support
November 20, 2012 by Alexandra Reid
The Community Foundation of Ottawa yesterday celebrated a quarter of a century supporting nonprofit organizations in Ottawa with a memorable event at the Ottawa Convention Centre’s Trillium ballroom […]
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Lessons for entrepreneurs who wish to globalize their startups upon inception: Part 2
November 19, 2012 by Tony Bailetti
This is part two of a two-part series that throws the spotlight on the need to develop prescriptive rules and practitioner-oriented models that can help technology startups operate global upon or shortly after inception […]
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How to create brighter lives with content marketing
November 16, 2012 by Alexandra Reid
Two content marketing all-stars, Katherine Fletcher and Darin Diehl, presented at Social Media Breakfast Ottawa yesterday on how businesses can use rich, interactive content to increase brand awareness, build communities and generate leads […]
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By Caroline Kealey
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The Future of A&R – Walabe : [...] http://francis-moran.com/marketing-strategy/top-10-questions-every-strategic-communicator-should-ask... [...]
Traditional Marketing is Dead – Long Live Bikini Waxer Marketing | Scalexl : [...] pointed out by Alexandra Reid on the Francis Moran website content marketing is becoming more and more like journalism. So, it is not just about the content, [...]
It’s Summertime…and the Networking is Easy? | THE MERRAINE BRAIN : [...] In fact, summer is perhaps one of the times least used to network, yet at the same time has shown to be the most productive time to network. People tend to be in a brighter mood compared to during the gloomy winters-especially where I am from in England! Networking needs to be fun and not approached as another chore, like mowing the lawn. (http://francis-moran.com/marketing-strategy/social-media-strategy-why-meeting-in-the-real-world-matt...) [...]