When I saw this new jobsite I was quite impressed. One of the things I am involved with is The Direct Marketing Association of Toronto. Our site has a very important section – the industry job postings. My close relationship to this offering has always made me interested in this industry.
As opposed to just passing along this find in a Tweet or a post, I wanted to get some of the background from the owners. Enjoy!
PM: When and where did the idea for FreshGigs.ca come from?
To explain we need to go back a bit. In 2009 my cousin/business partner Michael Zipursky and I started an online community for Canadian consultants and freelancers called Advicetap. Advicetap was a place where top Canadian consultants, freelancers, and small business owners could connect with each other, promote their skills, and search for job opportunities. Through word of mouth, blogging, and social media Advicetap was growing…but we didn’t feel it was fast enough – we needed a way to get the word out to a larger audience, that’s when Business Edge Magazine stepped in…
As a professional marketer specializing in public relations, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to chat with Louise Clements, the new SVP, Managing Director of the award-winning digital marketing agency, Twist Image.
Twist Image develops strategies, campaigns and platforms that build and maintain your brand online. The agency has 100 original thinkers in offices in Montreal and Toronto and is known throughout the industry for Six Pixels of Separation, its forward-thinking blog, podcast and best-selling book.
Louise Clements recently joined Twist Image after leaving Facebook as Head of Sales for Canada. Louise has an extensive background in digital marketing including senior positions managing the digital properties of Rogers Media, AOL, Sympatico and Bell Globemedia.
I asked her 5 questions about her new position and thoughts on digital marketing. Enjoy!
Editor's Note: This interview was originally published on David's blog and he has kindly given us permission to repost it here. Mitch Joel, Jones' interviewee, has long been a supporter of, and one-time contributor to, OneDegree. We like to think we gave him his start 😉
I asked Mitch to answer 10 questions for me about his book that I could publish here. I'm no James Lipton…I forgot to ask about his favourite curse word.
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Mitch Joel. I am the President of a Digital Marketing agency called Twist Image. We have offices in both Toronto and Montreal and we employ over 80 people. I have a Blog and Podcast called, Six Pixels of Separation, and I’ve just release my first business book named after my Blog on Grand Central Publishing – Hachette Book Group. I also do a bi-monthly business column for both the Montreal Gazette and Vancouver Sun plus – as if that doesn’t keep me busy enough – I do a monthly tech column called, Ultraportable, for enRoute Magazine.
What's your book about…in one sentence?
Everybody is connected online and through their mobile devices. This book is about how business can (and should) connect themselves to everybody. That was two sentences, but it sounds like one.
What will I get out of this book over other social media books out there?
About 288 pages more. All kidding aside, this is not a Social Media book. It’s a business book. I know the books you are talking, and those books tend to be written by people giving their perspective of the new online channels either through the lens of a Marketer, Consultant or Technologist. I wrote this book as an Entrepreneur for businesspeople. Using real business language and case stories that really illustrate how business can grow (and yes, that includes making money). This book is the strategy, tools and tactics I used to grow my business from no employees in 2002 to nearly 85 full-time team members with multiple offices. Basically, by taking part and engaging in the many online channels, my company, Twist Image, (with me as “the voice”) was able to build this multi-million dollar business. We continue to grow by still using the same channels. So, yes, some of the platforms are Social Media-based, but the book is much more about how to think strategically different and engage in a much more human way in this new world.
Who should read this book?
The two main people I wrote this book for was small-to-medium sized business owners who keep hearing about Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, etc… but still grapple with how it applies to business, if it’s worth their time, and whether or not there is actually any real business at the end of it. The second segment would be mid-to-senior level businesspeople in large organizations who are constantly being asked (or are even asking themselves), “what are we doing on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc…?” These are the people who are constantly being pushed to do a lot more with a lot less, and their peers (both Junior and Senior) think that the online channels hold the key. My book breaks down the big difference between asking “what?” and asking “why?” – in short, asking “why?” is the strategy and asking “what?” is the tactic, so it’s all about figuring out the “why?” first.