by Michaela Sharp | Jun 16, 2016 | Blog, Digital, Marketing
Google Adwords Grants for Nonprofits offers $10,000/month to spent on Google search text ads.
Google Adwords Grants for Nonprofits is a great program for charities to help increase awareness, grow email lists, increase fundraising, improve event attendance and sales. Some of the most common misconceptions around this service are the amount and type of donation.
First of all, Google donates $10,000 per month in AdWords credit to qualifying charities and non-profits. Rather the donation is monthly as opposed to annually and there is no end to the donation.
Secondly, the key is that qualified applicants are receiving up to $10,000 of non-transferable Google Adwords credit and not $10,000 in cash. What this means is that program participants only receive credit for what they are able to use and the credit cannot be used for other Google advertising programs such as Google Display Ads or Youtube.
It should be noted that applicants also need to have a website using their own domain name and have what Google considers “substantial content”. In other words, it can’t just be a holding page.
Lastly, acceptance from Google Adwords Grants usually takes 4-8 weeks, and accounts must remain active in order to maintain eligibility for the program.
It is important to note that some Charities and Non-profits are not eligible to participate in the program.
Who can’t apply:
- government funded organization
- hospital groups and medical centers
- most types of academic institutions including schools and universities
Who can apply:
What are Google Adwords Ads?
Google adwords ads, are in otherwords PPC (pay per click ads) or google text ads. They are a type of advertising within the listings of a search engine result page.
by Michaela Sharp | May 31, 2016 | Blog, Book Reviews
The Virgin Way |“If it’s not fun, it’s not worth doing.”
Book Review – The Virgin Way, a book on leadership with great sense of humour, written by Richard Branson.
Picking up this book from the business section shelves in the bookstore was easy this time. My goal was to get a book that will inspire, entertain and teach me skills that I have not mastered yet. (Which I know is quite a long list.) The bright red cover of The Virgin Way book with Richard Branson wearing pink shorts caught my attention right away. I immediately told myself, this will for sure be a good fun read and… It was!
At the beginning of this book, we learn about Richard Branson and his dyslexia. We learn that he had to find a way around it in early childhood and that it was one of the triggers of his later success.
Branson talks about his parents and the way how they taught him the leadership skills during the time when he was a child.
“Leadership Lessons Begin at Home, We need to say less and contribute more.”
According to Branson, one of the most important lessons his parents taught him was the ability to listen. He believes “The Importance of being able to listen is dying”. Many of us struggle with listening more and talking less, including myself.
Considering many books written on business tend to get boring, repetitive and can be hard to finish. I have to say this one felt different, Branson’s April fool’s pranks and other life stories are well written and amusing.
Lastly, I found this book was both fun to read and insightful. I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a book on business that stands out.
The Virgin Way by Richard Branson can be found in the business section at bookstores everywhere or on amazon.
by Michaela Sharp | May 31, 2016 | Blog, Marketing
Meet the GenZers
This is the year to learn more about GenZers. It is evident that these talented young individuals are way different.Accordingly, their priorities and habits are changed from us Millennials, GenXers or Boomers.
There are 2.52 billion GenZers across the globe. More than half of them are savers, not spenders. They read nutritional labels, want a job that has a social impact, and entrepreneurship is their dream they want to achieve one day. They are creative bunch and they watch less TV than Millennials.
Generation Z – The Next Consumer Target
Interestingly, their attention span is only 8 seconds. Basically, they do not stay still! Therefore marketers have to change their approach on how to target them. Two-way dialogue to engage them is a must, GenZers are constantly exposed to 4 different screens: smartphone, TV, laptop and tablet. Marketers have to deliver their stories across all of the major platforms by using Multi-Channel marketing.
We are also seeing some changes in preferred social media platform usage, currently, Facebook is losing a portion of it’s under 18 users. YouTube, Instagram and SnapChat are more favourable for GenZers.
As Mark McCrindle the social researcher says, Gen Z is “the most connected, educated and sophisticated generation in history. They don’t just represent the future, they are creating it.”
by Michaela Sharp | May 18, 2016 | Blog, Marketing
A Branding Story |How our Company Logo came to Life
In today’s blog post, I am going to tell the story of how our Company, Logo and Brand came to Life. One sunny afternoon when our youngest, who was not even 1 year old, had his afternoon nap. Grant and I started brainstorming about our marketing company name, we had just started our first small job, but didn’t have a company name.
I immediately thought of my brother’s idea about how he named his company. He used his kid’s first names, brilliant! My husband Grant liked that idea right away. We considered several options on how we would put the names together but settled on DA for our eldest son David, LI as for our daughter Lizzie and LU is for our youngest Lukas. We then found out alternate meanings for this word and liked it even more.
“According to the context usually seen in Oral Tradition, Dalilu is defined as magic or occult power; more generally, it is any means used to achieve a goal, referring to a secret power, whether supernatural or not.”
David Conrad
Company, Logo, Branding
The company name was set! So in the summer of 2015, we registered our URL and our business. There was no way out! Grant and I were proud small business owners. It was then that we received a generous gift from my current employer Dave Wilkie, of Fusion Communications where I work half time. He offered us one of Fusion’s designers, Morris Antosh, to design our logo. I was excited to send our logo brief to Morris, and could not wait to see what will Morris come up with. I know his work and I know he is a very talented Winnipeg designer.
Here is our first email to Morris:
Hi Morris,
Our company name is DALILU. It is a shortcut of our kids names: David, Lizzie, Lukas. We thought, since the main reason for starting this company was to be able to work from our home, be able to spent more time with our kids and have flexible work hours, we would dedicate the name of our company to them. When we presented the name to our kids they were thrilled and proud they could be part of it.
Our company is specializing in:
- Marketing Strategy
- Digital Media
- Web Development
We are looking for a clean logo that is timeless with bright bold colours and simple design element. I have in my head three dots at the end of the name, symbolizing the three names of our kids. We like the kids’ first names connection in our company logo even though it has nothing to do with what services we offer and what is the name will be known just to us.
I am a big fan of your designs and I am sure you will make a great logo for Dalilu.
Thank you!
Misha
Not long after we sent out our brief, Morris presented us with three options, letting us know he still needs to talk to us about the fonts and whether we like it. We immediately picked our logo from his first batch.
He just gets us! Maybe it helped that he knows our family, he has met all of our three kids and always makes time to chat with them when they are visiting Fusion’s offices. But mostly, I think his talent showed that he is one of the most experienced designers in the city.
The logo and the colors define the Brand
Here is part of his email he sent to us with the logo. The way how he explains his thinking behind the logo says it all.
“All of your offerings as a business are target related. I made a target with three circles, one for each of your kids, one white circle (girl) and two orange circles (boys), then cut the circles in two (mom and dad) and put them all back together (family). The half targets make a D and C for Dalilu Communications. The rejoined half circles are like good communicators working well together, a great partnership”
Thank you, Morris, and thank you Fusion!
People who have gotten to know Grant and I know that our kids well-being and our health is number one. Working from home for your own company is highly rewarding but not easy. You multitask constantly, spend hours working well after 7pm, but that is the life we have chosen. To be able to spend time with our kids during the day when they are back from school or to watch the youngest playing outside on the backyard is well worth it. We know that the lifestyle we have is different from the crowds, but it works for us.
So if you are looking for a great team of two who could be your media partner or need your website developed for your small business, give us a shout. We will listen and deliver!
by Michaela Sharp | Feb 3, 2016 | Blog, Marketing
What is Media Planning and Buying?
Due to the complexity of the field, nearly all businesses must rely on experts when it comes to media planning. Accordingly, this ensures that quality products are deployed in the appropriate markets. There no wasted investment in time, money and effort.
Media planners identify which media platforms work best to advertise a client’s brand or product. As such, we enable our clients to maximise the impact of their advertising budgets. This is done by running campaigns across a broad range of media.
As a result, media planning combines creative thinking with analysis to develop appropriate strategies. This ensures that campaigns reach their target audiences as effectively as possible. In the end, it is our deep knowledge of media and communication platforms that allows us to identify the most appropriate mediums for building awareness of your brand.
Areas of focus
As your media partner, Dalilu Communications will provide insight across the entire media spectrum, including:
• press
• television
• radio
• cinema
• outdoor
• online media
• social media advertising
• mobile communications
We will work closely with your team or creative agency to understand your business objectives and marketing strategy to develop the media campaign. We will recommend the most appropriate types of media to use, as well as the most effective time spans and locations.
It’s about more than just planning
During the media buying stage, we will negotiate the best possible rates with media owners such as television and radio stations, magazine and newspaper media, website owners and outdoor for space or airtime. We will adjust media schedules in response to the latest audience figures, manage budgets. Additionally, we will also monitor and update the client on the effectiveness of their campaign.
Lastly, as a Media Partner, Dalilu Communications gives you a full time media department without investment in staff and infrastructure. Our company has the experience and the knowledge base to give you the peace of mind. This allows you to focus on what you do best… Running your business.
