Mia’s last two columns offered up some great marketing insight.

In the first, “Networking lessons learned in St. Lucia”, Mia shared some inspiration she found after coming across Captain Tom, owner of Exodus Adventure. The charter boat company gives personal tours of the island, goes on deep-sea fishing excursions, and organizes moonlit cruises to your favourite restaurants.

“The Exodus offering was unique: I could customize my trip for the day, and if I changed my mind or wanted to stay longer it was no problem – the crew was accommodating,” Mia writes. “With two kids, that flexibility was priceless. We were able to see everything we wanted from our private viewing deck before jumping off the boat between the majestic Pitons – something I’m sure my kids will never forget.”

But as Mia writes, that’s not where the lesson lies.

“What struck me was the way Tom and his team were able to leverage their unwavering focus on customer service to not only engage, but quickly expand their trusted network. This was something I watched with admiration from the beach. I thought about entrepreneurs I know who are great at running their businesses, but still ask for advice about how to network. As part of their PR campaigns, business leaders often speak at high-profile events and attend trade shows to market their products and services,” Mia writes. “But for many, after they leave the stage, they struggle with how to work the room and turn the PR opportunity into a sales lead.” 

Mia observed the Exodus team taking the time to survey the scene, getting a good sense of who would be interested in their service before approaching people. They also leveraged trusted relationships they had developed with recurring customers to expand their network.

“At any given time, often when you least expect it, you have the opportunity to engage new contacts and inspire new opportunities through your current network. Leveraging your customers as brand ambassadors is more powerful than anything you can do on your own,” Mia writes. “As business owners, we are all passionate about what we do. But so are our customers. We just need to be better at leveraging them as we grow our customer base.”

The second column, “Sticker company nails sticky marketing,” featured StickerYou, a company that has created a fun and easy web platform where you can create your own customized stickers. The brand has also partnered with big brands that use the widget to offer customized swag for their fans.

“StickerYou has used technology to transform stickers from a simple and fun product into a way to build deeper connections with customers,” writes Mia.

“Brands are looking to create more sticky websites, better digital marketing, and greater consumer engagement,” president Andrew Witkin says. “So we asked ourselves: how can the process for attaining a sticker in the digital world be something that is actually very valuable in terms of what the marketer would want?”

“By building your own stickers, you are engaging with the brand. Instead of just being handed a sticker at an event, people are actually involved in the creation process. Then they can celebrate the brands they like by putting their personalized stickers on their gear,” Witkin adds.

Launched in early 2010, StickerYou has already built partnerships with some pretty big companies, including Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Ford and Lego. It has also teamed up with Coca-Cola, which created a Coke sticker maker as a reward offer for its customers.

“Sure, he’s providing a great tool for brands and their marketing strategies, but he is also building strong partnerships that get the StickerYou name out to much bigger audiences than it could ever reach on its own,” Mia writes. “Witkin has answered a question that all business leaders should be asking themselves: What is your company doing to ensure your brand sticks?”

Check out Mia’s column every Thursday in the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business.

This recent study makes the claim that using Facebook at work just might make you a better employee. And for many of us, this survey validates the time we spend secretly lurking on Facebook at work – while nervously glancing over our shoulders to make sure the boss isn’t watching.

But it seems that increasingly, companies are putting measures in place to block employees from viewing social networking sites at the office.   This is often the result of misconceptions and negative connotations around the ramifications of using social networking sites.  Organizations need to stop being afraid of keywords like “blogging” and “twittering” and learn how to develop a strong online presence and visibility for the company.  There is so much opportunity and apparent business benefits of social networking online – your audience is already there and so are your competitors.

Today’s customers expect some level of online communication with companies beyond just a website.  Interacting with customers through online forums provides a sense of loyalty, support and a positive experience for the customer.  Social networking sites are also an easy way for companies to sidestep expensive forms of communication, like advertising and marketing, to reach customers.   Bottom line: it’s a win-win situation for both the customer and company. 

When the Internet initially took off and companies began creating corporate websites, these same negative perceptions existed.   People were intimidated by the vast capabilities of the Internet and its freewheeling ability to disseminate messages to a large audience.  Similar misconceptions exist with corporate blogs, Facebook and Twitter accounts – the fear of the unknown.  But if you were slow to trust the Internet and make the jump to a corporate website then, you probably can’t afford to miss on the opportunity to get involved in the social media network now. Although the future of social media remains to be seen, you won’t get anywhere by sitting around and waiting for others to try it first.

We’re seeing more journalists and even CIOs tapped into online sites like Facebook and Twitter and actively contributing to these forums.  Companies are cluing in to the fact that their audiences are online, and in order to reach these audiences, they need to increase their presence in the online space.

So instead of worrying about employees “playing around” on Facebook, companies should be more concerned about engaging their online audience.  

Having been a part of the High Road team for almost nine years (the company is eleven years old), it’s gratifying to see High Road be named to top 25 SMB places to work. From day one, we wanted to be a workplace based on great people – the most passionate, innovative and results-oriented professionals in the business. And despite our growth (we had a dozen employees when I joined in 1999 – today we are 85 strong), our entrepreneurial spirit has never wavered. Everyone in the company, regardless of seniority or title, can make a difference. The Globe and Mail article highlights five key attributes that all 25 companies listed share: employee input; career opportunities; proactive employee communications; talent development; and a responsive leadership team. Such an environment creates a strong culture of empowerment, allowing employees to take chances, accomplish great things and achieve real personal satisfaction in their work. This is no easy feat and employers that make this level of commitment to their employees should certainly be recognized for their efforts. Now, bring out the cake.