December 2018 Newsletter

Together We Can Raise The Standard!

In This Newsletter

• Special Messages from your CRA (ON) Vice President, Dustin Hubert and Associate Director, Gord Ellis!
• January 2019 – Join CRA Ontario members for the first event of 2019!
• Missed the November 2018 Member Event in Ottawa? See The Highlights Here!
• To Invite or Not To Invite – Colleagues at Weddings?
• December App of The Month
• General Social Media Tips – Not So Common!
• CRA (ON) Member, Higgins Event Rentals, Helps Community with Garden!

A Message From The CRA (ON) Vice President, Dustin Hubert!

As we prepare to close the book on 2018, and set our sights on 2019 and beyond, it’s a good time to reflect on our wins and losses of the year.  Chatter in the rental industry leads me to believe that many of us had a year full of wins and not too many losses.  While losses give us opportunity to learn and improve, we tend to relish in our wins.  We share stories and tell tales of our “big wins”, however, how often do we analyze our wins and use them as learning lessons?  What was it that made it a success?  How do we replicate those big wins?  I have just finished a weekend with the ARA at a leadership conference and another two day leadership session within my own organization.  Although one focused on external leadership and one internal, the message is the same.  Any organization with a clear vision of their future goals, and a strong leadership team that can foster a unified top down approach will have a better chance of success, faster growth, and better bottom line.  More big wins!  If we focus on our people and create a positive workforce, that’s a big win.  In turn, that positivity will radiate out to your customers. Another big win.  Happy customers, are returning customers.  That’s definitely a big win!  One way or another all these wins translate into revenue for your business.  It’s not always about how great your marketing plan is, how active your social media is, or even who has the newest gear in their fleet.  This year I challenge you to look inside, at yourself and your team first.  If you can achieve alignment there, the rest will follow.

 I wish you all a safe and happy holiday and a 2019 full of BIG wins!

 Sincerely,

 Dustin Hubert, CRA Ontario Vice President

FROM THE DESK OF YOUR CRA (ON) ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

Historically, this time of year is set aside by a vast majority of the Suppliers to industry, for budgeting and forecasting purposes. This year is no different. I’m living that dream as I write this message.

 As I rummaged through the mountain of paper on my desk, I came across a copy of the 2018 Golf Tournament Sponsorship Form, and thought to myself, “Man, we’ve come a long way in a few short years”. The two major contributors to our success have been an incredible hard working Golf Committee, and increased sponsorship commitments year after year. As a Committee, without those two ingredients, there is no way we would be able to do what we do.

 Also happening this time of year, we are all planning for time with family and friends over the Christmas Break and into the New Year. Speaking of 2019, have you done any thinking about your New Year’s Resolutions? As you plan for the upcoming year, and you’re whittling down your list of possible New Year’s Resolutions, may I kindly suggest you and your company consider the following:

 CRA (ON) Members in Good Standing

In 2019, I resolve to:

• Attend and participate in more CRA (ON) Events
• Support CRA (ON) Events by budgeting for an increase in sponsorship commitments
• Put my name forward for a Board Position
• Join a CRA (ON) Committee or Working Group
• Exhibit in the 2019 CRA (ON) Conference Product Expo
• Staying connected by paying close attention to CRA (ON) communications
• Making my voice heard

 Non-CRA (ON) Members

In 2019, I resolve to:

• Become a Member of this prestigious group of Industry Leaders
• Please see above

The CRA (ON) Board has been able to do many new and innovative things over the past few years. They want to keep that momentum going into 2019 and beyond, but they can’t do it alone.

Let’s all resolve to do more for OUR association in 2019.

Merry Christmas and the very best to you and your families for a safe, healthy and Happy New Year!

Gord Ellis, CRA (ON) Associate Director | Cavalier Industries Ltd.289.259.9819 | gord@cavalierind.ca

Are you the next CRA Ontario Director-At-Large?

Do you know someone who is?

The CRA Ontario Board is looking for 2 – 4 Directors-At-Large to join our fun group! Are you looking to get involved and grow in the Canadian rental industry? This is the perfect place to start! We have various rolls available with lots of room for growth and would love to chat with you   about these amazing opportunities.

We meet before every member event and always have a blast putting together programming, communications and information for our membership.

Contact any of the board members HERE for more information today!

Follow our *NEW* CRA Ontario Instagram HERE to stay informed in-between Newsletters!

SAVE THE DATE

January 2019 Member Event at GAL Power

GAL Power will be hosting a “Winter Wonderland” themed event on January 23, 2019!

Held at their location – 217 Statesman drive, Mississauga – this is an event not to be missed!.  There will be an Industry Expert coming to talk about the CSA code B138 (portable diesel burning appliances). 

• Amazing food and drinks provided!
• A subzero bar station w/ ice bar!
• Great giveaways!

A CRA Ontario Room Block has been placed for limited rooms at the Comfort Inn – 31 Topflight Drive, Mississauga FOR $99/Night when mentioning CRA ONTARIO.

Don’t delay and book your rooms NOW!

Stay tuned for Registration Forms & Event Timing!

Trade associations give their members many advantages in a fast-paced, competitive world.

Each month we will be highlighting a new benefit to help you make the most of your Canadian Rental Association Ontario membership!

According to recent research, over 85% of businesses that fail are not members of a trade association, so you’re already ahead of the curve!

Gain Leadership Experience!

 Want to make the most out of your association membership? Join the board! By joining the board, you can open yourself up to an increased range of leadership opportunities that you might otherwise miss out on. You will also benefit from increased exposure and have the opportunity to meet more of our great membership. This can help you make a name for yourself and your company in the industry, while adding more experience to your resume.

You are never too “experienced” to learn and grow in this ever evolving industry!

Your required effort depends on your board task, but everyone is always willing to help and all work towards the main goal; Together We Can Raise the Standard!

CRA Ontario was proud to raise $800 for the Children’s F0undation of Guelph and Wellington at the Annual Golf Tournament in September. Thank you to everyone for your donations!

Don’t Miss Out on Advertising in the Upcoming Newsletter Season!

For the upcoming 2018/2019 season, we are doing things differently and want to offer you an even better value and exposure than in years past!

To Sign-up, please complete the Registration Form and fax or email this letter to:

416-252-0591 (ATTN: Michelle Nicol) Michelle@HigginsEventRentals.com

CRA Newsletter Advertising Sign Up – 2018 + 2019 Season – April 30 2018

Ottawa & Vegas fans united for a thrilling evening of hockey, networking and good times for the CRA Ontario November Member Event!

>>>>NOV 8TH 2018 RECAP VIDEO CRA ONTARIO<<<<

They hit the open road bright and early and began an epic journey!

On November 8^th and 9^th.  CRA Ontario members along with friends and family were on their way to our Nations Capital.  Parliament? Holiday Lights? No! The Sens vs. the Golden Knights at the Canadian Tire Centre.

This adventure began on the busy 400 highway and weaved their way on the “party bus” to Ottawa.  Checking in to the warm and awaiting Hotel, the adventure continued….The drive was an excellent way to visit, share and laugh as we once again met up with friends and colleagues from across the province.

And they’re off!  At the Canadian Tire Centre, the motley crew grew and was greeted to an incredible view of the ice and a very well appointed suite.  Everything a hockey goer could want.  Good food, fine beverages and lots of fun!  The Sens tried their best and really brought it all to the ice.  But alas the Knights won 5-3 in the 3^rd.

Thank you to everyone who organized this event!  If you missed out, you always have a chance the next time the CRA Ontario goes …..on the road!

Should you invite co-workers to your wedding?

Planning the big day? Congratulations! Let the fun begin.

If you haven’t already, you’ll soon find it can be tricky to balance wedding planning with work (that is, unless you have an actual job as a wedding planner). Seriously, though, creating the guest list alone is sure to cause some stress and heartache.

Just ask Britain’s Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle. With a high-profile guest list of 600 people, it’s been widely reported that some interesting cuts were made on both sides of the aisle. While Markle decided not to extend invites to her estranged half siblings, she did invite all of the main cast members, and even some of the crew, from her seven-season tenure on the TV show, Suits, as well as her stylist, Jessica Mulroney. As for the prince, a veteran of the British Army, more than 250 of his comrades from the Armed Forces will perform ceremonial duties at the wedding. Prince Harry also extended invites to colleagues from charities he’s worked with, including Sentebale co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho.

With all of the hype surrounding the royal nuptials (are the Spice Girls really going?), we started thinking: Should you invite your boss and co-workers to your wedding?

Monster career expert Vicki Salemi says it’s nice, but not necessary. “It’s nice since, technically, they’re your work family, and if finances allow, then go for it,” she says. “But if finances and head counts are tight for the big day, don’t feel obligated.”

Read on for proper wedding invitation etiquette—and other pre-wedding faux pas to avoid in the workplace before the big day—so you don’t lose any friends at work.

Which co-workers make the cut?

Looking around the office, it’s easy to see that each relationship you have with your colleagues is different. So how do you determine which ones—if any—should be there for your special day?

“Ask yourself if you’re going to be in touch with them after either of you leave this job,” Salemi says. “Where do you see the work friendship going one year, three years, even five years from now?”

OK, so maybe you have a work BFF who you absolutely want to invite, but as for your other co-workers, well, you’re just not as close—Salemi says that’s when it can get messy.

“You need to be up front about it,” she says. “Speak to them and address it, saying you hope they understand and don’t want them to feel left out, but it was ultimately a decision based on finances since weddings are incredibly costly.”

You can even add that you’d love to have a work wedding celebration with them, Salemi suggests.

Keep in mind, though, that “sometimes people don’t want to be invited to a wedding because they know how expensive it is and may not feel close to you,” Salemi says. “Plus, once you’re on the dance floor cutting loose, you may not want all of your colleagues there.”

But what about your boss?

Co-workers are one thing, but your boss is an entirely different animal. You might feel obligated to invite your boss or supervisor to your wedding, and while it’s a nice courtesy, Salemi says it’s OK if you don’t.

For example, if your boss is toxic and makes your skin crawl, don’t invite them—you don’t need additional stress on your wedding day. Or, if you’re going to start looking for a new job as soon as you return from your honeymoon, Salemi says you don’t need to bother sending them an invite.

On the other hand, if you have an awesome relationship with your boss, Salemi says it’s a no-brainer to invite your boss into your world.

“Your wedding day is an introspective lens into not only your personal life, but a glimpse at you and your future spouse as a couple,” Salemi says. “Special people belong there; non-special people don’t.”

Again, just make sure you address it with your boss if you choose not to invite them. You don’t want to get passed over for a promotion or a raise because they felt slighted.

Vow to minimize wedding talk

It may be one of the most important days of your life, but your co-workers don’t want to hear you talk incessantly about your wedding—that’s what your friends outside of the office are for. (The same applies to bachelor/bachelorette parties and bridal showers.)

“Yes, it’s incredibly exciting,” Salemi says, “but you also run the risk of having everyone at work wonder if you’re getting paid to hash out wedding details, or if you’re actually getting any work done, especially if you don’t invite some or all of your co-workers.”

Sure, your colleagues may see some photos you post on Instagram, or ask about the big day in passing, but Salemi says there’s no need to talk about it 24/7 at the office.

“If they bring it up, it’s OK to talk about it,” she says, “but once that particular conversation fizzles, there’s no need to constantly reminisce and bring it up.”

source: https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/invite-coworkers-to-wedding-0617

Crosby named ARA Regional Person of the Year!

Nancy Crosby of Classic Rentals in Truro, N.S., has been honoured as the American Rental Association’s Region 10 Regional Person of the Year for 2018. These awards honour members who have made outstanding contributions to the association and the rental industry on the regional, state, provincial or local levels.

Crown Verity is having their Annual End of Season Sale for their Rental Dealers Only!

Contact Rachael Caron at Crown Verity today to check out the amazing deals!

rachael@crownverity.com

Higgins is Having an End-Of-Season SALE!

We want to CELEBRATE with YOU!

Do you have an upcoming Anniversary? Grand Opening? Demo Day? Warehouse Sale? Industry Event? New Hires or Milestones? Do you just have something you want to share with us and your fellow membership?

The CRA Ontario wants to support you and your business and help you grow!

Let us share your successes with fellow industry professionals. In addition to recognition in our newsletters, We would love to represent the CRA Ontario at your special event and congratulate you in person on behalf of your association.

Please email Michelle Nicol, CERP (Incoming CRA Ontario 2nd Vice President) at michelle@Higginseventrentals.com with the details.

General Social Media Tips

First, let’s start with the back to basics tips that apply to any social network your business is using. These are the methods that even advanced social media users tend to forget sometimes.

• Make sure your social profiles are complete and up to date. Use Google to search for your business name and your own name. See which social networks rank both on the first two pages. Jot them down, and then visit each profile to make sure all of your information is filled out and up to date. This includes updating your website information if you’ve added anything new, such as a blog or an online store.
• Cross promote your social profiles. Look for opportunities to add links from one social profile to others. Google+, for example, allows you to link to as many of your other social profiles as you choose. Your YouTube channel offers a spot for Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ links. Also, don’t forget to include your social profiles in your email signature with applications like WiseStamp or simple text links to your social networks.
• Check your email contacts for new people to connect with on social networks, and do this periodically. If it’s been a few months (or a few years) since you last checked your email contacts for new people to connect with on social networks, now is a great time to do so. Try it on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
• Stop buying followers and fans. It’s an easy trap to fall into when your goal is to simply inflate your number of social followers. But networks like Facebook are already working to remove fake likes from pages; and tools for Twitter are exposing accounts with a high volume of fake followers. So just remember that it’s not worth it – fake followers and fans will do nothing for your engagement or your bottom line.
• Use Google Analytics to measure your social media efforts. First, set up goals in Google Analytics. Then use the new social reporting features of Google Analytics to ensure that you are getting results from your social media marketing campaign. You may not be able to measure some benefits of social media like engagement and the resulting consumer loyalty with your social media followers, but you can measure how much traffic social media brings to your website and how much of that traffic results in conversions.

Facebook Tips

Now, let’s move on to some tips for specific social networks, starting with Facebook, which still reigns as the #1 social network worldwide.

• Use the official Facebook buttons on your website. Help your content become more popular by including the Facebook like button. Encourage people to become a fan of your page with the like box or follow your personal profile with the follow button. Using these will help people connect with you in one click without having to leave your website.
• Take advantage of custom tabs on your Facebook page. You don’t have to be a developer to add custom content to your Facebook page. There are tons of application providers including Involver, inlineVision, and Pagemodo, to name a few. These companies offer free and paid apps to help you incorporate content from other networks (your blog, YouTube, Twitter, etc.) onto your Facebook page, create landing / welcome pages, offer exclusive deals / coupons, and even sell your products.
• Experiment with Promoted Posts, Sponsored Stories, and regular advertising. Facebook advertising has changed a lot this year. You have lots of different options – including the ability to promote posts on your personal profile! Try different types of advertising to help build likes and engagement for your fan page as well as sending visitors who click on your ads to your website or landing pages.
• Go beyond Facebook Insights. You know what Facebook Insights has to offer as far as analytics for your fan page. But there are other services, too, that can help you dig deeper into that data and use it to help boost your business on Facebook, including AgoraPulse, PageLever, Webtrends, Socialbakers, and Simply Measured. You can even get a little extra insight into your personal profile with WolframAlpha.
• Get alerted when your favorite fan pages have updates. Hyper Alerts is a free tool you can use to get email alerts when there is new activity on your own Facebook fan pages or others. You can monitor any page regardless of whether you are an administrator. If you market your page by commenting on other pages, it’s a great way to get notified when those pages have new updates. Alternatively, if you like to follow everything in a RSS reader, then this tip is for you: Just insert the fan page ID number into this URL – https://www.facebook.com/feeds/page.php?id=255576081168962&format=rss20 – and voila! You’ll have an RSS feed for the page’s updates. To find the page ID number, get the username of the page (http://facebook.com/username) and add it to this URL – https://graph.facebook.com/username. Then look for “id”: “255576081168962″ – that number is the page ID.

Twitter Tips

Twitter’s made a lot of changes to their platform in the last year, from the design to new advertising. Here are some things you should be taking advantage of.

• Make sure your profile is updated to the new look – and is still legible. Chances are you’ve heard about the new layout changes, specifically the new header image. While you may want to get super creative with this area, remember that your Twitter bio information will be sitting on that new header image with a white font. So whenever you decide on a new header image, make sure to test it to see if it’s still easy to read more about your business. And while you’re at it, make sure that your Twitter background compliments the new header instead of clashing with it.
• Manage your Twitter relationships in less time. There are lots of great tools that can help you update your Twitter account (like Buffer) and follow streams of Twitter activity (like HootSuite). Now, you can add a third tool to your essentials list. Commun.it helps you quickly engage with the most valuable members of your Twitter community – your influencers, supporters, and most engaged members. It helps you cut through the noise so you don’t neglect the people who likely help your business most on Twitter.
• Start promoting your accounts and tweets with Twitter advertising. You might have heard that Twitter advertising is expensive, which is true if you are interested in Promoted Trends. But Promoted Accounts and Promoted Tweets are not as expensive as you might think and are easy to set up. So try Twitter advertising today to boost relevant followers and engagement on Twitter.
• Land great clients by tweeting with them. Twitter is one of the easiest networks for engaging with people, regardless of whether they are following you. If you want to land a particular client for your business, start tweeting with them. Share their posts and include their username in the tweet. Follow key people in the company’s organization, if possible, to answer any questions they might ask their followers. The smallest interactions could lead to the biggest deals.
• Keep track of your follower trends. Want to know what you’re doing right or wrong with your Twitter account? Twittercounter is a free tool that lets you see your follower growth over a three month time span (or six months if you want to tweet about their service). Take a peek at it every so often to see if there are any major surges in your follower count, and match it up with updates or other promotions you had around the same time. This might help prevent you from making a mistake that leads to a loss of followers.

Google+ Tips

Even if Google+ is losing steam in the search engine world by not pushing updates from their network in search results, it is still an important network to be on. Here are some tips to use it wisely.

• If you’re a local business, encourage reviews on your Google+ local page. Before Google+, it might have been tough to encourage people to leave reviews for your business because the average person really wasn’t too interested in having a Google account. But now that Google+ is more widely accepted and used, it should be easier to encourage people to review your business on Google+, which will go a long way in making your business look good in local search results.
• Share most updates publicly. And share the most important ones publicly and add specific circles. Do you notice that sometimes you get notifications about people’s Google+ updates and sometimes you don’t? If you publish an update to the Public, notifications will not go out to everyone following you. But if you publish an update to the Public and add specific circles or specific people, then people in those circles or directly mentioned will see it in their Google+ notifications. Note that you don’t want to do this all of the time as you’ll drive people insane. Just do it for those really, really important updates that you don’t want people to miss.
• Take advantage of Google+ authorship. Surprisingly, there are a lot of blogs that still are not taking advantage of Google+ authorship. Authorship means that you will get your photo next to your content, which will make it stand out much more in search. If you have well-known contributors on your blog, the fact that they are recognizable can lead to more traffic for you. The best part? Authorship has gotten simpler – learn how you can quickly link your Google+ profile to content you create, and encourage everyone who writes for your blog to do the same.
• Use the official Google+ badge on your website. The Google+ badge makes it easy for visitors to your website to follow your page or your personal profile without having to leave your website. Be sure to implement it!
• Add the +1 button to your website and its content. Even if you don’t believe +1′s help with search, it may help with social sharing as people get the option to share anything they +1 with their followers. So be sure to add the +1 button to your main home page and on your content to make it easily shareable on Google+.

LinkedIn Tips

LinkedIn is still the reigning social network for professionals. Make sure you are aware of the newest features, and take advantage of them with these tips.

• Take advantage of the new company page design. There are lots of new conversion points on the new LinkedIn company page design, including the ability to add clickable banners on individual product and service pages. There also are new page insights which will tell you more about the people who visit your company pages, including their job title, industry, region, company size, and more.
• Post updates to your company page. Just like Facebook offers insights into your status updates on your Facebook page, LinkedIn now offers insights into status updates on your company page. You’ll see the number of impressions and clicks and the percentage of engagement for each of your updates. Your updates can even be targeted to a specific audience or shared with all of your followers.
• Encourage people to endorse you based on your skills. LinkedIn added a new feature enabling people to endorse you for having one or more particular skills. Make sure people can easily do this for you by adding skills to your LinkedIn personal profile, and then encourage others to endorse you by sharing your updated LinkedIn profile on other networks.
• Add additional details to your LinkedIn profile. Have you published books in print or online? Have you received professional certifications? Is your volunteering experience something you want to share? If so, go to Edit Profile and look for the Add option above your Summary. There you will find more specific sections you can add to your profile. Publications are especially nice as you can link them directly to Amazon or a page on your website. You can always include free ebooks in that list and link them to lead generation pages for your business.
• Try highly targeted LinkedIn advertising. LinkedIn advertising is a bit more expensive compared to other social advertising options. But it also offers targeting options that no one else does. If you are looking for clients in a specific industry, for example, you can target your ads toward people who work in that industry. By creating a customized landing page for people in those industries, it could make your targeted LinkedIn ads the best for social conversions.

Pinterest Tips

Pinterest is still holding its own in the social networking world and still outranking networks like Google+, LinkedIn, and even Instagram, according to Hitwise. These final tips will help you get the most out of it.

• Thank those who pin images from your website. Use the URL http://pinterest.com/source/domain.com/ — and replace domain.com with your website domain. This is good to let people know you appreciate them for sharing your brand’s content and making sure that any commentary on those images is good. It’s just another new form of online reputation management.
• Make sure no one is using your images without giving you a link back. Thanks to the features on Pinterest that allow you to upload images from your computer or change the website link associated with your pin, it’s easy for people to deliberately or inadvertently use your images on Pinterest without you benefiting from Pinterest traffic. If you have unique images on your website, you can use Google Images to do a reverse image search using the URL to your image or by uploading the image itself. Then look through search results to see if you find results from Pinterest. This can be a good way, in general, to make sure your images are not being used without permission.
• Schedule your pins. Pinterest is one of those networks that is easy to neglect for a while. Then all of the sudden you realize you want to be active so you start pinning like crazy, flooding your followers’ feed. Pingraphy is a great solution for this problem. You can upload pins in bulk and schedule when your pins should be posted, and you can see analytics for pins you have shared. Plus, you can see who the most influential pinners in your audience are and learn more about their interests.
• Use the Pin It button next to shareable images on your website. While you can embed a Pinterest button in your website’s template to work with all of your pages, you also can customize Pin It button for websites to use specific information (URL and description) and place it right next to the image you would like people to pin. This is especially great for infographics.
• Localize your Pinterest page. If you have a local business, or multiple physical locations, be sure to emphasize them on your Pinterest page by having boards dedicated to specific locations. A naturopathic doctor’s office in Los Angeles could create boards on its Pinterest page for Los Angeles natural food stores, yoga classes, and other healthy living references in the neighborhood, which could lead to a lot of local followers and, ultimately, local clients.

In Conclusion…

Social media is changing rapidly – in a month or two, there may be dozens of new features, designs, and advertising options available from various social networks. Your job is to make sure you are up to date with the latest changes and ready to adapt to the next wave of changes as they come! This will help ensure that your business is utilizing social media to its fullest extent for engagement, lead generation, and conversions.

Are there any other tips you would like to share about new features on the top social networking sites? Please let us know in the comments!

About the Author: Kristi Hines is a freelance writer, professional blogger, and social media enthusiast. Her blog Kikolani focuses on blog marketing for personal, professional, and business bloggers.