Welcome to Planting Seeds

• In early January 2008, I wrote a post over at the MarketingProfs Daily Fix blog titled “Plant seeds online to cultivate your brand”. That idea, which I had been polishing in my head for a long while, has now become the focus of this website.

Here’s an excerpt from that article:

“Maybe you have a website or a blog. Consider this to be your hub, the place you want people to come to connect with you or your brand. But you can’t just expect people to visit your site on your terms – you have to get out there and connect with them on their terms. And that means reaching out and interacting on different websites.”

Essentially, that’s the difference between building a web site and a web presence. More and more businesses are starting to recognize the importance of doing just that, either by growing their own branded web presence or creating teams within their organization responsible for getting out there and talking to people on their turf and terms.

At PlantingSeeds.ca, you can expect to learn more about these companies and the tools you can use to plant your own seeds. I’ll also point you to practical examples so you can see for yourself the many different ways people are planting seeds online.

Planting Seeds belongs to you too

• I’d also like to see this site become a place for you to plant your own seeds. In fact, it’s entirely possible that the dashboard-style homepage becomes completely community generated. For example, I invite any of you to Be My Guest and add a post at any time. Whether it be a quick post about a site you’ve noticed, a case study about a client you work with or anything else related to this topic, you have an open invitation to post here. I hope you take advantage.

• Next, you’ll notice YouTube, Slideshare and Vizu (poll embeds). Each links back to the Planting Seeds channel or favourites. I encourage you to visit these growing collections of some of the best marketing-related content I can find. I also encourage you to let me know what I’ve missed, whether it be a video that’s really inspired you or one of your own slide presentations. I’ll add then to my channel(s) and post them here as well. Don’t be shy to pimp your own work – after all, this is a place for you to plant seeds as well.

• You’ll also notice a feedback page linked from the menu up top. Consider that page an open thread for you rant, correct, critique or just blow off steam. I’m hoping the result of your feedback will be a better site for everyone. Down the road, I’d like to see this site evolve, so if you have any ideas, please don’t be shy to make your requests public in this section or to email me at mark (at) plantingseeds (dot) ca