Spring Running

The temperature hit 22 Degrees in Toronto on Monday.  And just like that winter is over!  

It's Spring in TO and the running is good.  Time to throw off the layers of winter gear, ditch the toque and the gloves and in the process loosing what feels like kilograms of weight. 

It's been stop-and-go running for me this past six months and I'm happy to have winter behind me. From my run/walk race experiences at the Toronto 15K in September and the Reggae Marathon 10K in December, my running has matched the weather:  Up and down...good one day, terrible the next.  There's been no rhythm at all.  Over the same time I've been tested up one side and down the other.  We've eliminated the big bad issues thankfully and have narrowed it down to being a problem with my oxygen conversion.  We're now moving ahead to find the root cause...more testing of course but hopefully by the time summer starts we'll have the breathing issue that has affected my running enjoyment sorted out.  In the meantime I'm still running, although significantly more slowly.

The upside though is that it is Spring in Toronto...time to go for a run!

Until next time...
ThatRunninGuy

How Lead Management Improves Sales

How does Lead Management improve sales? Tracking the key metrics that measure how many leads your receive, where they come from and how your sales team responds and engages with these online shoppers.

Chris M Morales

 

chris.morales@bell.net
@ChrisMoralesTO

647 393 3855

 

The opinions expressed on this blog are my own and are not associated with any other group or organization

 

Breathing with your Diaphragm

Breathing properly, especially while running, makes all the difference in the world.  It's called breathing with your diaphragm or stomach breathing versus chest breathing.

Back in the day at Broadcasting school we learned 'Diaphragmatic Breathing'.  That's basically using your diaphragm to pull air into your lungs and exhale completely. How it works is that when you exhale you intentionally push out your stomach and reverse it when exhaling.  It gets air into the deepest pockets of your lungs and evacuates more completely.  It takes a bit of practice to get it right but once you do it, it becomes natural.  You'll never breathe 'from your chest' again and wonder how you managed before. The best way to illustrate the benefits of breathing with your diaphragm is in the infographic below:

Until next time...
ThatRunninGuy

Social Media Trends in 2017

Two things stand out in Social Media Trends in 2017:

1. Increase in Personalized Content...yes, it's all about 'Me'!
2. More reliance on Social Influencers..."What's that you said?"

Live Streaming Video (Like Facebook Live) and Augmented Reality are also at the top of the list of Social Media Trends.  Both were on display at the recent Digital Marketing Event in Toronto, Dx3.  

When I'm asked by a Business Owner if she should use Facebook I respond that it's not the platform, it's the ability of the technology to engage with their customers and target audience that matters.  For this Small Business Owner I recommend a Base that looks like this:

1. Blog (hosted on the business website):  Business updates;  User-generated content (Customer Stories);  Video sourced from YouTube
2. Facebook (Primary Social Media Channel):  Blog post updates;  Live events on Business Page;  Boosted Posts;  Facebook Display
3. Online Advertising (Targeted):  Search, Display, Re-targeting to reach current customers (reinforce purchase decision) and new ones (generate inquiries)

Here's more on the top 8 Social Media Trends to watch for in 2017:
 

Chris M Morales

chris.morales@bell.net
@ChrisMoralesTO

647 393 3855

The opinions expressed on this blog are my own and are not associated with any other group or organization