The Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce announced the Finalist for the 2014 SABEX Awards on April 15th, and Trusted was thrilled and excited to be named as finalist in the 2 categories we submitted applications for. 

This is the 2nd year in a row that Trusted has been finalist for SABEX and the winners will be announced May 15th at a swanky Great Gatsby themed gala dinner at Prairie land Park. It has been a wonderful 2014 so far for the company, and also for the Trusted Directories founder Sara Wheelwright, who was nominee for the Saskatoon Young Athena Awards in March and was also recently announced as a finalist for Saskatoons YWCA Women of Distinction Awards in the entrepreneur category, the winner will be announced at the annual gala diner on May 28th at TCU place. 

Trusted is a Finalist for the 2014 SABEX:

Marketing award Awarded to the Saskatoon based business demonstrating exceptional performance in marketing. The judges will evaluate the success of a marketing program giving consideration to the nature of the product and the relative size of the business.

New Product & service Award which is Awarded to the Saskatoon and district business demonstrating exceptional performance in launching a newly created Saskatchewan product or service in the last three (3) years, which is original and currently available to consumers. 

We are very excited to be recognized and look forward to having fun on the night..and who knows..maybe this year we might come home with some silver wear!! 

Along with Trusted 6 Trusted Saskatoon partners are also finalists in 4 of the categories , and we wish them all the best of luck ..we KNOW they are all awesome and very deserving! 

• SABEX Customer Service Award Finalists Fresh Living & Reed Security
• SABEX Growth & Expansion Award Finalists Go2Guys Developments Inc.
• SABEX Marketing Award Finalists Metric Design Centre
• SABEX Business of the Year Award Finalists  The Park Town Hotel 

For a complete list of all the 2014 finalists click here

The power of Trusted Case study Tammy Wandzura Trusted Saskatoon and Regina Mortgage Broker – This video was part of her Trusted partner special of 4 video's for free – We promoted the video via 2 city specific blogs..this cost Tammy nothing but time ...this shows the power of Trusted and what we do ..beyond just listing you on a directory, which is all that anyone else in the directory industry does for you!  

KNOWLEDGE + PARTNERSHIPS + ACTION = RESULTS

 REGINA BLOG

In less than 48 hours Trusted Regina on Facebook 

Saskatoon Blog

84 people have read the Saskatoon blog for 3min25 secs already..the video is 3min 25sec long – so that’s quality viewing then..including 52 people from from Saskatoon !!

102 people have read the Regina blog so far..74 of them from Regina and Moose Jaw …surely they are local immigrants wanting this important info... because lets be honest here , why else would you watch it?

The video went viral on You Tube after being picked up from sites we shared it to ..with nearly 10,000 views in less than 36 hours !

Trusted is the best marketing vehicle for local business with integrity....again this all in less than 2 days .

This video and the blogs are only going to be MORE effective in the future for Tammy ..never less than they are now!

Can the same be said for a newspaper ad, a flyer or a magazine article?  Or ...perhaps passive old Yellow Pages, where Mortgage Brokers have traditionally spent the bulk of their advertising budget.

Find out more about Trusted here ..and listen to what the TRUSTED Businesses across Saskatchewan have to say about the benefits of being Trusted

The Trusted team are absolutely invested in the Trusted Partners across Saskatchewan. We do what we can to give as much value and to help them as much as possible,  as their success is linked absolutely to Trusted's long term success!

We have hosted Trusted 4 hour lunch and learns followed by networking events  in both markets recently,  to educate the Trusted businesses about the importance of a good online presence, social media and how to mange and build a solid online reputation. Sara the Trusted founder believes that local businesses need to know WHY online is important and she shares her knowledge as an expert in local SEO and marketing with the Trusted partners, so they keep ahead of the curve and their competition in todays rapidly changing marketing landscape!

We had well over 100 attendees from over 70 Trusted Businesses across the province attend ..and the events were catered by Trusted partners and held in Trusted venues! Great food, Great company, Great music  & invaluable education.  

Here we share just some of the many messages of appreciation, testimonials and words of support that the partners have taken the time to send us after attending the sessions.  These business owners and managers took the time out of their busy schedules, as they understand it is just as important to work ON your business as it is to work IN your business if you want to have the most success!

THIS IS WHY WE LOVE WHAT WE DO AT TRUSTED HQ!!

" Thanks for the luncheon on Monday; met some new people and ran into some old faces. I know the SEO and social media work we’ve done with YOU GUYS and Trio has really done a lot to keep us on track with (if not slightly ahead of) the big fitness franchises moving into the city in recent years (gone from a 6-8th place Google rank to 1st-2nd place). Having learning what I’ve learned over the past few years, these days I actually enjoy spending time on all the different areas of our internet marketing, be it Instagram, FB, Blogging etc. I know events like this will help all the other Trusted Partners see the value in it and does for them what it has for Fitness Focus. Hope to see you guys again soon, thanks again " GARRET BLACKWELL , FITNESS FOCUS HEALTH & ATHLETIC CENTRE Trusted Saskatoon Gym & Fitness Experts -Dedicated to improving wellness in Saskatoon.

 "So.. you really DO know what your talking about!! ;) Had an hour long conference call today with guy doing our on line marketing stuff. He said same stuff about things you did. Actually I know you know your stuff it was good to verify that this guy is on same page and not just some guy taking my money! Let me know what you think or any suggestions. Between what he does and what you do I want to dominate my categories on line locally! Thanks again for yesterday too. I am ridiculously busy right now and would have been ticked had it been a waste of my time! now I am edumacated. " Rick Griffith - PRESIDENT / GENERAL MANAGER Premium Home Leisure - Trusted Saskatoon Outdoor Living & Hot Tub experts.

"Trusted ,you are amazing ! Want to set ups meeting with you an our tech guy next week. Thanx so much for everything," Laddie- Hairstyle Inn - Trusted Saskatoon Salon

" Fantastic information! I can't wait to put some of this into use! I need to jump in with both feet! Look out world!!! Thank you for the Lunch & Learn! Learned so much! " Imagery Photography, Trusted Saskatoon Photographers

" Morning Sara  Im having trouble deciding who in my company NOT to help understand social media. If I  paid extra for lunches etc, could I get more than 2 people there? You offer so much value to the Trusted partners I cant understand why www.trustedregina.com isn't full.... but we all heard the story about leading horses to water..!! " Duane, Halcyon Spas - Trusted Regina hot tub and Outdoor Living Experts

" Great presentations on Social Media Marketing by Sara and Trusted Team A great perk for Trusted members! " Virgil Reed, Reed Security - Trusted Saskatoon and Trusted Regina Alarm & Security experts

" Good morning , Truly enjoyed the presentation yesterday, a lot of information to sift through and to put into practical application. Thanks again for hosting a wonderful and educational event. Best Regards " John Cave www.jandspicture.com - Trusted Saskatoon Framers

"Thank you Sara and staff for a wealth of useful information and insight on social media. I realize that we have a lot of work to do on Google business. The presentations were very organized and easy to follow. As usual - a real class act! Thanks to all involved. Action creates Action! We sold the show home. Thank you so much for your help once again!I " Lorena Sawchyn , Emerald Park Homes. Trusted Regina Home Builders

" Enjoyed the day and hospitality. Thanks and take care! " Mike Armstrong , Armstrong Wealth Management Group part of Richardson GMP Trusted Saskatoon Financial Experts

" SUCH a great job Trusted team!!! Thanks so much for the great food, drinks, networking and social media education! I can't wait to put it all into ACTION! " Michele Strawford, Fotobella - Trusted Regina Photographer

" Thank you so much to you and your amazing staff for all the great information and tips!!! I have learned so much from you already and am grateful to have learned that much more. I am looking forward to the future session! " CNG Stone team , Trusted Regina Countertop experts

" Very good seminar, hopefully we can take advantage of knowledge imparted to us in the very near future! " Shane Foster , Accurate Construction - Trusted Regina Window & Door and Renovation Experts

SMP Saskatoon ‏@smpchev · tweeted " Had a great time with all our trusted partners at the social media luncheon put on by #trustedsaskatoon! :) @Trustedcanada " Trusted Saskatoon Auto Dealer

The networking events are fun ..but they bring leads and business too!!

"  Good day. Thanks to the trusted team conference help, . because of that conference I met the wonderful business people like Mr. Duane of Halcyon Spas. He asked me to do the stripping and waxing their vinyl floors last night and I did my part now they will try our cleaning services for weekly cleaning to their office. I greatly appreciate your idea founding the great directory. All the best and God bless u. " Nick , RSC Commercial Cleaning- Trusted Saskatoon Commercial Cleaners

Check out the amazing ' Trusted and social media themed' cake from PickNics Catering - Trusted Saskatoon caterers 

Trusted offers the best investment for your marketing dollars- more than any other medium...and more importantly we are well positioned in this new marketing landscape- if you are interested in finding out more, to see if it's a fit for your business contact us today by clicking here !!! 

The Trusted team strives to keep up with the innovations in marketing and advertising as they happen.. we 'WALK the WALK and TALK the TALK' . Trusted is super active ( and effective) on our many (SM's) social media platforms, we blog consistently and we have a fantastic new Trusted App.

' New media ' is constantly changing and it is important as a business owner and / or marketing person to take the time to keep yourself informed (and on track) with new developments, so you can see how they may influence and affect your businesses bottom line now and in the future. When we find great information we share it with our partners and friends here on the Trusted Canada blog and in person, after all, that's what being social is all about.

Have you Googled your category locally lately? If not you should,  as like many others you may be wondering why your search engine rankings have dipped suddenly? Watch out! You may still be unaware of the latest version of a Google update named “Penguin” & “Panda” Series update!

So, each year, Google changes its search algorithms innumerable times. While most of these changes are minor, every few months Google runs out a ‘major’ algorithmic update that affects search results in significant ways...if your rankings have dipped significantly then you need to make some changes to your current website. Whether that be yourself, the ' web expert' in your business or the web designer or outside consultant that you turn to for web help don't delay!     

In short: Old SEO strategies are passé. To stay ahead in the game, you need to be in tune with these ever changing prerequisites. If you thought your website could get away with:

• Links from pages having no content

• Poor quality links from irrelevant sites or links from site JUST crammed with ads

• A static site that isn't updated

• Not having a blog or blogging the same content for multiple submissions or providing poor quality content 

• Absence of Social Media strategy in the overall SEO plan

 Your rankings will suffer!

At Trusted we keep a track of all these unpredictable Google updates for our Trusted partners  and we don't just explain why and how but we  also help them  tackle these changes before they start to hit their rankings and organic website traffic.

Firstly just BEING part of Trusted really helps their SEO!!

Here we share our SEO strategies that are attuned to the latest Google Panda update:

• We link ONLY to sites that make logical sense and we steer clear of deceptive, ad-heavy sites.

• We use mostly unique and always top quality, relative content, every single time we blog...and we blog ALOT ( up to 52 times a month)  

• We incorporate Social Media in the best possible way and that generates a lot of quality  traffic

• We focusing on local search and that is what GOOGLE focuses on when it comes to the kind of businesses we partner with.

But most importantly we don't try to cheat Google rankings or cut corners- we work hard to provide everything that Google values and considers when doing these updates and in the end that is what will win out - It's ALWAYS better to be good than to be slick ...!    

Doesn’t Let the Panda Devour Your Rankings! 

If you are interested in applying for Trusted Regina directory  or Trusted Saskatoon Directory and benefiting from our expertise contact us today!  

The Trusted team strives to keep up with the innovations in marketing and advertising as they happen.. we 'WALK the WALK and TALK the TALK' . Trusted is  super active ( and effective) on our many  (SM's) social media platforms, we blog consistently and we have a fantastic new Trusted App.

' New media ' is constantly changing and it is important as a business owner and / or marketing person to take the time to keep yourself informed (and on track) with new developments, so you can see how they may influence and affect your businesses bottom line now and in the future.

When we find great information we share it with our partners and friends here on the Trusted Canada blog and in person, after all, that's what being social is all about.

The Trusted Directories mandate is to make consumers life easier by promoting and supporting GREAT local SMB's ( Small Medium Businesses) because we realize without them in a marketplace offering great service and local accountability we would all suffer...they are the true life blood of the economy, the worms in the dirt, and it's important that they are supported and that they are encouraged to make time to keep up with consumer trends and habits.       

Canadian connectivity and mobile trends...why it's important to have an online AND mobile presence in business today

( and if not plan for it soon!)

FACTS FIRST:

• Canadian consumers are WAY ahead of the rest of the World when it comes to Online and mobile usage- spending on average 17.5hous a week online!   
• Over 80% of the population has internet access, and more and more Canucks are signing up daily and embracing social media via smartphones. 
• Canadian watch more videos online each month than any other nation on Earth.
• The average Canadian consumer is plugged-in everywhere!

In the average Canadian home it is not uncommon to have 10 + points of internet access ( multiple smart phones, desktops, tablets, laptops, ipods, smart TVs, online gaming system's like Play Stations, Digital Media receivers like Boxee's or Apple TV's) . Canadians access the internet on the go, at work, while watching TV, and while shopping ( who hasn't check a bottle of win on an App or done a quick internet scan to price check on an item you are considering buying? ). So it really doesn't make ANY sense that Canadian businesses are still lagging when it comes to integrating ecommerce and mobile marketing into their marketing strategy. If they want to engage with the constantly increasing online Canadian consumers, businesses must take action to increase their online activity to have a chance of ' getting the sale' .

Marketing experts have been telling us for 2+ years now that “mobile is the next big thing.” ..and guess what it is HERE! 

Local SMB's need to Adapt and Grow ..or they will SUCK, because if they aren't where their customers are looking for them,  they will lose the sale to someone that is! Chances are that someone is a BIG BOX that has been waiting for the opportunity to take the business, with a department of marketers who are in step with what's been happening and who have everything already in place to make the experience as smooth as possible for customers to switch their business over or new customers to choose them.

Here is a great Infographic from 6SMarketing that does a great job of laying out EXACTLY where Canadian connectivity was at in 2012..and it isn't decreasing that's for sure! Some truly startling stats ( from GOOGLE ) that really do prove our point!

So what do we know for sure?  

This ' interweb thingy'  isn't going away,  social is vital for business success NOW (and in the future) and mobile IS an important factor and SHOULD be an important consideration in any SMB's marketing strategy (especially in their website design).

Even if you personally don't feel like you and your social group of peers are as connected as the stats we have shared, even if you don't personally like to be online so much, even if it 's not how YOU do business....take heed of this great saying that we use all the time to prospective clients who struggle with our concept and way of doing things..

"The Fisherman doesn't have to eat the worm ..it's not MEANT for him!"

If you want to know more about Trusted and what we do-  connect with us ..you'll find us on Facebook in Saskatoon, Facebook in Regina , on Twitter @Trustedcanada on You Tube , on Blogger on Pintrest , on LinkedIn or just Contact us through the website