I am very excited to introduce today's guest post authored by Kevin Jagger. Kevin has been a leader and innovator in the field of social media's role in business and he is also one of the most inspirational and motivated people I have met. If you don't know already, Kevin is currently training full-time as a long track speed skater with the goal of competing in the Olympic games. Knowing Kevin's work ethic, leadership, and drive, I am fully confident he will achieve this goal! I highly recommend checking out Kevin's personal blog Long Track Long Shot. Kevin is also running a contest with this post so don't leave before checking it out at the bottom!
Thanks, Tyrell!
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Having an online following affords you the ability to provide ongoing commentary about your day – things you didn’t like, things you liked, and things you absolutely loved. These opinions have a real impact and influence over others who label you a thought leader within a given space.
Just yesterday I noticed an interesting tweet from Tyrell: 
With social media, businesses must be very conscious of their brand and their reputation at all times because the concept of “going viral” can go both ways.
Often brands say that they are “not online.” The fact is they are online, people are talking about them everyday. Whether they themselves have an engaged presence is a different story. An active Twitter account, for example, affords brands the ability to REACT to what is being said about their brand – both the positives and the negatives.
Here is one such example where Perdita Felicien, one of Canada’s most recognizable Summer Olympians, posts a question about what compression gear people recommend: 
The response comes from Reid Coolsaet, one of Canada’s top marathon runners. Given Reid’s extensive (and impressive!) resume, it is safe to say he is a “thought leader” when it comes to recovery techniques and compression gear.
And here is the response / result:
Talk about social media ROI!
The brand, in this case CEP Compression Canada, now has the ability to respond and react. They take the opportunity to reach out to Perdita (who is a Nike athlete) and offer her other CEP products that may interest her.
In addition to making the connection to Perdita, they now have the ability to leverage this engagement through other digital channels:
Much more powerful way to share client testimonials than the old fashioned, we send you product, you send us two lines about how awesome the product is, we post to our website. This is real. This is candid. This is two of Canada’s top athletes sharing their thoughts openly and honestly with the everyone to see.
By being active and engaged online, CEP was able to react and capitalize.
Win a Pair of CEP Compression socks!
As a thank you to Tyrell for his great work on this blog CEP would like to offer a pair of CEP Compression Socks to one lucky reader.
Here is how you enter:
1. Post a comment on this blog [1 entry]
2. Become a fan of CEP Compression Canada on Facebook [1 entry]
The contest will end at 12:00 PM on Friday August 26th!
adamclifford10
Great post! I'm beginning to realize the true potential for connecting with similar people in different places and for harnessing support for your cause. A little effort goes a long way and you never know who is on twitter or Facebook. The opportunities are endless and like most things in life, the benefit of social media is directly proportional to the time spent doing it!
Just the other day I tweeted about going to the Richmond Olympic Oval and when I arrived there was a two for one entry pass for my mom and I! It took me by a huge surprise!
TyrellMara
moderator
Great story Adam, @adamclifford10! That is very cool to hear your experience with the Richmond Oval and how they were able to listen via social media to create a more positive experience for you and somewhat of a "wow" moment!
I totally agree that the opportunities are endless and it comes down to whether we are willing to invest the time and energy in the relationships and engagements!
Thanks for your comment and sharing your experience!
My latest conversation: Welcome to The Cutting Edge!
hooismarbs
Power of social media but I have also had lots of people ask me about the product when wearing them and have gotten alot of friends into the CEP because of my use so word of mouth still works too.
ChrisDulhanty
Interesting article, CEP is awesome!
Klowee
I have been using CEP socks for about a year and a half. As a steeplechaser I get alot of shin pains and the socks really help to train and recover.
fangle
Just wore my CEP socks on the way home from a triathlon in Orillia, ON, my calves are feeling great right now.
kevinjagger
fangle Great to hear! They are a fantastic product!
GillianClayton
great to see CEP continue to spread the word....funny to think now I picked up my first pair in Germany...
byrtram
I have only recently heard about CEP Compression gear, and the more I hear , the more i want to try it out. So many runners were wearing them at the Edmonton Marathon this weekend.
kevinjagger
byrtram There were tons, including women's marathon champ, and CEP athlete, Ellie Greenwood who was rocking the CEP sleeves and compression running shorts. Here is a pic of Ellie in her CEP gear at the finish of the Edmonton Marathon this morning: http://ltls.ca/riW3lr
TractorView
Great post very all so very true, it's really is too bad so many companies have not really wrapped their minds around the positive leveraging of social media and are paralyzed by the potential for negative comments. Some of the most amazing customer loyalty can be built online by companies who choose to listen. CEP is obviously one of those companies, great post.
TeriConrad
Great post kevinjagger ! So true....you're either "On the bus...or under it". I believe most brands are starting to accept that they better become part of the conversation if they want to have any say at all ;)
TyrellMara
moderator
I think this is a great post and it really takes us through the steps of how a brand can leverage social media to see both real value in terms of word of mouth and referrals, but actual tangible sales as well)!
What impresses me most about CEP's strategy is that they are thinking outside of the box and getting the extra mile out of every engagement they create. For example, they understand that Perdita is a trustworthy and credible source in the athletic/fitness world so instead of simply leaving her great endorsement on twitter, they leverage that tweet and post it to their Facebook page! Not only will the post on the Facebook page hit a different audience, but it also has a much longer lifespan- meaning more people will continue to view the post as time goes on, whereas if they had only retreated Perdita's endorsement it may have been seen for a few hours or a day!
I am looking forward to keeping tabs on CEP to watch and learn from how they continue to use social media to create real value for their brand.
Thanks for the great post, Kevin!
My latest conversation: Welcome to The Cutting Edge!
KarenBallinger
The more I hear about CEP compression gear, the more they seem like a great investment!
Steph_Drolet
Super interesting post!
kevinjagger
Steph_Drolet Thanks Steph!
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I wanted to personally thank everyone for taking the time to read and contribute their thoughts to this blog post! I just got word from Kevin that the official contest winner is Gary Chambers, congratulations Gary!
I would love to stay connected with all of you either here on the blog or over any other social networks, if you have any questions comments, or feedback I would greatly appreciate it here or on Twitter tyrellmara !
Thank you again for being a part of this community of learning!
Cheers,
Tyrell
My latest conversation: Welcome to The Cutting Edge!
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