Other Advertising

Increase Business with Mobile Tagging – QR Codes, SnapTags and more!

by
Codes

Connecting the digital and physical worlds – tags are on tangible things – like products, signage, flyers, countertops, display windows, print ads (newspapers, magazines and more.) Scanning them connects the consumer to a relevant digital experience. Using tags allows you to measure response rates to a particular marketing effort.

There are a number of different mobile tagging apps that you can use to tie physical marketing materials to your mobile website, texting program or other mobile marketing services. Some mobile tagging services to consider are:

• QR Codes
• Microsoft Tags
• SnapTags

QR codes are a type of 2D barcode made up of a series of square dots that encode alphanumeric data. When scanned, your smart phone reads the data and takes the action indicated, whether it sends the user to the home page of your website, to a special offer you’ve created or even your company Facebook page.

QR codes were created in Japan and have been widely used there and in Europe, but are just evolving into wide use in America in the past couple of years. The great thing about QR codes is that they are free to use and there are a number of free applications you can use to easily create them for your small business. The downside is that they are more functional than aesthetically pleasing.

 

Codes

 

Microsoft tags are much like QR codes in their functionality, but have more visual style. Another plus to Microsoft tags is that you can easily create a custom tag in just a minute or two for absolutely no cost. There are five different types of Microsoft tags:

• URL tags – these open a web page on the customer’s mobile phone and sends them to a specific page of your mobile site or a video or some other type of content.
• vCard tags – these open a virtual business card that customers can add instantly to their contact list.
• App Download tags – it recognizes the type of mobile device and sends the customer to the appropriate download source to get your mobile app.
• Free Text tags – this displays text of up to 1,000 characters, but is not an SMS/text message, it simply displays the text.
• Dialer tags – this automatically dials a specific phone number that you specify – it can be your business number, a help-line or even an automatic voice message.

SnapTags work in much the same way as QR codes and Microsoft tags, but typically take either your company logo or associated icon and convert it to an interactive tool that will direct people to your digital content. The upside of using a SnapTag is the advanced customization and visual appeal; the downside is that both creation and use of the tags come with a price tag. There are several different types of SnapTags:

• Branded SnapTags – these are tied to a particular marketing campaign and can take you to product information, a special promotion or something similar.
• Social SnapTags – these are linked to your Facebook or other social media account and allow the consumer to easily “like” you or “follow” you depending on which social media site it is tied to.
• Buy It Now SnapTags – these are linked to a specific product and take the consumer to an instant “buy it now” window where they can buy your product or service instantly.
• Action SnapTags – these initiate specific actions when scanned, such as getting a mobile coupon, emailing you, accessing your website, viewing video or requesting information.
• Mobile Giving SnapTags – these allow your customers to make a donation to a specific charity you have selected. You can even offer to match customer donations to promote your brand.

No matter which platform you decide to try, mobile tagging is a great way to make use of every inch of physical advertising space available. These can be created and placed on your checkout counters, takeout menus, packaging, posters, flyers, print ads, on your car or anywhere there is a physical surface and will increase your brand recognition.

Effective Mobile Coupons – Cashing in on Mobile Marketing!

by

If you’re a texter, you know that sometimes 160 characters are just not enough to communicate what you want to say. Spilling over into a second text is no big deal when you are texting with friends and family, but when you are texting a mobile offer to a customer, this is a big no-no! A single text – 160 characters (including spaces) – is what you have to learn to work within to craft effective text offers that consumers will rush to redeem.

When you hear “mobile coupon,” do you picture a paper coupon with dotted lines around the edges, ready to be cut out? Most mobile coupons – in reality – are simply texts from businesses with a code to provide at check-out or when ordering food, a product or services that generate the discount promised.

When you write a mobile offer to send out over text, you are sending a mobile coupon. Within the 160 character limit, you have to convey who the message is coming from, what you are offering, the time limit for the offer and the offer code.

For instance, if you manage a pizza parlor, a text offer might go something like this:

Gianni’s Pizza is having a Monday Madness pie sale – $5 for a large 2-topping pizza – good today only 2 pm-10 pm – carryout only – discount code MONDAY5!

That’s 153 characters and it’s pretty good – it covers all the elements, but it can be improved – consider this instead:

Gianni’s Pizza’s Monday Madness pie sale is on. $5 for a large 2-topping pizza. Today from 2-10 pm. Carryout only. Use code MONDAY5 when ordering. 555-555-5555

This refined message is at 159 characters. By stripping out a few words and some punctuation, the text is more targeted and now includes the phone number which would be click-to-call to encourage on-the-spot ordering to take advantage of the time-sensitive offer.

By having the business name up front, you let them know who’s communicating with them – this is appreciated and will encourage them to read on and making the offer immediately lets them evaluate whether the offer is relevant for them. Next, giving the terms and limitations encourages them to act immediately if they are interested in the offer. Finally, providing a click-to-call number makes it very tempting for them to click to access the deal straight away. If they close the offer to look for your number, you’ll lose people who would otherwise have redeemed the offer.

This model is valid for any small business, whether you own a dry-cleaner, hair salon, yogurt shop or landscaping service. The components of an effective text message are the same, only the content relevant to your business will vary.

Once you start sending out mobile offers, you’ll learn which offers generate the highest redemption rates. If you approach your texting strategy like a science experiment, you’ll be able to most effectively hone your text writing skills. This means changing only one aspect at a time. For instance, if you send out a mobile coupon, be sure to keep the text to improve upon it.

Even if you get a good redemption rate, you can always tweak for better results. If your offer was a dollars-off coupon, consider trying a percent-off next time or a buy one-get one type of offer to see which type of discount engenders the best response from your customers. Then, you may want to tweak the time period your offer is valid for – same day offers may elicit a better response than a three day window – depending on your business – but you’ll never know unless you tweak.

When crafting your text message, brevity is key, but don’t use abbreviated lingo unless you have to – for instance “Call to order” is preferable to “Call 2 order.” When people scan texts, this can look like a typo or a spam message that can cause them to delete your message.

Mobile coupons are being redeemed at a rate 10 times higher than paper coupons and cost 1/50th the price of paper coupons. If you’re not using mobile coupons to increase revenues and profits, you’re leaving money on the table every day.

Creating a Viral Contest for Your Service Business

by

If you’re after fast growth and want to get some momentum, a viral contest is a great way to get a lot of results fast.

It’s possible to create a contest that compels people to share it. Additionally, this method increases your email list, your Facebook fans, your Twitter followers, and your LinkedIn contacts.

In order to turn a regular contest into a compelling contest that people share (i.e., viral contest), you need two important factors. First, you need the technology to reward people for sharing the contest. Second, you need to give away something of great value.

Example 1: Contest for a Carpet Cleaner

Enter to Win 5 Years of Free Carpet Cleaning (up to twice a year for 5 years)
Value: Up to $2500

Share a link to this contest and get extra entries for each person who you refer who also enters into the contest.

Question: If you saw the above contest from a local carpet cleaner, would submit your name and email for a chance to win? Would you share with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and/or email for extra chances to win?

Let’s say they get 500 new contacts. They are providing $2500 worth of services, over a 5-year period, so that works out to only $5 per new contact. Figure they pay someone like me $1000 to set up the contest; they’re still at $7 per contact. This represents a list the carpet cleaner can send promotions to directly and at virtually no cost.

Keep in mind that these people all entered to win local carpet cleaning. This means they’ve qualified themselves. A list like this could make a business.

Example 2: Contest for an Accountant

Win Tax Preparation for 7 years

Example 3: Contest for an Auto Mechanic

Win $1000 Worth of Auto Repair Services

OR – Win Oil Changes and Preventative Maintenance for 3 Years

Get Crazy

The crazier the offer, the more eagerly people will share it. In other words, the more you give away, the more new contacts you’ll get. This will happen partially because some people will need to see the contest several times before taking action. Once 3-5 of their friends have posted something on Facebook about it, they’ll feel compelled to check it out.

To make your offer compelling, make it bigger. Either extend it over a longer period of time, give more in each transaction, or both. There is a bit of gamble in this. Unlike the casino, though, your odds of having a successful campaign go up as you add more value.

In a perfect world, you’d want your target audience to look at your contest and say, “I can’t believe they’re giving this away!” If you hit that level and have the technology in place, it’s hard to fail.

What to do with the Losers

When the contest is over, you’ll have one winner (probably) and 100’s of “losers” (hopefully). It’s what you do with all of the people who didn’t win that will provide your ROI for this strategy. You need to have a plan for staying in contact with them. It can also be effective to send them a special offer to get them in the door for the first time.

A contest is a fun and exciting way to build a bunch of buzz about your business and build a list. While it’s not right for everyone, it’s certainly something to consider.

New Youtube Feature

by

I guess youtube is ready to try and start making money… They have a new feature that’s sponsored videos.  Right now this represents a fantastic opportunity. It’s PayPerClick, meaning you only pay when someone clicks to view your video.

The reason this is exciting is because it’s an auction kind of system,  (the more you pay the higher you are on the list of advertisers), but there aren’t a lot of advertisers on it yet. This is a huge advantage for bidding on keywords. I was able to get keywords like build a website for 10 cents, and actually show up number one for that search. This hasn’t been the case in any other ppc search engine for about 5 + years.

Here’s a video with more info.

Get Your Direct Mail Piece Opened

by

One of the key things you need to accomplish when sending out a direct mail piece, is to get your envelope opened.

Here are a few tricks to get your letter opened…

  • Put some extra stamps on your envelope – The most extreme level of this, is to use all one penny stamps
  • Use large envelopes
  • Hand write the address (labels will reduce your open rate)
  • Hand write a personal note
  • Use a small envelope
  • Use a different color
  • Use a cartoon

The idea is to get someone curious about what’s in the envelope. You’re using the envelope to sell them in the idea of opening it.

Use Post-it Notes

by

A post-it note is a great way to advertise your website. You can get printed post-its, but that’s not what I’m talking about.

How about this… Every time you send someone a letter, you put a sticky note on it with your web address. Hand write the note and assuming it’s readible, your site will be promoted even more.

Featured Client Contest

by

Run a contest among clients with the winner receiving a featured spot on your website, and/or in your newsletter. Not only is this a clever way to keep in contact with your clients, the winner will be more likely to send you some referrals.

This is a great prize for to use as insentive for people signing up for your newsletter. I might do this myself.

More Shirt Ideas

by

You can also give away T-shirts with your URL on them. If it fits your company, give away T-Shirts in childrens sizes, and make them blue and pink.  You don’t want to give away the T-shirts for no reason, you want to people to wear them. Striking Graphics has a printer that actually prints on fabric. This tool allows them to sell with no min. order.