QR Codes – How Effective Are They?

Quick Response codes – they seem to be cropping up everywhere but very few of them are used successfully by marketers. Small businesses can use QR codes to engage customers, but they need to use them effectively.

QR codes have set the mobile world on fire internationally. In the US and Europe, not so much. Look for this to change in 2012 and beyond as more phones ship with QR code readers built in, and marketers become more savvy about how to use them.

Consider the obstacles to their mass adoption. Let’s assume the casual user knows what a QR code is when they see it, and what they’re supposed to do with it. And that’s a big assumption—there are still plenty of people who haven’t the foggiest clue what those “weird square black and white checked thingies” are. First, they have to take out their phone. Be it on a belt clip, in a purse, where ever, they still have to pull it out to hold it up for the scan. Unless of course it’s already in their hand, in which case they’re probably on the phone or writing up a text, so they have to stop what they’re doing and switch to their QR Code Reader.

This assumes they have a QR Code reader. If they don’t, they’re not a prospect anyway, so let’s ignore that huge majority and focus on the small sliver of the population that does have one. So they scan the code, they wait a bit…and then what happens? Sometimes it flat out doesn’t work—the scan fails, or the decoding doesn’t work. Hopefully this sad aspect of the technology will go away soon.

If the scan does work, sometimes it takes the user to a video that requires too much bandwidth to play properly. (Lost that one!) Or it takes them to a web page for a coupon they have to print… but wait,

(oh, right!) they’re mobile and don’t have a printer with them! Fail!

Then there’s the fact that marketers are placing QR codes poorly in the first place. They have been seen on billboards (“Quick, hon, get your phone out…oh, never mind”), the sides of moving vehicles, and other places just plain too difficult for most people to use.

Or they put one on a sign or poster in a window with no information about what the person will get if they scan it. If there’s no enticement to go through all the trouble to do the scan, people are not going to do it.

Make It Easy, Make It Work

A simple “scan this for an additional 20% off” works wonders. Or learn a lesson from Calvin Klein, who created an “R” rated video and enticed users to “Get it uncensored.” Gap (the clothing retailer) uses QR Codes to let users check into Foursquare and get immediate discounts, styling ideas, and other goodies.

Look for an avalanche of QR codes in marketing this year, and look for their results to be much quicker, more responsive, and therefore more effective. And look for service offerings that make implementing such campaigns easier and cheaper.

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Smart Up Your Social Media Management

Social media has been around for a few years now, and marketers are still trying to work out how to monetize it. I gave you a few Facebook tips on my last post that might help you out, but most marketers will tell you, however, that you can’t make money via this medium – because people don’t like being sold to in social situations, real or virtual.

Businesses are also having a hard time – working out how to provide the numbers that show an ROI. Having a return on your social media investment is important, but that’s almost impossible to do.

So why are we all spending so much time using social media? Well, it’s a perfect platform to build relationships on, but building relationships takes time.

Ever wondered, “Who has time for all this tweeting, Facebooking and Linking In? As you might expect having some time saving tools in your social media tool kit makes a big difference. I have used, and still use a mix of software and web based solutions – Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, and others [watch my video on three Twitter apps that rock.]

But one of my preferred finds for social media management for about 18 months now has been MarketMeSuite. I paid for the software when it first came out, and now it’s free! This program consolidates all your interactions with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn into a single desktop interface, making it easier than ever to be active in your social circles.

With MarketMeSuite you can:
• manage multiple accounts on each of the big three social sites.
• track keyword usage across all platforms to stay on top of what’s happening in your field.
• store “canned” responses, then quickly and easily reply to relevant posts.
• upload tweets and status updates in advance, and schedule them to post at pre-set times in the future.

Actually there are a ton of other features that make this app rock. Keep reading.

Platform Independence
Whether your office is Windows-only, Mac-based, or a multi-platform mish-mash, every computer can run MarketMeSuite. The program runs on Adobe Air, which makes it truly cross-platform. Adobe Air must be installed first, but the overhead is negligible. There’s even a version you can use on your smartphone, giving you the power to interact with your fans while on the road.

With MarketMeSuite’s multi-user capability, you can open up your social media accounts to other people on your team, yet remain in control over who can do what with which account. Give your assistant permission to send out tweets on the company account, let your business partner write on your Facebook pages, and keep the power to update your LinkedIn status all to yourself.

A Wealth Of Other Features
I’ve barely scratched the surface of what this tool is capable of. If you haven’t tried MarketMeSuite yet, give it a try. I think you will be very pleasantly surprised – especially if you use Google calendar. MarketMeSuite might just make a huge difference in your ability to strengthen and promote your brand across the Internet.

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Facebook Advertising – A Quick Intro

Many Internet Marketing folks have been looking for ways to monetize Facebook over the last few years. To be honest – it’s hard to monetize social media, because that’s the medium people are using to be sociable on! How would you feel if you were at a party and someone there, who you didn’t know, started trying to get you to buy stuff?

Advertising on Facebook can leave folks with that kind of feeling. However, if you do it right, you can get results.

And you can take advantage of the approximately 800 MILLION people on the mega network to get people over to your Facebook page, your website, or other online offer.

Before you start placing ads, you had better have a good understanding of what you are getting into so you don’t turn a potentially lucrative advertising campaign into a serious MONEY PIT.

Below is a simple list of the things you must know before getting started with Facebook ads so you don’t lose your shirt and make your campaign as cost effective as possible:

• Define your target market
  If you don’t clearly define your target market, you will likely display your ad to people who don’t have any interest in your offer. Make sure to clearly define who you are looking for by their location, gender, their likes and interests and their connections. You can then select this info when creating your ad so it is displayed ONLY on the profiles that meet this criteria.
• Define the GOAL of the ad
  Do you want people to LIKE your page? Visit your website? Simply know that your business exists? You must clearly define the action you want the person to take and include this in your ad text and link the ad to this action.
• CPC or CPM?
  Facebook allows you to pay either by CLICKING the ad (cost per click or CPC) or simply by the number of impressions (cost per thousand or CPM). If you want someone to click the ad and take an action, use CPC, if you are just looking for branding exposure, then CPM may be the better option.
• Make sure your ad is compelling
  In designing your ad, use a graphic and accompanying text that will engage the viewer and get them to notice the ad and take action. Special offers, coupons, and contests are great ways to do this.
• Pay attention to your stats
  Once your ad is live, make sure to view your ADS MANAGER regularly to see what kind of action your ad is getting. This is the best way to know if you need to tweak and change your ad for even better results.
• Split test for best results
  One of the best ways to optimize your ad campaign is to launch several ads at once, each with slightly different info and/or pictures to see which results in the most activity. Once you find out which one performs the best, maximize your ad spend on that one going forward.

The bottom line is, Facebook ads, like any advertising, requires a bit of trial and error in order to ensure the maximum result. Use the steps above and the helpful suggestions provided by Facebook to get the maximum exposure and activity for your Facebook ads campaign.

Good luck!

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Go Mobile. Be Found.

I really thought that 2010 would be the year of mobile. In fact my main business goal this year has been to push mobile. But small businesses, at least locally, have been slow to adopt this seventh mass media. Not because they don’t believe it can super charge their marketing, but because it is so new and yet another thing to add to their to-do list. That being said, I think next 2011 is going to be the year we see local businesses embrace mobile marketing.

A lot of people that I speak with aren’t even familiar with the term mobile marketing. They certainly are familiar with mobile devices like the ipod touch, the iPad and cell phones, but not with what they can do as small business owners to take mobile and use it to build their businesses.

So rather than me ramble on about exactly what you can do with mobile marketing I would like to invite you to come out to a mobile marketing event in an of itself, but mobile as in the moving kind – the Deluxe Small Business Heroes Tour. The tour has been traveling the country and this week (October 12 – 16) it comes to Charlotte. Deluxe is doing what I do everyday, but on a much larger scale – helping small businesses make their online business rock!

You can learn all about online marketing for your business from speakers every hour on the hour, covering different aspects of online marketing. There will also be giveaways, lots of them, so it’s going to be absolutely awesome.

Now, if you come on Friday to the Concord Mills event, I will be with the Deluxe tour speaking about mobile marketing. My keynotes are at 12 PM and 4 PM – so come join me and learn about mobile marketing!

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Mobile Web Design – Lilliput Here We Come!

If you are starting to hear about mobile marketing then you are not alone – it’s been going strong in Europe and Asia for years already, but the tidal wave is just about to hit here in the US. So get ready!

With many small business owners still puzzled over what to do with their PC based website – how best to promote it and optimize it for the search engines – it’s not too outrageous to say there will be a lot of really confused site owners soon.

Should you go mobile?

Definitely, YES! Be found by your customers wherever they are – not just on their computers.

Think about this: Most users are searching for something when accessing the Internet on a phone. If they are already using their phone or mobile device what do they see at the end of a click? What if they see your website? Will it be hard to navigate, busy-looking, have long pages or Flash elements? If so, they will leave.

And you have lost a potential customer.

The mobile solution

When it comes to mobile web design you need to put yourself in the place of your visitor.
They are likely out and about – they want to know details fast. They don’t want a computer-based website that was built for a much larger screen. They want a site with the equivalent of sound bites or tweets – short, concise blocks of information and clear navigation. They want directions, a menu, hours of operation, specials, your phone number with a ‘click to call’ button.

They don’t want to find a needle in a virtual haystack.

Lilliputian web design

Getting the content formatted for a small screen is the most important element when it comes to mobile web design. If you have a site built on Wordpress you can use plugins to strip out all the pretty stuff. They will display simple navigation links and content stripped of all images. This is OK for smart phone users that have more screen real estate – but still, the navigation is simplified, and the content is not.

Most small business owners have a hard time getting their sites up and running, or staying up-to-date because they are overwhelmed by the task. The feeling is there is so much information to give, and so little time to get it all done. Now we come to another great reason to get a mobile site…

The beauty of mobile web design is that you don’t need to write a lot!

The essence of your business

Use this simple tool to work out how much text you should have on a page – an index card. Put the card in portrait and write on it. You’ll find you can only put a couple of paragraphs on it, some navigation links and a ‘click to call’ link before you run out of room.

That’s about as much information as a cell phone user needs.

Go to your current website and distill it down. Take the essence of what your message is and put that on your mobile site. You don’t need tens or hundreds of pages – just four or five. You are giving your visitors the bare bones. If they need more let them know it’s available on your PC based website.

So, have two ways for visitors to interact with your business – one via a computer-based site, the other a completely new website for your mobile users. Get your .mobi domain name now and get even more exposure for your business.

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