This post is to help marketers reach more audience using QR codes. Learn how to create your own, and how you can augment the chance of consumers scanning them. These are the 4 quick steps to creating your QR code and a start to reaching more audience
Step 1: Select a QR code generator
There are tons of generators out there, but a few of the popular ones are Kaywa, GOQR.me, Visualead, and QR Stuff. Things to search for when choosing a code generator are whether you can track and analyze performance, if it allows you to design a code that's unique to your brand, and if it is compatible with common QR code readers.
Step 2: Design and link it up
The mesmerizing part of creating QR is customizing the design of the code to your brand. Want your code to look like your logo? Go for it. Want it to reflect your website's design scheme? Choose it.
Let's take an example of a QR code generator and walk you through the steps to creating it. I will recommend GOQR.me. When you launch it, Do these:
1. Select what type of content you want your QR to send the consumer to - you can choose a URL.
2. Insert the content (Embed the URL)
3. Check out the preview, customize as desired, then download and/or embed where needed.
Step 3: Test the QR code
With all the euphoria in creating your first QR, don't forget to check that the code "reads" correctly, and be sure to try more than just one reader. A good place to start is the free tool Google Goggles, which takes a picture and then tells you what link or item it "reads to." Another free tool is QR Code Reader, which automatically takes you to whatever it "reads." Apple's Passbook also offers a built-in code reader on iOS 7, so you should test to make sure your code is readable there, as well.
Step 4: Track and analyze performance
As a marketing ordeal, you should follow up on any campaigns using QR to see whether they're actually working. How much traffic comes from each specific code? Are people scanning your code but not redeeming their offer once they get to the landing page? Or are they not even cajoled to scan your code? Comprehending this will hep troubleshoot and churn your poorly performing QR to viable ensembles. I recommend you include a UTM tracking code on your URL so you can better measure performance - this is particularly important if you are a marketer who needs more in-depth reporting on your campaigns.
QR Code Best Practices: Some Important Do's and Don'ts
Now that you know simple the creation is, let's talk about some best practices that will help increase the precipice of your users scanning it.
QR Code Do's
1. Put codes in places where scanning is easy, and there is enough for the consumer to actually scan the code. While you incessantly see QR codes on billboards and TV commercials, they're not exactly the most user-friendly locations. Think of places and mediums where consumers have the time to scan the code.
2. Is your website optimized for mobile? Consumers will be on their phone when scanning the QR code, so they should be brought to a page with a positive mobile experience.
3. Offer a call-to-action with the code - that is to say, tell people explicitly what they're supposed to do when they see the code, and what they'll receive if they do it.
QR Code Don'ts
1. Don't require a special QR scanner. Your Qr code should be app-agnostic so anyone can scan your code with any reader. Alleviating barrier to entry makes success more likely for you and the user.
2. Don't use a QR code just for the sake of using one. For instance, it's common for marketers to think, "How can I bridge the offline experience with the online experience? " That's not wrong... but it's not always right, either. If you have content that is valuable to a mobile user, then use the QR. It will not only spur new consumers but also create a colossal success for you because most people don't do it.
I hope this has been helpful. Daniel Smith.
Saturday, January 07, 2017
Tuesday, January 03, 2017
7 Hot Apps That Will Skyrocket Your Productivity At Work
You can't avoid new technology these days, especially from a marketing standpoint. While it can seem intimidating to stay on top of the times, it is emphatically laborious for any marketer to be on top of his game if he is not palpable to new trends.
Here are seven marketing apps that you'll want to get acquainted with sooner rather than later.
1. Jelly
Google does a pretty good job answering all of our questions from "Why is the sky blue?" to more advanced queries like "How can I prove the ROI of inbound marketing to my boss?"
However, sometimes we are troubled by questions that don't translate well into a traditional search engine field. Jelly app is the solution to this predicament.
I'm not talking about fruit preserves here, but rather an innovative social Q&A app derived from the creative mind of Twitter co-founder, Biz Stone.
The crowdsourcing style app allows you to query your social network contacts, and lend them a helping hand when they're in need of an answer. Jelly doesn't rely on just text-based questions, but it actually allows users to use pictures to probe their questions.
Let's say, for example, you see someone in a magazine sporting a jacket you really like. Simply take a picture of the jacket, and post it alongside a question like: "Does anyone know who makes this jacket, or where I can find one like it?"
While Jelly is a promising app, the potential for marketing incorporation appears to be enthralling. Customer service, product marketing, and crowdsourcing are a handful of ways many people are making use of the Jelly app from a business standpoint.
2. Pocket
You just stumbled upon an awesome article on how to increase your conversion rates, but your next meeting starts in 2 minutes. No worries, just put it in your pocket.
Formerly known as Read It Later, Pocket is a bookmarking app that makes it easy for users to store articles and videos to queue up at their convenience. The read-later experience doesn't rely on an internet connection, so you can revisit your findings pretty much anywhere. Sounds like a great way to increase your productivity on lengthy plane, train, or automobile rides, huh?
Best of all, Pocket will sync across all of your devices, providing users with a hassle-free way to resume reading on their preferred device.
3. Directr for Business
Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Wolf of Wall Street, what do all of these box office hits have in common? Scorsese.
Behind every great video production is a talented director, and the Directr for Business app is aiming to be just that.
While 71% of consumers feel positively about brands that publish videos, 85% of consumers are more likely to buy after viewing product videos (Source: Inbound Marketing Agents). If bandwidth is holding your business back from producing quality video content, Directr for Business has an entire library of production templates to make it easy for just about anyone to make video content.
The templates are divided into categories that range anywhere from product announcement, to how-to tutorials, to company culture insight. Each template contains a storyboard style shot list that lays out how to approach each shot - for example the first shot in a "how-to" video prompts users to answer the question "who are you and what are you teaching?"
Aside from a prompt, each shot comes complete with directors notes, and visual suggestions that explain how to position the shot. They've pretty much covered it all, all that's left for you to do is look pretty and nail your dialogue.
4. Any.Do Moment / Cal
I don't like to think of Any.do as an app, but rather a morning ritual.
The first stop in any Monday morning grind should be this user-friendly planning tool. On paper, Any.do can best be referred to as a to do list application designed to help you plan out your busy day, but it's really more than that.
Any.do helps you manage your life, both professional and personal, by inputting tasks into it's sleek and simple interface. Users have the option to schedule tasks into 4 categories, (Today, Tomorrow, Upcoming, and Someday) making it fun to plan tomorrow's blog post and someday's vacation. Tasks can be sorted into different folders to optimize organization, and notes and contacts can be added for added clarification.
Additionally, Any.Do is highly integrated with the calendar application, Cal. So much so that one might say they're "going steady." You can even sign into Cal using your Any.Do account, and all of your tasks will carry over into its interactive internal calendar. Adding events to the calendar is simple, and it even gives you the option to enter a location name so that Cal can map out a route for you. Any.Do Moment and Cal provides busy marketers with a lens through which they can focus their tasks and interactions.
5. Asana
Asana is a task management tool that makes collaboration on team projects easier than ever.
Created by Facebook co-founder, Dustin Moskovitz, Asana is a free* application that provides real-time interaction through a user-friendly interface. Asana users can create tasks, assign them to team members, set due dates, add notes, attach files, create internal checklists, and communicate with others through comments. Once tasks are created, you can group them into projects, and invite team members so that they can brainstorm, assign subtasks, and work toward accomplishing their goals.
The thing that makes Asana the perfect tool for marketers is its ability to present conversations and projects side-by-side, eliminating the hassle of scattered emails and missed messages. No more digging through your inbox to find that file John sent you, and that set of images Bobby wrapped up last week. Asana keeps everything you need neatly in one place.
6. IFTTT
Pronounced like gift without the 'G', IFTTT is a innovative new app that stands for "if this than that."
IFTTT provides users with a tool to mix up custom "recipes" that trigger a particular action. Sound confusing? It's not.
The average IFTTT recipe contains the following elements:
Channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Evernote, iOS photos, Weather, Dropbox, Email, Feedly, iOS Reminders, LinkedIn and 70 more.
Triggers: "I upload a photo to Instagram", "I'm tagged in a photo on Facebook", "I set an iOS reminder"
Actions: "Send me a text message", "Add it to my Dropbox", "Post to Facebook"
Let's say you want to keep your branding consistent across the board, and you want your Twitter avatar to match your Facebook profile photo. Simply use this "recipe":
If my Facebook profile pictures changes, then update my Twitter profile picture.
A lot of the time when I am working on a "how-to" blog post I reference screenshots from my phone. Oh, you do too? Use this recipe:
If I take a screenshot on iOS, then save it to my Evernote notebook.
With seemingly endless combinations, IFTTT provides busy marketers with a way to automate simple tasks that save a lot of time.
7. LIfe Graphy
Life Graphy presents users with a totally unique approach to the average productivity app concept.
The colorful app breaks your tasks down into mini pie charts that can contain up to ten segments (1 segment per task). As you complete tasks, the individual sections within the chart begin to fill up. A completed circle is something to smile about.
Life Graphy offers users 3 views: Day, Month, and Year. By switching between the 3 views, you can get a good visual idea of how much you have accomplished.
While the functionality of the app is enough reason to try it out, it's the interface that really does it for me.
Committing to a task-based planning app is easier said than done, but Life Graphy makes you want to keep trucking along because its fun!
New technology isn't going to slow down anytime soon. As the pace for innovation quickens, we can expect that there will be a whole lot of new advances coming our way whether we think we're ready for them or not.
It isn't possible to know everything, but if you equip your team with the right tools, you'll notice how much easier it is for your business to remain relevant and increase productivity.
By Daniel Smith
Here are seven marketing apps that you'll want to get acquainted with sooner rather than later.
1. Jelly
Google does a pretty good job answering all of our questions from "Why is the sky blue?" to more advanced queries like "How can I prove the ROI of inbound marketing to my boss?"
However, sometimes we are troubled by questions that don't translate well into a traditional search engine field. Jelly app is the solution to this predicament.
I'm not talking about fruit preserves here, but rather an innovative social Q&A app derived from the creative mind of Twitter co-founder, Biz Stone.
The crowdsourcing style app allows you to query your social network contacts, and lend them a helping hand when they're in need of an answer. Jelly doesn't rely on just text-based questions, but it actually allows users to use pictures to probe their questions.
Let's say, for example, you see someone in a magazine sporting a jacket you really like. Simply take a picture of the jacket, and post it alongside a question like: "Does anyone know who makes this jacket, or where I can find one like it?"
While Jelly is a promising app, the potential for marketing incorporation appears to be enthralling. Customer service, product marketing, and crowdsourcing are a handful of ways many people are making use of the Jelly app from a business standpoint.
2. Pocket
You just stumbled upon an awesome article on how to increase your conversion rates, but your next meeting starts in 2 minutes. No worries, just put it in your pocket.
Formerly known as Read It Later, Pocket is a bookmarking app that makes it easy for users to store articles and videos to queue up at their convenience. The read-later experience doesn't rely on an internet connection, so you can revisit your findings pretty much anywhere. Sounds like a great way to increase your productivity on lengthy plane, train, or automobile rides, huh?
Best of all, Pocket will sync across all of your devices, providing users with a hassle-free way to resume reading on their preferred device.
3. Directr for Business
Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Wolf of Wall Street, what do all of these box office hits have in common? Scorsese.
Behind every great video production is a talented director, and the Directr for Business app is aiming to be just that.
While 71% of consumers feel positively about brands that publish videos, 85% of consumers are more likely to buy after viewing product videos (Source: Inbound Marketing Agents). If bandwidth is holding your business back from producing quality video content, Directr for Business has an entire library of production templates to make it easy for just about anyone to make video content.
The templates are divided into categories that range anywhere from product announcement, to how-to tutorials, to company culture insight. Each template contains a storyboard style shot list that lays out how to approach each shot - for example the first shot in a "how-to" video prompts users to answer the question "who are you and what are you teaching?"
Aside from a prompt, each shot comes complete with directors notes, and visual suggestions that explain how to position the shot. They've pretty much covered it all, all that's left for you to do is look pretty and nail your dialogue.
4. Any.Do Moment / Cal
I don't like to think of Any.do as an app, but rather a morning ritual.
The first stop in any Monday morning grind should be this user-friendly planning tool. On paper, Any.do can best be referred to as a to do list application designed to help you plan out your busy day, but it's really more than that.
Any.do helps you manage your life, both professional and personal, by inputting tasks into it's sleek and simple interface. Users have the option to schedule tasks into 4 categories, (Today, Tomorrow, Upcoming, and Someday) making it fun to plan tomorrow's blog post and someday's vacation. Tasks can be sorted into different folders to optimize organization, and notes and contacts can be added for added clarification.
Additionally, Any.Do is highly integrated with the calendar application, Cal. So much so that one might say they're "going steady." You can even sign into Cal using your Any.Do account, and all of your tasks will carry over into its interactive internal calendar. Adding events to the calendar is simple, and it even gives you the option to enter a location name so that Cal can map out a route for you. Any.Do Moment and Cal provides busy marketers with a lens through which they can focus their tasks and interactions.
5. Asana
Asana is a task management tool that makes collaboration on team projects easier than ever.
Created by Facebook co-founder, Dustin Moskovitz, Asana is a free* application that provides real-time interaction through a user-friendly interface. Asana users can create tasks, assign them to team members, set due dates, add notes, attach files, create internal checklists, and communicate with others through comments. Once tasks are created, you can group them into projects, and invite team members so that they can brainstorm, assign subtasks, and work toward accomplishing their goals.
The thing that makes Asana the perfect tool for marketers is its ability to present conversations and projects side-by-side, eliminating the hassle of scattered emails and missed messages. No more digging through your inbox to find that file John sent you, and that set of images Bobby wrapped up last week. Asana keeps everything you need neatly in one place.
6. IFTTT
Pronounced like gift without the 'G', IFTTT is a innovative new app that stands for "if this than that."
IFTTT provides users with a tool to mix up custom "recipes" that trigger a particular action. Sound confusing? It's not.
The average IFTTT recipe contains the following elements:
Channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Evernote, iOS photos, Weather, Dropbox, Email, Feedly, iOS Reminders, LinkedIn and 70 more.
Triggers: "I upload a photo to Instagram", "I'm tagged in a photo on Facebook", "I set an iOS reminder"
Actions: "Send me a text message", "Add it to my Dropbox", "Post to Facebook"
Let's say you want to keep your branding consistent across the board, and you want your Twitter avatar to match your Facebook profile photo. Simply use this "recipe":
If my Facebook profile pictures changes, then update my Twitter profile picture.
A lot of the time when I am working on a "how-to" blog post I reference screenshots from my phone. Oh, you do too? Use this recipe:
If I take a screenshot on iOS, then save it to my Evernote notebook.
With seemingly endless combinations, IFTTT provides busy marketers with a way to automate simple tasks that save a lot of time.
7. LIfe Graphy
Life Graphy presents users with a totally unique approach to the average productivity app concept.
The colorful app breaks your tasks down into mini pie charts that can contain up to ten segments (1 segment per task). As you complete tasks, the individual sections within the chart begin to fill up. A completed circle is something to smile about.
Life Graphy offers users 3 views: Day, Month, and Year. By switching between the 3 views, you can get a good visual idea of how much you have accomplished.
While the functionality of the app is enough reason to try it out, it's the interface that really does it for me.
Committing to a task-based planning app is easier said than done, but Life Graphy makes you want to keep trucking along because its fun!
New technology isn't going to slow down anytime soon. As the pace for innovation quickens, we can expect that there will be a whole lot of new advances coming our way whether we think we're ready for them or not.
It isn't possible to know everything, but if you equip your team with the right tools, you'll notice how much easier it is for your business to remain relevant and increase productivity.
By Daniel Smith
Sunday, January 01, 2017
How Did the Devil Get My Cell Phone Number?
I am not one easily rattled. When I am rattled, look out for anything can happen.
For the most part, I try to stay calm, cool and collected. Then there are times when I have had enough and I am not going to take it anymore.
When I am rattled about something, it is not small or insignificant. I can swat pesky little bugs all of my life and never get rattled by a bug.
Lately, some things have been developing "in my world," that has me more than a little concern. In fact, it is bordering on the territory of being rattled. Something needs to be done because if I am rattled in this area, look out!
I am not sure, if I am just now noticing it or if it has been here for a while. When I got my cell phone, I was under the impression the only people who would have my cell phone number would be those I gave it to. I am not one to give out my cell phone number to just anybody. If you have my cell phone number, you are in a high-level category of BFFs.
I believe sincerely that the devil has hacked into my cell phone, collected my cell phone number and is selling my number to the most despicable people he owns.
Lately, I have been getting political calls. People trying to interview me concerning the up coming election. They want me to contribute to political polls being evaluated. They want my opinion and they have a whole slew of questions they are going to be asking me.
I know they do not want my opinion because all of these calls are what is called Robo calls. In other words, is not an actual person asking these questions, but rather a machine. If you think for one moment that I am going to carry on a conversation with some machine, you do not have all your wires connected.
How they get my cell phone number, is beyond me. It probably is their close connection with the devil himself.
I have also been getting calls from some company that feels I am in some sort of pain. They call and say I requested on their website this pain solution. Now, what they want to know is it my back pain, or elbow pain, or a knee pain?
I have been so fed up with these calls that I finally said, "I do have a pain in the neck." To which, I got an excited reply as to how they could help my pain in the neck.
You know what's coming. I told them that the pain in my neck was them calling me and if they want to help this pain in the neck go away to stop calling me, for Pete's sake.
I just about had it with this. The question I wrestle with is, should I lie to these people calling me?
For instance. Somebody called me last week telling me they noticed a certain virus on my computer and if I would allow them access to my computer they could fix my computer. Talk about a pain in the neck!
This was about the 15th time this company called me offering to fix my computer. So, I thought if they are going to waste my time by calling me, maybe I should waste their time by trying to get them to fix my computer.
"Oh yes," I said as excited as I could sound, "please fix my computer for me."
Now they wanted me to turn my computer on and so forth and so on. I must confess that at the time I wasn't your my computer I was on my cell phone.
They gave me instructions and I obeyed them, or at least I told him I was obeying him.
"All right," I said, "My computer is on what I do next?" I will confess to you if you promise not to tell anybody, but I did not have my computer on.
Then they gave me instructions that I was to go to a certain website.
"Okay," I said, "I'm there, what do I do now?"
They gave me a password I was supposed to use to get access to them so they could get access to my computer.
"Have you done it yet?"
"Yes, I punched it in and what I do next?"
"Something's wrong," the person at the other end of the phone said. "You must not have put in the right password. Let me give it to you again."
He gave it to me again, which in turn I gave it back to him, again.
This went on for about 20 minutes and the person on the other end of my cell phone was getting very frustrated and borderline anger. I, on the other end of the cell phone, could hardly control my laughter.
By the time he hung up, he was very frustrated and could not understand why it was not working.
After this person hung up on me and I quit laughing, I thought of what David said. "Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert" (Psalms 28:4).
Sometimes giving back what you get can bring you to a certain level of joy you did not have before.
Dr. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, Ocala, FL 34483, where he lives with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Telephone 1-866-552-2543, e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. Website is http://www.jamessnyderministries.com.
For the most part, I try to stay calm, cool and collected. Then there are times when I have had enough and I am not going to take it anymore.
When I am rattled about something, it is not small or insignificant. I can swat pesky little bugs all of my life and never get rattled by a bug.
Lately, some things have been developing "in my world," that has me more than a little concern. In fact, it is bordering on the territory of being rattled. Something needs to be done because if I am rattled in this area, look out!
I am not sure, if I am just now noticing it or if it has been here for a while. When I got my cell phone, I was under the impression the only people who would have my cell phone number would be those I gave it to. I am not one to give out my cell phone number to just anybody. If you have my cell phone number, you are in a high-level category of BFFs.
I believe sincerely that the devil has hacked into my cell phone, collected my cell phone number and is selling my number to the most despicable people he owns.
Lately, I have been getting political calls. People trying to interview me concerning the up coming election. They want me to contribute to political polls being evaluated. They want my opinion and they have a whole slew of questions they are going to be asking me.
I know they do not want my opinion because all of these calls are what is called Robo calls. In other words, is not an actual person asking these questions, but rather a machine. If you think for one moment that I am going to carry on a conversation with some machine, you do not have all your wires connected.
How they get my cell phone number, is beyond me. It probably is their close connection with the devil himself.
I have also been getting calls from some company that feels I am in some sort of pain. They call and say I requested on their website this pain solution. Now, what they want to know is it my back pain, or elbow pain, or a knee pain?
I have been so fed up with these calls that I finally said, "I do have a pain in the neck." To which, I got an excited reply as to how they could help my pain in the neck.
You know what's coming. I told them that the pain in my neck was them calling me and if they want to help this pain in the neck go away to stop calling me, for Pete's sake.
I just about had it with this. The question I wrestle with is, should I lie to these people calling me?
For instance. Somebody called me last week telling me they noticed a certain virus on my computer and if I would allow them access to my computer they could fix my computer. Talk about a pain in the neck!
This was about the 15th time this company called me offering to fix my computer. So, I thought if they are going to waste my time by calling me, maybe I should waste their time by trying to get them to fix my computer.
"Oh yes," I said as excited as I could sound, "please fix my computer for me."
Now they wanted me to turn my computer on and so forth and so on. I must confess that at the time I wasn't your my computer I was on my cell phone.
They gave me instructions and I obeyed them, or at least I told him I was obeying him.
"All right," I said, "My computer is on what I do next?" I will confess to you if you promise not to tell anybody, but I did not have my computer on.
Then they gave me instructions that I was to go to a certain website.
"Okay," I said, "I'm there, what do I do now?"
They gave me a password I was supposed to use to get access to them so they could get access to my computer.
"Have you done it yet?"
"Yes, I punched it in and what I do next?"
"Something's wrong," the person at the other end of the phone said. "You must not have put in the right password. Let me give it to you again."
He gave it to me again, which in turn I gave it back to him, again.
This went on for about 20 minutes and the person on the other end of my cell phone was getting very frustrated and borderline anger. I, on the other end of the cell phone, could hardly control my laughter.
By the time he hung up, he was very frustrated and could not understand why it was not working.
After this person hung up on me and I quit laughing, I thought of what David said. "Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert" (Psalms 28:4).
Sometimes giving back what you get can bring you to a certain level of joy you did not have before.
Dr. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, Ocala, FL 34483, where he lives with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Telephone 1-866-552-2543, e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. Website is http://www.jamessnyderministries.com.
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