Getting the most from QR codes

If you’ve seen a multitude of those quirky black and white boxes that look like a cross between a bar code and a Rorschach test, you are not alone. They’ve popped up on everything from plant containers to pet food. Target, Best Buy, and Home Depot have all embraced QR codes as a way to connect real world goods and services with virtual information (e.g. additional product info, discounts, contests, Facebook pages, YouTube videos, etc.)

How is that possible? By scanning the QR code with a web enabled smart phone, the user can be directed to a mobile web page — one that displays more content about the product or service.

How are QR codes being used?

Business professionals are using them as digital business cards, printing them on the back of existing cards for easy scanning. The advantage? The information can always be updated and you only need one card in your pocket to scan. Employers can link a QR code to an online job application. Real estate companies can place them on for sale signs, which then link to video, pricing and contact information. A mobile consumer can scan a code and take a virtual tour of a home, see the price, and call the agent. Business owners can place a QR code in the corner of an ad, and extend their marketing message to any customer carrying a smart phone. Restaurant owners can display their hours, menu and/or a daily special.

How do they work?

QR codes (short for Quick Response) first gained popularity in Japan where Toyota subsidiary Denso Wave created them for tracking purposes in vehicle manufacturing. The two dimensional codes proved extremely useful, since they can hold between 4K – 7K worth of characters. The codes can be read by any number of QR scanning apps, available on your smart phone’s app store, usually at no charge. Popular QR generators, like JumpScan.com, provide an easy, web based platform for creating pre-optimized , custom web pages.

Once you’ve created your code, you can print it out on a way variety on media, from posters and table tents, to print ads and yellow page listings. In addition, some QR generators provide analytics to see how many times the codes were scanned.

What’s the best strategy?

The key to an effective QR code campaign is to reward your mobile customer for scanning the code. Don’t just link it blindly to your home page (which will probably only display a portion of your site.) Instead, be sure to create a mobile optimized landing page with a call to action, a discount code, a contest, a reason to take further action. The principles of mobile marketing are the same as traditional marketing, the consumer wants to know “What’s in it for me?” So be sure to reward him or her for taking time to want to know more about your company, product or service.

With the right strategy, QR codes can provide a valuable tool in reaching the increasing difficult to reach mobile consumer. It provides a means to connect to your audience in real time with relevant information. With smart phone usage predicted to reach 50% this year, this trend towards mobile marketing will only strengthen with time. Establish your game plan now and create a bridge that spans your online and offline efforts.

Making The Most of Mobile Search

More and more consumers are accessing the internet on their mobile devices each day. There are over 5bn mobile phones worldwide and by June 2012, smartphones will account for more than half of the UK’s mobile users.

The majority of these mobile users are performing Google searches, providing a growing marketing opportunity for paid search advertisers. In addition, rising smartphone use means consumers are expecting more from their mobile experience.

So how can advertisers make sure they’re making the most from mobile search?

With fewer consumers checking information before they leave the house, there’s an increase in the number of people now searching for places and services with their phones on–the-go.

At a high level, managing mobile paid search ads is very similar to managing desktop paid search campaigns. However, user patterns and consumer intent are different on mobile phones and therefore, campaigns should be managed separately.

In fact, the 2011 UK Search Engine Marketing Report from Econsultancy showed that mobile campaigns have three times higher click through rates (CTR).

Here are some best practice tips:

Run separate campaigns
As above, ads perform differently on mobile devices. To therefore make the most out of mobile, we recommend advertisers run separate mobile campaigns to their traditional desktop paid search ads.

The best way to do this is to replicate existing high volume campaigns and target them specifically at mobile devices. Marketers should start pulling together data for mobile campaigns by using their existing brand keyword campaigns.

This will not only offer improved brand protection, but also ensure lower CPCs while getting started (since brand terms typically have higher quality scores than other keywords). By running separate, mobile specific campaigns, advertisers can experiment with the granular control over bids, creative, and landing pages that mobile targeting provides, before scaling out their efforts.

Think about the user
As most mobile browsing takes place on smartphones, the desktop browsing experience is mimicked, but with two key differences: everything is smaller and there is limited support for Flash.

With the proliferation of smart phones, it’s not necessarily important to have a mobile specific (or WAP) website for your brand, but you want to ensure that users get the most from your landing page, especially if they’re going to be making social arrangements on the go.

To do this, you need to evaluate what pages look like on standard phones (iPhone and Android) and fix those that show broken images or flash files. The user’s experience is the most important thing, yet they are often forced to scroll back and forth to read the content on a page.

Tailoring mobile landing pages or developing smartphone-specific websites is also a good way to streamline the conversion process, and make it easier for users to get information on the go.

Position is important
Google shows only 1-2 paid search ads on the top of mobile search results, and a couple of ads at the bottom of the page. This means that mobile searches have limited inventory in comparison to the 10+ ads that are displayed on the top and side of desktop browsers.

Therefore, in order to get ads to appear when a user searches, brands need to place bids that ensure a listing in one of the top positions. On top of this, advertisers need to be setting their bids higher, even though the typical clearing price may be lower. In this case, they should look to experiment to make sure their ads are coming top.

Get the creative right
The combination of limited listing space for mobile search results and different user intent, means that ad copy must be specific for mobile. Shorter, snappier messaging is more successful than ads that use all of the available characters.

You also want to make your advertisements as clear as possible so that consumers know they will be able to book a table for dinner, cinema tickets, or even flight when they click on your ad.

Customising creative to the browsing device, for example putting the words “iPhone” or “Android” in the creative text has also demonstrated better click-through-rates— just be sure that you set the device targeting parameters to match the messaging.

Focus on local offers
With separate mobile paid search campaigns, you can now begin to focus on the mobile experience for your customer. Consider how consumer intent for mobile users might vary from your traditional desktop browser.

Are mobile searchers looking for a special deal on a product? If so, you can use location and click-to-call extension to provide that information directly in the search results. As well as providing additional information, local offers or coupons placed directly within ads provide further encouragement for in-person conversions.

Mobile search may still represent a small amount of overall spend, but it’s crucial that marketers get ahead of the trend. With the use of mobile devices growing, mobile needs to not only be considered, but must be a significant part of campaign development.

With so many consumers looking to make the most from their handsets while out and about, advertisers are missing a trick if they neglect mobile search.

Why you should consider Google + for your business

Google+ has been gaining steam in the social media world since the beginning of its test prelaunch in early July. Gaining upwards of 1.7 Million Google+ accounts in its first week, and rising to an estimated 4.5 Million accounts the following week. All before the social media site has even officially gone public! Holding accounts for some well known names such as Seth Goden, Myspace’s Tom Anderson, and even Mark Zuckerberg.

Google+ is currently only offering accounts for people. Business profile pages are still in the works. But while the numbers continue to rise, and people start to “check out this new Google social site everybody is trying to be invited to,” businesses should be busy licking their lips at the SEO possibilities.

Here are a few reasons why your business should be preparing for Google+ business pages.

Combining Google+ Pages and Search Engine Rankings

It is quite possible Google will integrate the amount of feedback a +1 button on Google+ posts receives into their search rankings algorithm. Helping Google sort out the relevant and quality content from the irrelevant.

What does this mean for your business?

This means there will no longer be a separation between a business’s social media presence and its search engine rankings. The two will then be one in the same. Providing quality and engaging content will, in real time, affect a company’s search engine presence, helping give hope for smaller businesses everywhere!

Keeping Your Customers Organized

Google+ offers a more aesthetically appealing way to keep your friends organized with “Circles.” Easily allowing people to click and drag their friends into different categories such as: Closest Friends, Family, Work Buddies, etc. Allowing certain posts to be only seen by circles predetermined by the user.

Google+ business pages can categorize their fans into the different stages of the customer cycle. For example: Top Customers, Need More Information, Recently Purchased, etc. The ability to categorize your fans and then post content to that specific circle will be a huge advantage.

Google Offers and Maps

With Google’s answer to the growing success of Groupon, Google Offers­ would be a realistic integration into the Google+ business page. Supplying a very user friendly daily deals service. To compliment this feature would most likely be the feature of Google Maps. Displaying directions to your business, or the closest business franchise locations.

What does this mean for your company?

It would be wise to incorporate a Google+ promotion that leads to a Google Offer for your business. Allowing you to again keep what would normally be separate entities, one and the same. Also, Google Offers would then be linked to a convenient Google Map of all the closest business locations where the offer can be redeemed. Take all extra steps out of the equation.

Google + is shaping up to be a very exciting proposition.

These are my thoughts into the wonderful minds of Google and their future development of Google+. If you have any thoughts on your own of how you see Google+ growing, please leave them in the comment sections below!

Some reasons why some businesses will struggle with Social Media

Top 12 Reasons Why Businesses will Fail at Social Media in 2011
1. Don’t understand the ecosystem.
My belief is this will be the number one reason businesses and individuals will fail at social media. Too many think if they learn the tools and technology they got it covered. They couldn’t be further from the truth. The most important aspect of social media is to understand the art, the environment and how you can fit in. It doesn’t work like the days of traditional advertising where you push a message and expect to change thought via a cool ad, billboard or tv commercial. Instead you must not only find a way to become part of the community, build your own community but also be able to successfully grab attention of your audiences authentically and via relationships. This is not easy for the organization only focused on tools and technology.

2. They hire the wrong consultant or agency.
I think this is going to be more wide spread in 2011. The good consultants and agencies are going to rise to the top and the bad ones out. Organizations must look deeper than the twitter account of an agency or consultant before selecting them to engage, help or manage your social media. One size does not fit all and a cookie cutter approach not focused on your market niche is going to bring zero to little positive return. Organizations must take responsibilities to do their research, not believe everything they hear from a consultant and do not accept status quo or “one size fits all” solutions. If a consultant can’t educate you on how to achieve a positive ROI, and enjoy such a discussion, run. Don’t fall for a glitzy Twitter background and Facebook welcome page with no engagement. Look behind the tweet curtain and see how their community is really responding to them. Most everything in social media is open and free to all eyes so not doing your research is not an option or an excuse. Bottom line if a social media campaign or engagement price tag is half that of competitors chances are the value might be also. You get what you pay for. Any decent consultant or agency is in high demand and does not have to give away their services.

3. They execute via Random Acts of Social Media (RASMs)
Bottom line, organizations without a plan for social media are destined to fail, sorry. Random acts of social media and marketing will kill your ROI faster than you can say ROI. Organizations must set goals and objectives before engaging in social media. Don’t tweet randomly. Time is our most valuable asset and we must use it wisely. To avoid randomness in social media integration is key to success. Social media needs to be integrated into the DNA of business. It is not a social band-aid for a bad business. Plan yer’ work and work yer’ plan as Granny would say.

4. Have wrong social mindset.
This is big. They have the overall wrong social mindset. They may lack the understanding that social media requires engagement. They may have the mindset that they’ll simply use social media as an additional venue for blasting noise, coupons and other. I truly believe this is where agencies and consultants can help organization who are struggling. Social media can not be leveraged as other traditional mediums. The mindset must change. It is more than tools, more than tech, more than tweets. The mindsets of the people leading the organization as well as executing the social media must be in the right place.

5. Underestimate the resources and knowledge required.
This is a recipe for disaster. Hiring the cheapest candidate or intern is not going to bring a positive ROI. It is imperative business leaders understand the eco system, set goals and hire according to the planned strategy, engagement plans etc. to meet the goals and objectives. You need more than an intern with a twitter account to execute your social media plan and connect with your audience in a way that best represents your brand and market positioning. Setting a proper budget is key. Although you’ll hear the clueless tell you “social media is free.” Sorry folks it’s not. It steals your greatest asset which is time. It eats ROI for breakfast if you let it. Do your research and resource according to your goals and objectives.

6. They don’t engage.
This is pretty simple but many organization are not doing such. Bottom line, you must engage with your audiences. Do more than tweet at them, tweet with them. Join in the fun. Inspire them to connect with you. Attract them organically to your brand and the people inside your corporate walls. As Brian Solis always says “the social currency of social media is action.” He is so right and it is my favorite statement of this era. If you can’t inspire your audience to action then social media is all for nothing, really.

7. They don’t implement a social media policy.
I highly recommend social media policies to my clients. They don’t have to be over complicated or difficult. They should be created with objectives and goals in forefront. They will protect an organization from legal risks and set a standard for how employees and partners should engage in social media on behalf of the company. If you have a decent agency or consultant they can help carry the brunt of delivering the social media policy. I have helped organizations implement these and have taken on the “bad cop” role when necessary.

8. Lack roles & responsibilities.
Similar to goals and objectives, the gap of appropriate roles and responsibilities is another recipe for disaster. Take the time to iron out the internal battles or insecurities within an organization. Clearly define roles for internal employees, partners, interns, and a hired agency if appropriate. Flying by the seat of your pants will get you flat on your butt and nowhere fun!

9. Assume social media will fix their broken business.
If your business is broken, sales is not working with marketing, your message sucks, your audience doesn’t like you… sorry folks, these problems can and will not be solved by social media. In fact, social media will make them worse. Why? Because sales will need to talk to marketing, your message will need to be tweaked and you are going to have to engage your audience and yes they need to like you to see results in social media. The best thing you can do if you see this coming is be honest with yourself. If you have internal battles going on, hire an agency or consultant to be the “bad cop”. Let them do the research to interview the teams, help set goals, implement training etc.

10. Make a bad first impression.
I am one that only has one speed, turbo zoom. However, with social media it is important you take the time to do it right. You have one time to make a first impression. One time to invite your warm market to your Facebook page. Your goal is to build community and inspire people to take action. If you make a terrible first impression the chances of that visitor ever returning to your Facebook page are slim to none. The goal is not to only “announce your Facebook page” but to leverage it to meet your business goals and objectives. It is better to wait than to launch a set of social platforms prematurely.

11. Have unrealistic expectations for social media.
Yesterday, I had this phrase pop up on one of my Google Organic Search Terms “social media training for clueless MD”. I laughed out loud when I saw this. I think much of the unrealistic expectations are coming from top leaders in an organization. They hear about success big brands are having, the million hit YouTube videos and of course they want one too. So the clueless social media newbie in the organization agrees to such crazy goals and before he/she knows it they’re fired and MD announces that social media was a complete failure and waste of time for their organization. Other organizations see this and think the same. They then decide to hire the cheap employee or intern as it didn’t work for “company ABC” so they will play it safe the first year. I have seen this far too many times with businesses we work with. Do your research and be realistic with the goals and objectives. You must be patient with social media. Yes, you will see immediate response to your efforts. You’ll know how many people click like on your Facebook page the first day. However, it takes time to understand the ecosystem, engage and connect with an audience and build a community that will take action on your behalf.

12. They are boring.
Point blank, if you are boring you are not going to do well in social media. Social media is about inspiring an audience to connect with you. If you have struggled with this offline or with other traditional media, chances are a Twitter account and a Facebook page are not going to fix it! If you truly lack the needed creativity within the wall so of your organization then hire some help! Either hire a marketing director to help refresh your brand, hire an agency. Whatever you do, do something. Boring won’t get you far with any marketing medium in this economy. Connecting with your audience is a requirement not an option regardless of the medium.

I could write for days on the things organizations should and shouldn’t do for social media. However, this is my opinion on why I think most will fail in 2011. This is what I saw in 2010 and my guess it’s it will probably only get worse as more businesses jump on board.

If you are new to social media don’t let this get you down. Build your plan and work your plan. Be patient and take the time to do it right. Integrate social media into the DNA of your business. Don’t slap it on as a patch and expect results.

Your Thoughts?
What are your thoughts? What are you seeing? What has your business had most success with social media? Where has your business struggled? Where are you seeing other businesses struggle?

Build a community before you actually need them!

This is a simple concept, but one I still think people miss. You need to build your community before you need them. When your company has news, a product launch, an event or something they want to spread via users socially – it’s way too late. Unless you already have a community built. While interesting news can definitely help a brand grow it is no longer your bread and butter.

Expecting users are going to organically spread your message just because you have something professional media might care about is not how it works. You need to build your community before you have news to spread. Only then will you have forged a connection and built permission with a critical mass of people who will genuinely care what it is you’re doing. This happens bit by bit over time (with some buzz thrown in for good measure, for sure).

Without a community:

There is low or no chance anyone will organically link to you or share your content across platforms. If they do it’s by chance because without a community who do you have to take such an action? Maybe you’ll get lucky once in awhile but it’s not sustainable.
You are basically paying to reach the same audience time and time again instead of consistently increasing your community who you can tap repeatedly to spread messages. This is how most brands treat the web and the world, which is sad because it’s no longer the way it has to be. That’s how the TV industry complex ran but those days are long dated.
You have no leverage in social channels and do not position yourself for increasing returns. And remember, outposts like Twitter and Facebook only take you so far: you will never have a truly valuable community without growing opt-in at the source.
Certainly there are things you can do in social channels without a community. But at the end of the day these items are fleeting and provide temporary results. There is no long term value without a following surrounding your brand with a vested interest to hear what you’re doing next.

You need to build a network before you need them:

Those who ignore the party/conversation/network when they are content and decide to drop in when they need the network may not succeed. It’s pretty easy to spot those that are just joining the network purely to take –not to give. Therefore, be part of the party/conversation/network before you need anything from anyone. Start now, and continue to build relationships by giving now: share knowledge, help others, and become a trusted node and connector, not just an outlying ‘dot’ of a comet that swings in every 4 years or so.

Indeed. It’s not so different for your company. If you simply throw the promotions team at the web when you have something you want promoted you’re basically setting yourself up for failure. Your community is a long-term, high value asset that should build upon itself and provide very tangible outcomes for your company. But not if you don’t make building it a priority, before you actually need it. Start today.

Airlines Fail The Mobile Test ?

Research has revealed that in spite of offering a slew of mobile apps and websites, many of the airlines affected by the current adverse weather conditions are failing to provide up-to-date customer information as part of their mobile presence.

With half a million stranded passengers in the UK alone, many will be relying on their mobile device for further information and details about alternative options, particularly as Christmas approaches and the rush to get home for the holidays really gets underway.

Having looked at the mobile offerings of 13 major international airline operators, however it has found that just five actually offered up-to-date flight news and information which could help stranded passengers at airports across the UK, US and Europe, via their mobile apps or mobile websites.

With 11 of the 13 airlines offering a mobile site accessible on all web-enabled devices, and eight offering some form of smartphone app, the fact that these channels are not being effectively used to communicate with the stranded passengers suggests that more needs to be done to make mobile a truly effective and relevant channel for airlines. While all of the mobile offerings did have a ‘Flight Status’ tab, the information contained only news of that passenger’s particular flight and no further information about alternative routes or where help could be found for that customer.

The patchwork mobile presence of most of the airlines affected by the adverse weather conditions is unacceptable, given the distress of passengers desperately trying to make travel plans during the disruption, Doubly so, when you consider that the mobile web was practically invented for a situation like this, in which travellers need to access crucial information where and when they need it.

Many airlines have been accused of taking a token approach to mobilising themselves”, but two have been singled out two for praise. The approach of airlines like British Airways and Lufthansa, both of whom offer comprehensive emergency travel news across their apps and mobile website should be applauded and is certain to limit the reputational damage they suffer during this period of travel chaos. At a time like this it’s absolutely crucial that airlines have a consistent mobile presence, which is accessible to passengers using devices ranging from an old Nokia to an iPhone 4, and which enables them to get the travel information they need in a matter of minutes. The airlines may not be responsible for the weather but they are certainly responsible for making sure their passengers are as little inconvenienced by it as possible.
What are you thoughts?

Christmas Shopping Goes Mobile

significant number of Orange UK customers have given the cold shoulder to the high street scramble, instead choosing to organise their Christmas shopping via the mobile web.

According to the results of a poll conducted by Orange between 29 November and 7 December, 31 per cent of respondents confirmed that they shopped online via their mobiles while watching TV and/or engaged in household activities, with Saturday night emerging as the most popular period for shopping searches. In addition, 18 per cent of customers were likely to indulge in ‘bedtime buying’, while 13 per cent admitted to using their mobiles to secretly shop while at work. Slightly less worrying to bosses everywhere, 11 per cent claimed to get their Christmas shopping out of the way on their commutes between home and work.

Steve Ricketts, head of mobile commerce, Orange, says: “Mobiles are making shopping easier this Christmas, as people can buy presents in secret from their phones – without worrying about being overlooked or found out.”

During this period, the most searched for retail outlet on Orange World has been Amazon, followed by Argos, eBay, Asda, Tesco, New Look, Next and HMV. And whether UK Orange customers are keen to take their minds off the cold or government cuts, the poll notes a 28 per cent increase in searches for lingerie.