Posts Tagged ‘apps’
Bad News for Blackberry
Posted by Sibet B Freides in Social Media on April 26th, 2012
Coined the original smartphone, the Blackberry is having a hard time keeping up with the bells and whistles on the iPhone and Android devices.
Ease of use and larger screens are part of the appeal. Some more pros include the availability of ten times the number of apps than those of the Blackberry. For builders, some of these include gaining the ability to create and share blueprints, customize lighting, and qualifying for LEED certifications.
How about video? The iPhone offers Face Time, the ability to send and receive real-time video with other iPhone users.
Blackberries have increased blackout periods, some of which have actually lasted for several days. Imagine not having access to texts and emails for several days on your iPhone.
And then there’s Siri. Unlike older voice command software that often misinterpreted what the user was saying, the iPhone’s Siri feature responds quickly and accurately to spoken direction. It also affords users the ability to send messages, schedule appointments, and make calls just by a simple voice request. It will even answer random questions about things like traffic and weather. Computerized personal assistant – Blackberry can’t touch that J
Have you ditched the Blackberry yet, or are you a die-hard user?
Using QR Codes to Engage
Posted by Sibet B Freides in Marketing, Social Media on March 8th, 2012
QR codes seem quick and easy – they’re all about convenience. But when you think about it, in order to take advantage of them, they require people to own a smart phone, have a QR reader downloaded and installed, and have their phone handy with the app open and ready to scan at any given time.
Whew! It’s a lot more complicated than it appears.
Worse yet, many companies are using them to convey data that could be just as easily delivered in another (more convenient) format. They are popularly replacing URLs in common advertising.
Are people really ready to replace URLs? When done correctly, all they require is your memory, not a smart phone, data plan, or special app.
What should they be used for?
QR codes are most effective when they unlock information, not lead users to a final destination. Especially one they can call up on their mobile browser! Is there an immediate payoff for your users’ efforts to take out their phone, open the app, point, scan, wait for the code to register, and find out what’s next?
Do you have a special list of products or services that continually get updated? Do you run promotions that change frequently? How about location-based campaigns? These are perfect candidates for your QR adventures!
Make sure your information is formatted for mobile, and again, that it’s relevant for your user immediately. If you’re trying to get people to your website, or to opt in to your list with no timely reward, a QR code is not the best solution. Just like when Twitter first hit the scene, don’t do it to be with the “in” social networking crowd – you have to have a solid plan to engage your audience.
How Well Do You Know LinkedIn?
Posted by Sibet B Freides in Social Media on March 7th, 2012
LinkedIn has been proven more effective at generating leads than Facebook or Twitter, especially for B2B companies. It boasts over 100 million users and affords brands and individuals the opportunity to build valuable industry connections that can lead to new business, co-marketing and affiliate agreements. You can even find your next new hire.
There may be some hidden LinkedIn gems that you’re overlooking when navigating your social message. Some examples are:
LinkedIn Answers
LinkedIn Answers is a forum for people to ask and answer questions about virtually any topic. By answering questions in your industry, you build credibility and show your expertise and value. But that’s not all – it’s also a great opportunity to identify industry influencers with whom to network. In fact you can even search through experts in the Top Experts section.
If you’re looking for guest writers for your Blog, the top experts on LinkedIn Answers are the people to reach out to. Ask them to take some of the most common questions they answer, and write a post for your blog on that topic. Then whenever the question comes up again, they can refer people to the blog post they wrote for you on the subject. They get to build their reputation, and you get the SEO benefits.
Subgroups
You may belong to several LinkedIn groups, but did you know there were also subgroups of those groups? Click ‘More’ on the tab of your LinkedIn group, and you’ll find them.
Subgroups help maintain relevancy; as groups grow there are naturally some topics, industries, or side projects that develop that don’t pertain to everyone. Subgroups offer a chance to filter out any content that isn’t relevant for the entire group and keep your members engaged.
LinkedIn Apps
Enhance your profile and better collaborate with your network with the many available apps, like SlideShare Presentations, WordPress and Company Buzz.
News Module
Everyone with a LinkedIn Company Page should be using this feature. The News Module feeds mentions of your business to your LinkedIn company page, and also shows news to those who have your name listed in their profile. This helps your information be seen in multiple places. Go to your page’s ‘Overview’ tab while in edit mode, and check ‘Share news about my company’ to enable it.
LinkedIn Polls
Within your group you can now offer polls. Polling not only lets you perform your own market research and collect interesting data for content creation, but doing it on LinkedIn also means it can be extremely targeted based on group demographics.
Export Contacts
You can export all your LinkedIn connections to a .CSV or .VCF file. You even have the ability to filter out certain people — like friends and family — that aren’t relevant to your business. The only rule of thumb here is to make sure you do NOT include them in your email campaign list – being a LinkedIn connection is not synonymous with opting in to receive emails from you.
Are you using these to your advantage? What works better for your business? What tools did we leave out?
iPhone Apps that Help Real Estate Agents
Posted by Sibet B Freides in Real Estate Trends, Social Media on January 24th, 2012
Being a real estate agent can sometimes get hectic – you may feel disorganized. Have you also ever felt you didn’t have enough information handy to help your clients make the best decision possible? Here are some new and convenient ways to remedy your situation with apps and place you above your competitors:
Sketches
Sometimes pictures don’t support the message you’re trying to convey with your clients. With Sketches, you can take a photo and then draw on it. For example, you might use arrows to point out certain features or write down the distance between two properties.
Around Me
Being able to give your clients instant information is essential. With this app you can quickly tell clients about the restaurants, banks, grocery stores and other shops in the area, making it much easier for a client to make a decision.
Walk Score
People in busy cities want to be able to walk to everything. This app will give you the ability to tell customers exactly how far the nearest restaurants, grocery stores, shopping and more are from their new home. It even has a built-in GPS so users will never have to type in an address to get results.
Real Estate by Smarter Agent
One of the biggest factors for an agent is knowing what comparables are selling for or what sellers are currently asking. Being able to access this information immediately is necessary in today’s instant gratification society. You’ll never believe how fast the contract can be drawn up once you download this app.
What apps help you in your real estate career?
Do I Really Have to Consider Mobile Marketing?
Posted by Sibet B Freides in Demographics, Marketing, Social Media on August 18th, 2011
Maybe you’re still trying to figure out this Twitter thing and you simply can’t imagine why you should consider yet another “fad”. Guess what:
Mobile marketing is no longer considered “out there”, it is here and still growing. If you’re not marketing your business to mobile users, you’re missing out on traffic. Remember that SmartPhones go wherever your prospective client or customer goes – ALWAYS!
How do you take advantage of this?
Get a Mobile Website
People do not want to go to your website and have to scroll forever to see a full-sized web page on their screen. Make sure you have an alternative mobile site that is simple and smart phone compatible. WordPress makes this very easy with a simple plugin. You have no excuse J
Consider Using QR Codes
The most important question to answer about creating QR codes is, “How will it make my customers’ lives easier?” Think about not only the useful information that needs to appear when people scan them but why someone would be motivated to use it. Does it save time? Paper? Hassle? Is it tied to a coupon or deal?
Create an App
Mobile users like apps better than web browsing because apps are dedicated to a specific function, and are often more efficient than web browsing. Make sure that your mobile app has a specific, useful function and is not just an abbreviated version of your full site.
What could clients or customers easily do with your app that they can’t efficiently do on your website? Is it easy to share information? Can you use location-based information to entice someone into your business when they are near?
Mobile Ads
Google Adwords has a program that targets mobile customers. It’s highly customizable, and although it’s a Pay Per Click option, there are new options to pay for only the calls generated by your ad. What’s next?
What about you? How are you reaching your mobile customers?
