Category Archives: Mobile Apps
The Most Exclusive And Engaging Social Network | @CoupleApp
The most engaging network? It’s a bold statement, but I think if we walk through the important aspects of engagement, you would undeniably agree, this app & network is about everything that works in engaged networks.
- Being genuine
- Feeling listened to
- Keeping open communication
- Sharing moments & emotionally driven messages
The catch? It’s only for two.
The benefit? Finding time in our increasingly digital worlds, and busy lives to make time for the important people in your life.
We Are Your Competition : Social Media & Your Business – Do You Make the Cut?
What happens when you bring social into the workplace?
- Employee voices become important and heard
- Issues rise to the surface, as a result they get addressed, and things become stronger and better
- Your product quality becomes a spotlight – open to attack at any time- therefore will be reinforced by integrity
- Your Customer Service comes under scrutiny – you have to live up to your promises – you are accountable
- Your fans become advocates
- Your critics become the force turning you onto positive change
- You actually start to listen
- Feedback is real and not solicited
- You have the world to answer to. Not just your boss, not just your team or one client. The world.
- You, as a company, must define and know who you are. You don’t just recite a mission statement, you feel it and live it. (If you don’t understand this, read my recent post on Branding)
How long are you going to stand there and watch things pass you by? How long are you going to stick to what you have always done, while the world and your consumers change around you?
It shouldn’t be that way, it shouldn’t take all this to make you do all these things for your businesses, but social does do this for you. If forces you to question, to reinforce, to be greater.
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- That is why for any business who truly wants to be great (or thinks they are already) – getting into social is one hell of a great way to get your business in order!
Every aspect of your business must be aligned.
What’s Holding You Back?
All your fears of getting into social, all your concerns – I believe they all stem from your unconscious belief that you, in fact, are not able to operate in the public eye.
Maybe that’s what companies who are not yet using social, who are dabbling in the sidelines should really think about.
Do you really have what it takes?
Then get on board. Get your business in order. Start showing the world what you’ve really got. Show your employees, your clients and your community. That’s how you’ll grow. That’s how you’ll be better.
The Alternative:
Stay where you are and keep doing what you always did – but keep in mind, some of us out there are pushing ourselves to our limits, setting the bar higher, working every day to keep being the best – and guess what, we are your competition .
Good luck.
A Social Media & Digital Property Estate Plan – Till Death Do Us Part or Beyond
According to an article in The Sun, Bruce Willis intends to leave his music collection to his kids after his death, however, the article reports, according to their interpretation of the user agreement even though you pay for the music, the music is for the purchaser’s personal use, they are not selling it to you. So, you do not own it. As a result, Bruce Willis would have a problem – you can’t leave something you don’t own to your kids!
What are we all doing? Are we all downloading and paying for apps, books, music, etc. – yet none of us own any of it?! Surely every site that you “purchase” things from has a user agreement. How many of us are reading the small print and are we even understanding what it means? When I posted the link to the article on my Facebook Page, my friend Merlin U Ward wrote: “What will you do with your digital assets when you die?” Great question, but even more so is the question of what exactly are our digital assets? Do we have any? If the information in this article is correct, then it could be argued that it’s not an investment, and the “purchases” may actually just be loaners. It is definitely something to investigate and learn more about. How much are you spending on digital downloads? An even greater question, how would any company enforce this?
Do You Read Your User Agreements?
I speculate that this all came up because Bruce Willis was doing some planning and in making sure he was dotting all his “i”‘s , checked the agreement.
How many people actually read their user agreements? Most of us aren’t looking for this information as we download things, or even sign up for social media sites.
Every site has it’s own user agreement, perhaps this is a good opportunity to spend some time to understand what it is we are signing on for as we purchase things, or invest in accounts.
What about Social Sites? What Happens there?
This is a great article that gives and overview of what happens to your Facebook page after you die What happens to all my social networking information when I die? . I was pleased to learn that Facebook takes the time to actually give some very considerate options to the user’s family in such a sad and difficult time. They apparently can leave the page as is, or, at the request of the family can turn it into a memorial site. I think that’s pretty “human” of them.
This CNET article from 2010 covers how the Facebook and Twitter policies compare. I am happy to see both provide opportunity for the memorial concept. We invest so much into our social media activity, it’s nice to know it won’t all get wiped away in a flash.
So in the end, is it about you?
The big question is, what do you want to happen with your sites years down the line? Some people might want their entire sites taken down, others may want to keep things up so others could continue the connections. Circumstance certainly would play a role.
What would you do?
Would you leave your sites up so those you cared about could continue to honor and celebrate your life? Sharing stories together “In Memoriam” on your original page?
What if what you want is not what your family would want? How do these things get decided?
Interestingly there are services emerging to respond to this very thing, among them are Legacy Locker which offers free and paid plans, and Secure Safe, which offers a “Data Inheritance” service.
We have a lot to manage and think about when it comes to our evolving commitment to using social media, the information we share online, the investment of our time, and in Bruce Willis’ case even the investment into “buying” and building a music collection.
What do you think of this? The responsibility is on us as users to understand what we are signing on for. In the case of the downloaded music, I think it’s just the tip of the iceberg… and Bruce Willis is going to take it on for us.
Fast Track Marketing: QR Code Driving Fans Closer |Strategy|Engagement
QR Codes are a tough sell in social media circles. Despite this, the average consumer surely sees multiple codes a day scattered on business cards, ads on walls, magazines, newspapers, billboards, TV ads, and even restaurant menus. In recent research from ScanLife, a popular QR Scanning App, the data not only shows consumers scanning when they are on the go, but even when they are at home! If that doesn’t indicate increasing comfort with the convenience of the QR method of communication, I am not sure what does.
Why do so many oppose them in the social marketing field? The QR code may seem “boring” to a graphic artist, or annoying to a social marketer, but to the average consumer armed with a smart phone and a scan app, I’d go as far as say it can be magical. You never know what lies behind the code until you see it.
Go ahead, scan me 
~Wasn’t that fun?
The State of Mobile
According to Cisco‘s Mobile Forecast Highlights, in North America, the number of smartphones grew 58% during 2011, reaching 138 million in number. They further predict, in their VNI Mobile Forecast Highlights, 2011 – 2016 that in North America, the number of smartphones will grow 1.8-fold between 2011 and 2016, reaching 253 million. Why is the potential application of QR coding important? Look at it as your added opportunity to entice the mobile user, to connect somewhere that everyone is becoming increasingly more comfortable.
According to a recent Scanlife report in the second quarter of 2012, the company’s QR codes got 16 million scans, almost 10 million more than what it saw in the second quarter of 2011. in addition the rate of scans per minute Scanlife is seeing has increased by 5 times compared to the same time last year. You can check out a pretty awesome infographic here.
Why Aren’t You Seizing The Opportunity?
QR Codes are one of the easiest ways for consumers to easily respond to an ad, and get the information they are looking for. They allow the
Warning: Social Media May Cause Aggression | Mobile Marketing
If you work in customer service, if you own a business, if you manage a team, you need to read this, and in fact, you need to share this with them.
Share this if you care about customer service. This is how severe the impact of Social Media, perception, and influence can be for a business.
I Discovered The Most Amazing Place
It was a beautiful day, breeze blowing softly and the temperature just right for a walk up the avenue. A pastry shop/cafe that I had never been into before was on the agenda for the day. I entered the shop and I was completely impressed and delighted. I was already planning for this to be my new lunch place. I couldn’t wait to taste the sandwiches, it was such a great variety that my friend and I couldn’t decide on any one and ordered a few things to share. I happen to be a bit of a modern epicurean, so it is rare that a place would be this impressive to me. As I waited for my food to be prepared at the counter, I not only looked forward to many more lunches at my newly discovered spot, but to return and pick up some pastries for the weekend, the cake for my next party – you get the picture.
When Impressed – You Tweet
I reached for my phone to take a photo of the cake display and just as I snapped my picture, a gruff, serious (and somewhat intimidating) voice behind me, (think Al Pacino, or Don Corleone) asked “What are you taking pictures of?”
Discovering The Hidden Value of Location Based Apps for Business #Custserv
There’s a misconception in the business world on the potential of Location Based Marketing. Many companies focus on the “How do we use this to attract customers”. However there is a flip side to the story, one many people in business just aren’t realizing. The power that location based apps give us to get to know our potential target clients, members of our community and our clients.
It’s Personal
When you as a business owner or business person start letting members of your community into your inner circles on location based apps, suddenly you have the opportunity to get closer. You get to know your clients, where they shop, what they do with their weekends, how much they travel. Sure it sounds like pretty high end market research, but take this to the base level. Take it to the one on one level, where you as a professional link in with your client, and you share with them all the things that they do. Suddenly you are seeing them taking their kids to sports, to the beach, going out to dinner, or maybe not doing any of this. As you get to know your clients via location based services you really develop an understanding of what they love, what they value. Next time you see them, you can ask them how they liked that camping trip, or about the great Thai restaurant they tried.
Two Location Apps that Give You New Insight to Your Client Base
Location based services like Foursquare and EchoerApp bring these previously cold relationships to deeper levels.
EchoerApp allows you to see what is happening in the community around you. It helps you frame what the people who travel through your area *really* think. It shows the ideas form and be amplified nearby, allowing others to guide themselves to the hottest spots, meanwhile providing insight to what the people in the area are really thinking. What do they really value?
Foursquare is individually based, it can help you get to know your client specifically.
Think about this when you consider the true value in getting involved in location based apps and services. Sure it’s great to make the mark for people to see you and what people are saying about you…but think about the flip side, isn’t it incredibly interesting to learn more about them?
Isn’t that the key to great service? Knowing your client?
The Drawing Board | Extend Your Reach| 4 Key Reasons to Go Mobile|Social Media #Marketing|
Mapping out how Small Businesses, Representatives and your personal “Brand” can extend the reach.
…Continued from Let’s start speaking the same language | Branding & Communication. Which focuses on closing the gap on Social Media Isolation.
- There are those out there (many of them our existing clients or great prospects) who are using Social Media, yet they isolate themselves to their friends & family. How do we reach them and close the Gap?
The idea came to me yesterday, while surfing the net. I came across Mippin. Mippin is a UK based mobile application and content company, They build apps for iPhone, Android, Nokia Ovi, Symbian, Blackberry, etc. Their “App Factory” caught my eye. They claimed you could build your own app in 5 minutes. Curious, I decided, why not – I will give it a try. Well it was fantastic!
I created my App in a brief time, I named it “Mila on the go” and as I saw it build, I of course asked myself, what do I want to put here, who is going to be using this, and why? Do I really want or need this app? It was a great question.
"Changing perspective- a new Angle of the Drawing Board." When you live in a social media world, you sometimes have to step outside of the environment you understand and strive to feel the perspective of the average user, or the business person who is looking to reach a clientele. We have to realize that even though everyone is on social, they may not be using it in the way we think. We need to make resources available to them. Step away from the drawing board and look at it from a "New Perspective"
Let’s start speaking the same language | A New Approach | Branding & Communication
We’ve gone social. We don’t need to write about how we’ve done it anymore, everyone is connected – in one way or another – we are all online.
Social Media Isolation - They can use Facebook, or check email, however they are not connected in the flow. How do we reach them?
Despite this, some people are isolated from us, people we want to reach. They have the desire to hear us, but they simply do not want to use the tools we are using. It’s a challenge.
We can try and deliver a message all we want, but if we are not speaking the same language, if the interaction is difficult, if the environment is foreign and uncomfortable, then no one will listen. We might as well go back to the drawing board because no one will listen if they don’t understand, no one will sit with you if you make it painful.
- Invite someone out for a coffee, but instead of meeting in a warm comfortable environment, invite them to join you outside and chat – but it’s negative 30 degrees Celsius. Are they really listening, are they going to come back for more? They are more focused and worried about their discomfort than anything else.
- You’re watching TV, you’re flipping channels, your favorite person in the world is being interviewed, but its in a language you can’t even identify – will you watch it – no – you’ll move along.
When you don't understand the navigation in the social media world, it's like looking out into a vast desolate field. Where do you begin?
Its the same for social media. To some people the thought of getting immersed in online activity is as painful as that chat outside. Make it easy, make it accessible, make it a pleasure, then you have engagement.The key is to find that path, find ways to be accessible, make things easy, make it pleasant.
As we see more and more people online, networking, blogging, Facebooking (yes I’m “verbing” it) the challenge seems to be, how do you reach all these platforms? I talk to people every day, different kinds of people. People who don’t want to get into Facebook, because they just don’t get it, or already have too much in their lives, and don’t want to add another “thing” to keep track of. You’ve met them – maybe you’re one of them, and I twisted your arm to come check my post 
If they don’t even want to get into Facebook, how on earth do you think they will find you? They are still great prospects / clients…
Then, we’ve got people who already mastered Facebook, even are on Twitter and Linked In, but because of this, just don’t have the time to go through everything. They are challenged by management of their multiple streams. They aren’t on those social networks to look at others posts, they are there to be found – or to socialize with friends. They haven’t adapted the “resourceful” culture – they don’t know you have something to offer them. Maybe they want to check you out, but by the time they get home, or find the time at work, your message is lost in a pile of equally wonderful content. We all have limited time. Where do we start?
Everyone has one in their pocket. Many would call it their favorite toy. Isn't this where you want to be?
I believe that mobile is the answer to so many issues we have in communication and accessibility with these groups. Its an opportunity to connect with anyone. A new way that you can connect with the ones who aren’t at ease with Twitter, Facebook, G+, etc. AND those who are overwhelmed with so much information, they don’t always get the time to filter your stream to find what you had talked about; You’ve spent the time building your online persona, well this is how you’re going to tie it all in and make it accessible to anyone: I’m calling this: Mobile You… a new perspective.
The key to PR or Marketing is reaching your audience in a way that works for them. You can put all the social out there, but if your target doesn’t relate, or can’t keep up – what’s the value? Who are you really talking to? Continue Reading….
