How to Teach Your Audience About QR Codes

When you are in the thick of all things marketing, staying on top of the latest in mobile marketing and how to interconnect your print and online media, it’s easy to forget that your average consumer does not stay on top of such things.

Here are some tips on how to teach your target market how to use QR codes so you can have a successful QR code campaign in the future.

Get your audience over any fear they might have. By providing them information, you are showing that you are reliable and trustworthy.

Start simple and remember that different people learn differently. Offer your instructions in different formats. Create a white paper or a series of blog posts for those in your audience who like to read step by step directions. Create a downloadable
audio file with those same step by step instructions for those who like to listen, especially on the go. And then don’t forget to employ some videos that show everything broken down into steps.

Don’t assume you are dumbing things down too much. By creating your instructions in a series

of blog posts and videos, your users can pick and choose what they want to read or watch. So they can skip over anything that is too simplistic. But don’t make assumptions that your target market knows how to do even the most basic of things. Not everyone knows they need a scanning app.

Make your videos and blog posts readily accessible. Don’t let them get buried under newer offerings. It’s okay to promote them every so often to remind your audience that you can virtually walk them through the process of getting a scanning app on their mobile device, how to scan that app and what to do from there.

Stay on top of QR code news and share with your audience. Post about QR codes you find in everyday life, on mailers, at the store, you name it. It shows that you keep your fingers on the pulse of how others are using QR codes, when they’re working and when they’re not.

And a great side benefit is that while you are sharing with your audience and helping them to learn more ways on how QR codes can bring them discounts, information and more, you are also learning some great marketing techniques (or maybe learning from the failures) yourself.

Mobile marketing doesn’t end with QR Codes. They are only the beginning.

What Does Integrated Marketing Mean?

Integrated marketing is:

  • An end-to-end process of managing all activities, including marketing projects, planning, process flows, assets, supporting documentation, authorization.
  • It includes the management of the people involved, the vendors, and the client relationships.
  • Building, managing and executing all outbound and inbound marketing communications.
  • Emphasis on measuring the campaign using clearly defined analytical tools.

Proving the success of a campaign can be quite satisfying. However, many companies have a hard time trying to actually measure that success. A campaign needs to be measured across all channels. These channels may include e-mail, SMS, Print, Internet, Trade Shows, Seminars, and more. Through each of these channels there may be different target audiences, which lead you to multiple data sources. Also, multiple response mechanisms are necessary to collect the data.

When the marketing department develops measurement tools, it shouldn’t be asking whether it’s possible to measure all these channels and all these target markets. Instead, the

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question for the marketing department to brainstorm is: HOW do you measure all channels and all target markets?

With integrated marketing, this measurement IS possible. However, in light of today’s technology, the platform needs to be able to embrace new media communications channels like social media. Without integration, the processes that occur in a marketing department remain fragments, pieces of the puzzle that can easily become impossible to control and manage. In the end, this translates into providing the marketing message recipient with uncoordinated views of your business; the target customer or prospect does not enjoy a unified experience.

Inbound Marketing – Tools and Techniques

When you set inbound marketing into motion, you will soon find it is a strategy that thrives on consistency. The most powerful tool in your arsenal is your company website blog. You control how much information you disseminate, what information you provide and how often you distribute that information. Ideally, your blog will consist of multiple short (but not too short) articles on relevant topics that set you up as an authority in your field. The goal is two-fold: 1 – you get readers who learn to seek you out for your expertise and 2 – you get others to link to your material…thereby bringing more readers who will learn to seek you out for your expertise.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an integral part of inbound marketing. You don’t have to become an expert in SEO yourself, but you do need to know what the right keywords are and how to use them effectively. The goal is to increase your search rank. You want to be on that first page of Google and Bing results when internet users search for your keywords. The great thing about SEO is that it is something that can be tweaked and worked on to help your visibility. Overtime, you will be able to determine what your effective keywords are – what words are bringing visitors to your site. And you will be able to track links leading to your site.

You can also track links from within your site. Perhaps your current blog post has a hyperlink to an older post on related material. Instead of using a direct link, you can use a tool that will allow you to shorten the link and also see the traffic reports on that URL. Remember, information is power and you want that information to know what is working and what is not.

A bit overwhelmed by all the social media platforms out there? Start with two. Perhaps it’s Twitter and Facebook. Maybe it’s LinkedIn and YouTube. But start with two and build from there. Don’t assume more is better. You should only have as many social media profiles as you can manage to maintain. And while your main goal with social media may be to promote your brand and distribute content, don’t forget that these platforms are interactive. They invite a conversation with the internet visitor. That’s something you never want to lose sight of. Yes, you’ve got a business to run. But even if you use tools to automate as much content as possible, you should schedule regular “check ups” on each platform to make sure there isn’t a question or comment lingering.

The reality is – visitors are not customers. It’s up to you to turn them into your customers. As you integrate the SEO aspect with the content and the social media visibility, you will find that you will get those visitors. In order to turn them into customers, you need to cultivate them into leads (for five pointers on inbound marketing lead generation look here) and remember that always, content reigns supreme.

4 Steps for Creating a Content Marketing Strategy

There is no doubt that content is a very important part of a company’s marketing efforts. But how can you use content successfully to actually bring in leads and sales, as opposed to just website traffic? We have some tips that we’d love to share. They center around how to create a strategy for your content marketing efforts. Here are four tips to help you in your business.

1) Define What You Should Talk About: This step is huge! Many people know that they need to be on social networks, but they stop themselves in their own tracks if they cannot easily answer this question: “What should I talk about?” Thus, you must take the time to analyze the topics and keywords that you should be using in your social media efforts.

To define that list, you should certainly consider your audience. What pain points do they have? What information could you share that would help them solve problems?

Also, you should make a list of the key benefits that your products and services provide. While you do not want all of your content to be extremely sales-y, you should certainly use social media to discuss topics around the benefits that your company offers.

2) Create Compelling Content in Multiple Formats: Technology has made it easier than ever before for people to create and publish online content. But that doesn’t mean that we should skimp on marketing fundamentals during that process.

When creating content, we need to consider if it will have an impact on our audience. We also want to question whether people will want to share our content with others.

We also need to create content in multiple formats. Some people love to write; others love to step in front of a camera. Well, individuals in our target audience also have preferences! They may prefer to consume content in one channel over another.

Thus, we must be willing to devote resources to producing content in a variety of formats in order to truly maximize the reach of our message.

3) Freely Share in the Appropriate Channels: It can be overwhelming to look at the growing number of social networks available to us. However, we must avoid taking a blanket approach to sharing the same piece of content in the same way across every social network that we have access to.

We must recognize that each network is unique — this could be true in regard to feature, function, frequency, tone, etc. In order to properly demonstrate respect for each network’s audience, we must be willing to tailor our participation efforts accordingly.

4) Be Consistent: Social

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networking efforts can be fun — but they also require energy and time. If you are going to start using social networks to reach business objectives, you must commit to executing consistent efforts!

Make sure that you are willing to prioritize the steps of creating and sharing content on social networks appropriately.

Moving Forward

There are certainly other items that need to be considered when developing a content marketing strategy for social networks. However, those 4 are certainly among the most important.

I hope that you find these tips helpful!

7 Ways Dating and Marketing go Hand in Hand

Have you heard of the metaphor that marketing is like dating? Think about it. When you date someone, you try to look your best, present yourself well and make a good impression. You are trying to find that right fit, the person who will really click with you. In the end, you hope for a long, happy relationship.

In marketing, we present our products and services to our target market. We want to find the right long-term relationship. Here are seven ways to reinterpret dating tactics for marketing:

  1. You know who you want (your target market). You know you have to get their attention. You think about how you will get their attention, how you will keep their attention. Before you implement any kind of marketing campaign, you really have to think about how you will get your message in front of your dream market.
  2. You need to be prepared to commit. Commit to a full-blown marketing plan. Design and implement a marketing campaign. This isn’t time to dip your toes in to test the waters. You need to be ready to really put yourself (your company) out there to prospects. Because if you dive right in without preparation and forethought, then you won’t know what to do when your prospects want to ove to the next level of your relationship.
  3. Look your best! When you market your business to prospects, this is no time to use sloppy copy and junky graphics. Your marketing materials, your website…everything should be in tip-top shape so you can put your best foot forward.
  4. Invest in your marketing campaigns and let your prospects know that you care. Prospects won’t care about marketing messages if you don’t care. Yes, you DO need to spend money on your campaign. Is “cheap” the impression you want to leave in your prospects’ minds?
  5. Let them know you are interested…in many different ways. This is where a multi-touch campaign comes into play. Sure, an email is nice. But what about a quick text? How about a personalized url? Use different ways to communicate your messages to your prospects so things don’t get stale. Use a social approach. Use facebook or twitter to let them know more about you
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    or your company

  6. Become a joiner. Join the groups and associations that will present the opportunities to meet your prospects. Yes, a lot of marketing can be done from the seclusion of your office, with the internet as your calling card; eventually, you need to get out there and meet people.
  7. Don’t force chemistry. Sometimes, feelings take longer to develop. You can’t (and shouldn’t) rush a good thing. If the connection with your prospect seems to be on shaky ground, then take a step back and re-evaluate.

Determining the Best Mix for a Marketing Campaign

Many businesses see the value in using a mix of channels for their marketing efforts. However, the question is: what are the key factors in determining the best product mix for a particular marketing campaign?

Here is our answer:

Determine your company’s long-term goals so you are preparedcanada goose on sale to handle growth or shrinkage of the application set with minimal administrative effort.

For example, if you have a direct mail campaign utilizing PURLs, and landing pages, prepare to take on the associated response activities (analytics, email, VDP, fulfillment, etc.) to support the entire campaign.

The biggest cost comes from moving data between multiple systems, due to
canadajacketsoutlet poor planning of what your data workflow needs truly are. Considering upfront how to handle expanding requirements without running into software integration and implementation

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roadblocks will be the key to success.

4 Ways to Make Your Business Card Stand Out

Work spaces can quickly get cluttered. This makes it easy and tempting for prospects to quickly go through all loose notes, papers, and business cards to clear a space quickly. Make them think twice about throwing your business card away when this happens! Here are some ways to make your leads and prospects put your card in the “Keep” pile!

Color: Colors are always an effective marketing tool. It helps catch the eye, it entices people to pay closer attention to it, and it may just be refreshing to look at compared to dull white materials. Colors can be incorporated into bold headlines, images, or just be a background color, but no matter what, it will help your card look different from the vast majority of cards. It can also help trigger your prospects to remember who the card belongs to because of its unique look.

Material: Think about ordering magnetic business cards! Two benefits of this is the heavier material that would be used for the card, and its functionality. Just be holding the card, the weight of it makes a difference to a prospect. It’s no longer a flimsy piece of paper, it has substance that shouldn’t be tossed in the trash. The magnet also works wonders. Even if the prospect doesn’t have interest in your company at the time, they may just hold onto it for magnet purposes. This means that for as long as the magnet stays on a magnetic surface in their home or workspace, then your business will always be in front of their eyes.

Shape: Just like color and material, the shape of the card can be a “Wow” factor too! This is a chance for you to go the extra step in creativity and give your audience an instant message of what your business provides. With die-cut printing, almost any shape is possible so don’t be afraid of restriction for this tip. Restaurants could have a burger-shaped card, dentists could have a tooth-shaped card, car dealerships could have a car-shaped card. They’re clever, fun, and share-worthy!

QR Codes: Mobile marketing is becoming one of the most marketing channels for many different businesses. Mobile tools, like QR Codes, bridge the gap between print and online media, which creates extra interactive opportunities for your business cards. You can direct QR Codes to YouTube videos, customized contact forms, special promotional codes, and more. Overall, they offer your prospects an additional channel to connect with you and your business.

When you’re ready to order your next batch of business cards, be open to these types of tactics that can help make your cards more memorable. Your cards can be a great conversation starter and could also stay in front of your prospects’ eyes for a longer amount of time.

Why Buy Attention When You Can Attract It With Inbound Marketing

What does your marketing budget look like? Is it lean, and accounted for down to the penny? Are you working on a shoestring budget? Or do you have money to burn? No matter what your marketing budget looks like, it’s important to use your dollars wisely. You want to spend them on activities that more than earn their keep. But don’t forget there are plenty of things you can do that don’t have to cost you money. What they will cost you is time and effort, but they can be well worth it, if you do it right.

Inbound marketing is not about spending advertising dollars, creating the next eyeball popping direct mail piece or whipping out a news release. Inbound marketing is all about having your audience come to you. They find you and hopefully fall in love with your information and business personality.

There’s nothing wrong with spending some money when it comes to your company’s marketing efforts. However, isn’t it nice when you get those leads all on your own merit? That’s how inbound marketing works. You get attention not by paying for it, but by earning it.

It’s not easy. Your audience won’t just drop in your lap. (Though of course that’s what we all wish for anyway). This is something you have to work for. You can’t just “hang out” online and think that your target market will head your way. This takes effort. This takes time and important groundwork to make sure you attract people…but not just any people, the “right” people – your target audience.

It’s going to take a combination of things to get it all in gear. You need to integrate search engine optimization (SEO) and social media to get the most out of your inbound marketing efforts. Start by providing relevant content to your audience. And use the keywords and phrases that your audience uses to search for this content in your uploaded materials. This will help you get those results in the Google, Bing and Yahoo searches. And, as you encourage sharing of your terrific content; you will be gaining more inbound links to your site. Another feather in your SEO cap.

Don’t forget the importance of not just placing content on your site, but also of working the social media profiles you’ve built. Social media helps get your content in front of different audiences. Post your latest video on YouTube and Facebook. Tweet about that latest marketing tip. Join that discussion on LinkedIn. All of these things will encourage interaction and get you started on that very important connection with your target audience.

Again, all of this doesn’t cost you a dime. There are no “pay per blog post” or “pay for inbound links” costs to drain your budget. This is all about working your website and social media profiles to generate interest and spark dialogue. And that will lead to the development of relationships with your future customers.

Marketing Tools to Promote New Products

Having a large social media following is great when you need to get the word out. What’s the word? You have some new services or products that you want to educate people about. Whenever a business rolls out something new, sometimes one of the hardest parts is getting people on board. If you have a sizeable social media following, your job becomes exponentially easier.

There are a multitude of methods for doing this; here is a quick rundown of some suggestions for promoting your new product or service:

LinkedIn: Add to your services tab on your LinkedIn profile. All of your LinkedIn connections will see how your new service works. Additionally, your LinkedIn connections may already be involved with your business and may be more inclined to research your new venture.

YouTube: Depending on what your new item is, you may be able to create a video showing what your product is and how to use it. Video is a reassuring medium. You can have some of team members sit down and walk through the product. Explain how it’s used and how it can help businesses.

Discount/Giveaways: On Facebook and Twitter, you can use your following to get people to sign up for a discount or giveaway of the first product, trying to get some interest. By having the product in the hands of as many people as possible, it can increase the rates of positive feedback and testimonials.

Photos: If it is a product, create a photo album on Facebook. Show how to use it and some of its practical applications.

Special Website Page: On your homepage, create a new tab that advertises the product or service.

Ideally, your website gets a good deal of traffic through your social media sites and you can have all of the information you need right there on the page.

QR Code Campaign: By placing a QR code on your direct mailers, this will give you the chance to bring more information or discounts of the new product to recipients who scan the QR Code. Have the code direct to a mobilized landing page with more information and exclusive content for those who scan.

All of these tools can help you put together a fantastic multi-channel marketing campaign, by introducing the product in many different channels to many different audiences.

Inbound Marketing: Sharing is Caring

Sometimes, yes, your mother really did know best. Remember how she would tell you that you need to be generous with your things? Share your toys with your sibling? Share the playground with your friends?

Now, as an adult, your toys are likely expensive and you really aren’t required to share them. But sharing is still important, especially in the business world. Being a giver – a giver of information, a giver of resources, a giver of wit and personality – can get you quite far with your target market.

With inbound marketing, your website is your hub and you want your audience to not just visit, but stay and interact. To do this, you need to make sure that you are providing a wealth of information (without giving away the proverbial milk for free) and keeping your brand consistent. Hopefully, while you do this, you are displaying your ultra-cool company persona as well.

By sharing your expertise and know-how via blog posts, video clips and more, you will attract and encourage your audience to pass it along to their colleagues and acquaintances. In essence, you are inviting your audience to share your materials so you reach an even larger number of people over time.

But you can’t just throw things up on your website and assume they will be shared. You can’t just upload or post items and think that they will be received well and be the next viral email or Facebook post. Here are some tips to make sharing easy and encourage your audience to share your content over and over again:

  • Don’t assume that your viewers are already connected with you. Many will not be. So make sure that visible buttons and links are available on your website for the audience to hop on over to your various social media profiles and connect with you via Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn and so on. Having the graphic buttons on your HOME page with direct links to those profiles is a must. But don’t be shy. You can add them to every web page. You can also whip up a blog post discussing social media and inviting your audience to come and hook up with you via the social media platforms they are active on.
  • Make it easy. There are plenty of plug ins that will make it a simple action for the viewers to share your material. Ideally, every blog post will have the ability to quickly and easily be distributed across multiple social media platforms if the audience feels compelled to share.
  • Don’t be afraid to ask. It’s okay to ask your audience to share something that you feel especially important to pass along. You might not want to do this with every single thing you post on your site, as it may get old real quick with your audience. So do this selectively. But don’t be too shy about it either.
  • Make sure your items are share worthy. Not everything is. And that’s okay. But you want a majority of your material to be passed along. So try to be timely by tying material into current topics, a calendar item or hot button issue. Also, take a look at your headlines…are they eye-catching? You have a second or two to grab your audience’s attention. Make your headline work for you.
  • Talk to your audience. This is not monologue time. Think and post with a dialogue in mind, every single time. You are inviting interaction. You are nurturing a budding relationship. You want your audience to speak back to you, to pass along your amazing materials and spread the word about you. So don’t toot your own horn with every upload and offering. Ask for feedback. Ask for comments. Pose questions and start that conversation up.

Over time, you will come to see what types of items are passed along via social media platforms and what topics receive more interest and dialogue. As this happens, you should evolve your materials to fit that “need.” Remember, sharing is caring. So be a giver!