Hey Marketers! Time to Get on Board with QR Code Mobile Media!

There is a new barcode in town called “QR codes.”  It’s much more than just a barcode. It is changing the way people are doing things all over the world. Scanning these codes is similar to scanning items at Target or Wal-Mart with your mobile phone, but QR codes have far more data than barcodes. The “QR” in QR code is an acronym for Quick Response. It is an application on a mobile phone that leads people to additional information, videos, text, websites and more. It uses Smartphone technology to speed read high capacity, high density data by scanning it.  The applications can be downloaded onto an iPhone or Blackberry.

 

 

QR codes are:

• Two-dimensional barcodes
• Easy to generate. Create your own codes at QR Stuff
• Placed in multimedia, on signs, products and business cards
• Scanned by mobile phones
• Leads people to more information (website, v-cards, coupons, additional text, product information)

The QR code can display on:

• Business cards to scan and download a v-card right to your address book
• Signs or brochures for travel based tours and reviews
• Bus stop signs to find schedules and routes
• Department store check out areas that will have a coupon or discount
• Art gallery items telling more about each peice

How they work:

• Download the application to your Smartphone
• Take a picture of the QR code with your cell phone
• QR reader decodes it
• It directs you to more information. (Educational websites or additional text and more)

It’s easy! Please, share your thoughts about this below.

TweetMiner – Twitter Content Discovery & Tweet Scheduling Tool

Below is a new Twitter tool that seems easy to use and convenient at the same time. It’s worth a watch!

Social Media Strategy and Education? Look no further!

Want to learn about social media and how you can use it to grow your business or create awareness around a cause? Are you in the dark about how it all works together? Hire Kakie – the leading expert who has successfully used social media marketing strategy on her own and for others. Below are some examples of how she can help you make an impact on what you set out to do. Kakie can help you: 

Marketing Consulting - New client acquisition and loyalty. Strategic planning, problem solving, tactical planning and implementation

Establishing social media presence - Defining your direction. Brand strategy planning and positioning your digital footprint and finding the right communities.

Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and others. How to target your audience, branding your home page, effective messaging, helpful applications, how to make it all work together.

Blog set up – Branding – Targeting readers – Content – Getting it established – Strategy and applications – getting the word out – driving traffic to your blog

Using Microsoft Outlook as a Contact Management System to Manage Your Job Search

Interested? Comment below and I will reach out to you via email. Rates will vary based on each situation and will be very reasonable. Thanks for visiting my blog. Please don’t keep me a secret.

Best regards,

-Kakie Fitzsimmons

Mobile Marketing Association Publishes New Global Mobile Advertising Guidelines

There are more than 2000 mobile phone applications that are functional and benefit the users. Some examples of this might inlcude a GPS system, tools to track expenses and mileage, games, etc. They are popular and made to benefit the consumer with hopes to increase brand awareness and integrity. Some of these apps are specific to certain kinds of phones or brands while others are not.

Since 2005, the Mobile Marketing Association has published Global Mobile Advertising Guidelines every 6 months based on input from the Global Advertising Committee. This provides global formats, guidelines and best practices needed to establish mobile advertising efforts for a variety of moble media channels that include web, instant messaging, downloadable applications and video. The goal is to engage and promote uptake in mobile advertising to make it simple for brands and agencies to create a consistent experience of implementation.

 New global requirements for Mobile Application units include:

• New advertising units and definitions across channels
• New length requirements for Mobile Video & TV ad units
• Recommended future mobile web banner ad requirements

Resources for those looking to stay up to date on the most recent trends:

1. The latest version of MMA Mobile guidlines : http://mmaglobal.com/mobileadvertising.pdf
2. MMA White Paper overview of mobile advertising: www.mmaglobal.com/mobileadoverview.pdf
3. Educational white papers for applications: http://www.mmaglobal.com/mobileapplications.pdf

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) is the premier global association that strives to stimulate the growth of mobile marketing and its associated technology. MMA members include agencies, advertisers, hand held device manufacturers, carriers and operators, retailers, software providers and service providers, as well as any company focused on the potential of marketing via mobile devices. Taken directly from the MMA website, the Mobile Marketing Association’s global headquarters are located in the United States and is the primary resource for the mobile marketing information and expertise, the MMA is dedicated to:

• Providing an industry forum to meet, discuss, plan and work cooperatively to resolve key industry issues
• Bringing together industry-wide, global and regional work groups that focus on industry initiatives
• Providing representation for the mobile marketing industry to major legislative bodies worldwide
• Sharing perspectives on mobile marketing between Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and the U.S.
• Fueling peer-to-peer interaction through seminars, conferences and events
• Developing metrics for measuring ad delivery and consumer response
• Developing open and compatible mobile marketing technical and creative standards
• Defining and publishing mobile marketing best practices and guidelines on privacy, ad delivery, and ad measurement
• Providing the value and effectiveness of mobile marketing to advertisers, agencies and consumers
• Serving as the key advocate on behalf of the mobile marketing industry

Does Google Have “Street Cred” With Their New Trikes?

Google cams have been in the Twin Cities. If you ever wondered how Google is able to get street views, check out one of their cars and see the 360 degree camera on the top. BUT: How do they get access to paths, one way streets or areas where only public transportation has been? Here is your answer. Clearly this guy has a great job with cardio benefits

Did you know you can listen to the internet?

When I decided to start this blog, I wanted to keep it simple and understandable for everyone, especially those new to social media. I have had tons of people ask me what new media is all about, where can they go to learn, etc. This was why I chose to write this post about internet chatter and how it all comes together. Let me preface it with a disclaimer that the information is not new to those in the interactive marketing and social media space.

 

I was having a conversation the other day with a friend who didn’t know very much about social media. I was explaining what it is, how it can help companies and individuals. I brought the word “listen” into the dialogue and he seemed puzzled and asked me, “What? You can’t listen to the internet!” “Suprise! Yes you can!” (Not that I am trying to sound like a political campaign, because I’m not.)

 

There are tools out there that help companies listen to internet chatter. Some services are paid for, others are not. I forget sometimes the idea of it is new to many people. They have actually been around for a while. In social media terms, listening means going to social media platforms like Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, etc. These are places your consumers are already having conversations. There are ways those conversations, key words or phrases can be monitored and measured.

 Here are some free tools you can use to “listen.”

• Google Alerts: This is an email subscription you sign up for. You can choose key words or phrases and select the frequency of how often you receive the emails. This can be a good way to start with your brand name.
• Blog Seaches: This is similar to Google Alerts in that you can recieve alerts and udates through search like Google Blogsearch, Technorati, Bloglines and BlogCatalog. What differentiates this from Google Alerts is that here you are searching blogs.
• Twitter search: Twitter is like a bunch of microblogs, 140 characters at a time.
•  LinkedIn:  Although LinkedIn is not a social media site, you can search for your organization or brand name here.
• Facebook: You can search for keywords, your organization or brand in Facebook.

Clearly, tools like this can make something that seems overwhelming, a bit easier for many. LISTENING is a really important place to start with a social media strategy.

Social Media: What Brands Needs to Know

By Kakie Fitzsimmons

Social media is frightening to corporate america because the idea of putting control of a brand into the hands of consumers is a new way of thinking. I have had companies tell me:

1.  ”Our legal department absolutely will not allow us to have a blog.“
2. “Our legal department won’t condone letting our employees use Twitter.” 
3. “We are waiting to see what the rest of the industry is going to do.”
4. “Oh yeah, that Twitter and Facebook thing, we’re all over that”

We all know that social media is so much larger than ‘that Twitter and Facebook thing.’ If a company is going to put a plan in motion, the first place to start is with its employees. One great example is Best Buy, who did a great job with this by creating a #twelpforce. a.k.a @twelpforce They knew how to leverage their employees as listening agents to be on top of questions or issues that arise around electronics and their brand. This concept and quick response is redefining customer service, It is adding value to a brand beyond anything that money can buy. The idea of Social Media is new to many, despite the fact that it has been here for a few years. It has become the “buzz” at conferences and within companies. So where is the place to start?

Learn what social media is:

• Ongoing Conversation that is personal
• Something that puts humanity back into interactions
• A value add that gives people resources
• Something people want to share with their friends because it communicates what is meaningful to your brand
• A tool that can differentiate your brand from your competitors

Learn what social media is NOT:

• A place to come with a megaphone to say “Look at us! Here we are! Love us!”
• Advertising
• A place to get as many followers as you can, sacrificing quality

ASK: 

1. What do we want social media to do for us?
2.  How do we want to use it?
3. Which platforms make the most sense to use?
4. Would we rather create a place where our consumers go so we can respond in a timely and meaningful way?
5. Or do we want total control to be in the over 150 mainstream platforms that are out there?
6. How will it impact our online reputation management strategy?

The Impact of Social Media in Your Job Search

A while back I wrote a post called Power House Personal Branding 101: Get Started.  I also went more in-depth in a post called: Online Reputation Management and Crisis Communications Planning.

I asked a critical question in those articles. Do you know your digital footprint?

People who use social media platforms are uneasy about blurred lines between professional and personal privacy. This is because they want to protect negative or personal content. When something is posted on line and then later is deleted, it doesn’t mean the information disappears. Instead, it is indexed, so if someone wants to search the list, it isn’t that hard to find that content. It is there forever so when it comes to your job search, its critical to know how transparent information for and about you comes across online.

 A survey was conducted in the summer of 2009 by Harris Interactive for CareerBuilder.com and found that:

• 45% of HR professionals in the US used social media platforms to research job candidates
• 35% of those interviewed were disqualified for a job as a candidate
• 18% said they found information on a social network that caused them to hire an employee
• 14% of surveyed employers disregarded candidates that use smiley face emoticons

Check here to see if you meet the social media recruitment test.

Senator Al Franken draws map of USA – From Memory

I’ve got to admit, this was impressive to watch.

FanChatter, the new face of sports via social media

I don’t normally talk about this on my social media blog, but this time, I just couldn’t resist. Many of you know I co-author award winning books that teach kids about sports and self-esteem. Our goal with the children’s books is to get families active and help kids develop lifelong passion around sports. Recently I found out about something I think is thrilling!  I wanted to tell you about FanChatter because it is so relevant to social media and sports.

 

FanChatter is a Y-Combination recipient. Y-Combination is a VC company that specializes in working with software and web-service companies. FanChatter combines social media and sports and was founded in 2007 as a mobile social media network for sports enthusiasts. Their idea was for fans to take pictures at the games, which would be displayed on the jumbotron. It also allows fans to tweet real time via, FanChatter. The  Minnesota Timberwolves are the first team to feature FanChatter’s new Chatterbox technology. ChatterBox allows people to tweet and blog by using the hashtag #Twolves.  These tweets and blog posts are then displayed on the homepage of the sports team. Visit the homepage of the Timberwolves to see how it works. Its a new face for social media and sports enthusiasts.

 

What a fun way for families to get active and excited about athletics! Chime in, what do you think about this? Please share below!