Accella Website » Marketing

QR Codes – How Not To Do It

Jon Stroz — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:10:24 +0000

I was at SocialFresh Baltimore this week and someone presented this Video. It’s really amusing while also giving a great overview of how NOT to do QR Codes.

Facebook advertising: a great choice for small business

Jon Stroz — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:53:44 +0000

A video from CNBC talks about Facebook and how it is cashing in on online advertising, specifically from companies outside the top 1,000 advertisers.

Mobile HTML5 Features Available for Mobile Browsers

Jon Stroz — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:42:17 +0000

We have been doing a lot more work with our clients in building mobile versions of their site. While many websites render quite easily on the iPad and other tablets, looking at a full website on an iPhone or Android device can be quite tiring on the eyes, not to mention quite difficult to navigate as many links are placed too close together to easily click on the right one.

Luckily, there is a website that lists all of the features that are available on mobile HTML5 features and what mobile browsers they are compatible with. Visit http://mobilehtml5.org/ to view the complete list.

There are a lot features that can be easily added to a mobile friendly website. You can see how users are viewing your site through many analytics programs, including Google Analytics. This should help determine which mobile browsers you need to make sure your site is compatible with. For help with figuring that out, or to make sure you site is mobile friendly, give us a call.

Adding your Logo to your QR Code

Hank McLaughlin — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 19:52:32 +0000

So over the weekend I came across a “how-to” article for hacking a QR code and adding in your logo. It’s actually a pretty simple idea, and quite honestly more of a trial and error way of doing it than any real directions. Basically QR codes have about a 30% error correction rate, meaning that 30% of the code can be missing or not-read, and the full code will be still be read by a QR Code reader.

So, with that, you basically create a QR code using any number of free online generators and then put in your logo, or anything else, to customize your QR code using PhotoShop or any other image editing software.

The “How-To” post can be found here http://contentdeveloper.com/2010/01/how-to-customize-qr-codes-with-your-brands-identity/ but it’s basically as simple as I just explained.

This is one that I came up with over the weekend, adding in our logo. The code simply links back to our website, however you can put contact info in the code, add in your logo, and put it on a Business Card, or create one for your App and add in your App’s Logo – what kind of code can you come up with?

Amazon says were giving your app away for free, Now shut up!

Hank McLaughlin — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 21:32:34 +0000

When Amazon’s android app store launched not too long ago I think every developer smiled a bit. This was a new store with some compelling features, features that allowed users to try your app in a web browser before buying, and it has the potential to be the default store id Amazon decides to venture into android for future kindles.

When Amazon’s store launched developers were told that there would be a free app of the day in the app store, and that developers would make 20% on each free app downloaded rather than the usual 70% if it was not a free app. This is a little worrying, especially because you dont get any say in wether or not your app can be selected as a free app of the day. However, getting 20 percent of the price may actually be a good deal especially if millions of people are downloading your app because of the immediate exposure it is getting.

OOPS We Lied
Amazon has decided that they dont want to give developers 20%, they like 0% much better. Now with this new model they will ask the developer to agree, but amazon chooses the free apps. A amazon app developer Shifty Jelly received this from Amazon:

“As you may already know, the Free App of the Day offer placement is one of the most visible and valuable spaces on the Amazon Appstore. We would like to include your app “[name removed]” in our Free App of the Day calendar. We have seen tremendous results from this promotion spot and believe it will bring you a great deal of positive reviews and traffic. It is an opportunity to build your brand especially in association with a brand like Amazon’s. The current price of this placement is at 0% rev share for that one day you are placed.”

The developer agreed and sold 100,000 copies of the app that day. Unfortunately after the free day it was pretty much back to business as usual, just with 100,000 more people with the app who paid nothing. Do you think you would want your app to be the free app of the day?

QR Codes – How can your Company Benefit from Using a 2D Bar Code?

Steve Demby — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 13:33:47 +0000

QR Codes – What are they?

Quick Response (QR) Codes are two dimensional bar codes that are read by QR barcode readers. Though they are similar to the standard barcode that we’re used to seeing when making purchases, QR codes can hold thousands of alphanumeric character information versus standard bar codes that can only hold up to 20 numerical digits. The codes can be used to display information such as text, images, URL’s and can also create text messages or emails.

So Why Do Businesses Like Them?

Many businesses like QR codes because they are extremely inexpensive to create yet can help enhance the customer experience. There are many websites that create URL encoded 2D codes for free. The only expenses incurred would be for printing and distributing the code.

There are many mobile apps available for iPhone, Android and Blackberry phones that can scan/read these codes. Examples are NeoReader, Optiscan, AT&T Code Scanner and Tap Reader.

How are companies using them?

Originally created by the Japanese company Denso-Wave in 1994 for the purpose of tracking vehicle parts, the popularity of QR codes has increased in recent years because of the many different ways you can use them.

Here are a few examples how companies currently use QR codes:

Popular magazine companies display QR codes on their front covers, that takes readers to a mobile webpage where they can read additional articles and information that’s not contained the print version.
Major Airlines are now using QR codes for mobile boarding passes.
Construction companies such as Volvo Rents (one of our clients), are starting to place these codes on their equipment. Users can scan the code to view installation instructions, equipment specifications documents, videos, or to begin the rental reservation process.
They are a quick way to send users to mobile Customer Feedback forms
The codes are an easy way to provide directions to your business
Many companies are adding QR codes to their websites, where you can scan the code to download their mobile applications
Companies take users to pages where they click LIKE buttons for Facebook, Twitter, Google+.

How can QR Codes Help your Business?

As shown above, QR codes can be for a variety of purposes to help you get information quickly to your customers and their feedback.

Successfully gaining users to LIKE your social media pages or click the Google+ button for your website, can greatly increase your companies online presence, and help your website to return higher in search engines.
Use QR codes to assist with marketing campaigns and present them with Call to Actions that result in profits to your business.

Whenever you use a QR code, make sure you explain the purpose of the code so non-technical uses understand their purpose.

Google Adwords Campaign Set-up – $100 Credit

Jon Stroz — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 19:33:33 +0000

We have been talking a lot with our clients about setting up AdWords campaigns, how to start, and what is involved. Unfortunately for most of our clients they are simply too busy to really dedicate the time and energy needed to properly set-up a campaign. Luckily, Accella has the resources in-house to help our clients set-up their campaign, tailoring keywords and landing pages to optimize conversions. Additionally, for a limited time, we are offering $100 in AdWords credits to any client that we create a campaign for, that’s essentially $100 in free advertising.

Some things to think about when developing your AdWords Campaign:

What are your customers looking for and what keywords are they using to find it?
Does your website have landing pages which are optimized for those keywords?
Where do you want to advertise, is there a geographic location which works best for you?
Set Goals – Don’t just start advertising and hope that you make your money back. Figure out what your cost per acquisition is now, and see how you can best that using AdWords. How many clicks do you want? How many sign-ups do you want? How much revenue do you want to generate?
Testing is important – make sure to test variations in your ad text, headlines, and budget to make sure you are earning the highest ROI possible

There is quite a bit that goes in to establishing an AdWords campaign. Give us a call today to discuss what is involved. For a limited time we are offering $100 in free AdWords spend when we set-up your campaign.

Google+ – What does it mean for my Business?

Amy Wilson — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:34:12 +0000

There are many Social Media choices out there already – and Google has thrown their hat in the mix with the introduction of Google+. What will it mean for your business? Should you consider setting up Social Media pages for marketing purposes? Leveraging Social Media can be a powerful business tool.

Right now, Google+ does not offer a page for businesses & brands specifically, in fact they have asked business to refrain from creating profiles just yet and will most likely delete them.

Some key features of Google+: create work specific circles for internal communication; web conferencing; discussion groups; and expanding brand awareness. The circle feature will be a great way to communicate specific messages to targeted user groups. Businesses will want to give this some thought as Google+ expands it’s offerings in the next few months.

Vertical Response, an Mass Email Service Provider, put together a pretty decent run-down of Google+. Take a look and let us know when you want to integrate it with your website.

So for now, it looks like Google+ should really just be used for personal reasons, later on this year Google will finalize their plans for Businesses & Brands to use the new social media service.

Facebook Ads to take over top spot from Yahoo!, Google

Jon Stroz — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:55:28 +0000

In a report released by Research & Analyst firm, eMarketer, Facebook will surpass Yahoo! in display advertising revenue this year. Facebook advertising is slated to grow another 80.9% this year to $2.19 billion, which will push it past Yahoo! as the largest online display advertiser.

In a relatively young online world, it is impressive how Facebook has managed to eclipse the large powerhouses of Yahoo! and Google in a relatively short timespan.

What are your plans for online advertising? Does it include working with Facebook Ads?

Isn’t it Ironic

Jon Stroz — Fri, 20 May 2011 21:12:29 +0000

So Alanis Morissette wrote the song Ironic years ago, which ironically didn’t mention things that were ironic, but rather just sucked. For instance, a traffic jam, when you’re already late, isn’t ironic, it just sucks. Getting stuck in a traffic jam while you’re on your way to talk about how your city has excellent traffic patterns, is ironic.

In a similar twist of fate, Tonya Taylor, who sells an Online Business Building Starter Kit, recently wrote a blog post about “10 Things She Hates About Your Website” which has a pop-up ad show before you can view any of the content on her site. You can read it here, http://savvybizbuilder.com/2010/07/10-things-i-hate-about-visiting-your-website.html, I don’t want to actually link to it as I don’t think she deserves the “Link Juice,” so you can copy and paste it if you truly have the urge.

Don’t worry though, #4 clearly states that she hates “Poor Placement of Advertisements,” which would easily qualify.

Now that my friends, well that is ironic. Though I’m not sure how Alanis could have incorporated that in to her songs. “Showing a pop-up ad, on a website discussing ten things you hate about websites”, just doesn’t seem like it would go well in a song…but hey, I’m not song writer.