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Archive for 2010

For Restaurants, Social Media Is About More Than Just Marketing

Dec 10

Social media certainly has its benefits for those who love dining and drinking. From free drinks for Foursquare checkins, to Twitter notifications about happy hours, to Facebook messages about free food, there’s always something tasty happening online.

But the social web offers a lot more than just discounts and deals when it comes to drinking and dining. Restaurants and bars are giving social media users a backstage pass to the food and the people who make it. Chefs and restaurateurs are using social media to reveal how their dishes are made, generate familiarity with chefs and provide a means for diners to share feedback.

via mashable.com

Social Media facilitates customer service, customer awareness and when implemented correctly can build incredible loyalty with your best customers!

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Categories: All Posts, Social Media

Scribd Versus SlideShare: Do you know what we know?

Oct 18

Scribd vs Slideshare

When it comes to online document sharing there are many options. The two most popular are Scribd and Slideshare. Scribed allows users to view, print, download and upload documents in a variety of formats including PDF and MS Word. It has an embeddable PDF format which makes it easy to place files into webpages or blogs. It also has a text-to-speech feature where files can be converted to MP3 for play-back purposes.

Slideshare bills itself as the “business media site” for document sharing. As with Scribd, users may view, print, download and upload documents and easily embed them into webpages via Slideshare widgets. Slideshare’s audio feature allows users to synch audio with slideshows.

Both sites are easy to use with robust functionality. Which should you use?

Since Scribd is driven by the Google system, ads cannot be blocked. Currently there is no paid version to eliminate ads but rumor has it that one is on the way.

Slideshare’s paid versions allow users to block ads. Skinned versions cost from $36 to $249 per month and include unlimited uploads, analytics, “buzz” tracking and varying number of leads. The plans differ most with the level of control over the channel.

But monthly traffic is where the biggest difference lies between Scribd and Slideshare. In July 2010, the unique monthly traffic for each was:

Scribd.com – 4,346,540

Slideshare.net – 1,745,535

So, while more control can be achieved with Slideshare, Scribd certainly appeals to a larger audience. Do you know where your audience is? Envano can help you figure that out.

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Categories: All Posts, Social Media

Google to Add Mobile Docs Editing for Android, iPad

Sep 20

In a world where the iPad is really starting to proliferate & dominate, there are many times when you still can’t get the job done without your laptop. The cloud is taking hold, but being portable & creative is still not very feasible if you are glued to your iPad.

That’s about to change. Thanks Google!

Google announced today that, in celebration of the more than three million businesses using Google Apps and 30 million business and education users employing its collaboration tools, it would begin offering mobile editing functionality for Google Docs.

The announcement means that Android and iPad users can soon look forward to document editing on-the-move – a big step in mobile productivity.

Source: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_to_add_mobile_docs_editing_for_android_ipad.php

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Categories: All Posts, Mobile Marketing, Tech Talk

3 Steps to Turn Happy Customers into Cheerleaders

Sep 15

Hearing and addressing an unhappy customer’s concerns will usually swing them over to the very happy customer you desire – Why in the world wouldn’t you ask an “already” happy customer to toot your horn a little?

A few weeks back, I got some work done on my car at a local dealership. In all honesty, I took my car to this particular dealership, because I’m the Mayor of it on Foursquare. Even if I just needed an inspection, why not also use this as another check-in to continue securing my mayorship, right? So why is this important?

There was something very interesting about the bill that I received at the end of my service. Well, not the bill itself, but a postcard that had been stapled to the bill. A very simple postcard – a logo of the dealership, a picture of a VW Jetta, and a message from the Service Manager: “Thanks for your business. If you have a few minutes, please visit any of the sites below and leave a comment or review about us”. Then there was a list of some shortened URLs that led directly to the dealership’s profile on various review sites like Yelp and Google Places.

There’s no reason for you to not being doing this with your customers.

Read more at: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/6540/3-Steps-to-Turn-Happy-Customers-into-Cheerleaders.aspx#ixzz0zdbVKD1X

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Categories: All Posts, Social Media

5 Ways For Small Businesses To Get In The Location Game

Sep 7


foursquare

Location based check-in type services are this year’s overhyped topic – with good reason. While you may not understand why someone wants to be the mayor of their barber shop, you do need to recognize the behavior that social location services such as Gowalla,Foursquare, Yelp! and Facebook Places represents for the local business.

Shoppers these days are using the Internet to find everything locally and increasingly using mobile devices, services and apps to effectively bypass even the web to find a merchant. What that means is that local small businesses need to find ways to tap into the behavior and not necessarily try to ride the hype wave to Foursquare fame.

Below are five ways the local small businesses can capture their own personalized version of social location behavior and tap what may be the ultimate online to offline combo to produce sales.

Create virtual rewards programs – Rewards programs such as those offered by most coffee shop via punch cards or large retailers like Eddy Bauer have been around for years, but smart offerings by folks like PlacePop are making the punch card concept an easy virtual or online play. Merchants can offer their own version of a check in and capture rich data on their most loyal customers.

Ride the group buying craze – If you’re not familiar with group coupon buying services like Groupon, then you’re probably not reading this blog. Facebook app maker WildFire offers small businesses the ability to create their own group buying offers and take advantage of the viral and social nature of this play to create local Facebook engagement.

Google Places coupons – When local shoppers do turn to a search engine for local shopping they often uncover your Google Places Page (or at least you should be working to make sure they do) Google has a handy coupon tool that automatically creates mobile versions of your coupons and offer. Here’s more information on Google Places Mobile Coupons

Advertise on mobile coupon networks – You can also place your ads on Mobile coupon networks and get distribution of your coupons across many local sites.

Make your own game – The game playing aspect of many of social location biggies is an aspect that should not be overlooked when trying to develop your own strategy. The web app SCVNGRis a tool that allows you to create your own game and have it related to verified checkins for a specific QR code. This would be pretty cool for a merchant association to use to create their scavenger hunt check in game.

And, of course, make sure your business is listed with the major players – Foursquare, Gowalla, and Facebook Places

Source: ducttapemarketing.com

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Categories: All Posts, Interactive Advertising, Social Media

5 Not-So-Easy Steps to Managing Your Brand Online

Sep 1

Have you heard? Social Media is important for your brand. Monitoring your efforts and Responding is an extremely important piece of the puzzle. If you ignore your Social Media efforts, you’ll miss great opportunities to interact & win!

Unless you literally run your business with your ears plugged and your eyes covered, you are aware of the importance of social media and its impact on both brand and bottom line. However, while social media is the topic du jour in mainstream news, on blogs, in books, at conferences and at your local Starbucks, we may still underestimate its overall promise and potential.

The socialization of business is comparable to the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland or the red pill in the Matrix. If ignorance is bliss, awareness is awakening. Where there’s insight, there’s opportunity – but with opportunity, there’s also a cost. In this case, that cost is financed through learning, change, adaptation and innovation.

Social media is deceptive. It appears easy, free and yours to own simply for the price of admission and engagement. If this post were to live up to an alternate headline, say the “5 Easy Steps to Managing Your Brand Online,” the list might look a bit like this:

1. Monitor and listen to conversations related to your brand and competitors

Read more!

Source: Brian Solis

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Categories: All Posts, Social Media

Your Clients are Checking You Out, Even When You Are in the Same Room

Jun 16

More than half of consumers surveyed in May by Deloitte believe the economy is recovering while over 64% say their finances are the same or better than a year ago. Also, 63% say they plan to spend the same or more at retailers this year.

Of special note,
75% say they go online to get store/product/price information before – or during – in-store shopping.

51% say an online review has impacted their purchase decision.

“Consumers are tuning in to online conversations to make informed buying decisions and. . . interact with retailers,” said Stacy Janiak, U.S. Vice Chairman of Deloitte. “These platforms offer retailers a measurable and low-cost entry to reach consumers.”

Mobile devices continue to make inroads. Over 30% surveyed said they shopped on a website or compared product prices while on their mobile device.

The marketing landscape is changing rapidly. How do your clients connect with your brand? More importantly, how strong is that connection? Helping clients connect with their customers – where they are – is Envano’s strength. Contact us today!

Source:  MediaPost  http://bit.ly/cHLK7k

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Categories: All Posts, Corporate Site & eCom, Mobile Marketing, Social Media

Do You Have an Ear for Social Media?

Mar 16

Within the last year, many marketers have included Facebook, Twitter and blogging as ways to reinforce their brands. In the blog link below, Clay McDaniel of Spring Creek Group poses an interesting question, “Are you listening?”  In response he details 13 tools marketers can use to discover what customers are saying about their organizations’ products and services.  While it’s important to have a presence in the social media world, it’s more important to monitor what goes on in that world and how it impacts your brand.  That’s something Envano does well.  We have an ear for social media.  And we can help you fine tune yours.

Source:  MarketingProfs

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Categories: All Posts, Social Media

What’s Your Social Media Process?

Feb 16

Social media marketing is still relatively new so the notion of “best practices” continues to evolve. A recent Marketing Sherpa Social Media Marketing Benchmark Survey shows that over 40% of marketers reported they subscribe to an informal process when it comes to social marketing practices. Only 15% to 30% have a formal process. Furthermore, anywhere from 28% to 42% of marketers have no process at all! Where does your organization’s social media efforts fit into this chart? Social media is a powerful marketing tool and Envano can help you turn an informal process into one that is optimized to meet organizational goals and objectives.

Source: Marketing Sherpa

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Categories: All Posts, Social Media

Senior Marketers Make Social Media a Top Priority in 2010

Jan 27

Relationships matter. eMarketer said today that 45% of senior marketers who responded to a recent survey indicated social media is a “top priority.”  42% said it is “important.” Only 12% said social networks/applications are a “low priority” or “not relevant.” Furthermore, recognizing that the right platform needs to be in place to support social media, 45% ranked digital infrastructure as a “top priority” while 52% said it is “important.” Worth noting, almost 50% of senior marketers believed that search optimization, mobile devices, blogger outreach, viral campaigns, digital advertising and email marketing are “important.” Online games came in with the lowest rank; only 30% deemed them as “important” and 25% said they are a “low priority.”

What are your social media priorities for 2010? Envano can help you build and manage your social networks on- and off-line.

Source: Mashable

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Categories: All Posts, Social Media