social media Archives - Amethyst Answers

A Case for QR Codes

October 21, 2013 by Christina Workman Leave a Comment

I have a love/hate relationship with QR codes. A few years ago, they were the latest fad in advertising. Although it seems quite simple, a QR code is a very specialized tool. Like a scroll saw, it can be extremely useful and produce great results, but if you don’t know how to use it properly, the end result is just junk.

Recently, I received a product to review that puts the QR code to good use: a Findables iPhone case. At first glance, this protective case looks like many others you can choose from, and for about the same price. The big difference is this case has a QR code placed in the bottom corner, which is linked to a profile that you can personalize with all of your social media and contact details.

How it works

After downloading a free app from your app store of choice, you simply use your phone to scan the QR code on the case. From there, you set up your account, and, after confirming your account via the standard “is this you?” email, you fill out your business and social profiles. The instructions are printed on the inside of the packaging, too, visible as soon as you remove the case, which I appreciated. After all, why wouldn’t you make it as easy as possible for a consumer to use your product?

Once your profiles are set up, you’re ready to start sharing your info with the world! Ok, maybe not the world, unless you are really well-travelled. But when you meet up with someone who wants your contact info, all they have to do is scan the QR code on your Findables case. Yes, it’s really that simple. Most phones are equipped with a QR scanner as a standard feature now. When someone scans your code, they are taken to your profile page. From there, they can visit your various social media pages or view your contact info, which can then be added directly into their contacts.

What I love

Forgot your business cards at home? No problem! With a Findables case, you have all your contact info ready to share. It’s even better than passing out a business card that will be put into a pocket and soon forgotten. Once someone scans your QR code, they have immedite access to all the contact info and social media profiles that you want to share with them. They don’t have to type anything in or do a search for you. It’s quicker and easier for them to connect with you online. It’s great for networking, even when unexpected.

Not only does the app give people direct access to your information, but you have the ability to set up 2 separate profiles, buiness and personal, and choose which profile the QR code links to at any given time. So when you are attending a networking event, make sure you have it on business mode. But when you go to a friend’s party, switch it to your personal profile. For me, colleagues don’t need to see my hobby websites, and new acquaintances don’t need to be overwhelmed with all of my business links.

Did I mention it’s pretty easy and user-friendly to set up and modify? And on the function side of things, it has a slim, attractive style and I’m happy it has rubber protection for when (not if) my phone falls to the ground.

What I would improve

Overall, I really like my Findables case, but like anything, there’s always room for improvement. My biggest issue is that due to the design of the bottom of the case, I have to take my phone out in order to charge it with my adaptor cord (ok, part of this is Apple’s fault). But, all is well if I’m using the charge cord that came with my phone.

I would also like to see more social media options included in the app. Right now you can choose from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram, Foursquare, Flickr, Tumblr, Weibo and Wechat. Definitely a good assortment, but what about Pinterest or blogging sites like WordPress? The good news is you can manually add any website links you want, so you can still include Pinterest…it just won’t have a pretty button to click.

The last thing might just be me, but I find that you need to be further away than you would expect in order to scan the QR code. Normally, I try to fit a QR code into the square guide as big as possible, but mine doesn’t work when you do this. Instead, you need to pull back so the code is pretty small. In the end, it does work, so I would consider this a very minor point.

Final thoughts

All in all, I’d say the Findables case is just as good a case an any other in terms of protecting your technology, but the QR code feature gives you extra value for your money.

If you’re interested in picking up a Findables case for your smart phone or iPad, you can find them online at findables.me, or at Best Buy and the Source in Canada.

Please note: I received a Findables iPhone 5 case for free in consideration for review publication. This review is based on my personal opinions and experience with this product, and shared here for informational purposes only.

There’s nothing vain about having a vanity URL

October 23, 2012 by Christina Workman

Image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Q. What is a vanity URL and how do I get one?

A. A vanity URL is similar to a vanity licence plate, in that you get to choose how it reads, instead of being randomly assigned some jibberish that means nothing to those who read it. And in the case of URLs, they are usually quite long and difficult to remember.

If you are using various sites like Facebook and LinkedIn for your business, it is in your best interest to claim a vanity URL. First off, it allows your customers to find you easily, especially if you want to direct potential clients to your specific page in marketing campaigns. Second, it prevents someone else from pretending to be you.

Vanity URLs may be available on a variety of social media sites for your specific account, but the two that I come across most often with my clients are Facebook and LinkedIn.

Facebook

Most people are familiar with Facebook vanity URLs by now, but note that Facebook refers to the custom part as a “username”. The format for these URLs (using my own as an example) is http://www.facebook.com/amethystanswers and amethystanswers is the username. If you haven’t done so already, I strongly encourage you to select a suitable username for your business page. Facebook makes the process incredibly easy. All you have to do is:

Go to their Username page
Choose your business page from the drop down menu
Type your desired username in the text field beside it
Click the “Check Availability” button.

Hopefully the name you requested is available, and now yours. If not, try another one.

A vanity URL for your personal LinkedIn page is helpful when directing potential clients to check out your experience and referrals. It also shows that you took the extra effort to make your page more professional and easy to find.

Set up your LinkedIn vanity URL with these simple steps:

After logging in to your LinkedIn account, hover over your name at the top right side of the screen and click Settings when the options appear. If prompted, enter your password.
Towards the bottom of the Settings page, on the left, choose Profile if it isn’t automatically selected. This gives you the expanded Profile menu.
From this menu, under Helpful Links, click on “Edit your public profile“.
On the right, you will see tons of options for customizing how your profile page appears to others. Feel free to explore and modify these settings, but the one you are specifically looking for right now is in it’s own little box called “Your public profile URL“. Here you will see what your current URL is. If you wish to change it, click where it says “Customize your public profile URL“.
A pop up screen will appear. Similar to Facebook, type your desired name into the text field provided, then select the “Set Custom URL” button.
Note your complete new custom URL. LinkedIn vanity URLs aren’t as straightforward as Facebook vanity URLs. Mine, for example, is ca.linkedin.com/in/christinaworkman. Two things to pay attention to here are the beginning and the middle. Instead of starting with the standard “www” mine starts with “ca”, which indicates I am in Canada. Also, note the “/in/” in the middle of the URL. If you don’t include that when sharing your URL, nobody will find you.

Now that you have your vanity URLs set up, don’t forget to tell the world! How else do you expect people to find you?

This post is part of a regular feature series called Tuesday Tips. Every Tuesday, I will answer some of the questions I receive from clients and readers about WordPress, social media and all other things internet-related. If you have a question you would like me to answer, submit it here.

4 Reasons You Should Be Using an Email Marketing Service

December 19, 2011 by Christina Workman

If you are currently using your own email address to send out newsletters for your company, I strongly recommend you make the switch to an email marketing service. There are several available, like MailChimp, Constant Contact, and iContact to name a few. They all have pay options, but some have a free version depending on your needs. Most of the people I know who are still using their own email haven’t utilized an email marketing provided simply because they didn’t know they even existed, or that it could be low cost and easy to do. Now you all know, so no more excuses! But for those who want to know why they should make the switch, let me share some benefits.

Look Professional

Quite simply, sending an email direct from you to your subscribers generally doesn’t have great visual appeal. Typically these emails are text only, which makes them long and boring and difficult to scan. As much as I know we all believe that our readers actually read our newsletters top to bottom, the truth is they don’t. Readers look for key words that grab their attention, and when you are sending text only, you don’t have a lot of formatting options. With a provider, you set up a template that you can use every time you send a newsletter out. You can have your logo and your brand colours. All your important details are saved in the template so you don’t have to enter them every time. You can add links for your readers to share the newsletter easily with their friends and networks.

Keep it alive and growing

Every newsletter you create with a provider gets its own link, so you can share it easily in status updates on facebook, twitter, LinkedIn and any other social site you belong to. Try that with regular email! And your subscribers can share it easily with all of their connections on those same networks simply by hitting a button. Your potential reach is so much greater than a simple email can achieve. And you can create a sign up form to put on your website so visitors can easily subscribe without you having to lift a finger! Have some new subscribers that want to read past newsletters? Don’t flip through your sent file to find them! With a provider, all your newsletters are archived, and easy to find.

Track Results

Once you send an email out, it is no longer in your control. You can’t get too much information about the success of your newsletter campaign. Sure you can put a track on it to see if people opened it, but that’s about it. You can infer from website stats if more people visited your website shortly after your newsletter went out, but it’s not an exact science. And, of course, if anyone contacts you, you can ask them if it was because of the newsletter, but that’s about it. With an email marketing provider you can find out exactly who opened your email (and how many times!), who forwarded your email, how many people found your newsletter through various other methods like facebook, linkedin or your website and more. You can see direct results of how readers are engaging (or not) with your content.

Private and Personal

I’ve seen it done before. You’re using your own email to send newsletters to your fans. Maybe you’ve even created a fancy distribution list so you don’t have to remember who to send it to. But one of these days, if you haven’t already, I guarantee you will accidentally put all those email addresses into the To field instead of Bcc. Every single email address will be visible to every single recipient, and anyone they decide to forward your newsletter to. Not such a great way to respect your fans’ privacy, is it? And you can apologize as much as you want (and you should), but you can’t get that email back. Some people might not care. Others might be a bit miffed, but some will no longer trust you and will want off your subscription list. But with an email service, you create a list in your account, and it all goes out privately. As a matter of fact, you can set it up so that each person receives their newsletter with a personal greeting using their own name! No more generic “Dear readers” or “Hello All” crap. And while we’re talking about how the emails are sent, have you ever had such a big list that you had to break your list into groups? Again, not an issue for these providers. You may have to pay a bit more if you have a super-sized list, but trust me it’s worth it!

So there you have it. Hopefully I’ve convinced and converted any stragglers out there. If not, I invite you to tell me why you prefer not to make the switch. For those of you who have seen the light, I hope you have fun designing your next email masterpiece!