YWD on Tumblr

Week 68 @ywd tweets weekly roundup

This past week: I did research on QR Codes (guess what feature we will implementing on YWD in the near future?) and I found very interesting information about them. I’m sure you have seen them and most people are not sure what they are. I also read a lot of opinions as to why they will go away, and the same amount of opinions as to why they are here to stay. I’m of the view that they are here to stay, though they need to mature and become more integrated with marketing strategy. More on that in my post which I tweeted below; for today’s list of tweets I also touched on mobile, social media and SEO and included a great radio interview of Paul Chato talking about Tablets and RIM. Enjoy!

AM900 interviews Paul and @ScottTalkCHML asks him about Tablets. Listen! -> http://ow.ly/cr8rw
Paul Chato shares his views about RIM and Tablets in general, great listen!

There you go Twitter and SEO-> 10 Twitter SEO Tips
Concerned on how to apply SEO to your tweets? Search no more, great ideas on how to fully search optimize your tweets.

YWD has both Desktop and Mobile XML sitemaps-> How to submit a Google XML Sitemap file for your website
We all know now that mobile browsing is the future, for this Google wants to optimize your mobile search with mobile content only. Makes sense, does’t it? This why we are now providing you with a XML site map for your mobile content only. So Google has an easier time indexing your mobile content.

What do you think?-> 7 Ways to Spice Up Your Email Marketing
Good ideas, and if your not using email lists for marketing purposes you should. It is not spam if your audience has opted in to your list, and most people appreciate receiving news and updates straight to their inboxes.

Going mobile all the way-> JCPenney to replace cash registers with mobile checkout devices by 2013
It just makes life easier for everyone, soon there won’t be a need for paper (nor polymer) money!

Fully explained-> What are QR Codes and how to use them
As I mentioned on the introduction above, What QR codes are, how to use them and who should use them.

You really need to check where are they going to be displayed-> 10 Funniest QR Code Fails
I know some experts recommend to get inventive to display your QR Code, but at the same time you need to think about practicality. QR Codes are scanned by smartphones only. Knowing this, you need to put yourself on the person shoes, who will be doing this. Therefore the QR Code needs to be close to their phone camera and it should deliver meaningful information available on their phone.

New kid in town @Jugnoome -> Become Social in Social Media With Jugnoo
Jugnoome is a new web based tool to manage your social media accounts, with a bit of CRM input in it. Your are able to track your posts and compare them with your website traffic analytics. It is in beta phase now and free! Worth taking it for a spin.

Related posts:
Week 67 @ywd tweets weekly roundup
Week 66 @ywd tweets weekly roundup
Week 65 @ywd tweets weekly roundup

Next Friday I’ll have another round up, in the meantime you can follow me and YWD on the networks below:

Don’t have a Your Web Department website? Sign up now or try it for free at www.yourwebdepartment.com

What are QR Codes and how to use them

What are QR Codes (abbreviated from Quick Response Code)?

We see them every where, advertising posters, real estate signs, magazines and many more places. QR codes started being used in the automobile industry and quickly become popular outside the industry due to its fast readability and large storage capacity compared to standard UPC barcodes. In most cases you see them as black and white, but they don’t have to be like that. What it needs is high contrast so the scanner can read it, but any colour will work with it. No need to mess with the nice design work of an ad by plastering the ugly QR code on the corner.

How to use them?

Today the main purpose is to add more information or a call to action by directing the user to a website (and please let it be mobile formatted one), where more information is offered.
Best thing about sending the person to a website landing page is that you can track the scans for that particular QR Code. You can see if one QR code is working better than others.
Here is an article on how to do it: http://bit.ly/O9s6ok

Here’s a list of features that QR-code readers are generally equipped with:

• Displaying text
• Setting up system alerts
• Adding events to calendars
• Opening URLs in a browser
• Collecting contact information (including vCards)
• Sending email
• Sending text messages (SMS)
• Geolocation
• Calling other phones
• Connecting to Wi-Fi hotspot
• Do a like on a Facebook Page

Browser have been able to launch and load email clients by just clicking on a email link for years now. With smarphones there is a whole bunch of things you can do combining QR codes with URI Schemes (Uniform Resource Identifier).

More on URI schemes: http://bit.ly/O9s53P

Here’s a list of some cool things that are possible:

• Launching native Apple apps (Mail, Phone, FaceTime, Text, Map, YouTube and iTunes)
• Running JavaScript bookmarklets
• Opening certain IM clients (Skype, AIM, MSN, GTalk, ICQ and Yahoo)
• Opening special applications (IRC tools, feed readers, FTP clients and SVN repositories)
• Opening any application that registers a URI scheme when it installs on a platform

What makes this particular technique so amazing is that it doesn’t rely on the QR-code reader being very advanced; all it needs is for the app creator (be it Skype, Evernote or Angry Birds) you want to launch and interface with to use the system development API to register a URI scheme.

Who should use them?

Any business having a print ad campaign can enhance the ads by providing more meaningful information on the product or service. For example real estate sign in front of the house for sale is an excellent case for a QR Code. Now by scanning the QR Code on the for sale sign the person is able to find more about the property by landing on the property detail page the agent prepared in advance. Retailers could add the code on the product display to instructional video of the product they are looking to purchase, and the list goes on.

Are they a Fad?

There are lot of people saying they are because:

• They are ugly
  True but they don’t have to be. They only need high contrast on any colour.
• You need a QR code app to read them
  This is correct, but so does everything you want to do with your phone. It is not a big thing to ask a user to download the app to scan the QR code.
• There are too many apps for sanding QR codes
  When QR codes become more popular phones will come with QR code scanners in their OS. Just like Apple added the Twitter to iOS 5.
• Loading the website takes too long.
  It is just a matter of time when Web access for mobiles becomes faster; G4 anyone?

Summary

Just like with any other new technology there is a potential to reach out and give your audience more than just an ad. There are good cases for both B2C and B2B businesses for using QR Codes on their print material. Just make sure is something the experience is something the user expects, if it is a lading page on your website or blog make sure it is mobile optimized and track the scans.

Related posts:
How to submit a Google XML Sitemap file for your website and get more traffic
Why a mobile website is important for your business
Mobilizing your website

Don’t have a Your Web Department website? Get yours at www.yourwebdepartment.com