Google Goggles is still in in infancy stages of development. For Public relations purposes, it's a fantastic medium for increasing awareness to a huge audience. Practically speaking, for most industries especially ones where it's products and services are less tangible and more abstract, Goggles is not as useful. Also, if stakeholder doesn't have a newer smartphone, the application is useless. Goggles can already recognize color and basic garments types.
Personally, I'm stuck with a 3G Blackberry without a whole lot of memory so I can't even use the program. Sigh.
I found this video is a great 101 for learning about what Google Goggles can (and can't) do.
As you can see from the video, Goggles can easily gather information on well known landmarks wine and artwork. Personally, it's a bit of a first world application. Wine... pfft. But for networking, which is a big part of PR, the easy text regogntion makes it great for business card image recognition.
According to the NY Times, Google mobile searches are up by 500% in the last two years. There have been 250,00 downloads for Google Goggles. Is that a lot of downloads. That doesn't seem too popular yet?
Buick used this scannable poster to direct customers to a few different links. Buick wants potential customers to view the car as a new progressive commodity rather than an old man's wagon. Once this image is scanned, it is linked to a video about one of it's newest models as well as dealership location information. Scanning instructions are at the bottom left hand side of the image.
What I learnt about location based social media platforms
All of these platforms may be time consuming to create and monitor, however they are inexpensive, especially when compared to traditional advertising. I was not aware that anyone can create a QR code for free! Here's how:
Examples of how these tools can be used for public relations
Scavenger hunts using QR codes with discounts/freebies as incentives
Mayor appreciation- giving recognition to regular users or people that promote and recommend your product/service.
Networking opportunities- Using Google Goggles for business card scanning at events to grow your contact list.
Thursday, 13 September 2012
Intro to Social Media and Location Based Social Media Platforms
What an amazing and eye opening first class. As per usual, Boyd Neil has done a terrific job at presenting tons of great information and made me realise how little I know about the use of social media as a PR tool, let alone a small business owner! After reading articles on location based tools, I wanted to investigate more about how I could incorporate these tools for my clinic based acupuncture practise. I realised there was some valuable insights. There are so many fantastic blogs for incorporating digital platforms for small business. Here is one such article with a focus on Foursqare:
How engaged are we?
All this talk of social media and location based marketing started ringing true to me. From what we have been learning in class so far, people (especially Canadians), are more connected and engaged than ever. It's suprising that Canadians are that engaged. We have some of the worst and highest smart phone rates out of any country, yet we still LOVE bragging and telling others about where we are and what we like.
After last class, I have been doing some casual research to gauge if my own clientele base is on Foursquare. So far, not too many are. But, I am now convinced. I HAVE to get me business on Foursquare.
I completely agree that getting fans or customers using programs such as Yelp or Foursquare is an amazing way to keep Canadians engaged and to start a domino effect of influencing others. No matter what the objective is. It's this kind of recognition that builds credibility. In my case, I have quickly started realising that referrals through traditional methods and the old fashioned hard copy brochures simply doesn't produce far reaching results. Acquiring more business, especially in a service industry can really benefit from Foursquare. Mayor's anyone? I am already looking into putting Lotus Shiatsu & Acupuncture on Foursquare. But it is surprisingly not as interactive as it's platform.
Here is the dry form one needs to fill out. It's been over 48 hours with no reply from the sales team. I'm still waiting....
Presenting ideas has switched from wordy monologues to use of high impact visuals. Although not purely social media related, Garr Reynolds, the author of the textbook for the Business Presentations course, always has inspiring ways to convey messages through use of dynamic imagery. Here are some simple basic tips to keep in mind from Reynolds' website.
Face to face/word of mouth is still in style
This video goes against everything we have learnt so far. But it is important to keep in mind that old fashioned word of mouth should not be completely forgotten. It has all kinds of facts stating that on-line "word of mouth" marketing is less valuable as we spend more time doing other things.
