I have a friend who would like meet restaurant owners.  His plan is to start a disposable placemat advertising business that will include a social media advertising aspect. Please let me know if you are interested. 

It Pays To Plan. Create a Marketing Plan. When you take the time to think about how you are going to gain exposure to your customers, you should have a laid out calendar of events for the year. Note the holidays, note the weekends, note the possibility for events throughout the year; include your vacation weeks, and write on the calendar. Mark it with the important weeks for you to campaign and once you have done this you should mark the same calendar with the results of your effort. Now you have a documented track record of what you did in previous years and how you may adjust for the coming year. Remember to note the weather and any occurrence that may have had an effect on your event or campaign. Having this valuable tool in front of you helps to plan the execution in a timely manner so that you are not scrambling for ideas and are better prepared to meet any deadlines. Our planning is targeted to each business and the sales season of each individual industry. By stating an early plan you are better prepared with marketing collateral and products needed throughout the year which can be well thought out and applied with an effective strategy.

Wayne Gelardi  
ADServices Unlimited 
11 Gordon Ave., Salem, NH 
Tel: ( 603)  898-0050

Real Estate Agent and Services Advertising for $25 per month!

Limited spots available

(Mention Friends of Kevin and get an additional month free!)

If you’re a real estate agent or someone that supplies a service to the home sale market, this offer is for you.

PixAds Media is announcing the availability of a new advertising service designed specifically for real estate agents and real estate service providers. For just $25 per month real estate agents, mortgage companies, insurance agents, title companies, and inspection services can advertise themselves, their business or both to people looking for a home in our listings.

Our service is installed in busy restaurants, doctor’s offices, and salons throughout southern New Hampshire. Customers of these establishments are handed our custom handheld pager, called an Emcee, while they wait and engage with content and activities we make available.

As the user navigates the real estate menu system we display your ad as a large banner that is one-third of the total display size. The ratio of ad size to total screen size is an important factor in making sure your ad is seen. The size of the ad presented alongside interesting content guarantees your business will be noticed.

The real estate section is one of the busiest areas on our service.  This   means your ad will be seen 10’s of thousands of times per month for only $25.

We will be limiting the number of real estate advertisers to ensure our customer’s ads are displayed many times per month.. Want to list your homes on our service too? We can make that happen as well!  Don’t miss out on this great opportunity.

 Contact us today at sales@pixadsmedia.com or 603-425-0393 to get started.

Visit us on Facebook to see a sample screenshot.

Are QR Codes dead?

In today’s ever-changing digital world, there comes a time when we have to evaluate what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and if it’s time to adapt a process to better suit our needs — or pack up and move on.

Although it’s been 18 years since QR codes were introduced, it wasn’t until more recently the QR (Quick Response)  codes shifted from being used primarily for tracking vehicles in manufacturing to being present in our everyday lives, from magazines and billboards, to subway stations, to promoting special sales.  

According to a Comscore report in June 2011, 14 million U.S. smartphone users scanned a QR code. Impressive, right? Not so much when you look at the fact that, at the end of July 2011, 82.2 million Americans owned smartphones. That’s only 17 percent of smartphone users scanning a QR code. As of July 25, 2012, the number of smartphones was up to over 110 million, almost 50% of all phones sold. Based on these new numbers, we can assume the number of people scanning QR codes was up even more.  But how many actually used QR codes on a regular basis? How many have actually scanned one more than once? How many still have the app on their phone that lets them scan the code?

So the big question is: what’s wrong with QR codes? I think it breaks down simply into two main issues:

1. QR codes aren’t used correctly by businesses

All too often , businesses employing QR codes are failing to consider: what should the QR code be directing the consumer to? If the content isn’t helpful, isn’t mobile friendly, or wherever they’re scanning from doesn’t tell them what the QR code will take them to, what motivation would a smartphone user have to scan away?

In many cases, after locating a QR code, by the time users take out their phone, make sure their app to scan is up-to-date, scan the code, and wait for the page to load, their attention span is lost. Their mind has already moved on to checking their Facebook feed, updating their Twitter account or texting their friends.

2. QR codes aren’t correctly used by users – While the concept is simple enough – see a code, scan it with your smartphone or tablet, learn more about what’s being advertised – users simply don’t know how to use QR codes.

So what’s the answer?

A custom QR code can be the answer.

What’s a custom QR code? It is a QR code that has context like text, color and images. Contrast the one I did for Acton Toyota below to what you would normally expect.  This kind of QR code provides context to the code, making it more likely that somebody would take the time to scan it.

Want to increase your odds even more that it would be scanned?  Add a call to action like “scan this to enter our contest” and add an image of what they could win. Make sure to add your logo too.

Want to make it even more powerful?  Have it link to a splash page or promo page where they can sign up for you offer.

To make this work, the page they link to should be mobile optimized (a mobile website).

If you don’t have a smartphone app to read QR codes with, download ScanLife. It is a FREE app and very easy to use. I have it loaded on my Droid smartphone. You simply open the app,  point it at the QR code and it will automatically bring up the page the QR was set up to link to.  

For more information on  how to implement custom QR codes and implement a mobile strategy to promote your business, call me.

Howie Snyder

LocalAdPro New England

978-764-1310

LocalAdProNE@gmail.com , LocalAdProNE.com