Justin Mastrangelo

Is this the Worst Use for a QR Code?

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Justin in Mobile Marketing, QR Codes

qr code scan to call

I was flipping through the Pittsburgh Business Times recently when I came across an ad with a QR code. This is nothing special since it’s clear both newspapers and magazines are both pushing their advertisers to include QR codes in their ads (this will make your ad digital and stuff!). However, considering the ones I’ve seen, they’re not spending a whole lot of time helping those advertisers use the QR codes effectively.

The ad was for a bank and the title copy read, “… is actively making business loans. Right Now. So call me right now. (phone numbers)”

In the picture above you’ll notice a paragraph with some more text below that includes, again, the phone numbers.

Wait, what’s that to the left? It looks like QR code that might take me to some more information about the loans, rates, or maybe a story about another business this bank helped, which would have all been great uses for a QR code.

Above the QR code it reads – “Download a QR Reader for your smartphone & scan this code to call …”

What? Taking the time to scan the code does the same thing as dialing the number. Wow. And who would go download a QR reader just so their phone can do something it can already do – make a phone call!

This is clearly a QR code for the sake of a QR code. Someone thought it would make the bank seems “hip and cutting-edge” if they had one in their ad. In the end it’s not only a missed opportunity to share more content with smartphone users it makes the bank look the opposite of “hip and cutting-edge”.

Let’s keep in mind somebody approved this ad. Somebody didn’t see anything wrong with this. That’s scary. For the sake of all marketers I hope that person’s title does not have the word “marketing” in it.

I wonder what Scott Stratten would think of this?

What do you think of this?

Facebook Fan-gating Increases Fans by 570% in 8 Days

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Justin in Uncategorized

Overview:

The Opera Theater Pittsburgh puts on a different kind of opera. The performances are opera and theater, which means they’re more avant-garde than your typical “white-tux” opera. It appeals to an audience beyond traditional opera lovers.

The Opera Theater Pittsburgh was looking for ways to reach a larger and younger audience in the Pittsburgh area. We quickly agreed Facebook would be a good social media channel for doing this.

Opportunity:

As with all social media, the content drives the interaction more than anything. The immediate opportunity they had for great content was an upcoming vocal competition. This competition would award one winner $1,000, professional opera vocal lessons, and a solo role in an upcoming production. Finalists were to be picked by judges and the winner would be selected by a live audience at a special event.

We decided rather than have the judges select all the finalists from the pool of entries, Facebook voting would be used to select a “fan-favorite” who would be guaranteed a spot in the finals.

Solution:

A “fan-gated” Facebook app was created for the Opera Theater’s page. Only those who “liked” the page would have the opportunity to vote for their favorite amateur singer.

Contestants were encouraged to promote their entry to their Facebook friends and family to increase their votes and win a spot in the finals.

Results:

Before the voting was launched the Opera Theater’s Facebook page had a total of 471 fans with a weekly total reach of 384. Weekly total reach is the number of unique people who had seen anything associated with the page on Facebook (these stats are available inside Facebook Insights).

At the end of the voting, after only 8 days, the number of fans was 2,684 with a weekly total reach of 27,144. A 570% increase in the number of fans and an over 7,000% increase in weekly total reach.

Even a month after the voting ended the number of Facebook fans dropped by only 1.8% and the weekly total reach was still almost 600% higher than it was before the voting started.

Conclusion:

Encouraging visitors to like your Facebook page for the chance to vote on something isn’t new. However, the Opera Theater was able to do this on a very small budget by using Facebook’s own “like” button to handle the voting. All that needed to be built was a Facebook app that would display the contestants and make sure only fans of the page could vote.

Putting great content (not even coupons) behind a “fan-gate” can garner a tremendous increase in fans. But more importantly, if the content is relevant to the organization those fans will stick around even after they’ve voted or the contest is over.

Thoughts?

Have you tried “fan-gating” before? Did you have different results?

Drop in a quick comment or question below. I’d love to hear what you think.

Why Traditional Media Needs Text Messaging

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Justin in Text Message Marketing

You’re listening to the radio while you’re getting ready for work when an ad comes on talking about an upcoming concert.

You’re sitting on your couch watching TV when a commercial tells you about a new product that sounds interesting.

You’re waiting for your dentist when you see an ad in a magazine for something that would make a great gift this holiday season.

You’re standing at a bus stop downtown when you see a billboard about a non-profit who is trying to make a difference close to your heart.

What’s happening here? First, you’re being exposed to traditional media, channels that some say are “dying”. Second, you’re most likely doing this with a phone in your pocket, purse, or very close-by.

Considering all the interest in digital media these days it’s easy to forget we’re all still consuming a lot of traditional media: TV, radio, print, and outdoor. These channels still have the ability to capture a lot of attention and create significant interest. However, traditional media suffers from two big problems.

1. Traditional media makes it difficult for your audience to take action immediately

Sure you can always ask them to “call now” or “visit our website”, but realistically how likely are they to do that? Looking at the scenarios above it’s easy to see how someone could forget, get distracted, or just not bother to follow up on their initial interest in the ad. At the end of the media campaign you may be left with only “brand awareness” to show as your return on investment.

2. Traditional media can be difficult to measure

Because it’s hard for your audience to take action (they can’t just click on something) it’s not easy for you to figure out which media is working and which isn’t. You’ll be left with vague answers to questions like “How did you hear about us?” Knowing exactly what type of media is creating an action would be very valuable for future campaigns and ad buys.

How can text message marketing solve these problems?

1. Text messaging is an easy call-to-action

By giving your audience a reason to pick up their phone and send a simple text message you have allowed them to express their interest in your organization in the easiest way possible. If their phone isn’t in their pocket when they see your ad, it’s most likely still the closest piece of Internet-connected technology in the room. Have them enter to win something, get a coupon for their first visit, or request more detailed information through a text message. When they send the message the software you use to run your campaign will record their phone number. This allows you to continually grow a database of prospects with each media buy. Of course, just like with email marketing always be sure to get permission before including subscribers in a mass messaging campaign. Sure they could also use their phone to call or visit your website (if the phone is web capable), but neither of those is as fast and easy as sending a text message.

2. Text message marketing allows you to use different keywords to track ad buys

Any time you run a text message marketing campaign you choose a keyword that will serve as the unique identifier. Using one keyword for TV and another for radio will show you which one is getting more activity. For example, your TV ad could say “Text WIN to 12345 for your chance to win a beach vacation” while your radio ad would read “Text BEACH to 12345 for your chance to win…” Inside your reports you’ll be able to see how many people texted-in through TV versus radio.

Common questions:

What is the audience texting in for when they see the ad?

I always advise people to try and do the same thing through text messaging that they were going to do through phone or web. Do you want them to enter for a chance to win something? Maybe receive a coupon they can use for their first purchase? What about a request for more information that can be sent to them via email? All of these interactions can be conducted through text messaging.

But what about QR codes, can’t they be used in traditional media to do the same thing?

While QR codes might work for print and outdoor ads, they’re certainly not going to work for TV or radio. Also, when someone scans a QR code you haven’t yet collected any information about them. You would need to have them fill out a web form to build your database, an extra step. When someone sends a text message the system you’re using to run the campaign will instantly store their phone number.

And remember, while QR codes may seem “so cool” to us marketers most people outside the marketing world do not understand how to use them yet. If you want to include a QR code in your print ads to capture the hip techie crowd be sure to also include a text message option for those without smartphones or QR readers installed. For a more a detailed comparison of text messaging and QR codes check out “Head-to-Head: SMS vs QR Codes” on the JA.TXT blog.

This post was originally featured on Social Fresh, a site dedicated to
social media and marketing education for business.