Newsweek: One Giant Step

Mark the day. The December 31st issue of Newsweek will be the last print issue. Comic book collectors would hear something like this and line up cash in hand buy the comic and immediately place it inside a protective seal. Somehow this moment may have individuals purchase it and place it in a frame at minimum. The end of print? Yes,  this is a giant step toward the demise of print media.

The Pew Research Center reported in September 2012 that more Americans get there news online rather than from newspapers or radio. Twenty-three percent of individuals here in the U.S. said they’d read a print newspaper the day before. That’s half the number who did so in 2000, when nearly 50 percent read a paper the day before. Twenty-nine percent reported reading a newspaper in any format.

For American adults under the age of 30, social media has far surpassed newspapers and has equaled T.V. as a primary source of daily news, according to a new study of news consumption trends by the Pew Research Center for the People & The Press.

The study found 33 percent of those young adults got news from social networks. We all know the impact mobile has had on the print industry. Apple's iPad, the Kindle Fire, the Nook just a few names from the tablet market. The combination of mobile devices and the ever expanding landscape of social media looms like a sun engulfing dark cloud over print media. Additionally, the market for news is graying out. What this means is that the medium of television is slipping in its reach too.

Beyond the world of social greetings and scheduling social events. The goal of communication in the business world is to enact transactions of some sort. As we are gluttons for analytics and wealth, the stats show if you want to reach the young and wealth a business owner needs to get entrenched in the muck of social media and network.

More Americans are downloading news apps in the past couple years, the Pew study says:

25 percent of all Americans (up from 16 percent in 2010).

45 percent of mobile Internet users (up from 20 percent in 2010).

Those growth rates are encouraging, but still a majority of mobile Internet users have not downloaded a news app to their devices. “Those who have downloaded news apps tend to be young, well-educated and wealthy,” the study says. “…Even among mobile Internet users, there are sizable income differences: Fully 60% of mobile Internet users with incomes of at least $100,000 have downloaded a news app, compared with 40% of those with incomes of less than $30,000.”

While the world says farewell to the print version of Newsweek, we look forward to how our communications and interactions as a human race will change. Years ago stories of alien invaders were blockbusters. However, the human story is more compelling than imagined space-men. We now have the vision to see human drama unfold across the goal in real time. The stories sometimes are tragic and violent such as the Lybian-Egyptian conflict. Sometime stories just make us go wow, like Felix Baumgartner's space jump, he broke nearly every daredevil record known to man, also shattered records for most-watched YouTube video of all-time (uh, social media plug).

The love affair we have with sharing our lives and being able to be espial via every social channel we can find.

John is an marketing professional and provides insights on Online Marketing. Contact John ASAP. Go to landing page design Atlanta.

QR Codes and Your Business

What’s Black and White and read all over with your mobile device? It’s a QR code.

This black and white graphic can provide the first step for any business to turn offline interaction into a first encounter with a potential client. When an individual who has a smartphone scans your business’ QR code, they can be directed to your website. This landing page should include some manner of engaging the person. Most businesses will have a form asking for the name and email. Today that request for information is fairly common. Having a website and more access to technology can also open the door to more creativity. A business owner can use their iPhone or other device to create a quick and simple welcome video. Nothing too long just a nice, “thank you” for scanning our code and visiting our site, we’d like to have you as a client (or patient), please do this for us. I would hope you would agree this is pretty simple.

Think employing QR codes and having a mobile site is not worth the time and investment, think again. Here, are some points to consider, as reported by, HowToGoMo.com:

1. By, 2013, more people will use their mobile phones than PC’s to get online.

2. Mobile searches have grown by 4X since 2010

3. There will be one mobile device for EVERY person on Earth by 2015.

Kaywa and WaspBarCode.com are sites which offer QR code generators for your business. Any search engine can assist in a search for QR code generators. Some of these are completely free some are free with service subscriptions others have pay-per-code offerings. Most of these websites are very straight forward and are as easy to use. Most require the entering your company information, your website and clicking the button to generate the code.

How Can QR Codes Be Used?

QR codes are a marketing tool plain and simple. They should be used to engage a potential patron. Put them on all printed marketing collateral such as; direct mail, business cards, flyers, posters. At one technology show, the booth personnel wore T-shirts with the QR codes screen printed on the shirts. Stephanie True Moss, editor and publisher of QRmedia states, “… the codes shouldn’t just take people to your website. They should provide some form of worthwhile content. The QR code is simply a trigger. The QR code will take the scanner away from whatever the code’s on to something else, so that needs to be valuable enough for someone to devote their time to it.”

One of the keys to creating a successful QR campaign is to have a mobile-friendly site. The initial page of this site should be engaging. Here, are three keys to consider when launching your QR code campaign’s landing page:

1. Remember to K.I.S.S. the page. – Keep is short and sweet or keep it simple and short, whatever your definition of the acronym your landing page should be something easy to understand and grasp within 3-4 seconds.

2. Know How to Use Color. Use color combinations that work well together. Black text on a white or light gray background always seems to be a safe an expected user experience. Knowing what colors not to use is just as important as what color to employ. For example, bright red text on a royal blue background can cause vertigo in some individuals.

3. Tell the visitor what to do. Whether you want them to call, watch a video or complete a form, always make sure to direct the action. If someone visits your web page you want them to do something that will help you build a connection. Of course, some will not do anything. However, we want to focus on those who will take action, these are your future clients.

If deployed effectively, QR codes can provide a trackable form of marketing that can turn observers into customers.

As a business owner, you may need to take time to educate your current customers about QR codes. To quote the book, Let’s Get Real or Let’s Not Play, “If our intent is to help clients succeed, we have both the right and the obligation not to guess about key elements of that success”. Do not guess or assume every person who sees that QR code will instinctively know what to do. QR codes are still fairly new in U.S. advertising. When you include a code on advertising, include a brief and enticing message which encourages them use QR code reader to get special information or discount from your company.

Finally, when including QR codes in your marketing mix, move into the consumer mindset. Even as a business owner, think about your experience as a buyer or consumer. Never begin a marketing campaign without being able to answer the question, “Why should this person do business with my/our company?” The answer must benefit the customer. The customer will watch your brief video or complete the short form on your mobile site, if this benefits them in some way. There must be a personal or business benefit for the customer.

John is an marketing professional and provides insights on Landing Page Design and Conversion. Contact John ASAP. Go to landing page design Atlanta.