Facebook Pages For Business

by

We have a detailed article on using Facebook Pages to promote restaurants.  Hopefully it will see the light of day in a publication soon.  How did we come to write this article?

Well, Agile' has two restaurants as clients, and we set up and maintain their Facebook pages (along with maintaining their web sites).  As a result of that, we picked up a restaurant review site, CNYDining.com, as a client a few years back.  It languished for some time, but recently we renewed it's lease on life.

Friday night, we used FB's "Promotion" utility to get the name of the site out there.  Technically, what we were hunting for was "Likes" on the CNYDining Facebook Page.  As a by-product, we were hoping people would travel through to the actual web site.  We did this with the smallest of budgets – $5 per day.

Results: In less than 48 hours, we were well over 50 likes for the page, and the statistics for the main site show a steady increase in the number of visitors, which confirms that they've been coming through from the FB Page.  Miniscule numbers, right?  We also launched a Twitter account for them, and the first tweet just went live around midnight.

Our next step is to put together a give-away keyed to FB Page "Likes."  We're looking at a couple 2-for-1 dining coupon books.  Total cost (with shipping to the winners) should be around $50.  I'm planning to reach 250 likes that way.  And to get more, we'll do what I've been advocating all my clients do: ASK.  Ask them to suggest the site and the Page to their friends.

Use High Quality Gimmees

by

I'm against the use of gimmees (freebies, give-aways, junk, etc) in trade show booths.  If you don't start doing it, you'll never have to stop.  Just like smoking cigarettes.  Both can be bad for your health.

I've had a dozen conversations like this one, but it serves as a good example.  I'd had a booth at several B2B trade shows where I was near the same printing company.  During this one, they were giving away pads that looked like melon slices.  At the top was printed "Honeydew List."  They had stacks of other pads out on display, but this was the most popular by far.  People were coming by and literally taking away half a dozen at a time, without asking or even being talked to by the booth staff.  Word was getting around, apparently, as I heard people coming up the aisle saying, "Those honeydew lists are around here someplace."  By the middle of the afternoon, those pads were all gone.

Read more…

JPEG Mini – Put Your Pix On a Diet

by

When I shoot stills either for my clients of for myself, I shoot in RAW format.  That way, I can manipulate the base image and have it look any way I want it.

But once I finalize the picture(s), I usually output them in JPG format.  Most of the printers I deal with require that format, and if the pics are for web display, the best format is either JPG or PNG.  And though JPGs are a lot smaller than RAW images, if you shoot and store enough of them, they can take up a significant amount of space.

Which is where JPEG Mini comes in.  It basically strips away all non-essential information from the file, and just leaves the image behind.  How good is it?  How about routinely reducing your pictures to one quarter of their size?  Or maybe even smaller!

I'm not getting anything out of this.  I just think the program is an excellent product, and if you shoot a lot of pix, you'll probably wind up seeing the benefits of using it.

There are two (really, 3) versions of the software.  There's the personal version, which handles smaller files as a stand-alone program.  A free version of this software does up to 20 pix in one day.  If you pay for it, it's only $20.  The professional version of the software crunches pix up to 8 times faster (which can be a help if you've got hundreds – maybe even thousands – of pix to squash), and works in stand-alone mode and also works as a plug-in for Adobe Lightroom 5 and above. That version is just under $150.   JPEG Mini is available in both Windows and Mac flavors.

Give Them Free Rum

by

My wife and I just returned from St Martin in the Caribbean.  We were staying on the French side (there's also a Dutch side to the island) in the town of Grand Case.  Yes, it was a vacation, but I'm always on the lookout for new and unique marketing ideas.  Sometimes, like on this trip, I get whacked over the head with how effective "the basics" are, and how time-tested techniques can – and should – be used.

Grand Case is the culinary capitol of the Caribbean.  I don't know who first bestowed that sobriquet, but I'd say it fits.  The Boulevard is narrow, with cars parked haphazardly on either side of the street, tourists walking along it and other cars and motorbikes zipping between them.  The Boulevard, at less than a mile long, is also home to 20 or more restaurants.  While some of these are barbecue joints, serving things like pork ribs, chicken and other "home cooked" specialties, most of the restaurants serve fancy French cuisine, mostly in open-air establishments.  Half of these. the ones on the north side of the Boulevard, are right on the beach, and offer spectacular views.

Read more…

Discrimination is a Good Thing

by

When it comes to marketing and sales, discrimination can be a good thing.  Of course, I'm not talking about discriminating against someone based on their ethnicity, their religion, or any other negative reason.

What I'm talking about is taking a pool of "all potential clients" and making (sometimes difficult) marketing decisions based on demographics or other factors that will aid you in your promotional efforts.

Read more…

Amateur Portrait

by

Scott in Niagara FallsWhat happens when you turn your new camera over to a curious high school student?  Sometimes, you get some really good photos.  And sometimes the subject of the photo could be better.

I recently accompanied a client to Niagara Falls to shoot stills and video for them.  His 15 year old son was curious about my camera, so I turned it over to him for a while.  As you might think, some of his photos turned out poorly.  And some turned out okay.  A couple (out of maybe 50 or so shots) turned out pretty good – surprising for someone who’d never used a DSLR before.

One of the “okay” ones was yours truly, taken near the building on the American side that leads down to the Maid of the Mist boat tour.

Speaking of the tour. . . I had a number of people look at me like I was crazy for taking my DSLR on the boat and into the heavy spray from the falls.  The didn’t believe me when I said my Pentax K30 was weather sealed.  I’ve been using Pentax cameras for 30 years, and I’m happier with them now than ever before.  I highly recommend their DSLRs.