Dear Friend,

As the heatwave continues for a lot of us (99 degrees in Central Park on June 9th!!) we continue to look for ways to cool down our core temperatures while heating up our marketing knowledge. For the latter, look no further! This month, guest writer Jackie Croley brings us a nice piece on how companies are creatively using QR codes while Scott Spaid delivers a 1-2-3 punch of articles on Social SEO, Social Media & Politics, and Audio QR codes.

Enjoy!

The In10sity Team

QR Codes: Let’s think outside the black box

Author: Jackie Croley

Lately I have been seeing QR Codes everywhere! The only thing is, in most cases, they are ugly black boxes slapped in the corner of print advertisements. QR Codes don’t have to stick out like a sore thumb to attract attention. The uses for QR Codes are still being discovered and we have only begun to see how they can be utilized in media and advertising. Marketers can creatively incorporate them into designs to inspire users to scan and enjoy content.

Now that they are catching on, I think it’s time to improve their design and placement. QR Codes can be so much more than just a black box! Here are some examples of creative designs and uses of QR codes.

To view the QR code designs, read the rest of the article >>

Relevant Content and Social SEO – I’m a Believer

Author: Scott Spaid

The other day, I posted a short article on Progressive Insurance, Shazam, and the Audio QR Code and was witness to an amazing thing. It is one thing to take a leap of faith when it comes to the concept of “relevant content is king” but it is another when you see it working in real-time. I consider this my lightning bolt moment and I will never again doubt the power of relevant content and search engine optimization. In fact, I’m now fully converted — new born, if you will. Moving forward, I will evangelize this from the mountaintops and make sure everyone knows the truth.

At about 8am on June 8, I posted the blog article mentioned above on our WordPress blog, which, by the way, is simply the best blogging software there is. I then went on my usual morning run. During my run, I thought I would do some more research on the topic of the article. When I got back and settled into my desk chair at about 9:30am, I did a Google search on “Progressive Insurance Shazam.”

And then it happened.

Read the rest of the article >>

Politics and Social Media – Examples of Genius and Stupidity

Author: Scott Spaid

As time ticks along, social media continues to prove itself as a game changer in how we think about the Internet. Crazy IPOs, such as LinkedIn’s , are a precursor for what we can expect when Facebook and Groupon go public. Do we have another stock market bubble on our hands? Absolutely! But that isn’t the main thrust of this post. Social media is here to stay, isn’t a fad, and is reshaping the way we communicate, create brands, and interact with customers. This is especially true in the wild wooly world of politics. If politicians think they were in a fishbowl before social media then they ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

Read the rest of the article >>

Progressive Insurance, Shazam, and the Audio QR Code. What was the point?

Author: Scott Spaid

I was watching TV last night and during a Progressive Insurance commercial (you know, the one that has Flo in it) and a Shazam logo came up on the screen. For those of you who don’t know what Shazam is, it is a really neat technology that can automatically identify audio and tell you what is playing. This can be quite useful if you are listening to a song and you don’t know who the artist is or what album the song is on. Just pull up the app and, SHAZAM!, it will pull up the song title, artist, and album cover. From there you can explore similar artists and more.

So, what does Progressive Insurance have to do with this? Part of me is still trying to figure this out. As the commercial rolled on, I pulled out my trusty iPad, opened the Shazam app, and had it listen to the commercial. All this has to be done in 30 seconds, which is a challenge all by itself. Anyway, like a technology miracle, Shazam identified the commercial and up pops a picture of Flo on my iPad. The problem is, that’s all I got. I was left with a feeling of, so what? Unless there is something I missed, there was absolutely no value delivered to me at that point in the engagement. They had me. Then they lost me.

Read the rest of the article >>

Quote of the Moment

 “Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it, misdiagnosing it, and then misapplying the wrong remedies.”

Groucho Marx (American Comedian, Actor and Singer, 1890-1977)