Alberta Business Marketing

Apple has introduced a slew of new products in their annual iPod makeover. This year however, it’s really time for more than just the back to school kids to pay attention.

Here are the four most important reasons why your tourism business should invest in a new iPod and benefit from understanding the possibilities of iPod / iTunes makeover to improve your business.

1. High Definition video is built right into the iPod Touch. Are you kidding me? Go to your favourite big box store and look into buying an HD video camera to shoot video for your business. For $200 you can have an HD video camera that does a heck of a lot more than shoot video!  Your international guests can even make person to person video phone calls over wifi networks – with an iPod!
   
2. Experience how easy it is to make handheld reviews and give recommendations. iPod Touch with it’s inherent wifi and instant access to apps makes it easy guests to review your business.   Another reminder to open up the wifi in your building (and beyond) and invite guests to leave reviews.  Traveler reviews is the currency of social networking.  If you are still charging guests for wifi, get an iPod, and learn how easy it is to post reviews on the likes of TripAdvisor, Yelp! and others.  Maybe once you see how guests use it, you’ll give wifi away (like you do with the towels and napkins) like the cool hotels and restaurants do.
3. Start building your location-based information resource for guests. The introduction of camera on iPod Touch will create a larger uptake in the use of QR (Quick Response) codes and other optical triggers like Microsoft Tags to allow you to provide rich media to your ideal guests.  Consider, what information, photos, video, music, audio can I share with my guests here and now that would enhance their experience.  QR codes let guests with iPhones Touch instantly link to that content.  Serve the family market, put QR codes on garden gnomes and send the kiddies on their way. (thx @nancyarsenault).  Got an amazing piece of art hanging on your wall, link to the artists Wikipedia page.  Got a translated verson of your menu online? Link to it from your existing menu. …. etc.  QR codes is how McDonalds in Japan provides nutritional information on their food products.
   
4. With Ping Apple has made it easy for fans and followers to give music recommendations.  Could Ping be the next social network your guests want to follow you on. You play music at your location right?  Ever had a guest wonder who your favourite musical artists are?  Who is playing in your background music?  I wonder if your guests might want to follow you for your musical tastes?  The future of Apples social network could make it THE location to share photos and video along with music. Is Facebook’s lunch next on Apple’s menu?   Wouldn’t it be easy for Apple to let you share your calendar, status updates, etc. with your iPod or iPhone contacts through such a network as Ping?
   

Got any ideas on a fifth reason your restaurant, hotel or inn should buy a new iPod?

Tags: apple, iphone, ipod, ping
Posted in Alberta Business | | Comments Off

Telecommuting takes on a whole new meaning, thanks to my Telus Mobile Internet Stick and my iPhone.

What does my Telus Mobile Internet Stick give me – Freedom to work from whereever and whenever.  That is totally cool especially for this digital nomad!

Some of my peers escape to the mountains for hiking, mountain biking, rafting and other outdoor activities.  My perfect escape is chilling in the lounge of my favourite mountain park hotels and coffee shops – and yes it includes my laptop and cell phone.  I get my best work done when on the road travelling and being actually away from the day-to-day office distractions.

Some folks ideas of a mountain getaway includes their RV, Camping equipment or hiking boots. My Mountain escape equipment includes my hotel rewards card, MacBook and iPhone.  Having the freedom and the flexibility to escape the city is something I cherish as a Calgary Social Media Consultant and Search Engine Optimization professional.  Whenever the opportunity presents itself I pack up my MacBook, iPhone, Creative Juices and my mobile Internet and off to the Mountain Parks or Alberta badlands I go.

The mountain air is the perfect seed for creativity.

Having the tools to escape and remain connected provides this opportunity to get out of the city for the day.  I can enjoy time in the Mountains to plan and really strategize about the direction of our business and at the same time, keep in touch with my clients and continue to serve their needs when the need arises without them even knowing where I am.

What does it take to escape from the office on the perfect Canadian summer day?

Be open to an endless flow of ideas – Getting away from the rat race provides the perfect opportunity for you to escape the distractions of office life.  Leaving you completely free to focus on whatever you need to work on.  Need to tighten up your business plan, review last quarter’s sales figures or complete a project…getting away from the office facilitates the flow of great ideas and provides clarity.

Stop every once in while – Just stop and look out the window.  Be observant of everything going on around you.  Listen to the tourists speaking, the music playing in the background or the sounds of kids enjoying their family vacation.  You never know where your next great idea will come from.  Some times you need to get up and find a new spot or even just go for a walk.

Pack your own Telus Mobile Internet and Power – This is a must because you never know where you are going to set up camp.  Without your Internet  and your own power you may struggle to enjoy true freedom of working wherever you decide.  My mobile Internet stick and vehicle AC adapter provides the freedom to work from a picnic table, coffee shop or even the lobby of the hotel.  Whatever fits into your lifestyle. Don’t forget your power adapter and a spare battery as well.

What do I enjoy the most by having the ability to escape and my Telus Mobile Internet – FREEDOM!

Tags: Alberta Provincial Park, Business Success, Calgary, Calgary social media consultant, canada, Hospitality/Recreation, Internet, Internet Service, Internet stick, iphone, Mobile, mobile Internet, mobile Internet stick, mobile web, S&P/TSX 60 Index, search engine, technology, Technology/Internet, telecommuting, Telus, TELUS Corporation
Posted in Alberta Business, Communication | | Comments Off

Tags: handheld, iphone, mobile web, multimedia, Web 3.0
Posted in Alberta Business | | Comments Off

As the world continues to struggle with a social media definition, anxiety is building at an alarming rate on how your small business can leverage social media.  Almost everyone I speak with during my travels right here in Calgary but across our entire client base is challenged with these same thoughts.

How can we really use social media and how can we profit from the use of social media?

These questions are fantastic and genuine.  We can measure some marketing and some companies are spending thousands of dollars on marketing that doesn’t work with no real measurement.  I would be better off sometimes driving down Deerfoot Trail here in Calgary and throwing my business cards out the window.  Oh yeah, and then trying to follow up with every one who picked one up off the side of the freeway.

Concern and the pursuit of figuring our social media, tough economic times and constant bombardment from gurus is causing more and more social anxiety to occur.  Leaving Small Business owners to feel like their heads are going to explode.  They won’t explode and you can always call me if it feel like it will.

It is no secret that communication strategies are evolving.  Some may see this as change while others see it is a natural evolution on how people communicate.  I believe most people are resistent to change as well.  They don’t like it, maybe they don’t accept it and it could be the alarming pace of change that may also lead to anxiety throughout Canadian business.

After all, we had telephones, fax machines, cell phones, email, cell phone with email and now social media platforms.  Change is all around us.

Is the rate of change that is fueling the anxiety or even adoption of social media in the workplace?

I am shocked every time I learn about a firm who block services like Facebook, Blogs, Twitter from their employees?  Why?  Are you position them to fail in one of most critical parts of your business.  Creating rapport and communicating with clients, customers, prospects and the community?

Recently, I learned of a friend who left his Calgary car sales job because his employer wouldn’t allow him to use these new social media tools to help build his following and use social media services to increase awareness about the cars the dealership was looking to sell into the Calgary market.  He was told that he had to do this work from home and the dealership wouldn’t allow it on their business network.  I am not sure if you are aware how car sales work?  The hours are long and you are exhausted at the end of the day. Plus it is very competitive.  Any leg up may just be the advantage they were looking for.

Did this lead to social anxiety?  You bet!  Someone who wants to take it to the next level and an organization that doesn’t back it.

Here is the way I see it.  Social Media is here to stay.  Each and every day social media services are weaving their way into the fabric of our communications.  Definitely at home and now moving into the workplace.  Don’t get hung up on the tools is something I coaching our Ulistic clients on.  The tools may change but the core philosophy doesn’t.  Look at your cell phone, it doesn’t matter if it is an iPhone, HTC, Blackberry – the core principles are in place.  Do you have anxiety over your mobile phone?  For most no, why?  It is part of the way we communicate today and so will social media…it will become part of the way we communicate.

________________________________

Ulistic focuses on serving the needs of Canadian Small Business, REALTORS, and Information Technology firms across Canada and United States. Helping your business understand, deploy and leverage social media, search engine optimization and online communications to generate business opportunities and make an impact inside your community and industry.

My business partner David and I are business professionals first. We understand what it takes to run a successful small business.

I invite you to reach out to me personally at 403.775.2205 or email Stuart at scrawford@ulistic.com.

Tags: Anxiety disorders, Anxiety/Uncertainty Management, Calgary, car sales, car sales job, cell phones, cellular telephone, Facebook Inc, Health Tech Corporation Limited, Human behavior, iphone, Labor, media definition, media platforms, media services, Mobile phone, Phobias, Psychology, Social anxiety disorder, Social information processing, Social Issues, social media, Social Media Ventures Inc, Social psychology, Technology/Internet, Twitter Inc
Posted in Alberta Business | | Comments Off

I find myself these days with three Apple products at the ready at all times and with our team at Ulistic growing, collaborating and sharing of information amongst our team members is crucial to our success.  Our MacBooks, iPhones and IPADs travel with us everywhere we go and this allows for keeping in touch with our clients when they need us.   Having instant access to our client data is crucial to our success but having this luxury within our budget is especially critical.

The Internet Cloud allows Ulistic to operate in a manner that meets all of our needs for access, security and affordability.

Enter another robust, secure and free/nearly free solution for business

I stumbled upon a great “free” application over the weekend and what is even more impressive is how seamless it works with all of our computers and mobile devices.  For me personally, one of my biggest challenges throughout my business career has been taking accurate notes of things that happen or are said in a meeting.  I just wasn’t one of those guys who took notes on everything that was said in a meeting.  But I think I just found a solution that can cure me of this challenge.  Sure I tried Microsoft OneNote but it didn’t have a solution (when I was using it) that worked when I didn’t have my laptop.  With this new application I learned about over the weekend I may have just finally found a cure for my challenges with keeping track of what happens in our meetings.

Notetaking Software that just works

Enter Evernote! Evernote is simply one fantastic service!  Evernote offers free and “nearly free” services to a busy guy like me who doesn’t have countless hours in a day to wrestle with technology.  Evernote’s simply interface and synchronization allows our team at Ulistic to have our notes with us whereever we go.  MacBook, iPhone or iPAD they all work like a charm.  Synchronization works virtually without any user interference to all of our devices without any headaches at all.  Need to start taking notes for an idea that pops into your head, no problem, just open Evernote wherever you are a make a quick note.

This includes pictures, movies, typed in notes and audio recordings.  Can you say SLICK!

The free version of Evernote allows for 40 MB of data transfer each month, not bad as a starter. Go Premium with 500 MB of synchronization traffic for only $5 per month or $45 per year – less than the cost of that memory stick you just bought.  When you combine Evernote with other great online services such as Dropbox and Google/Microsoft hosted email, why would you ever need a server or complex information technology solution for your small business?  It just makes technical and economic sense to choose robust, secure and efficient services such as Evernote and the others if are simply sharing files and sending emails.

Evernote also works on the Microsoft Windows platform and Android, Palm Pre and Blackberry mobile phone services.  I am giving Evernote two thumbs up and placement on my home screen of both my iPhone and iPAD.  Great tool for any size of business.

Something else that is cool, Evernote can also track where you were when you worked on a file and bring up that location on a Google map.

Tags: android, Apple Inc., blackberry, Business IT, cellular telephone, Computing, Dropbox, Evernote, free solution, Google Inc., Google/Microsoft, information technology, information technology solution, iPad, iphone, Microsoft Corporation, Microsoft OneNote, Microsoft Windows, mobile devices, mobile phone services, notetaking, Notetaking software, onenote, Palm Pre Smartphone, secure and efficient services, Technology/Internet
Posted in Alberta Business | | Comments Off