QR Codes are all the rage in Japan and are starting to become very popular among mobile phone users in America as well. Listing your website name on printed materials will soon be a thing of the past and companies will begin to use their QR Code instead, to allow users to instantly access their website.  Alternate Image has just developed a QR Code (seen to the right) for the West Volusia Tourism and Advertising Authority to use in their website marketing campaign. This campaign has been very popular, as the WVTAA may be the first in the state to utilize QR codes for their tourism website. They were recently featured in FOX Orlando News and in the local Beacon newspaper.

What exactly is a QR Code?

A QR (Quick Response) code is an image that is easily read by a mobile phone application to take you to a website. Just quickly  "scan" the image with your phone using a QR reader app (most are free and we recommend using Neo Code).  The QR Code reader acts as a bar code scanner and will take your phone to the website once it reads the QR code.

No more typing in the website domain name or using Google to try and figure out the exact url for the website you are looking for. The QR code will pinpoint your mobile phone directly to the webpage for the user or display specific information for the user.

How are QR Codes used?

We are seeing a variety of methods for using QR Codes, from Disney placing posters on the wall for mobile phone users to"read", which will then take them to their desired web page or display more information about whatever it is they are looking for. Other uses involve using QR Codes as coupons in which users can bring the coupon in on their mobile phone to be scanned at the checkout, eliminating the use of paper or coupon clipping. QR Codes are ecspecially helpful for businesses with long website names or domain names that are easily mispelled or hard to remember.  QR Codes can be added to the back of your business card or brochure to make mobile phone website access instant and easy. 
See an example of how Disney uses QR Codes.

The West Volusia Tourism and Advertising Authority is planning to market their website by displaying the QR Code in a sign held up by a manatee that will take mobile phone users to the West Volusia Tourism website. The manatee has become a branded icon for West Volusia with the popularity of it's Blues Springs state park, a popular attraction for manatee watching. The manatee with the QR code will appear on various printed marketing items to allow mobile phone users to quickly access the West Volusia Tourism website for information on lodging, restaurants, shopping, and other local area attractions.

What are the Benefits of Using a QR Code?

A QR Code offers the user a large amount of data.  With print advertisements you are limited by space, showing only the most important information and listing your website for users to get more information. When companies want to direct users to a specific page within their website the url address can begin to get long and confusing for users to remember. A QR Code can store and digitally present more information than a barcode and is easily read by most mobile phones with a QR Code application. A QR Code can store information like url links, geo coordinates, and text, and direct users to a specific web page with videos, pictures, or more information about whatever it is they are searching for.

How Do I Get a QR Code for my Website?

Interested in developing a mobile website or QR Code for your business? Not sure how to incorporate it into your marketing campaign? Contact Michelle Herrin at Alternate Image for more information. 386-760-1774 or email:mic@alternateimage.com

One of the services Alternate Image provides is GDS connectivity directly through the hotel application. We have provided an effortless way to manage your rates and inventory through one point of management. This allows for your property to double their exposure by participating in the well-known travel websites and travel agent systems through GDS. If you have thought about participating in GDS but have several questions, I have composed a Top 10 FAQ's below.








1.  What is GDS?
GDS is an acronym for Global Distribution System and is an online system which delivers rates, inventory, discounts, rooms, and descriptions to the many systems supported by GDS.

2.  What are the systems supported by GDS?
The GDS system includes high traffic portal travel sites or channels including Expedia, Hotels.com, Travelocity, AAA, Hotwire, Priceline and TravelWeb.  It also includes Orbitz, but is required to be registered into their Merchant Program. Most importantly all travel agent systems are included, such as Sabre, Pegasus, Galileo, Worldspan, and Amadeus just to name a few of the familiar ones.

3.  How much does it cost?
Our rates our highly competitive and include one-time setup cost of $500. And a monthly charge of a minimum of $75 or $12 per reservation.
 
4.  Can a property be on more than one GDS provider?
There are several companies who provide access to the GDS. Unfortunately you cannot be connected with more than one GDS provider. If you are currently with a provider and would like to change, a switch letter is required. The switch letter indicates the cancelation of one provider and the activation of the other.

5.  Which AI features can I use on the GDS?
Our existing system works hand-in-hand with the GDS interface with no additional data entry or third party access. Room descriptions, pictures, discounts, rates and inventory all coincide with the GDS channels automatically for your convenience.

6.  What is the process of implementation?
The process includes a separate contract for GDS and Priceline/TravelWeb. Each contract must be completed, signed and returned, before any implementation can be started. Once the contracts are received we will send you a 5-step setup form via online which will need to be completed as thoroughly as possible. The form will include the proper name, address, rooms, amenities, pictures and descriptions. We may already have this information on your current website however, it is important to be specific on how you would like the property to be displayed through these channels.

7.  How long does it take to be turned on?
The entire process should take between 4-6 weeks and allow 2 weeks for visibility. Once the setup forms have been completed we will need to create your account using the information provided. This is why we ask that you thoroughly complete the forms so we have all the information needed to create the account.  

8.  How long does it take to be bookable?
Each GDS channel updates their database at different times and frequencies. Unfortunately we do not know these times or frequencies and can only assume they update at least once a month. If the property is brand new to the GDS and has never had any affiliation with any other GDS provider, the likelihood of their visibility being shorter is much higher. The GDS channels will add on new properties before they update old ones. This is why we allow 2 weeks for visibility, however, it could be longer.
 
9.  Why is it important to be on the GDS?
It is very important to be on the GDS because this information is the only information travel agents will see. Also, the portal travel sites are usually the first places guests will go to search for their next vacation. The more visible you are on the internet the more reservations you will acquire.

10.  What are the booking statistics for GDS reservations?
Nearly 300 million active Internet users have already purchased travel online. Online travel bookings have exceeded $100 billion since 2005. GDS on average produces up to 30% of all hotel bookings. The biggest advantage for any hotel is having the largest online exposure to the online markets through GDS where millions of buyers and sellers work together to exchange travel services.


The demand for direct electronic access to hotel websites is growing exponentially. No hotel company can afford to ignore this explosive growth of online hotel internet reservation bookings. Now that many of your questions have been answered and you are still interested in connecting with GDS please call the office so we can get you started today!

Ask for Valerie
386-760-1774

 

What is all the buzz about Foursquare?

Foursquare is a new app where users tell their friends where they are and what they are doing. Sounds kinda like Twitter or Facebook status updates but with a combination of city-guide tools and a competitive game between friends. Foursquare users "check in" with their cell phones when they go to restaurants, bars, etc to earn badges. People with the most check-ins for their location become the "Mayor".

Once checked in it alerts friends to their current location. You can write comments for your friends to let them know what you think of the restaurant or location you are at. The whole idea behind Foursquare seems to be incorporating elements of popular social media like Twitter, Facebook, Urbanspoon, and BrightKite but all rolled into one with a hint of gaming and social competition.


The app now boasts more than 600,000 check-ins each day and has even earned the attention of mega-retailer Starbucks, which has just offered the "Mayors" of Starbucks $1 off their frappuccino if they show the barista that they are the store mayor.

For retailers, this is an excellent way to promote your store or restaurant. Foursquare is like a customer loyalty program where players are competing to become the mayor by checking in to as many places as they can, and can come join their friends for lunch or coffee once they see where they are at. 



According to an article by the NY Times, one Foursquare player stated that "Foursquare is more of the people that I actually hang out with and want to socialize with".  One retailer stated that "for a small business with a limited advertising budget, it's a great way to promote ourselves," and that there were about 67 people currently working for their Foursquare user discounts, which reward Mayors with a free cup of coffee and regular patrons receive their 10th cupcake for free. That seems to be a pretty good response from such a new social media app, and best of all, it's FREE.

Foursquare has released it's own API, allowing developers to build their own applications, making it even more fun for players. Michelle Herrin uses Foursquare and has attempted to recruit our office to play as well. Whenever she checks in somewhere she can see what other friends have said about the place, which gives her some insider info about favorite meals and ones to avoid at local restaurants.  To download the app, visit: foursquare.com

What are others doing on Facebook? Does it work? And how much time does it really take to make your fan page successful?

I started using Facebook about six years ago, back when it was only open to college students with a college school email address that was verified by Facebook before you could even create your profile. I created a profile and kept in touch with my high school friends and college friends,  however not everyone was on Facebook.  Now, six years later, Facebook has turned into the most used social networking platform with approximately 450 to 500 million users, 50% of which log on to Facebook in any given day!

Success with Facebook
Dominic Benecasa, organizer for the Daytona Blues Festival, has seen tremendous popularity with his fan page.  With 1,273 people who "like this" and counting, the Daytona Blues Festival fan page is growing every day. "I get about 60 to 140 email notifications a day through Facebook," says Benecasa. He started the fan page as he was developing the website and spent hours each day suggesting the fan page to other friends, family, friends of friends, and other blues music group members.

"I've had big business people say they want to meet the marketing person in charge of the event because they have heard so much about it. It's just me on my computer each night typing emails and going on Facebook. We've kept our advertising costs very low and are promoting this event primarily through the Internet."  Benecasa is a classic example of how to use social media and the Internet for marketing and networking. It might be free but it takes a lot of time and dedication.

So how can you create a Facebook Fan Page and make it successful for your business? After spending time managing many different businesses fan pages and setting up social media for clients, I've found that the best results are seen by people who spend time creating networks within their industry with people who they would like to do business with or already are doing business with.

Facebook makes your current clients get to know you better and your potential clients see who you are on a more personal level. Anything other than that is just SPAM and will be ignored by everyone you contact or try to reach. I "unfriend" people who send me messages all the time for the latest club night they are promoting, the latest event, or anything I am not interested in that they are advertising to me.  To prevent yourself from being "unfriended" or having your hard work ignored, follow this Facebook Internet marketing advice;

1. Start with your friends.
To begin, start by interacting with the people you know. Connect with old friends and find out what they are doing, and tell them what you are doing. Follow this with an invite to "like" your Facebook fan page for your business. The invite is from you so be sure that you have contacted or been in touch with this person at least once in the previous month.

2. Reach out to mutual friends to grow your network.
Look at your friends profiles and see who they are friends with. Have you met any of these people before? Worked with them? Try to become friends with anyone you may already know through mutual friends and make new connections with friends who you would like to get to know.  Dominic Benecasa spent approximately 4 hours a day on Facebook gaining personal friends for his profile, fans for his Blues Festival fan page, and making connections with other people who love blues music.

3. Reach out to other group members, fans, and organizations.
Find groups and other fan pages that are in related industries. Benecasa did this with the Daytona Blues Festival fan page, he spent hours each night looking at related fan pages for other blues festivals and blues organizations, sending invites to those fans and group members to "like" the Daytona Blues Festival and messages inviting them to the festival to enjoy the music.

4. Post often, but only when you have something good to say.
Everyone knows someone who abuses their right to use Facebook. They use it as SPAM and as a result you have an inbox full of messages from this person who you ignore or end up "unfriending" because the messages are obnoxious and you are not trying to look at advertising, you are trying to connect with people in Facebook.

5. Upload pics regularly.
Everyone likes to see pictures. Take them and post to your profile regularly. What should you take pictures of? Anything relating to your industry or work, or your business. People love seeing pictures of other people and places.

6. Tie it in with your website marketing.
Add your profile badge or an icon linking to your fan page from your business website. This is the best way to link your fan page and website. Be sure to create new content on your website and link to that in your status updates. It is a good idea to introduce a topic in your status update and then follow it with a link to read more, the full story should be on a landing page in your website where friends can see more info about your company easily.

7. Be sincere. Spend time interacting with your friends.
You have to spend time reading your news feed and seeing what others are doing. What are they saying? Comment as often as appropriate and spend time seeing what your friends and connections are doing. Chances are, someone may be in need of your business's services or products and you can find good leads this way.  Facebook is not about SPAM and trying to advertise your message, it's about networking with other people and expanding your social network so that you have more people to do business with that you know and trust.

Creating Your Facebook Fan Page: Step by Step Tutorial

First let's start off by answering some frequently asked questions:

Is a Facebook profile the same thing as a fan page?
No. A profile is for you and is not in your business's name. Each fan page must be associated with a profile, so if you do not have a personal Facebook profile you must set this up first.


Note that the insights on a fan page are not visible to the public, only fan page administrators.  The wall automatically displays what your administrators have posted and comments on those posts by others. Click "Just others" to see what your fans have written about you.  You can control how this displays in your settings.

You already know why your business's presence on Facebook is important, but how do you go about setting up a fan page?
First, visit Facebook.com and login to your personal profile. If you do not have on, you will need to set this up first. Once you have setup your personal profile or are logged in, visit this url:

www.facebook.com/advertising/?pages

Here is where you will setup your fan page. 
Click Create a Page, this is also where you will go to manage your fan page by clicking "or manage your existing pages".
Create your page by filling out the information. Be sure to include your business's real name and website.

How do you access your fan page?
First, login to your personal profile. To see your fan page, search for the fan page name in the search bar at the top.  A list of related fan pages will show below, select your fan page. Since you created the fan page you can see the insights and other post interaction data, which is not visible to the user.
You can also access your fan page by going to www.facebook.com/advertising/?pages

How can I make another person a fan page administrator and update my profile settings?


To add an administrator to the fan page, go to your fan page management area, by clicking on "Ads and Pages" on the left hand menu bar.  This will display the fan pages that you are an administrator for.

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/manage/

Click "Edit Page" for your business's fan page.
Click "Add" on the Admins sidebar menu. Here all of your fan page admins will display with their thumbnail profile photo.  Selecting "Add" will open a lightbox where you can select the friends you want to add as an admin. You can also search for the person by typing their name in the search field or email address below.  Select your admin person and click "Add Admins". You can add multiple people with at one time by clicking on the person's thumbnail.

This is also where you will manage your profile's settings and the amount of user control. You do not have to let people post to your wall, however they will be able to comment on your status.

How do you make a profile badge for your website?
Visit http://www.facebook.com/facebook-widgets/index.php
Here is where you can choose a variety of Facebook widgets, which are snippets of code that you will embed into your website HTML source code to make the Facebook widget a working website application that will pull data from your actual Facebook fan page.

Select the type of Facebook widget you would like to add to your website and follow the instructions. For a profile badge, click "profile badge" and click other. Copy the code and paste it into the HTML source code on your website. Alternate Image website clients can use their content management system and paste the code by hitting the "View Source" button on their editor bar, and pasting the code where they would like it to go. You can also send a ticket to the support desk by emailing help@aisupportdesk.com and pasting the code into the ticket email.

How can I monitor these statistics?
Visit your fan page management area, and click "Insights". This displays your fan page interaction data. This is how you can monitor your fan page's popularity.

What are social plugins?
Social plugins are ways that you can get others to share your website pages or blog posts by clicking a Facebook share button, which allows the user to login to Facebook and post your content directly to their profile wall.  There are many different types of Facebook social plugins which can be used to spread your content across the Internet. See all of the Facebook plugins here:
http://developers.facebook.com/plugins

Remember that the key to social networking through your business's Facebook fan page is to treat this like a Chamber after hours. You are there to meet people and make friends, your Facebook fan page should be about making relationships with the people you do business with. Your vendors. Your clients. Your friends. Other local businesses. These are your prospects, your repeat business, and your friends.

Getting online involves many different things; purchasing a domain, building a website, hosting your emails, hosting your actual website, domain renewal, secure certificates and more. It can get confusing.

Alternate Image's goal is to provide the client with all the features needed to be successful online. Because we are very development centric we can offer more features than any other web company, at a lower cost. We have a team of graphic designers, programmers, SEO marketers, 24-hour support, and a highly active sales team. We like to think of ourselves as a one-stop-shop for all your website needs. 

Our website applications scale to accommodate businesses of all sizes. As your company grows, your website applications will be able to organize and keep track of all of your content without the need to purchase an entirely new website.  We have businesses that consist of one person all the way up to national corporations that use the same website applications we have developed.

Our standard website development packages start from $1500 which includes the following features:
Custom Design: award winning design that is compatible across all browsers
Content Management: update and manage your content at anytime from anywhere
Document Upload: upload PDFs and other files to your website
Page on the Fly Generator: add an unlimited amount of pages to your website at anytime with search engine friendly urls
Photo Gallery: upload your photos and add captions
Guestbook: guests can leave reviews, once approved they are visible on your website
News: create search engine friendly news articles that can be categorized and set to display/expire at specific dates
Mailer: compose professional looking emails to send to an unlimited number of users for no additional fee
User collection: collect emails for your mailer email blasts, automatically removed duplicates and unsubscribes

Other additional features are available at a minimum cost of $100 each. These features include:
Blog: create search engine friendly blog posts where users can leave comments, works with RSS feeds
Calendar: add events to be viewed in a calendar or list format
Classifieds: create online classified ads
Community: users can create their own profile and connect with other users within your website network
Forum: users can post to topics and comment on other posts within the forum

Some custom applications, which may be priced separately, would include:
Accommodations: mainly used for visitor bureaus that are looking to list hotel clients with specific detail pages
Advertising: to add and manage banner ads and campaigns on your site
Coupons: to create a coupon directory
E-commerce: sell your products online
Flash Designs: add flash elements to your site
General Data: mainly used for larger sites who would like to list several items with specific detail pages
Job Bank: List jobs available for applicants from various employers
Scheduling: used mainly for sites looking to have an availability calendar for appointments

For Hoteliers we have even more features to offer:


Alternate Image works closely with Hotels and has a strong presence within the Hospitality industry. We have designed and developed a very recognizable Hotel Booking Engine that supersedes our competition nine fold, so we've been told.
Some of the additional features offered are as follows:

Custom Design and Booking Engine - $1500
Hosting charges per month are 7% based on consumed reservations, 70% less than our competitors with a min of $50 and max monthly payment of $200
Global Distribution System (GDS) - $500 setup
Hosting charges per month for GDS reservations - $12 per reservation, 60% less than our competitors
Booking Engine only - $400 setup
Booking Engine only, hosting per month from $59-$129 based on number of rooms

Alternate Image, Inc. not only develops websites, but we also build and maintain our own database and email servers in-house.  Our hosting fees are very competitive when you add up the one-on-one services you receive.

For $25 per month hosting includes the following:
-5 FREE Emails, additional emails are $2.00 per mailbox per year
-24 hour support, Monday-Friday and emergency after hours support
-AI Newsletter emailed to clients, to include marketing tips, important industry information, and upcoming AI changes to applications. Previous newsletters can be seen online at alternateimage.com/newsletter
-Unlimited FREE webinar trainings on all applications
-FREE AI Wiki help articles and videos on all our applications
-Domain renewal management
-Secure Certificate renewal management

How does this compare to other webmasters?
If you are shopping and comparing prices for a full featured website, some of the most common web hosting companies used today are GoDaddy, Network Solutions, and Yahoo. These one-stop-shop companies offering several packages from economy to premium but have many limitations on disk space, bandwidth, emails, support, content editing, and more.  You cannot call Go Daddy to ask for help on your website or email and expect to receive any type of customer service.

Other webmasters charge fees to maintain your website, Alternate Image does not as this is included in your monthly hosting fee. Typical content changes and additional webpages can be added by the client using the content management system at anytime from anywhere. Additional revisions outside of the content management system like simple graphics changes can be completed within 48 business hours using the ticketing system at no additional charge. 

Alternate Image does not charge to change out simple items like your flash header or other graphics as long as it does not change your website design. Custom programming and additional custom graphics work can be added at a per hour fee.  A website redesign can be done anytime that you feel you need an upgrade to keep your marketing materials consistent with your web design and is recommended every 3-5 years depending on your industry. A website header redesign can also be done for a small fee and can give an outdated website a new look.  Is time for an update? Ask us for pricing details.

 Alternate Image feels you don't have to worry about the cost of growing your online business; as your webmaster, we do it for you!

 

Using Google Analytics to View Website Traffic



What is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics is a free service offered through Google that, once setup properly, allows you to monitor all visitor activity on your website. You can see where website traffic is coming from, how many visitors are coming to your website, where they are going, and through which search engines and key words they found your website. Analytics is a powerful tool and easy to use.

How do I get Setup on Anayltics?
Alternate Image websites are setup with Google Analytics as soon as they go live. Send in a support ticket to help@aisupportdesk.com to be added as a user to your website analytics account.

Once you are setup as an approved user, you can login to view your Google analytics at www.google.com/analytics

After logging in, you will see the following screen:

How to Create your Listing on Google Places (Google Maps)

1. Go to Google.com/local/add
You will be asked to login.  If you have a Google account for your business use this, if not, create one and login.  Once you login, you will see the following form to enter in your new listing:


2. Add New Listing
Start adding your listing by filling out the information about your company. Use your physical business location, not a corporate headquarters or PO box.

* Your phone number should match the phone number on your website contact page, as well as the company/organization name. Google likes to see consistency between your listing and website to prove that you are not spam.

3. Fill out your description.
Be sure that you take the time to fill out your company description using the allotted 200 characters. You should use your keywords and location specific words like your city and primary category.

4. Add Categories.
The categories are one of the most important things for your Google Places listings. Be sure to include your main business profession and keywords in the primary category. Custom categories can be created in the additional 4 category allotments from Google Places.  Be sure to use them all.

What are some examples of categories?
For a Daytona Beach restaurant, the primary category should be "Restaurants" and other categories should be "Daytona Beach restaurants", "Daytona Beach steakhouse", "Daytona Beach seafood restaurants", and "Daytona Beach wine bars", etc.  This allows my listing to show up if people are searching for those keywords. Make sure that your primary keyword is your most general keyword, in this case "Restaurants".

Click submit once your information has been filled out.

Verify your listing.
Google will now check to make sure that there are no other listings available for your business. If there is, you have the choice to claim the listing and make edits to the existing listing. Your changes will be saved over the current listing. Your other choice is to make a new listing in addition to the one Google already has in it's database for your address. This is not recommended if you already have a listing because Google discredits multiple listings. Edit your existing listing and you will be asked to verify that you are the business employee by entering in a PIN number given via telephone to your listed business phone number, or via mail. A postcard will be sent in about 4 weeks to the Google Places address. This postcard will have a PIN number that you need to verify your listing.  The telephone verification process is much faster and can be completed within a few minutes.

5. Adding Extras to your listing.
Google Places gives you the choice to add pictures, videos and other extras to your listings. We recommend adding as much as you can to give your listing a greater amount of information. Google also ranks listings higher that have more pictures and positive user reviews. Ask your favorite customers to write a Google review of your business and add this testimonial to your website as well.

Read our blog post about How to Rank Higher on Google Places for more information on optimizing your website for Google Places.   Alternate Image SEO Clients have their Google Places listings created and optimized as part of their SEO service package.