A prototype is a representation of a design for review before it goes into production. It allows you to understand and interact with the website or app and provide feedback at a stage where it’s relatively easy to make adjustments before full production begins. Like paper mock-up prototypes in the offline world, prototypes built for digital web and mobile properties are even more important. (more…)
Reprinted from South Florida Business Journal.
Technology is prodding marketers to connect brands with prospects more powerfully than ever before. Among the newest challenges is using what is described as virtual or augmented reality. The strength of the “impression” that can be created with virtual reality, which transports prospects to new locations as if they were there; or with augmented reality, which brings something that isn’t really there into prospects’ current environment, cannot be underestimated. And now there are early efforts to mix these two realities for even more powerful prospect experiences.
Why are marketers so excited about Facebook LIVE? It’s no secret that people everywhere love to watch video. Now, imagine watching a video and having your broadcaster speak directly to YOU and address YOUR questions or comments. With mobile device in hand, businesses wield the powerful impact of live streaming video, the ability to engage in real-time with friends and followers; all the while building relationships and reinforcing their brand! (more…)
Writing actionable SEM copy can certainly present its challenges but understanding what works and doesn’t, can make all the difference in the world when converting prospects into sales. Have you reviewed your SEM (organic and paid) content lately? Is it working? Let us help you with some tips on how to improve your search engine result pages or SERPs. (more…)
On June 9, 2016 business leaders and marketing enthusiasts gathered at the NSU Art Museum in Fort Lauderdale to hear Terry B. Jones speak on the Culture of Innovation. (more…)
There’s always something new with Instagram and this time, finally, it’s analytics that are paving the way for further insights into the user experience and providing marketers with the highly-coveted behavorial and demographic information that you’ve craved for far too long. (more…)
Virtual Reality certainly has marketers buzzing which is why it’s the perfect topic for the Starmark Innovation Lab to dive in and explore the ins and outs of its full potential. The possibilities are exciting as well as promising and we’re determined to identify the best possible marketing applications for this cutting-edge technology.
While VR can be a daunting and complex topic to discuss, seeing it in action brings clarity and helps everyone ideate about what’s possible. Similar in design to our location-based technology demonstration app, Starmark eTips, the lab needed to produce an app that could demonstrate VR in a compelling way, show what’s possible, and brainstorm practical applications for our clients.
Starting with the hardware, we acquired an Occulus DK2 and a few Google Cardboard headsets. While these are clearly at the opposite ends of the technology spectrum, they helped us understand the possibilities as well as the limitations of not only top-of–the-line gear, but what is most cost effective.
Our next challenge was to investigate how to shoot or record media in 360° VR. Because it’s all the rage right now, many cameras were on back order but we were able to get our hands on a Ricoh Theta and a HD GIROPTIC which can shoot stills and video.
Then it was time to flush out the roadmap for the new app to ensure that we demonstrate VR’s fullest potential.
We started with photography. Luckily, for the past several years, we have created several virtual tours for some of our hospitality clients. Leveraging the photography proved to be a real win-win in terms of the cost savings since we only had to re-purpose already existing content. Because we needed to demonstrate how to create a virtual tour of a property and have multiple tours in a single app, we picked up three photos each from three virtual tour apps we created. In one of the rooms, we show how to embed a normal video onto a “screen” in the room, demonstrating yet again how to re-purpose existing video assets you already own.
Now it was time to shoot 360° video with our new camera. The camera should be at the center of the action and as far as sound was concerned, we learned that you must have lapel microphones if you want to have good audio. We used a fixed location tripod, but mounting a camera on a selfie stick proved to be a great tool in walking tours. Throughout the shoot, our creative teams were on hand to learn how to stage and shoot a 360° video.
Lasty, we wanted to demonstrate a 3D rendered environment. While these are often used in games, they proved to be invaluable in product demonstrations by allowing for complete control over the environment.
Finally, we put it all together into one cohesive and commanding demonstration. Starting with our rendered environment as our “Main Menu,”, we created a “look to navigate” scheme where you only have to hover over a point for a moment. While the VR headsets do allow for “clicking,” we decided this approach was more intuitive for first-time users, especially when they may be using it without any instructions.
The Starmark VR Lab app is available in the iOS App Store. Download today to envision how you may want to include VR in your annual marketing program. If you need a Cardboard to fully experience VR, contact us and we’ll be happy to send you one!
Reprinted from South Florida Business Journal.
With 88 percent of the U.S. population and 40 percent of the global population counted this year as Internet users, the visitors to your website provide an amazing source of data on your business potential. (more…)
Search Engines like Google have revolutionized the way we search, buy and interact with local businesses so it’s critical you take center stage under the bright, hot spotlight. You know your customers are out there looking for you online, but can they find you?
If you own a pizza shop in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and a hungry person searches for “best pizza in Fort Lauderdale,” you want to make sure your business ranks high in their search result to close that sale. Bring on Local SEO.
If your business has a physical location, you need a Local SEO strategy separate from your organic SEO approach. Although some elements from both overlap, Local requires a few additional steps.
First, claim your business on Google My Business using a consistent citation of NAP (name, address, phone number) across this and other directories. Consistency is key as it will help to broaden your visibility and create trust between search engines, directories and prospective shoppers.
Second, reviews are a must — lots and lots of reviews. Encourage your customers, offer rewards or just ask them to review your establishment as they check out. The organic quality and quantity of their comments has a direct impact on local search rankings and the nice feedback is good to read.
Lastly, Local SEO relies on link building. Earn links from local authority sites like community organizations, local news coverage, blog features and directories. All of these mentions are an important to improve your search position.
Local SEO is designed to help search engines and new customers find your business so make sure your business can be found!
Programmatic buying is the automated process of purchasing and selling digital advertising inventory through real-time bidding (RTB) or direct sales. In this eTip we are going to break it down into two parts: automated process and real-time bidding. (more…)
The Loews Miami Beach Hotel, situated in the heart of South Beach, completed a $3M+ full redesign in their meeting and event spaces, and new collateral, both print and video, was essential to communicate the new look and feel in the marketplace. (more…)
Native advertising, aka advertorials, is a type of earned media. This information-based content is crafted to appear as traditional copy promoting goods or services in a way that does not disrupt the user experience. (more…)