Events in Squareberry have a few set fields and an open content area where anything can be added. You can add images, text, links, videos and more in the content editor.
The chart above outlines the various aspects of an event. These pieces make up what is viewed when someone clicks an event on your calendar or clicks a link on a social media reminder message.
Promotions in Squareberry function much like events. The main difference between promotions and events is that promotions have a set of pre-defined fields, rather than an open content area.
The chart above outlines the different pieces that make up the promotion. They are displayed in the same order that the fields appear in when you schedule a promotion in you Squareberry account. Promotions allow you to publish redeemable coupons on calendars, widgets and social media to drive people in to your real world location.
Promotions are also optimized for mobile devices. Your followers and customers who view your promotion on their mobile device will see a mobile optimized coupon that is perfect for redeeming at your location.
If you are just using text when creating your events, you are not utilizing the full potential of Squareberry events. Every event you create has a Content section which offers an open space for adding images, videos, links and more.
Images are the easiest thing to add into an event. Simply click the "Insert/Edit Image" button. The image pop-up will appear and show you other images/files you have uploaded to your account already. Select any of these to add them to the event content area. You can also click "Add File" to upload a new image.
Squareberry allows you to embed videos from video hosting websites such as YouTube and Vimeo into your events. These video hosting websites offer great features and outstanding performance. Once your video is uploaded simply copy the embed code provided by your video site. For example, on YouTube you will find the embed code under the "Share" tab.
To embed the video in your event content, click the "HTML" button. This will display a pop-up with the HTML source of your event content. Paste the embed code into here.
There are two types of links you can add, and two buttons to match. "Insert/Edit Link" allows you to add more traditional links. You can link to a website URL and choose from a few options. The second link button is "Add Link to a File". This allows you to link to a file you have uploaded to your account.
An example of using the Link to File button is to allow the download of a form. You can upload a PDF form that needs to be filled out and brought to the event. This file could be downloaded easily by anyone viewing your event.
To add a link, highlight the text you want to make a link. Once the text is highlighted, click one of the add link buttons. The appropriate pop-up will appear and you can turn that selected text into a hyperlink.
For the past six weeks, we have been taking a closer look at various aspects of Squareberry. Our "Understanding" series has provided insightful looks into popular features and management of your account.
Wait, this may sound familiar. It is. This is our second "Understanding" series of blog posts. You can check out the first series here.
The Understanding series helps you do just that. Fully understand all the features and capabilities your Squareberry account offers. If you missed any of these posts, read below to catch up now.
If you have any ideas for articles or features you want to see blog posts about, let us know. You can tell us on the Forum or email us at squareberry@squareberry.com.
Squareberry is built like a calendar, allowing you to easily schedule and repeat content far in advance. Social media messages, mobile messages, events and coupon promotions can all be scheduled on the Planner - a calendar-like interface. This content can be repeated in a variety of ways and understanding how to use the repeating features can help you as you plan your marketing communications.
In Squareberry, the original date you schedule your item on is always used. For example, if you schedule an event on Friday and then choose to repeat every Monday, the events will be on that Friday and then then following Mondays. The first instance does not have to fall into the repeating "pattern".
Of course, the initial instance can fall into the pattern. Using the above example you would simply schedule the first instance on the Monday. It would use that Monday and repeat on the following Mondays.
Each item you want to schedule has a repeat option. Click the checkbox if you want to repeat it. After you click this, the repeat options will display. By default "Daily" is selected from the drop down menu. The other options are "Weekly", "Monthly" and "Yearly".
A daily repeat can be set to repeat every X number of days. "1" would mean every day, "2" would mean every other day and so on. You can also select to repeat every weekday.
A weekly repeat can be set to repeat every X number of weeks. Then days of the week or selected to repeat on. You can select one or more days to repeat on.
There are two ways to repeat monthly. First, you can repeat by the date of the month. For example, Day 3 of every 1 month. Second, you can do a conditional repeat based on the day. For example, you can repeat on the second Thursday of every month.
Yearly repeat options are similar to monthly but only happen once a year. You can select a specific date to repeat on or a conditional repeat such as second Tuesday of March.
Locations features in Squareberry help tie your events and promotions to the real world and drive attendance to your locations. Understanding how the location features work is essential to maximizing your real world events and promotions.
Most of the fields for creating a location are pretty straightforward. You start by naming the location. This name is shown wherever the location is shown. Next you provide the street address, city, state/province and postal code. You will then select the country from the drop down menu of options. The map below the address fields updates to place the pin at that location. The pin can also be dragged and dropped to adjust exactly where it shows. This is useful if you want to display the entrance to the parking area or a specific part of your facilities.
Your location can be connected to Foursquare for showing check-in stats. Nearby Foursquare locales are pulled in from Foursquare and you can select yours from the drop down menu.
The notes field is where you can provide useful information for your guests. For example, you may say "Park in the garage and we will validate your parking ticket." or "Take the elevators to the 2nd floor and turn right." Adding useful notes to your location can give first time visitors quick info on getting to where you are. The notes you add are displayed along with the location.
When creating and editing events and promotions, you can tag them with one or more locations. These locations will display with that event or promotion. This is the ultimate call to action as it offers a visual map of where your happening is taking place and offers directional features to guide visitors there.
There are different types of SMS features in Squareberry. The "Email to SMS" allows you to utilize the automated calendar reminders. For example, on the top of each calendar there is a "Get Email & SMS Reminders" button that takes someone to this screen: http://squareberry.com/holidays - - - on this screen, people can sign-up to receive reminders about upcoming events for different categories. Subscribers will get automated messages about upcoming events.
These reminders are sent by email and by Email to SMS. "Email to SMS" is a free service most mobile carriers offer. Our system sends an email to the mobile number on that carrier, the carrier than attempts to deliver it as an SMS message. Email to SMS is not 100% reliable as carriers tone it down or sometimes fail to deliver the message. But, overall it is a nice free option for most organizations to utilize and take advantage of.
When using Email to SMS this is the extent of mobile SMS features that are offered.
Twilio allows you to send TRUE SMS messages. Twilio is a mobile gateway that will deliver the SMS message directly to the device from your phone number (number you purchase on Twilio). Deliverability is much more reliable and the message is cleaner (no From or meta content like when an Email to SMS is delivered).
Additionally, when a Twilio account is connected you can send/schedule custom SMS messages. This allows you to schedule messages to send to SMS subscribers the same way you can schedule message for Twitter and Facebook. This custom message publishing is only available when utilizing Twilio.
True SMS sending through Twilio does have extra costs. These fees are paid directly to Twilio and Squareberry does not up-charge or take a cut. You simply have a Twilio account you pay into and connect that account to Squareberry for publishing etc.
When using Twilio for SMS, you are able to add multiple contact lists of SMS numbers. These lists can then be sent instant SMS messages or scheduled SMS messages. The SMS Subscription Widgets is used to get additional subscribers for your lists. Select a list and then copy the embed code. This code can be added to any website and displays a simple field for visitors to add their phone number and subscribe to your list.
