Mobile Contact Page, YouTube Video and Email Share

We continue to look at different mobile page types with our Tuesday Tips. This week we are looking at the Contact Us page type, the YouTube video pages type and the Email Share page type.

Mobile Contact Us Page

The Contact Us page is exactly what it sounds like. Many websites and mobile websites feature a contact us page that allows site visitors to enter information that is sent to someone at the organization.

The Contact Us page type has two main features. The first option is to provide an email address where the contact form sends information to. When someone fills out the contact form on your mobile site, the information will be sent to the email address you provide here.

The second is a phone call button. This button functions the same way as the phone call button on the Info page type. The text displayed on the button can be customized and the phone number to be called can be customized.

YouTube Video Page

The YouTube video page is very simple. It only has one option and feature. Simply provide the URL to a video on YouTube and it will be displayed on that page on your mobile website. The URL needs to be to a specific video, not a channel.

Email Share Page Types

The Email Share page type is similar to a contact page, but utilizes the native email functionality in mobile platforms. You must provide an Email Subject and an Email Message. When a user clicks on this page on the menu it activates the native email functionality on a site visitors phone. The subject and message are inserted into the email. The visitor can then determine who to send the email to and customize the message content if they choose.

The Email Share can be used for encouraging people to share your mobile site. An example of what to put in the message contant is: "Hey there! Maile's Studio cafe is a great place for food, friends and fun. I highly recommend you checking this place out. Learn more: http://www.mailesstudiocafe.com". This makes it easy for people to share your site with friends and family.

Mobile Home Page & Calendar Pages

We are continuing our series of posts on various page types in the Mobile Management Area. This week is all about events and promotions. Events and Promotions are displayed on the Home Page as well as on the Calendar page type. As always, categories are key. Categories control where events and promotions are displayed.

Mobile Website Home Page

There are two sections of the mobile website home page. The second section is a custom content area. This area allows you to add text, images, embed videos and more. The custom content area allows you to make your home page what you want it and give it the look and the content you want.

The first feature on the home page is the "Event/Promotion Slider". This feature has a drop down to select categories from. Upcoming events and promotions from the selected categories will be shown on an interactive slider at the top of your mobile website home page.

One thing to keep in mind is that you can set mobile site visitors to be taken to your website menu or to this home page when they first land on your site. The setting for this is found in the Site Settings tab.

Calendar Pages

Calendar pages come in two styles: List Calendar and Slider. The Slider version functions just like the slider on the home page. Events and promotions from your selected categories will be show on a slider.

The List Calendar looks very much like the List Widget. Events and Promotions are listed with their date. You can select which categories you want to show your happenings from.

Events and Promotions

With the Home Page and with the Calendar pages, each event/promotion can be selected by the site visitor to see details. Every event and promotion has a mobile optimized version that is displayed on your mobile website. The mobile Events/Promotions still offer locations/directions, content and more.

Using Info, URL Redirect & Custom Mobile Page Types

Over the past few weeks, the Tuesday Tip has looked at the mobile page types in the mobile management area. Each page type allows you to add a different type of page to your dynamic mobile website and easily create an enhanced experience for your mobile site visitors. This week's tip looks at 3 of the remaining mobile page types, how to use them and ideas on what to use them for.

Info/About Mobile Page Type

The Info/About page type creates a great looking page with various features and elements. It starts with a custom content area at the top, perfect for text and images. Next is a phone call button which allows you to dictate the label on the button and the phone number that will be dialed when this button is selected by a mobile device user.

Below this are social links which allow you to link to your various profiles and social media pages around the web. This is great for boosting your complete online presence. You can also select locations to show on this page so people can easily find your locations and get directions.

The Info/About page type does not need to be restricted for an "About" page. Another great use for this page type is for individual locations of businesses with multiple locations. A restaurant or retail store with multiple locations can create an About/Info page for each of their locations, complete with its own info, phone call button, social links and location map.

URL Redirect

The URL Redirect page type is very simple. All it does is send the mobile site user to a URL you specify. Other than dictating the URL, you can decide if you want the URL to open in a new page/tab or on the same page. Remember, this can link to any URL, not just a webpage. You can link to a PDF, map or file download you have hosted online.

Custom Page Type

The custom page type is a blank slate. There is no template, options or set fields. It is just a large content area that you can add your own custom content to. You can add images, text and embed objects such as videos. There is even an HTML button for advanced users who want to add their own HTML code.

In theory, you could make an entire mobile website of just custom content pages. But, this is not recommended. Take advantage of the other page types Squareberry offers to build your dynamic mobile website. Think of more alternative uses for the page types and play with the different features and settings to achieve the look you want.

Add a Photo Gallery to Your Mobile Website

How to Add a Photo Gallery Page to Your Mobile Website

Squareberry's Mobile Management area allows you to add sleek photo galleries to your mobile website. Every photo gallery is optimized for mobile devices and is touch-friendly. Users will be able to swipe between photos and more on their mobile devices.

To start, you select "Photo Gallery" on the New Page screen. You will need to provide a name for the page and a menu icon to use. After adding these things, click "Create".

After you create the page you will see a "Photo On This Page" section. Here you will add new photos to your gallery page and reorder them to your liking. Click "Add Photo" to upload a new image to add to your gallery.

Images you have uploaded will then show up in the "Photos On This Page" section.

You can drag and drop the images you have added to change the order they display in your gallery. After reordering and uploading new images, make sure you click the "Save" button to save the changes you have made.

You can always come back, edit the page and add more images. You can redorder and add new images at anytime.

Reasons to Have a Photo Gallery

Many different organizations can utilize a photo gallery on their mobile website. It is always great to have a gallery showing off your location, parking, the front of your building etc. Things like this can help people more easily find your locations and get into your business.

It is also great to utilize photo galleries to show off your past events. You should take photos at every event or special promotion you have. Put these photos on your mobile website to show off how much fun people have at your events. Featuring media from past happenings can help boost attendance at your future happenings.

Summer is Coming - Will Your Marketing Change?

Should Your Mobile and Social Marketing Strategy Change With the Seasons?

Summer is fast approaching. More than any other season, summer has distinct characteristics which can and should effect how you market. But, it depends heavily on your demographics and location.

The biggest changes in summertime revolve around education and travel. Summer is when high school students and college students are, for the most part, out of their routine and in different locations. Travel/tourism also sees a boost. These changes effect you differently depending on your location.

The Student Demographic

Summer results in a migration of young people, mainly college students. Many return home or travel to other cities for the summer, before returning back to school in the fall. Because of this, your local area may see an influx in young people returning home, eager to find places to eat, events to go to and stores to visit while in town. Be aware of this shifting demographic and market accordingly.

You may be on the other end of the migration. Perhaps your business is in a college town or area and summer is slower than the other parts of the year. You can have fun with this by running promotions like the "Still in Town" promotion or having a "Why Did I Take Summer Classes?" special night. Embracing your situation and being relative/current helps boost your brand on social media and draw in these young customers to your location.

Summer also releases high school students into the wild. If your organization offers a product, service or events for people of this age, you may want to adjust your hours of operation or offer more specials during the day. During the summer, you have more young people out and about looking for things to do.

Tourism

If your city sees a boost in visitors during the summer, your marketing strategy needs to shift from being geared towards recurring locals to attracting people who have never been to your location before. There are various ways to accomplish this. Here are a couple:

• 1. Twitter Searches - Utilize the social conversation area in Squareberry to search for keywords on Twitter. Find people asking about restaurants, shops, and things to do. Often times when people are out of town, they turn to the web for advice on what to do and where to eat in places that are unfamiliar. Find these people and reply to them, offering your business as a possible destination for them to check out.
• 2. Utilize Your Regulars - You can also offer promotions to your regular customers who bring in first timers. This encourages people to bring friends/family who are visiting from out-of-town into your business or to your event. Let your local customers know that your place is the places to bring anyone in the area on vacation.

Not For Everyone?

Of course, these suggestions do not apply to everyone. You may not cater to student-aged people or to tourists. Your business may be entirely local. Even if this is the case, be aware of how seasons effect your organization. Various professional services and local businesses have high and low times based on the time of year, the weather and more. Always consider these factors as you lay out your marketing plan.

Using the Catalog Page Type in the Mobile Management Area

Catalog/Menu Mobile Pages

One of our favorite page types in the Mobile Management Area is the Catalog/Menu page type. With this page type you can add a stylized menu or list of items. Each item has its own detail page with any type of content. The most popular use of this page type is for restaurant menus, but it can easily be used in other ways.

How to Use the Catalog/Menu Page Type

To start, you select "Catalog/Menu" on the New Page screen. You will need to provide a name for the page and a menu icon to use. After adding these things, click "Create".

Now, the page is saved and you can get started with adding content. There are two types of content you can add: "Item" and "Spacer/Title". A Spacer/Title is a display only element which has a different appearance than items and can be used for categorizing items on your menu, or as a heading.

Items are the main function in this page type. Each Item has a name, a "price" and content. You can add text, add images, embed videos and more in the content area. The Item name displays on the menu page. When a user selects that item they are taken to that item's page where the content details are shown and the "price" is shown in the top right corner.

Click Here to See an Example >

Alternative Uses

Though this page type is ideal for restaurant menus and retail catalogs, it is not limited to these uses. For example, the 'Price" field is labeled as such, but the word "Price" does not appear anywhere on the front-end mobile website. You can easily use this field for any other type of label.

A great example of an alternative use is to use this page type for a staff page. Each member of your staff would be added as an item with their job title in place of a "price". You can use the Spacers to categorize your staff into groups.

Another great example is to use it as a portfolio. If you offer professional services, you can use spacers to divide things into service categories. Items will be used for each example of services you have offered, be it a case study, customer testimonial, visual examples etc.

The Catalog/Menu page type if powerful and flexible. It allows you to quickly and easily create an organized and effected area of your mobile website. It has a variety of uses and possibilities.

Using the News Page Type in the Mobile Management Area

The Mobile Management Area in Squareberry allows you to create dynamic pages for your mobile website in a variety of ways with different page types. One of these page types is the "News - RSS/Tweets" page type. Using this, you can easily add fresh content to your mobile site that is constantly updating without you having to go in and update it.

Creating a News Page for Your Mobile Website

Start by going to the Mobile Management Area and clicking the "Add Page/Sub-Menu" button at the top of the Mobile Content area. Then click "Create New Page". On the New Page screen, select the News page type from the drop down, give your page a name and select a menu icon. There are two options for a News Source: Show recent Tweets or Show Recent RSS Posts. If you want to show Tweets, you will be asked to provide a Twitter ID. Recent Tweets from this ID will be pulled and shown on your News page. If you want to use an RSS feed, you will need to provide a direct URL to the RSS feed online. Recent RSS feed posts will be displayed on your News page.

Not Just Your News

The most common reason to implement a News page is to share your brand's news and updates. This means your blog's RSS feed or your Twitter account's Tweets. But, a News page can be used to share other people's news to further enhance your mobile website. For example, if your have an organization that offers professional services of some kind, you can create a full "News" section on your mobile site and pull in various sources. Here is how you would do this:

• 1 - Create a Sub-Menu called "News"
• 2 - Identify Twitter/RSS news sources that offer tips, ideas, updates and information about the type or services you offer or your industry.
• 3 - On the Sub-Menu, create a "News" page as discussed above. Use one of the sources you identified and name the page accordingly.
• 4 - Repeat step 3 with more news sources until you have a nice assortment of news pages.
• 5 - Review and look at what you have created. Make sure all the news sources are working and showing up on your mobile website.

With the steps above, you can create an entire News section of your mobile website. This can help take your site to the next level. It will be a resource and a destination for information. It will also help boost your brand and help your organization appear stronger and more in-tune with your industry.