Use the Active Category Feature on Your Calendars

This feature can be found in the Calendar & Widgets Area and can be applied to any of your custom Event Views.

What is the Active Category Feature?

This feature allows you to specify which categories will be active by default when someone loads your calendar. Meaning, you could have a calendar with 5 categories on it, but only one category is showing when the calendar loads. The other 4 categories can then be checked by the viewer and activated.

When to Use It

This feature is great for organizations that want to cross promote happenings. For instance, a restaurant company with multiple restaurants may want to cross promote things happening at their restaurants. On the website calendar for "Bob's Burgers" there could be a category for "Stacy's Stir-Fry" which is not active by default. A user could see it and activate it to see those events also, but they are distracted by these events for another restaurant at the start.

Using this feature allows you to focus viewers on certain information to start while still presenting them with the option to get more information regarding other things (other categories).

Step by Step

• Go to the Calendars & Widgets Area
• Create a new Event View
• Select Categories you want to include in that Event View (all the categories you want to be on that view)
• At the bottom you will see "Specify Active Categories" - check this to activate it and then select the categories you want to be activated by default
• The categories you specify here will be checked and active when a viewer loads the calendar

The Active Categories feature was based on user feedback and suggestions. We appreciate all the feedback we get and encourage users to take part in our Support and Tips Forum.

Encourage Sharing of Events & Promotions

Word of mouth has always existed. When people have a good (or bad) experience, they want to talk about it. They want to share. Social Media was built for this kind of interaction and promotion. It was built for people to tell others about things they like, things they are doing, and things they want to do.

 

1. Send messages encouraging people to retweet or share your page with their friends. You could write a message like “Tell your friends about our events and promotions!” or “Everything is better with a friend! Tell them about our upcoming events.”

2. Encourage sharing and viral activity within your events. Every event you make in Squareberry features social sharing buttons to send across Twitter, Facebook, Linked In and email. You need to encourage people to utilize these buttons. “Hey! Share this event with friend on Facebook to make it even better!”

3. Run promotions that get followers to bring more people. When running a special promotion, it is always good to make the promotion include more meals/people. For instance, instead of a promotions giving 10% off a yogurt, run a promotion for “15% off when you buy two yogurts. Bring a friend!” You can encourage social interaction by running promotions that involve more than one person. 

Squareberry is all about driving people to your real world location for your happenings. Encouraging social sharing and promotions which encourage multiple visitors can help increase the number of people coming to your location, participating in promotions and experiencing you events.

Get Feedback by Asking Questions

Get Feedback

...and feedback is a good thing!

Social Media and other aspects of the web have given organizations a great opportunity for getting feedback, responses and more information from their customers than ever before. Organizations should take advantage of this to gain insight and optimize the way they do business, plan events, communicate and more.

Why is feedback so great? Well, it helps you modify and perfect the way you are doing things. It is important to constantly adjust your methods to fine tune them and create the ideal experience for your customers/visitors/etc. Questions can also help promote further conversation and discussion.

Ask Questions on Social Media

Social Media is the perfect outlet for getting feedback. You could post a simple question on Twitter or Facebook. Your question is seen by the people following you, who can respond instantly. Before social media, gaining feedback so instantaneously was uncommon or difficult.

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Respond to Comments/Mentions with Questions

You can instigate further conversation by asking questions to people who have already commented or mentioned you on social media. For instance, someone may mention you on Twitter, saying that they are at your restaurant. Responding with a question like "Have you tried the Salmon?" does two things: it recommends something to your guest and it carries the conversation on, encouraging them to respond further and keep the conversation going.

Squareberry Tally Feature

Squareberry allows you to place a single question on every event you make. Each question comes with 3 buttons allowing viewers to answer "Yes", "No" or "Maybe". This feature allows you to get quick feedback from your viewers while adding an interactive element to your event page.

Calendar Widgets With Just One Category

Custom Event Views

In Squareberry, you have the ability to create customized "Views". A view is essentially a group of categories in your account. They can be categories you have made or even categories you have snagged from other accounts. You can also select whether or not to show events and/or promotions on each View you make.

Once you create a customized view, you can then embed this view as any of the calendars or widgets in the app. You can embed that view as a Month Calendar or Vertical Slider Widget.

Single Category Views

An excellent strategy is to create a calendar view with just a single category. This is simply an Event View with only one category in it. This can be used for a variety of things.

If you are a Sports Bar and Restaurant, you could use single category views for a few different things. Snag the category of your local sports team. You can then turn around and create a view with just that team's schedule. On your website you can add a simple list widget on your sidebar showing upcoming games for this team.

You can also make a category called "Special Deals" and create an Event View with just this category. Then, embed a Slider Widget of this View on your home page. Now your Home Page is displaying every promotion and event you tag as "Special Deals" on an eye-catching and interactive slider. Your website will have fresh, relevant content to help drive traffic to your restaurant.

"Featured"

A common method for this is to have a category called "Featured". You can then create a view with just the "Featured" category and display it as a widget or calendar on your website.

Remember that events and promotions can be tagged in more than one category. So, your promotion may fall under "Drink Specials" but it could also be tagged as "Featured" so that it will be sent to display at any View which has the "Drink Specials" or "Featured" category in it.

Tuesday Tip - Mobile Restaurant Menus and Store Catalogs

Yes, On Mobile

The Mobile Web can be just as feature rich and informative as desktop websites. More and more people are browsing on mobile devices and using their phone as a primary resource for information and search.

Restaurant Menus

Most people searching for a restaurant website online are concerned with a few factors: hours, location, prices and food. (What else do you need to know?) Your mobile site needs to offer all of this information and in a sleek, easy-to-use fashion. You may not need to include every single menu item (though there is nothing stopping you). But, people want to know how much things generally cost and what you offer. Be sure to show the range of your offerings to get interest from as many people as possible.

Catalogs

Some people may never see your full website. If they find you on their mobile device - that may be it. That could be your only chance to catch their attention or sell to them. Why not have your catalog or featured catalog items right on your mobile site?

For example, if you own a stationary store, you will want to show off the products you offer. Including a catalog of your products on your mobile site is the best way to show off what you have and why someone should visit your location to make a purchase.

Catalog/Menu Page Type

The Mobile Management Area features a Catalog/Menu page type ideal for building categorized item lists. Add items with details, photos etc. Show off your menu, provide a catalog of items or even build a staff directory page.

Contact

Also, do not forget about the Phone call buttons. Most mobile users are on phones and including buttons such as "Order Now" or "Call Us" can help encourage people to call your restaurant right then and there. Of course, be sure that someone is there to answer the phone and take the order.

Events and Promotions on your Website Home Page

A website's home page is the ideal location to show off real world events and promotions. In many cases, web surfers only see the home page. If your goal is to drive them to your real world location or drive participation in an event or promotion, the Home Page needs to be part of your strategy.

Home Page Widgets - What's Happening!

Home page widgets are the ideal way to communicate your real world happenings on your website. Rather than plopping a traditional calendar or static graphic, these widgets will auto-update to show off your upcoming events and promotions. You can select specific categories when creating your views, to limit your widgets to just those selected categories.

With auto-refreshing widgets, you never have to worry about making sure your website homepage is up to date. You know you are always showing off your upcoming events and promotions and driving people into your real world location. Special Events and Coupons are the perfect way to get more people to your location.

Easily Add a Calendar Widget to Your Home Page

Adding these widgets is very easy. With Squareberry, you are given simple embed codes for every type of widget. These can easily be added to any website. It is as easy as adding a YouTube video. You can create customized views with certain categories, allowing you to show off just the events and promotion you want with any widget or calendar.

The Slider Widget gives any website motion and solid content. Events and Promotions slide by, creating an eye-catching display of your happenings. The List Widget lists your upcoming happenings and auto-refreshes to show off your next X number of events or promotions.

Tuesday Tip - Add Notes To Locations

Many locations are not as simple as an address. Maybe you are on the second floor or to the right of the elevators. Adding helpful notes to your location(s) is a great way to help people get to where your events and promotions are being held.

Your Location May Be More Complicated Than You Think

Many locations are not big buildings with huge signs on busy intersections that everyone knows about. Often times your location is more complicated. You may be in a crowded shopping center or around the corner. It is important to provide useful help and tips for people who have never been there before.

You location notes do not have to be about directions. They can also be helpful tips to make a customer's experience better. For instance, your building may have a small parking lot in the front, and plenty of parking in the back. Letting people know about the parking lot behind the building (which usually has more spaces) is a great tip to add to your location notes. It lets a first time visitor feel comfortable and more willing to come to your location.

Ask a First Time Visitor

A great way to find out anything bad or difficult about your location is to ask someone who is visiting for the first time. Getting this kind of feedback can be very helpful in determining what you need to let people know about. In many cases, you may learn something you never knew about your place. It may be difficult to see from the road, or the sign is only visible from one direction. There are a variety of situations that you would never think of on your own, since you go there all the time and are so familiar with it.

Getting to Your Location is What It is All About

Your location is what it is all about. Those coupon promotions you run and special weekly events are all about getting more people in the doors. Utilizing the location features in Squareberry can help drive more real world traffic. Isn't that what all this marketing stuff is about?