QR Code for Livetech

Have you noticed the dotty square things popping up everywhere in North Wales that people can scan with mobile phones? They are QR Codes (QR stands for Quick Response), a type of 3D barcode that can contain a lot of information, including links to websites and other contact information.

From this code we can create a mobile friendly page that will act as a spring board to your various online assets, social networks, websites, email and phones.

I’m going to link to our Livetech details by way of example in this example in this case.

You can see the incorporated features – clear logo, link to phone number (landline or mobile), email link, website address, physical address, Google map, social networking icons/links… Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin etc. What a great Christmas present to give your company! As more infomation is embedded in a code the dots gets less ‘chunky’ as there needs to be more of them to carry the data.

android presentation

I’ve taken a few shots to show how the thing looks in action and plan to post a simple video to further illustrate.

Cost to make the QR Code and mobile content we would envisage a very accessible £150 plus VAT.

If you wanted a true mobile app for the same simple functionality this can be easily done for the popular platforms iPhone, Android and Blackberry.. you would probably be looking at £200 + VAT in addition to the basic charge.

You would then have a mobile app in the app stores for a very low cost and could encourage customers to download it and put it on their home screen for superfast access to you!

For more information about our services please contact Livetech

Mobile Apps and IPad friendly Site

New site launched today for Salisburys, local North Wales chartered accountants. Loads of cool features built in mobile apps (iPhone and Android), iPad friendly navigation, news, tax calculators and social networking…. plus QR Codes, Google Maps!!

This site takes advantage of recent developments in web technologies to provide a better experience for Salisburys clients..

Salisburys Web Link : accountants north wales

Crimebeat North Wales Website

Crimebeat North Wales is a charity working in North Wales to contribute to community initiatives that make North Wales a better place for everyone to live. Crimebeat has a special focus on young people below the age of twenty five. Livetech are proad to be involved in the development of a new website for Crimebeat. The site gives a great overview of recent initiatives, what great work young people have engaged in and other useful resources.

Crimebeat is a national scheme overseen by the  High Sheriffs www.highsheriffs.com. The historic office of the High Sheriff is one of the most ancient in the country. Sheriffs have been appointed by the Monarch for each shire or county as the sovereign’s representative for all matters relating to the judiciary for over 1,000 years (think Sheriff of Nottingham, not ‘I shot the Sheriff’ !

There are two High Sheriffs in North Wales, the High Sheriff of Gwynedd is Professor R G Grove-White.

The High Sheriff of Clwyd is E F L FitzHugh Esq OBE. You can read more about the high sheriff of Clwyd on his own website:http://clwydhighsheriff.co.uk/

You can see in the youtube video a short film Produced and Directed by Rachel Edwards about the dangers of using mobile phones whilst driving. In association with Flintshire Neighbourhood Watch, Crime Beat, North Wales Emergency Services and Alun School, Mold.

Going the extra mile to make your site work, whatever, wherever!

You might not have thought it but half of Livetech’s work is managing existing sites on behalf of clients.

Clients are increasingly finding that moving parts of their traditional marketing spend e.g. on newspaper and yellow pages advertising, to online methods is paying great financial dividends.

Some of the services we provide in this arena are -

• Content update, news, latest products
• Search Engine Optimization
• Pay per click markekting
• Social Network Marketing
• Email Marketing
• Web Site Hosting
• Software Patching

Livetech are always happy to speak to people about how theycan make the most of their website and online marketing budgets.

Sunrise 24th October 2011 from Livetech Offices

Livetech have moved to the other side of Marina House at Deganwy Quay. Our new offices benefit from thier own entrance, via the Marina Reception. The move reflects Livetech’s commitment to offer the highest levels of customer experience and security.

Staff and clients alike are able to ‘rest their eyes’ by taking in the spectacular and inspirational views, returning invigorated and refreshed to create outstanding web experiences.

We left the webcam on over the weekend of the Conwy Feast and spectatular lightshow projection onto the castle, its a shame it is not higher resolution (to do) but great fun to watch the ebb and flow, night and day!

Web Marketing Techniques

Last week I had the opportunity to share knowledge and techniques about Web Marketing as a speaker with a group assembled for Anglesey Business Week at the Management Centre, part of Bangor University.

The morning was very interesting with additional contributions from Joe Quinney (Marketing), Wyn Roberts of Aqua Marketing and Dr Rosalind Jones of  Bangor University. I did an overview of popular web maketing techniques, all from a personal experience perspective. My talk lasted around 50 minutes, covering all the main techniques, although I could certainly have gone on a lot longer! I’m looking forward to some feedback and postive critisism so that I can improve the presentation for future talks.

People will increasing meet up and 'exist' online!

Is Social Media a fad?

More importantly will it affect your business and can you use it get more business.

Here are a few facts for you to consider:

1. Facebook tops google for weekly traffic in the US
2. Social media has overtaken pornography as the  no 1 activity on the web
3. Facebook added over 200 million users in less than a year
4. 80% of companies use social media for recruitment; 95% of these use Linkedin.
5. The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55-65 year old females
6. Britney Spears has more followers on Twitter than the entire population of Sweden
7. 50% of the mobile internet traffic is for Facebook, imagine what this means for bad customer experiences
8. The younger generation see email as passé….Some universities have stopped distributing email accounts
9. You Tube is the 2^nd largest search engine in the world!
10. There are over 200,000,000 blogs. 34% of bloggers post opinions about products and brands. Do you like what they are saying about your brand?

So, it seems pretty certain to us here at Livetech that every business needs a presence on some kind of social network. In fact you could say that social med is the new ‘Word of mouth’. Note that 78% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family but only 14% trust advertisements

The problem you have as a business is what networks should you be active on. If you were active on every network highlighted above you’d probably not have time to do any work!!

Here are some guidelines for you to consider. It all depends really on what type of business you are and who is your target market.

If you sell relatively low value products or services to consumers then you should consider Facebook. It’s a good way to target the mass market. Friends and friends of friends can be targeted in various ways.

If you’re a professional services company such as an accountant, a solicitor, architect etc. then you want to be targeting other professionals. This means that you should consider Linkedin which is very business to business focussed.

Having your own blog is a great way of people finding you on generic searches on the internet. So if you’re targeting consumers do consider this.

You can use Twitter whatever business you are in, but you’ll get the most benefit if you’re targeting large amounts of consumers and have lots of interesting things that you can say on a regular basis.

If you’ve got a company video overview, then get it posted on YouTube, with the right keywords your business will be found. This can be used by any business.

There are pieces of software out there that can help you manage these different pieces of software, to the extent that you can type an update and post it to multiple accounts.

Now is the time to start using these services, adopt a playful approach…….

If you’d like to chat about how Social Media fits into your business and which channels you should be active on, please get in touch with the Livetech team. We’d love to have the opportunity to offer you some advice or invite you on one of our web marketing courses.

SafetyMap featured on ITV News

The important work we have involved with safetymap.co.uk was recently featured on ITV News. Debbie from ‘River and Sea Sense’ gave information about how important this work is, along with Dave from International Rescue. the full article can be viewed online by visiting the ITV Player link.

ITV Player: http://www.itv.com/wales/welsh-made-safety-map-pinpoints-dangerous-water-spots60128/

River and Sea Sense: http://www.riversandseasense.com

International Rescue: http://www.irtcw.co.uk/

The Welsh Mountain Zoo online

We are currently putting the finishing touches to an improved Welsh Mountain Zoo web site.

The site showcases all the fantastic activities to get involved with at this premier North Wales tourist attraction.

The site features some stunning photos and when fully complete will allow users to access lots of additional information about the animals, vital to the zoo in their education and conservation role.

To view the site please visit: www.welshmountainzoo.org

Blogging training with the popular wordpress.com platform

We ran a course last week on using Facebook for Business using what we hope is the catchy name of WebJAM. This is an opportunity for businesses to come together to share insights and learn new web marketing techniques in a relaxed atmosphere, whilst at the same time making new contacts/networking.

This week, due to popular demand, we are running a similar session on blogging for business. We will be tackling basic blogging principles and using the popular and powerful wordpress.com system.

The courses are being held at the Marine Rooms which is rapidly becoming known for being one of the premier training and conference venues in North Wales. There are still a few places available for this week so if you are fast you might want to request a place by calling 01492 581131 or info@marinerooms.co.uk