25 Handy iPhone Apps to Feed the Business Man in You

The use of mobile has risen significantly the past few years, so why not have everything you need on the go? Here’s our list of 25 handy business-related iPhone apps (in no particular order).

1. Mileage Counter

A quick and easy replacement for the traditional written mileage counter, this tool also allows you to calculate your vehicle’s fuel consumption. Handy for small business owners and anyone else who needs to report mileage.

2. Budget Tracker

This tool allows you to set a budget, then enter your expenditures into your iPhone to track how close you are to spending it all.

3. 43 Actions

The ultimate action list, this app allows you to organize actions, add new ones via email or Twitter, check off finished actions, get agendas emailed to you on a regular basis, and more.

4. VAT calculator

A list of countries is available for you to instantly calculate VAT in a variety of countries. Handy for the frequent business traveler.

5. Currencies

Keep an eye on a variety of exchange rates, each equipped with a calculator that goes between your currency and the foreign one.

6. Attendance Countdown

Tracks your working hours easily and quickly. Tap on the time to specify your arrival. The app counts down how many working hours you have left, and allows you to email times for your own records or for your boss.

7. Feed Reader

This RSS feed reader comes equipped with autoscrolling to make getting your daily information fix easily and quickly.

8. Countdownr

Counts down to a date and time; for example, a birthday. Specify a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual countdown message. When the time comes, an alert goes off. Syncs with Google Calendar.

9. Worldwatchr

Allows you to view webcams of your choice directly on your iPhone. Handy for traffic and weather info.

10. Salesforce Mobile for the iPhone

Instant customer information on Salesforce.com’s mobile platform. What more could you ask for?

1 in 4 young people are ‘bored’ with social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter

According to the Daily Mail research shows that One in four young people are ‘bored’ with social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter, according to researchers. Some 24 per cent of 18 to 29-year-olds admit to using social media increasingly less than when they first signed up, while 31 per cent said the fun of social media is wearing off. But a survey by technology research firm Gartner also found that 37 per cent of respondents claim to be using social networks more.

Brian Blau, research director at Gartner, said: ‘The trend shows some social media fatigue among early adopters, and the fact that 31 per cent of younger consumers indicated that they were getting bored with their social network is a situation that social media providers should monitor, as they will need to innovate and diversify to keep consumer attention.’Gartner surveyed 6,295 people, between the ages of 13 and 74, in 11 developed and developing countries in December 2010 and January 2011.

source: Daily Mail

Awesome Channel 4 Concrete Circus

Last night Channel 4 ‘s Concrete Circus brought together the world’s hottest names in urban sports with viral film-makers and Mike Christie, the director of extreme sport documentary Jump London, to capture unique portraits of the urban sports scene. Absolutely spellbinding stuff culminating in 4 short films. My favourite was Industrial Revolutions by Stu Thompson featuring the amazing skills of Danny Macaskill.

QR codes

Here at Armadillo we’ve been playing with QR codes for a while now. They’ve actually been around since the 1990′s, but they are now becoming more recognisable, more common if you like.

What are they?

A QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response code) is a specific matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) that is readable by dedicated QR readers, smartphones and, to a less common extent, computers with webcams. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded may be text, URL or other data.

Most smartphones now have ‘downloadable apps’ to enable the code to be read by pointing the phone at the code. Once the code is read, you will be taken directly to the content.

They can be used for a wide variety reasons, but essentially they are being used to encourage customers to interact with a specific product, brand or service.

The ‘traditional’ media seem to have embraced them recently, they have become common place on things like:

• Signage
• Billboards
• Shop windows
• Direct mail
• Product labels
• Business cards
• Menus
• Magazine’s

QR codes are becoming more recognisable, more common, and awareness is certain to grow. We’ve produced an example below. Give it a try, you might like it.

Small Businesses Don’t Consider Social Media Crucial

What marketing tool can’t small businesses live without? Here’s a hint: It’s not Facebook (or any other recent innovation). It’s old-fashioned word of mouth, according to a new report.

Half of respondents in a survey by insurance provider Hiscox said word of mouth was a “must.” More than half of the 304 businesses polled said they used social media, but just 12 percent called it a must-have even though, as eMarketer points out, the goal of most social media marketing is to create word-of-mouth. Fourteen percent of small businesses admitted they didn’t know enough about social media to use it effectively.

The bigger the company, the more likely it was to use social media for business. While 53 percent of businesses with one to 249 employees had adopted social media, 62 percent of businesses with 50 to 249 employees were using it.The most effective medium: Facebook, cited by 28 percent of respondents. It was followed by LinkedIn (18 percent), company blogging (8 percent), and YouTube (6 percent).

A separate report last month showed that Facebook, the most visited site on the Internet, is also among the most hated. And according to Inside Facebook, more than five percent of  users, or some six million people, abandoned the site in May.

The Hiscox survey didn’t mention Twitter, which according to research last year is just as well known as Facebook, and may be even more helpful for marketing. More than half of Twitter users surveyed said they follow brands on the platform, and this group is three times more likely to follow a brand on Twitter than they are to follow a brand on Facebook or any other social network. When asked “Do you follow/friend any brands or companies on social networks” 51 percent said they follow on Twitter, compared to just 16 percent on other social networks.

Source: http://www.inc.com/news/articles/201108/small-businesses-dont-consider-social-media-crucial.html

The Evolution of Now

THE EVOLUTION OF NOW is our latest follow up venture to our popular animated video  ‘An Ever Changing World’ that had over 57,000 views on YouTube. It’s a story about the development of technology and online marketing, and it’s effects on social perception of the ‘digital age’, looking at the technological and social changes that have happened in recent years. The way each change affects the way we interact with each other and the world in which we live. Take a few minutes to watch it, we hope you like it. ( Oh, and turn the volume up!)

If you would like a digital video for corporate or viral use, contact Armadillo Creative on 0191 257 8380 or visit www.armadillo-creative.com

All about Google

Today, it is very common to say, – “Things have become extremely easy with the advent of technology. Technology is actually growing at a tremendous rate today. This has made it possible to find out any information in minutes.” “Google” is a major component founded during this growth of technology. It was developed as a ‘search engine’, as a part of the research project of their PhD curriculum by two students, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, in the year 1996. This has now grown to form one of the biggest companies, “Google INC.”.The website was named as ‘google’, as a result of the mistake in spelling the word ‘googol’, which means the number ‘1’ followed by hundred zeros. This number signifies the amount of the data this search engine was estimated to handle.

Affiliate marketing tips

One of the most powerful and potent methods of making money online is affiliate marketing. By choosing the right product marketed by a merchant who is reputed for paying commissions on time and providing good support for affiliates, you can be sure of earning a six figure income in no time. Affiliate marketing is all about selling another’s product essentially by sending visitors who visit your site to theirs. If the prospect makes a sale, then the merchant gives you a percentage of sale value as your commission.

Click bank is the largest affiliate marketing site in the world. This site offers you various options to choose from as an affiliate. CPC or Cost per Click is where you get paid if your visitor just clicks on the advertisement of the merchant.

Here are a few affiliate marketing tips that can ensure good business and commissions –

• Website – Your website is the one of the most important tools that can bring you business. Ensure you create a powerful and attractive site that has the potential to hold the visitor’s attention.
• Product – Identify products to sell that can be categorized under essentials and not luxury. Use compulsive language to bring prospects to your sales page and make them wanting to buy the product immediately.
• Informative Articles – Articles well researched and written are most important if you want to develop the trust of prospective customers. Conduct a comprehensive research on the right keywords related to your product and write a number of engaging articles around them. You can post articles on free article submissions sites such as Ezine.
• Paid Advertising – Google Adwords allows you to bid for keywords that you think will be popular with your potential customers. This paid advertising option is very useful and may actually help attracting a lot of prospects and lead to sales.

Affiliate marketing is a business that does not require a lot of investment. You just learn how to sell other’s products effectively to earn handsome commissions from the merchants.

If you would like to know more about affiliate marketing contact Berry Burgess on 0191 257 8380 or visit www.armadillo-creative.com

‘Blackberry thumb’ is new health hazard

Tennis elbow, writer’s block and even athlete’s foot are problems than can cause considerable discomfort and more than a little embarrassment. Adding to the list of potential health hazards, the widespread use of hand-held devices at work has spawned a new condition.”BlackBerry thumb’’ is the name given to a repetitive strain injury caused by overusing mobile phones to send emails and texts.The condition is so common that one law firm believes employers can expect a series of lawsuits from staff claiming compensation. Karen Jackson, a co-founder of the solicitors Roberts Jackson, of Wilmslow, Cheshire, said: “If no one knows about the risks involved, they won’t sue, but more and more people are becoming aware of health hazards in the workplace.”BlackBerry thumb’ is the overuse of a mobile phone for work purposes and we envisage potential work in this area as more people are using their handsets when they’re on the move, which is leading to repetitive strain injury.
Great stuff courtesy of the Telegraph.

Social Media Marketing Services is the key to success

You must have noticed that almost 60% of search results take you to blogs and the other 40%t goes to social networking sites. Therefore, common sense says that these are two of the most potent areas which have to be made use of to market your website online. To establish your brand in this competitive world among millions of brands and products online is a challenging task. It is vital identifying and making use of powerful Internet marketing techniques. You can use social media marketing mediums like squidoo and hubpages and also through article submission and blogs in prominent directories. Companies offering social media marketing services make sure that they interact in various social media platforms like facebook, Flickr,Twitter and  LinkedIn, effectively to enhance social media presence for your business.