Digital Tools to Enhance your Business

Transcription

1 Digital Tools to Enhance your Business Hardware, Digital Databases, Marketing and Apps! University of Maryland Extension Shannon Dill Extension Educator, AGNR Talbot County Ginger S. Myers Extension Ag Marketing Specialist, Director, MREDC

2 disclaimer I have no formal technology training But I have been an early adopter all my life But you don t have to believe me

3 Terminology Smartphone A small computer that happens to make phone calls The mobile Internet - browser-based access to the internet from a mobile device (mobile broadband). Needs a mobile provider. Wireless Internet provides access to the internet from radio waves rather than wires from a computer, laptop or mobile device. Tablet mobile computer with screen, circuitry and battery in a single unit. Generally equipped with sensors including camera, mic and touchscreen. GPS global positioning system Location-based services - an information service application, accessible with mobile devices. LBS utilizes the ability to make use of the geographical position of the device (GPS). These are the applications that pull all of these technologies together Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility (like the electricity grid) over a network (typically the Internet)

4 Buying a new Device Many Choices Desktop Laptop Netbooks/Ultra Laptops Tablets Smartphone Memory Hard Drive Permanent Storage 250gb, 320gb, 500gb, 1 tb Screen Size Desktop Widescreen (width vs. height) Laptop 13in, 14in, 15in, 17in vs. Weight Tablets 7 10 Smartphone 3 5 Warranty/Repair Platforms

5 Netbook vs. Laptop vs. Tablets VS. Smartphone Issues to consider Keyboard size (lack of) Weight / Screen size May need online/external storage What will you use it for? Word Processing? Internet? ? Electronic Books/Mags? Specific Applications? Where will you use it? Tablets/Smartphones Wireless or Cellular connection required

6 Hardware Final Thoughts Smart phones and tablets are computers but can t be used the exact same way as your desktop computer. Keyboard, mouse, USB drive, memory For much of their information, they go to the Cloud Consider your business activities examples financials, recordkeeping, payroll TIP: Your Website is still your homebase. Be sure it is mobile optimized for viewing on smartphones and smaller screens.

7 Cloud Many services available Cost depending on sizes Examples include dropbox, icloud, evernote and many more. Your service provider.

8 The Statistics Highlights of the Pew Internet Project s research related to mobile technology. As of January 2014: 90% of American adults have a cell phone 58% of American adults have a smartphone 32% of American adults own an e-reader 42% of American adults own a tablet computer 44% of cell owners have slept with their phone next to their bed because they wanted to make sure they didn t miss any calls, text messages, or other updates during the night. 29% of cell owners describe their cell phone as something they can t imagine living without.

9 91% keep their phones within 3 feet of themselves 84% say they couldn t go a single day without their mobile device Morgan Stanley & TIME mobility poll There has been an increase of nearly 1.3 billion smartphone users over the last four years. Source:

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11 According to the figure to the left: 70% of people use their smartphone as a store locator (56% of which locate stores while commuting) 56% of people use their smartphone to check store prices (50% of which check prices while shopping) 54% of people use their smartphone to research something prior to buying it (63% of which research it while at home) 37% of people use their smartphone as a shopping list while shopping (71% of which use a shopping list while at a store) Source: mobile-shoppers-journey--from-the-couch-to-the-store-- and-back.html

12 Are these Tools or Toys? Why should we care about apps?

13 Applications (apps) Decisions, Decisions Read the reviews Watch the space you have available Watch the amount of battery they use Download from your marketplace not the web LITE versions often have advertisements but are a good way to test the app Lots of Free ones Many are from your favorite web service YouTube, Ebay, Craigslist, Skype, Social Media Grouped productivity, business, entertainment, social, games, education, lifestyle, sports, news and travel???what are your favorites????

14 Apps- Productivity Evernote - is a multi-platform note taking program. You can use it on your desktop, on the web, or on the phone. Take notes, voice record. Voice memo Target Date (lite) Free (Search Android Market) Target Date is a simple program that calculates time between two dates. Calendar Pad Free (Search Android Market) This is app extends the functionality of the default calendar. Real Calc Free (Search Android Market) Real Calc also expands the functionality of the default calculator and will do some conversions. See if your has an app. It is much more user friendly Flashlight Apps Dropbox/Docs to Go another type of file sharing feature. Download it to your desktop, laptop and tablet. Mileage and Hours - Apps that track and record mileage and work times. Word processing and Documents - Apps that create documents Photo and Movie Apps Many apps that create and enhance photos Many are free!

15 Information & News Navigation and Travel google maps, mapquest, trip advisor. Gas Buddy Uses LBS to find the cheapest gas Weather Great apps for this with forecasts and mapping. Recipes Apps for finding recipes. Google Earth News The majority of news and newspapers have applications including agriculture news sites like ag web, farm futures, USDA and DTN BUSINESS APPLICATIONS National Banks Most national banks and credit cards have apps. Recordkeeping apps for recordkeeping. Bump trades an E business card

16 Social Facebook connect with friends, family, customers, businesses. Many businesses have pages and run promotions. Twitter Uses LBS to find the cheapest gas Tweetdeck Integrates twitter and Facebook LinkedIn Professionals apps. Foursquare Where customers check in. Pinterest Pin board of graphics Blogging Apps for writing and posting to blogs Pandora Great program for music

17 Ag Apps Growing Degree Days ID Weeds Soil Web Tank Mix Calculator Tractor House equipment sales Convert Trial convert area, length and mass Pesticide Recordkeeping (PeRK) USDA Image Library Crop Calculators Farmers Market Finder

18 QR Codes QR codes are everywhere The square Quick Response" codes turn URLs, vcards, or any kind of text into a jumble of pixels that you can scan onto your smartphone instantaneously, no typing required. Must download the app QR/Barcode Scanner - FREE Generate your own online for your marketing promotions, signage or discounts FREE Add it to your materials and send customers to your website or social media pages

19 Apps - accept credit card payments through a smartphone. Do a comparison Talk with your bank Check the percentage, monthly and other fees, read reviews, hardware, what credit cards are accepted GoPayment check terms and service Pay Anywhere SQUARE 2.75% per swipe for all cards One simple rate, all major credit cards. 3.5%%+$0.15 for manually entered transactions Next-day payout Automatic direct deposits to your bank account. Fast setup Take your first credit card payment in minutes. Accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover using Square.

20 SECURITY Defend Against Hidden App Threats Now over +400 infected apps for just Androids Do a background check on the app developer. Search online to see if they are legit Do install a mobile security product for your device. (lookout is popular) Don t download apps that are not on an official app store - you may have higher exposure to cracked or pirated apps. Don t reveal purchase information to any apps that are not officially released by your financial institution. Understand return policies! Many apps cannot be return or are extremely difficult to be refunded

21 Digital Databases Changes in Accessing Media

22 Smart Phone Internet Databases Global Positioning System Location Awareness

23 How did all that Information Get There? Local Business Center provided by owner Public Directories (Yellow Pages, SuperPages) Feeds from other major websites (Trip Advisor - reviews) User Generated Content (Submitted to Google Directly or crawled) Put On Local Database Local Listing

24 Location Based Services

25 Put Yourself on Maps Using different databases.

26 GoogleMaps provides tools to business owners to support their marketing efforts. SmartPhone Apps: Several smart phones (iphone) use Google Map data to support navigation by default... Maximize exposure to mobile Internet customers. They are already searching for businesses in your area anyway!

27 How Can You Take Advantage of this Technology? Put yourself on the Map! Utilize various Location Based Service Providers to enhance your presence Enhance your business s presence using customized digital maps

28 Your Role? Business owner / manager / community member Find & document errors and missing info Make corrections Maximize content

29 Check your listing on Google Maps Read the comments Owner verify Add information

30 Important! Searches on Google, Yahoo and Bing provided different business. Being listed on one database is not enough. Must register your business on all databases to maximize your exposure. Need to check listings to make sure reviews, photos, etc. are acceptable.

31 Final Thoughts Smartphones and tablets are great accessories for doing business Your customers are using their smartphone to shop

32 Questions Shannon Dill University of Maryland Extension Extension Educator, Talbot County Ginger S. Myers University of Maryland Extension Extension Ag Marketing Specialist, Director, MREDC