5 Voice Commands for Your Phone That Will Make Life Easier

Most of the time you don't have to open up an app.  Just say your command and your phone does the rest.

The one thing almost everyone has with them always, is their cell phone.   Most of us carry them around to either check the time if we don’t wear a watch, or to make calls or texts.  Phone assistants such as Google Assistant, Bixby and Siri, can access you a lot of convenient features that you use every day, without having to open an app.  Sorry for those of you who want less time with your device, this is going to make them your new best friend.  Feel free to try them as we go.

1.      Calculator: 

You don't need an a calculator or an app, this feature is built into your assistant.

You don’t have to open an app to use your calculator, just activate your assistant and ask them your question.  “Ok google, what is 24 times 12?”  It will give you the answer quicker than anyone could ever type it out.  (It’s 288 by the way)

2.      A Translator:

Most people don't know that all they have to do is ask their phone for a translation, and it will spit it right out in seconds.

This is super handy when in another country or even if you only speak one of Canada’s official 2 languages.  Simply ask Siri or Google to translate what you want to say from your language to whatever language you desire.  On a side note, there is a pair of headphones out that translate on the fly when hooked to your phone.  Technology actually scares me sometimes.

3.       Take a Selfie

Great!!!  Now it's even easier to take a selfie.

Instead of looking for your camera button, or perhaps when your hands are full, just ask your assistant to “take a selfie” and voila, vanity perfection.

4.      Food Finder

By your command you can find your craving, and reviews to help you choose the best option.

Do you have a craving for pizza?  Ask your phone where the nearest pizza joint is, and it will list the places in order of distance.  It will also be a great place to check out online reviews, so you don’t end up with pizza disappointment.

5.      Maps

No need to open your maps app and type in all the information.  Simply state your destination and your phone’s map feature will take you there.  In some cities it will even let you know the traffic problems in advance, or let you know if there is anyway that you can reach your destination before it closes.

You Might Look Crazy

While talking into your phone might get some getting used to, it can save you a lot of time, and as you get used to it, you will find it more and more convenient. 

These are some of the great tips that I use everyday on my cell phone.  You may have to update your phone if some of these aren’t working as well as I’ve advertised, but for the most part they have been a part of your phone’s operating system for quite some time.  So, for now I have to make an appointment for a meeting.  “ok Google, “Schedule me an app with….

Some more information on the subject.

The Do's and Don't's of Social Media

It seems like using social media for your business has unlimited possibilities, but the balance between creating a positive brand experience and annoying potential customers is a fine line to navigate.

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Here are some positive ways to engage with Social Media

The Do's

Know Your Customers.

Your social media pages should be tailored to suit the needs and interests of your customers, and not you.  Try to tap into posts that relate to them or give them reasons to visit your page often.  Use the rule of 80/20, which means, 80% content that is relative to what your customers want, and 20% or less of your posts to be used for promoting your goods, services, or your business.

Quality Over Quantity.

Many people feel like they need to have their brand in other's feeds as much as possible, but it is rarely the case.  When you try to post to often, you will find that people start to get annoyed with what you are posting and end up deleting you from their social media feed.  Keep posts relevant, use high quality, and engaging articles that represent your brand, but more importantly, reflect the needs and wants of your customers.  Spend more time creating quality posts, and less time searching for content to overload your feed.

Be Original.

Don't be afraid to show your personality in your posts.  Make yourself stand out from your competitors, by providing entertaining and unique posts that catch your customers attention.  

Time Matters.

Experiment with different posting times.  You will know your customers best and when they look at their social media feeds.  Keep track of what times work and don't work over time so that you can better target your audience.

Provide Great Service. 

Never before has customer service been more important.  You need to be a level above what people expect or you may here about it.  This is what scares people away from using social media as an effective tool.  Don't be afraid of it, use it to your advantage.  With social media you now have the tools to monitor what your customers are saying about you, and the tools to fix the problem.

Use Social Media That Is Relevant.

Don't think that because everyone is using one social media app that you need to as well.  Look for apps that you know your customers will make use of.  There is no use in creating content for something like Twitter if all your customers are using Instagram for example.  Before jumping into social media feet first, take the time to poll your customers and find out exactly what apps are the most relevant to them, and then tailor your social media strategy to your customer.

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Here are some not so positive ways to interact with social media.

The Don't's

Don't Like Your Own Posts.

Of course you like your own posts!  Why wouldn't you?  However most customers find this a cheap trick for you to get your ads out to their personal feed.  One thing that you should definitely do is encourage your staff to like and comment on your posts.  Another great way is to tag your staff or customers if there is opportunity with posts that contain photo's or videos.

Don't Be Neglectful. 

The biggest problem with a company getting into social media is that they start off with the best intentions, but within a short period of time, they start to neglect their pages.  Be very aware that it is not simply enough to have a Facebook, Twitter or other social media account, you need to maintain it regularly.

Don't Connect With Everyone.

Don't just follow everyone that follows you.  Think about each person you follow as a business client, and ask yourself if following them will in any way harm your business's reputation by association.

Don't Be Spammy.

Too often businesses re-use posts over and over again to try to promote their business, and who can blame them?  Re-posting is much easier than finding fresh and relative content.  This was the way we always advertised before.  On social media this is the number one way to lose followers.  People view their time on social media as private time where they get to choose what they want to engage in.  If you don't have new and interesting content they will get annoyed and leave.

Don't Ignore Those Comments.

At times you will get comments from customers.  The great thing about social media is that it allows you to connect with your customers in ways that were never possible till now.  Remember that when they take the time to leave a comment however, that they expect a follow up.  Deleting a negative comment is also not wise.  Acknowledge their concerns briefly, then direct them to dealing with the problem in person.  People will see that you care about the negative comment and are working to fix it.  Nobody is perfect, they just expect you to try.

Don't Use Automation

Stay away from automated responses.  Customers will be able to tell right away.  Be ready to deal with the customers the same way you would deal with them at your place of business.

For more information about managing your social media, please contact us through this website.  We would be more than happy to talk to you.

5 Tips For Better Smartphone Videos

Cell phones are getting better everyday at capturing moments.  While they are still a long way from replacing video cameras, there are some very basic points that can make a smart-phone a very decent method of making a high quality video.

1.  Hold The Phone Horizontally.  The biggest mistake that SO many people make is to hold their phones in the "portrait" mode.  While this may work for taking selfies and Instagram, it is by far the biggest mistake you can make when shooting video.  Hold your phone horizontally so that videos played back on other screens (virtually everywhere) will look fine.

2.  Great Lighting Is Essential.  With smart phones lighting is especially important, because they have smaller image sensors and lenses.  Plan ahead to have lots of natural light available, and whenever possible, try not to shoot facing the light, but instead focus on having the light to the side or back of your camera.  When indoors, try using the light from a window or turn on all the lights in the room to brighten things up.  Another tip is to use the focus tap on your phone's camera.  This causes the camera to take the exposure of the subject instead of the surroundings.

Tap on the subject on the screen and the camera will adjust the light and focus settings for you.

3.  Stabilize Your Phone.  Most phones don't have image stabilization in them, and if they do it's very limited.  Try setting your phone against something, or on a tripod.  If you must shoot handheld, try tucking your arms in to your body and leaning against something solid.

Tripods like the Gorillapod by Joby are great ways that don't take up space to stabilize your camera.

4.  Audio Matters As Much As Video.  While you want your video to look good, the quality of your audio is more important than the video, so it should matter as much, if not more.  Most phones audio inputs do not hold up to their video quality, and it is near impossible to fix audio problems in your software, so what do you do?  Many buy an external recorder and combine the audio and video later in their editing software.  They use directional microphones and lav or lapel mics to get rid of wind noise and interference with other noise sources.  What about if you don't have or don't want to haul around extra microphones and recorders?  Plan your shoot in a quiet environment.  Cup your hand over the mic on windy days.  Make sure to get as close to the subject as possible, and make sure if there are speaking parts that the person speaking projects confidently.   

Most phones audio is not up to par and an external device is needed for decent sound.

5. Get Close To Your Subject.  Staying physically closer to your subject ensures better image quality as most smartphones use a digital zoom rather than optical zoom.  This will create clearer video with less noise, and provide better audio.

Producing videos that you can be proud of is quite an accomplishment.  While it may seem daunting at first, the trick is to just get in there and learn it as you go.  Have fun and get creative.

If you have any other tips, or would like to add an app that you feel would help people record on their phones, feel free to comment below