This morning, I attended “Women of the World’s” panel discussion on Entrepreneurship, Technology & Social Media at the Mid-America Club. The panelists included the founder/CEO of Groupon, Andrew Mason, and Brad Spirrison, Managing Editor of Appolicious (www.appolicious.com, “where consumers find mobile apps they’ll love”). I went to see what new things I could learn about social media. NOTE: If you haven’t connected to Groupon (www.groupon.com), do it. It’s fun to receive in your inbox each morning a teaser about the red-hot Daily Deal. I’ve dipped my toe in the water and hooked into a great deal for a new headshot with a fine photographer – a one-hour session for $80!
I came away from the presentation a little wiser about social media technology. Groupon and phone apps in general are both great platforms for reaching new audiences for your business’s products/services. Spirrison made the point that, while Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. worked well in the 90’s and primarily to people sitting at computer screens, businesses have to be able to reach audiences wherever they are, hence the attraction of phone apps. There are over 140,000 apps available now and the field is growing, especially with the intro of Google’s “Android Market”. I asked him how large an investment it would take to create an app, and his answer was mid-four figures for one that had some interesting functionality to it. Is app development in YOUR future – or have you already created one? I’d love to hear from you!
Offering something on Groupon might be a better fit for Jill Bremer Communications – perhaps offering discounted speaker coaching sessions. What do you think? Groupon has had incredible success bringing new customers into small to mid-sized companies. When Chicago’s Art Institute offered discounted memberships, 5,000 people joined – in a single day! One audience member shared that her language school started with 15 students, and post-Groupon, now boasts 125 students.
Appolicious provides recommendations based on particular interests, as well as from professional reviewers. Curated lists are where experts and enthusiasts from all walks of life compile deeply informed app suggestions. Here are the 5 Essential Small Business Productivity Apps, as compiled by Anita Campbell of SmallBizTrends.com: Evernote, Minibooks for FreshBooks, Intuit Go Payment, Shoeboxed, and Dragon Dictation.
