Saffire Blog

Improve Your Instagram Life

If you’re not using Instagram for your event, venue, or destination, then it’s time to hop on the bandwagon! We know what you’re thinking, “Oh great, just one more thing I have to keep up with in the online marketing world.” The thing is, it’s actually really fun and one of the best ways to reach a younger audience. Whether you think using Instagram is worthwhile or not, it’s important to be present everywhere your customers are, otherwise you miss out on the opportunity to reach a huge segment of your audience. Thankfully, there are some great apps and tools that can make your Instagram life a breeze while making you look like you’re ahead of the game!

Moldiv. There are a ton of photo collage apps, but this one is definitely our favorite because it has a ton of cool collage templates to choose from. Not only can you create collages, you can also add effects and decorations to your photos to create something truly unique. Once you’re done editing, you can share your photos straight to social media, email, or save it to your photo album.
Rookie. This is another favorite of ours because it provides 116 filter effects that can take your photos above and beyond. That’s right, 116! Be careful though, it’s addicting. It’s hard not to use this app on every single photo in your gallery because it really does make you look like a pro. Did we mention that it’s completely free in the app store?
Primary for Instagram. Do you manage multiple accounts and find it incredibly annoying to constantly be switching between them? Primary is an awesome way to help manage that. You can switch between accounts, filter out unwanted posts, users, or tags, and pinch to zoom in. It’s $1.99 in the app store, but well worth it.
IFTTT (If This Then That). Do yourself a favor and sign up for this awesome service! It’s completely free and does an awesome job at automating your digital life. You can create “recipes” that put the web to work for you. One helpful recipe is IF I post to Instagram, THEN also post to my Facebook page. This is one of very few automation tools that includes Instagram, so take advantage of it!
Latergramme. This app is awesome because it allows you to plan your Instagram posts in advance. It doesn’t do the posting for you, but it will send you push notifications when it’s time to go.

Don’t let yourself get weighed down trying to keep up with the Joneses of the social media world, especially when there are a variety of apps that were created specifically to help you take a load off. Instagram is one of the quickest and simplest ways to give your fans an inside look at your organization, so have fun with it!

Email Marketing (still) Isn’t Dead!

So you’ve probably heard us say something about the importance of email marketing—and we promise it’s not dead! Email marketing is actually one of the quickest and cheapest ways to provoke online purchasing. In fact, when customers were asked what factors lead to mobile purchases, 56% said email. Not to mention, there are three times more email accounts than Facebook and Twitter accounts combined. Some of you might be thinking “okay we get it, but what now?” Whether you’re a pro or starting from square one, here are some guidelines that will help you come up with killer campaigns!

Look into a mass marketing tool. Seriously, it helps. Some of you have tens of thousands of contacts and no easy way to reach them. That’s where mass marketing tools like SaffireMail or Constant Contact come in handy. They allow you to market to your audience in a creative, efficient way while also allowing you to track the results of your campaigns. While we’re on the subject, tracking results is HUGELY important because it lets you know what’s working and with whom. Your customers’ behavior is telling you something–make sure you’re listening!
Come up with a plan. “Email marketing plan” might sound intimidating, but it actually has some very simple steps that can fuel your online success.
- Step 1: Define your purpose. Do you want to increase attendance at a concert? Cool! Do you want to make sure everyone’s aware of a date change? That’s cool too! Whatever your purpose may be, go into your email marketing with clear goals in mind so that you can minimize confusion and maximize results.
- Step 2: Define your readers. Come up with a target audience–a group that you really want to reach out to. This might change depending on the type of event or the time of year, but by targeting your content to a certain audience, you increase your chances of engagement.
- Step 3: Determine your content. Think about what you want your readers to get out of what they’re reading and the action you want them to take because of your email. Focus on making sure that your content stays on track with provoking that action. Business Consultant, Faith Popcorn, said it best when she said “consumers crave recognition of their individuality.” Your content needs to speak to the individual in order to increase your chances of getting results, so do your best to make each person in that audience feel as though the message was tailor-made for them.
- Step 4: Determine your frequency. This is another thing that might change depending on the nature of your event or the time of year. For example, some fairs or rodeos have one major event for the entire year. Their email marketing frequency would obviously increase as their event date approaches, we would even go so far as to recommend a Daily Highlights Email. The important thing to remember here is that you have to be aware of what works best for you and your audience by paying attention to results. And remember, NEVER sacrifice quality for quantity.
Treat your readers like VIPs. There’s a reason that we put an email sign up option on every page of our sites, because we want to entice those visitors who are willing to trust us with their email address. Don’t break that trust by spamming them with non-stop promo emails or irrelevant information. You want to make your readers feel like they’re benefiting from being a subscriber. This means providing them with exclusive new deals or info, things that will keep them happy and loyal.

When it comes to email marketing, keep yourself in mind. What do you hate seeing in your own inbox? What entices you enough to make you click? Chances are that if you hate something, so will your audience. So in order to break through all of the marketing and ad clutter that consumers are bombarded with everyday, you need to show them that you understand them as a consumer and as a fan. Your audience wants to hear from you, so give them something worth reading!

Beyond the Lanyard: Episode 3

We’ve had a few crazy adventures since last time I came to you from Beyond the Lanyard! We’ve had a great summer full of travels already, as Jessie and I have extended a few of our Saffire trips for conferences in to the weekends! We visited Naples, FL after the Florida Fairs Federation convention and … Continue reading “Beyond the Lanyard: Episode 3”

We’ve had a few crazy adventures since last time I came to you from Beyond the Lanyard! We’ve had a great summer full of travels already, as Jessie and I have extended a few of our Saffire trips for conferences in to the weekends! We visited Naples, FL after the Florida Fairs Federation convention and stayed a few extra days in New Orleans, LA after EAMC!

In Naples, we had an awesome time exploring the beach. I have recommended Naples to so many friends who are looking for a vacation destination. (Why go offshore when you can get all this beauty here in the USA?) Seriously, if you’re looking for a beach trip, look no further than Naples. White sandy beaches and crystal clear water make it worth going out of your way and staying a few days. We also saw a Chihuly exhibit in Tampa, which was one of our favorite parts!

We had a fantastic time in New Orleans too. We met several new friends at the conference that hung out with us into the weekend. We also had some of my college friends join us from home for the festivities! New Orleans is definitely one crazy place full of interesting food and smells. (As those of you who have been to New Orleans know, some smells were better than others!) We were up until the wee hours of the morning checking out Pat O’Briens’ Piano Bar (my personal favorite) and then up early to see St. Louis’ Cathedral and the other beautiful architecture of the city.

Both trips were great, and I hope all of your summer travels are a blast as well!

Saffire update Version 2.8 has arrived!

We were busy this spring at the Portland and Austin offices of Saffire to release an awesome update to our software that focused on SaffireScan, our print-at-home ticketing program managed right from your website’s dashboard! A few of the exciting new features are listed below: Introducing SaffireTrack, a new, easy way to track headcount at your gates. … Continue reading “Saffire update Version 2.8 has arrived!”

We were busy this spring at the Portland and Austin offices of Saffire to release an awesome update to our software that focused on SaffireScan, our print-at-home ticketing program managed right from your website’s dashboard! A few of the exciting new features are listed below:

Introducing SaffireTrack, a new, easy way to track headcount at your gates. You can even categorize according to demographics like age or location! Centralize your attendance reporting for online and at-the-gate sales.
Added ticket customization – upload a sponsor logo or advertise right on the tickets your customer will print and bring to your event. Increase your revenue by giving sponsors this added reach!
Customized URLs for Events! Tired of asking your web provider to redirect a special URL to an event? No longer necessary with Saffire 2.8, create unique web addresses yourself!
Added LinkedIn as a social media option and icon to the header of our websites so that you can keep your customers engaged through that outlet.

While these are only 4 bullets, weeks of behind-the-curtain programming took place to ensure we’re offering high quality and user-friendly software so that our clients can continue to manage their own online marketing with increased sanity!

Getting Seen and SHARED on Social Sites!

It’s no secret that we are living in the days of “more” – more content from more sources, being shared with more people, more frequently and more quickly. The question is, in the sea of information flooding consumers today, how do you ensure that your social marketing efforts will be read – and ultimately shared? … Continue reading “Getting Seen and SHARED on Social Sites!”

It’s no secret that we are living in the days of “more” – more content from more sources, being shared with more people, more frequently and more quickly. The question is, in the sea of information flooding consumers today, how do you ensure that your social marketing efforts will be read – and ultimately shared? Sharing certainly is not a new concept. People love to tell their friends about great finds, ideas and experiences, it’s just a lot easier to do so with the help of modern technology, and you should be taking advantage of this fact!

Why does it matter if your customers share your content? According to The Psychology of Sharing, a study published by The New York Times, “73% [of people surveyed] say they process information more deeply, thoroughly and thoughtfully when they share it.” This means that if you post about an upcoming event on your Facebook, Twitter and Google+ accounts, and one of your followers shares this post, that person will be more likely to really contemplate the event, making them more likely to buy tickets and end up attending the event! Also, once they’ve taken the time to share your event information, it is probable that they will continue to talk about it with others (since you are now top-of-mind), which often translates to more tickets sold!

Time is of the Essence. One of the implications of consumers receiving so much data is our attention spans are shorter than ever. In other words, if you want to capture your target audience, you need to get information to them as quickly and frequently as possible. Big concert next week? Let you consumers know through a number of different channels – email, social media, and on your website – as soon as possible, so they will be thinking of you and be more driven to share this information with others. Make it easy for them to share, too! Incorporate social media buttons directly on your webpage that link your site to your social media pages. If customers can share your content with one-click, they are far more likely to do so. Another important consideration – even if you aren’t working on Wednesday and Thursday one week, your customers are still looking at your content, so try to keep active every day. (For tips on leveraging social media on the weekends, see the article we linked under “Latest Headlines,” at the top of The Dirt.) On the flip side, people will generally share your content only if they feel like they can trust you, so make sure you take any outdated information down with the same sense of urgency as you’re posting.

Get Engaged! When posting, don’t just think about the business side of your venue, but about what draws consumers to your venue in particular. In other words, what are the interests of your target audience? Most people choose to share information when they believe the information is a direct reflection of their personality, interests and beliefs, so try to match up with your customer’s mindset. Also, your fans want to be heard just as much as you do. If they take the time to comment, reply or write you an email, make sure you respond! Engagement makes people feel valued, and the more appreciated they feel, the more likely they’ll be to share your information with others.

Make it Fun! While thinking about being timely and engaging, try to also find a unique way to get your customers involved. Some great tools include polls, contests and open-ended questions. For example, if you have 3 big shows coming up over the next couple of months, put a poll up asking your fans who they are most excited to see. Not only will this get people voting, but it will likely get them to share as they see the preferences of others. You may also choose to post a photo of one of the favorite foods served at your event, and ask people when the last time they tasted this dish was. Leaving the question open-ended invites more conversation, which makes readers give more thought to the post, resulting in more shares.

Think of posting to social media in a similar fashion as talking to a group of friends. You want to stay on topics that will be interesting to the group, and hopefully get everyone involved. The real victory is when you choose a topic that so interesting, your friends talk about it even after you part ways. Also remember, no one likes being the person who shows up late, making the others wait, so be sure to exhibit a sense of urgency with your social media posts. Sharing isn’t a new idea – in fact, people love to share when you give them content that sparks their interest, so start posting!

Online Superstitions – BUSTED!

It’s Friday the 13th so we wanted to go through our top 5 online misconceptions we hear and discredit them where they stand! We want you to feel comfortable online and put to rest any fears you may have that keep you from moving forward in this ever-changing digital world. 5. All web browsers are … Continue reading “Online Superstitions – BUSTED!”

5. All web browsers are created equal – NO WAY! It’s clear to us that Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome are top notch! Make your online experience easier and ditch Internet Explorer as it is the most victimized browser out there.

4. It’s dangerous to make a purchase on my mobile device – WRONG! It’s totally safe- just keep these tips in mind:

Look for the padlock symbol at the top of the page next to the website’s name (like above) when you’re purchasing in a browser. If you don’t see it, DON’T buy it. This icon let’s you know the site is encrypted (information that has been coded so that only authorized parties can actually read it).
Use an app! Apps generally provide a much easier purchasing process for you while keeping your privacy a priority. Sites like Ebay and Amazon have apps that are user-friendly AND safe!
41% of smartphone owners have made a purchase on mobile – so we know that online security will continue to grow for mobile ecommerce. (Does this stat make you think twice about your customer? Maybe you should sell your tickets online this year!)

3. Facebook advertising is too expensive – we’ve seen success with just $3 a day committed to Facebook advertising! Less than $100 a month can give you more reach and interaction with your customers on social media – Americans spend an average of 127 minutes per day in their mobile apps!

2. Online banking is a risky idea – actually your personal information is just as vulnerable offline as it is online. Due to the fact that banks use encryption software and test their security in real-world scenarios, your account info is VERY secure and safe to be handled over the internet. However, a few checks you can give yourself before banking are:

Are you on a secure network? NEVER type in passwords or bank account numbers while on a public Wi-Fi (like at Starbucks), this includes making purchases with your credit card on ANY website over a wireless network that you don’t know. Even on mobile, your wireless provider’s network (like 3G, 4G and LTE) will be safer than free wi-fi.
Just like using your mobile device to make a purchase, check for the “s” in the beginning of the URL (https://www.saffireevents.com) and a padlock icon in your browser when on a website (sometimes there will be a green bar or green URL – these are very safe).

1. Yeah we have a website, that’s all we need – NOT TRUE! Just because your website exists doesn’t mean people are finding it

Be sure your site is listed on MULTIPLE search engines. Add keywords and descriptions to the important pages of your website within your admin tool (or have your web provider update this).
Cross market! Send people to your website from your social media – hyperlinking is very easy with Facebook and convenient tools like bit.ly help you shrink the length of a URL so they fit nicely in a tweet on Twitter.
Your website needs to be UP-TO-DATE! Leaving last year’s dates or irrelevant content on your website all year long is NOT the way to keep your customers engaged and trusting your website. Refreshing your homepage with new and exciting images will keep folks coming back for more too, instead of leaving your site immediately.

5 Steps to Help Your Event, Venue or Destination Take Off With Facebook Advertising

If you’ve seen one of our many presentations in 2014, you’ve probably heard us mention the importance of Facebook advertising. In September, Facebook made a change to its algorithm, drastically reducing the reach of business posts. In December, they did it again and now only an estimated 3% of your followers will see your posts … Continue reading “5 Steps to Help Your Event, Venue or Destination Take Off With Facebook Advertising”

If you’ve seen one of our many presentations in 2014, you’ve probably heard us mention the importance of Facebook advertising. In September, Facebook made a change to its algorithm, drastically reducing the reach of business posts. In December, they did it again and now only an estimated 3% of your followers will see your posts if you don’t advertise. With that in mind, we’ve put together our top 5 basic steps to get started with Facebook advertising.

Step 1 – Ads Manager & Power Editor: When you’re first getting started with Facebook advertising it’s sometimes hard to find where to begin. Once you’ve accessed the “Ads Manager” page it will show as a link on your Facebook “Home” page on the left side navigation, but for your first entry point you can start by clicking on this link: https://www.facebook.com/ads/manage/. If you manage several business pages, you’ll want to make sure you have your Account dropdown in the top left corner set to the correct account. The “Ads Manager” is where you’ll set up your billing information, your users who are allowed access to your ads, and where you’ll access your reports. Once you have the billing information set up, you can click on “Power Editor” to actually start building your audiences and campaigns. Each time you go into the Power Editor you will want to click the “Download to Power Editor” button to ensure you’re working with the latest data.

Step 2 – Audience: Once you’re in the Power Editor, you’ll want to start building some audiences to target your ads to. There are 3 different types of audiences you can create. The first is a Target Group that allows you to select different user demographics that match the demographics of your audience. If you’re a venue or event you may want to set up a target group that lives within a 50 mile radius, and is “interested in” a specific performer coming to your stage, or sponsors supporting your events, or local media outlets. If you’re a destination, you may want to target a different city or state that you know travels to your area frequently, along with a specific age group, or parents of children in a specific age group. You can also create target groups of people who “Like” your page and their friends. There are a ton of options here so we recommend you explore the possibilities. The 2nd type of audience is a Custom Audience. This is a spreadsheet of email addresses that you’ve collected for your newsletter, volunteers, sponsors, board members, etc. that you can upload to Facebook and it will search for Facebook accounts tied to that email list. You can also create a custom audience of people who visit your website. The 3rd audience type is a Lookalike Audience which Facebook creates based off the demographics of your uploaded Custom Audience, and matches those demographics to other Facebook users with similar likes, interests, ages and locations.

Step 3 – Campaigns, Ad Sets & Ads: Now that you have your audiences set up, you can start creating those ads. There are 3 levels of ad creation. The top level is the Campaign. The Campaign is where you set the Objective of a group of ads. The ad objectives range from increasing engagement with your posts (generating more likes, shares and comments on a specific post), to increasing page likes (the number of people who are following your business page), to increasing website conversions (actually getting users to click through to your website and make a purchase). The Ad Set is the middle level of a group of ads and is where you set your budget and the start and end date for the group. Important tip: Please note that Facebook defaults your ad set to run continuously with no end date and with a $10 daily budget. You can edit this amount and add an end date if you would like. We’ve seen success with budgets as low as $3/day. You can have multiple ad sets within a campaign which helps you budget different amounts to different groups of ads. The bottom layer is the Ad itself. You can make an ad out of any of the following: a post that is already live, a post that is scheduled to go live in the future, or an unpublished post that doesn’t actually show on your business page but does show on your audience’s wall. You can have many ads within an ad set, and this allows you to create an ad for each audience using the same content for each or possibly different content depending on your needs. When you create the ad you need to set the name and select the post on the first tab, set the audience on the second tab and set the “Optimization & Pricing” on the third tab. I typically use the Optimized CPM option to allow Facebook to determine the best mix of how to spend my set budget between my ads within an ad set.

Step 4: Create an editorial calendar and budget for your Facebook advertising that will help you determine how much you will be spending throughout the year. Consider ramping up your budget in the weeks leading up to tickets going on sale and while tickets are on sale, and then lowering it during your off-season. Your editorial calendar should reflect milestone dates for your venue, event or destination as well as for your surrounding community and national holidays and events so your posts can be relevant to what your fans are already paying attention to. Consider scheduling contests and promotions to garner excitement and use that as an opportunity to spend additional advertising budget on posts that your audience will be most excited about. Whether you’re spending a dollar a day or $50 a day, you’ll be guaranteeing that more people will see your posts than if you do not advertise at all.

Step 5: Practice makes perfect and this is a format that will likely take a bit of trial and error. If you’re looking at the reporting during a campaign and realizing that a target audience isn’t responding, think about what needs to change for that audience to work better. Adjust your settings and keep moving forward. If you notice that posts with images or promotions get better traction than posts without those things, then do more of what’s working and less of what isn’t.

With over 1 billion monthly active users, Facebook is space that cannot be ignored, but you simply won’t be seen without spending some advertising dollars there!

2014 NALS&RMA Convention

Cassie and Kendra attended the entirety of the NALS&RMA Convention in Waco last week, and the rest of the Austin crew got to join in on the fun Wednesday in order to throw an awesome suite party! The group got to go on quite a few awesome tours, including the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, … Continue reading “2014 NALS&RMA Convention”

If you know us at all, you know we had some goofy games planned for the bus ride on the way to the tours!

One of the most hilarious events of the convention was the 2014 NALS&RMA Rodeo Finals. The event consisted of things like team goat-roping, goat-tying, golf cart racing, stick-bronc riding, and you guessed it–mechanical bull riding. Everyone got really into it (with a little help from beer and margaritas) and made it one of the goofiest, most fun group events. It was Rachel, our new Marketing Manager’s first convention in the industry. Naturally we had to break her in by throwing her on the mechanical bull!

Once everything was said and done, Cassie’s team ended up taking first place while Jessie’s team got “DAL.”

One of the greatest parts of the whole convention was being able to entertain everyone at the suite party! We made our classic Saffire Queso as well as rosemary pecans, sopapilla cheesecake, a chocolate pudding dessert, and a new drink that we named Let’Er Buck Punch. We also had a fun walk-around game planned which required people to wear the name of a famous person on their back. Other people would try and get you to guess the name on your back, and if they were successful, they got to keep that name. The person with the most names at the end of the game won, and people actually got really into it!

You might also notice the Saffire boot mugs in that picture. They were a gift that we gave to everyone who came to the party, of course we had to give people something to hold their Let’Er Buck Punch in! Whether we were there for the whole week or just for Wednesday, the 2014 NALS&RMA Convention was a blast! It’s such a great group of people who are so dedicated to their organizations, it just reminded us why we love this industry so much!

2014 FFF Convention

This 2014 FFF Convention recap is coming to you from Jessie Rump, Account Manager for Saffire! Cassie and I attended the FFF Convention in Naples, Florida and what a week it was! We checked into our room at the gorgeous Waldorf Astoria and were greeted by an equally gorgeous view: We started the convention off right … Continue reading “2014 FFF Convention”

We started the convention off right with a perfect spot on the trade show floor right by the entrance, and it was awesome to see everybody as soon as they came in! Of course we like being easy to spot, but it’s kind of hard to miss us when we’re calling out things like “come spin the Wheel O’ Crap!” For those of you who were disappointed that we took off the “hug” and “high five” as prizes, at least we replaced it with the AWESOME Saffire Swag that Brandi ordered (hello, gigantic highlighters!).

Just in case you were wondering, the Saffire Tattoo Frenzy continued in Florida! Within twenty minutes of the trade show being opened on the first day, we had two people get a Saffire tattoo on the back of their heads. If that’s not commitment, I don’t know what is!

Of course we had fun chatting with everyone who came to our booth, but Cassie and I also had multiple presentations to give during the breakout sessions. We don’t just throw killer parties–we also love to educate! I have to say that one of the coolest parts of the convention was being able to go to dinner, hangout at the pool and beach, and just enjoy everything the Waldorf Astoria has to offer with all of the FFF people. It’s a little too easy to have an awesome time with conditions like that!

We are so thankful to be given the opportunity to entertain, educate, and learn at the FFF Convention and already can’t wait for next year! This was my very first time going, so I want to give a huge shoutout to all of the Saffire Friends and Family that made my first FFF such an awesome experience! We couldn’t ask for a better group of people to work with!

Sopapilla Cheesecake Recipe

Ingredients: 2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened 1 cup white sugar 1 tsp Mexican vanilla extract 2 (8 oz.) cans refrigerated crescent rolls 3/4 cup white sugar 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 cup butter, room temperature 1/4 cup honey Instructions: Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking … Continue reading “Sopapilla Cheesecake Recipe”

Ingredients:

2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp Mexican vanilla extract
2 (8 oz.) cans refrigerated crescent rolls
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup honey

Instructions:

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Beat the cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth.
Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape each piece into 9×13 inch rectangles. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough. Stir together 3/4 cup of sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Dot the mixture over the top of the cheesecake.
Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares.