New Digital Tools Can Reshape Your Online Presence

In this pivotal year of digital media awareness, it's becoming apparent that eyecare practices need to explore new ways to connect. More consumers and patients are accessing internet tools for business, information and recommendations.

CLICK, Vision Monday's e-newsletter, continues to be an essential resource in its twice-monthly briefings to ECPs about web technology and Internet developments.

Past articles, featuring specific examples, programs and tips that you can use today, are available in our CLICK Archive. So, too, are dozens of Cool Tools and important Sites to See which offer content and resource ideas for your sites and your social media activities. The easy-to-access Archives are located under the CLICK button at www.visionmonday.com.

Have you tried something new on your website or launched a special social media campaign? Tell us about it and we'll consider it for an upcoming feature in CLICK.

—The Editors

A&A Optical's 40th Anniversary Catalog and POP Uses QR Codes to Enliven Brand Messages

NEW YORK— A&A Optical is commemorating its 40th anniversary this year with the release of A&A’s 2011 product catalog, titled, Celebrate, which will contain some unique features, including inspirational messages from employees, customers and their sales team.

As the company steps up plans to mark the milestone, its new 2011 catalog is incorporating the new technology of "quick response" or QR codes, which reinforce branding messages, special offers and drive the viewer to A&A's website, www.aaopticalco.com

The use of QR codes is a new digital trend sweeping many new retail, brand and media platforms. These black-and-white patterned box codes allow a website, video, coupon/special to be revealed in an instant, via users smartphone. CLICK first reported on QR codes in its July 2010 issue. Viewers use a QR app on their smartphone or iPhone to snap a picture/scan the code. QR code/barcode reader apps can be easily downloaded from any number of providers over the internet and many phones now have QR code readers pre-installed. Simply, type the URL on your mobile phones’ browser to download free apps. Some popular ones are Neoreader, I-Nigma, and Optiscan for iPhones, available at the iPhone App store.

A&A has adopted a fully integrated QR code program. These include print ads, which will contain QR codes which link to A&A’s collection page, promotion, or special landing page and counter cards, which include QR codes which enable patients in the office to access more styles from a collection or view a brand video.

The first in a series of QR codes is introduced on the 2011 catalog’s inside cover which will connect the reader to A&A’s bimonthly reorder promotion. A QR code is also located on each collections introduction spread. The QR code will direct the customer to the collection page on A&A’s website, aaopticalco.com, where they can view all colors available for each style offered. For A&A's Roxy and Quiksilver introductory pages, when the viewer/reader scans the QR code with their smartphone, it will pull up those brands' new 2011 videos, including world class surfer Kelly Slater's new video for Quiksilver.

Noted Juli AnnRadmanesh, marketing director of A&A, "The placement of QR codes is an effort to give the reader a broader sense of each brand, and reach them on an emotional level which will build a closer connection to the brand. We want the reader to be able to instantly view the colors for each frame style and familiarize themselves with our website too. Counter cards for all will be available for order this month. Some of our upcoming ads for Vision Expo will also contain a QR code link to our special landing page; for Vision Expo, we have set up a special mini site which contains everything about A&A Optical’s show specials, new releases, company news, photos and free show registration links."

Added Robert Leiner, A&A's president and CEO, “A&A Optical is commemorating our 40th anniversary year by delivering the message, Celebrate What Is Right With The World. We are using this theme as a vehicle to deliver a powerful and positive message throughout 2011. We strive to stay in sync with new trends not only in our product but in our marketing as well. Our QR code program, which is incorporated throughout A&A’s 2011 catalog, print ads and counter cards, not only adds fun interactivity, but a great value, by allowing us to better measure our print campaigns. We also try to offer our customers numerous ways to connect with us on many levels and QR codes offer instant access to A&A products, landing pages, promotions and more via your smartphone. We believe use of QR codes will grow in popularity as more consumers embrace smartphone technology.”

Dr. Alan Glazier's Suggestions: 8 Useful Twitter Tools

By Alan Glazier, OD, FAAO

ROCKVILLE, Md.— Twitter in and of itself is an incredible useful tool for business marketing, reputation management, gathering of information and a host of other business to consumer and business to business activities. Twitter also enables users to create their own Application Programming Interfaces or “APIs” for short. Your API interfaces with twitter and can pull data to serve any imaginable function for users. APIs greatly increase the usability of twitter. There are literally hundreds of these things, but here are a small group I think you will find incredibly useful, and, of course, some not!

TweetLater.com You don’t have to become a twitter addict and spend hours online to get value out of Twitter. Several services allow you to create your 140 character messages (tweets) and schedule their posting. You can schedule months of tweets for specific days and spend the rest of your time on other social media efforts, unless you like to fish or spend time with your family.

ReFollow.com Find people who are inactive and drop them from your following list or find people that have mentioned or retweeted you that you are not following and show them some twitter-love.

Twistory.com Twistory displays a continuous stream of twitter updates that contain specific keywords you want to find, like “optometrist Minneapolis” or “need eye exam.” It is an easy way to monitor twitter for things that happen that interest you and you can respond quickly in kind.

Backtweets.com See who is talking about you and your brand and what they are saying. Enter a URL, like your website, and it will return a reverse-chronological list of tweets that contain your domain or link.

TwitterSnooze.com Is your tweet stream filled with verbose people who dominate it? Like me? If so, hit twittersnooze on them and watch your stream open up.

Twtpoll.com You can use Twtpoll to get responses from your twitter followers, and twitpoll will tabulate the results. It is a great tool to get feedback and engage customers.

Twazzup.com Search your name, company, industry, competitors or whatever and see what is being talked about on twitter. Searches are real-time.

Tweetreach.com More of a toy, you can use Tweetreach to find out how far your tweet traveled and what kind of exposure it got.

I have access to a comprehensive list with hundreds of great twitter resources that I am happy to share with you. I will be posting it on OnToptics, my facebook page where I discuss search engine optimization so be sure to “like” OnToptics, visit and check it out. If you need help using twitter, email me at aglazier@youreyesite.com

Alan N. Glazier, OD, FAAO is the founder/CEO of Shady Grove Eye and Vision Care in Rockville, Md. A search and social optimization consultant, he is now a regular contributor to CLICK and also writes a regular blog for SightNation.com. Glazier is at aglazier@youreyesite.com  and his regular posts can be found via his Twitter handle: @EyeInfo, his blog: eyeinfo.wordpress.com and his website: YourEyeSite.com.