# Marketing media optimised for smart phones and tablets.



## Phyrebrat (Apr 11, 2014)

It's come to the time of year when I start arranging the training trip to Ghana for Feb...

The marketing happens in two stages:



I produce a flyer in Photoshop with our Facebook group and contact details (email). Students interested in coming then contact me and ask for information.
I send or give them a brochure which I've also produced in Photoshop (see below) but is printed.

Following feedback from evaluation forms, this year I want to do a far  more comprehensive guide; some people were very shocked about not having  access to electricity or hot water, amongst other things, and despite them being warned about this, I think a  more robust approach is needed to keep the culture shock to a minimum. 

We try to keep our expenses to a minimum and this year I would like to do it all electronically, and specifically optimised for smartphones (as opposed to just producing PNG or JPGs). Photoshop has a nice little 'optimise for web/devices' setting but what I am really after is a way of rendering active links into the documentation. For example, each year I struggle with people who panic about getting their Visa from the High Commission, and the vaccinations and malaria drugs. I want to include links to various sites that can be accessed from within the literature and I can't find a simple way to do this.

I'm no programmer and not really sure where to start. I've just given up trawling the Appstore because of the amount of redundant/inappropriate suggested apps I was getting in my search.

To give an idea, here is the flyer and the back page from the 2013 brochure.












Thanks for your help


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## Glisterspeck (Apr 11, 2014)

First off, these look great! Second,you need a responsive web page as that's the easiest way to get cross device with interactive content. You could probably do just one page with a long scroll - that's all the rage these days. Do you have HTML chops?

Twitter Bootstrap ( Bootstrap ) has a great responsive engine out of the box, along with just about any type of UI control you could want. Then you can grab a free template and theme. These might work for you:

Bootply.com - Bootstrap Bold, Bright Bootstrap Template
Strapped &mdash; Coverstrap Template
Bootply.com - Bootstrap The Firm - One Page Scroller Template
Lots here: Free bootstrap themes and template
Learning here:Bootstrap
And here: Bootstrap Editor and Playground for JavaScript, CSS, HTML5 and jQuery.

Bootstrap is built and maintained by Twitter. (It is the UI framework they use for Twitter itself.) Most templates you find will be responsive, meaning, as you narrow your browser window, you'll see the content reflow to suit every width. This is our best method for supporting web content across screen sizes and devices.

If you decide to go with the web, this will get you a lot of the way there. Or, if you don't want to do the code yourself, you could look at SquareSpace. It's pretty awesome and has all responsive templates.

http://www.squarespace.com

It does cost money though.


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## Ursa major (Apr 11, 2014)

Sorry, I've nothing that would help you. I just wanted to say that I agree with Glisterspeck: your flyer and brochure's back page are really great.


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## Dozmonic (Apr 11, 2014)

Photoshop's optimise features are just about compressing file size, or using websafe colours that're largely from a bygone age when a webpage would say "oh hi there #FFCF10 I'll display you at #FFCF0A and you'd wonder why it clashed with background colours you'd set...

I know very little about producing information for a smartphone, it's a technology I intentionally avoid (while being pretty tech savvy), for its attention vampirism. But I reckon you'd have a great opportunity if you knew any computing science students at uni. They'd know the tech, and if you let them showcase the project as part of their work, then they're likely to do you proud if you can provide them with the content.


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## Brian G Turner (Apr 12, 2014)

Smartphones are simply a device - content optimised for them does nothing more than factor in the much smaller screen for reading from, by comparison to a monitor.

If you want a page - or few pages - to provide all the information, then you're basically taking about a website - or, at least, a static webpage somewhere. 

Does this sound about right?? That you need to look at setting up some kind of relatively permanent webpresence??


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## Phyrebrat (Apr 12, 2014)

Hi guys, and wow, thanks for all the super-helpful comments. 

*Glisterspeck*, you're a legend!



Glisterspeck said:


> First off, these look great! Second,you need a responsive web page as that's the easiest way to get cross device with interactive content. You could probably do just one page with a long scroll - that's all the rage these days. Do you have HTML chops?
> 
> Twitter Bootstrap ( Bootstrap ) has a great responsive engine out of the box, along with just about any type of UI control you could want. Then you can grab a free template and theme. These might work for you:
> 
> ...



I've a meeting with Semekor later today so will be bringing Chrons to the meeting. Haha never did I imaging showing a page from a sci-fi and fantasy writing forum to ADAD (the Association of Dance of the African Diaspora) 

Hopefully if this all works out I can get it agreed and installed, and start work immediately. I'm so grateful for this info.the 



Ursa major said:


> Sorry, I've nothing that would help you. I just wanted to say that I agree with Glisterspeck: your flyer and brochure's back page are really great.



Thanks for the compliments on the artwork - I just tweaked an existing template. I find I have ideas and know what to do and then spend hours on Youtube finding tutorials on how to do it. 



Dozmonic said:


> Photoshop's optimise features are just about compressing file size, or using websafe colours that're largely from a bygone age when a webpage would say "oh hi there #FFCF10 I'll display you at #FFCF0A and you'd wonder why it clashed with background colours you'd set...
> 
> I know very little about producing information for a smartphone, it's a technology I intentionally avoid (while being pretty tech savvy), for its attention vampirism. But I reckon you'd have a great opportunity if you knew any computing science students at uni. They'd know the tech, and if you let them showcase the project as part of their work, then they're likely to do you proud if you can provide them with the content.



Yup, I have used the compress for web etc when posting pics to FB and here for the photo contest. That's a great idea approaching Uni and as I am frequently asked to lecture at Uni of East London, I've rattled off a quick email to the dance department there for some contact details. Thanks.



I said:


> Smartphones are simply a device - content optimised for them does nothing more than factor in the much smaller screen for reading from, by comparison to a monitor.
> 
> If you want a page - or few pages - to provide all the information, then you're basically taking about a website - or, at least, a static webpage somewhere.
> 
> Does this sound about right?? That you need to look at setting up some kind of relatively permanent webpresence??



Kind of. I don't want to get into a comprehensive web presence just yet. We have designed a site map for what the site _will_ look like but we're holding back until after summer before actually going ahead with it. At the _moment_ social networking works perfectly for our size; we're in a balancing stage between renting studio space, and committing to our own studio. 

As we can't take on more than 20 students per class - and African dance being so word-of-mouth; Mohammed (Semekor) is quite a well known name in pan African dance (_Coming to America_, Strictly African Dance, performing for le Queen) - we need to gauge our growth carefully. We do that using the FB page where people confirm they're coming to class and understand if they haven't, they may not get in. However, any advice you may have about developing website or how to evolve it would be a great help, Brian, bearing in mind what you've done here, and your own clothing site. 

Anyway, that's a separate issue, related to the London company as opposed to the training trips - what I'd like to be able to do is get email addresses off interested people so I can send them an essentially interactive document with links to those kinds of sites I mentioned before.  I may have the wrong end of the stick here in assuming I don't need that hosted. For example, when I am reading a Word doc and there is a hyperlink in it, and I tap/click it, I that site opens in a separate browser window (provided I'm connected to the net). As Glisterspeck said, a long scrolling doc would do. My thing is, I just want an application that I can build it on that is - as you say - optimised for smartphones etc.

Essentially, I just want to get emails, send a doc, and let them do the rest (until I follow up with a 'are you interested?' contact)

This has been really helpful, so thanks everyone.

pH


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## Glisterspeck (Apr 12, 2014)

So if you use the options i suggested, you'll end up with a one page website. Another possibility is PDF, which can support embedded links, but it can't reformat its layout like a responsive web page does, so it isn't as well suited across devices, and I'm not sure how well the links in a PDF are supported on various mobile PDF readers. Or if mobiles even come with a built in PDF reader outside of the browser.


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## Erin99 (Apr 13, 2014)

I threw this together for you in the last half hour. It's free, cos it's hosted at WordPress.com, but if you like, you can customise it and write all your blurb there (_you_ can do it, cos it's easy!) - and it changes to fit whatever screen size a person it viewing it on, so would be ideal for you. And you can add your links to it and whatnot - and there's even a contact form so people can contact you if they're interested (the form has already been set up to link to the email address listed on the posters you made). 

Semekor Dance | Teaching African Dance


If you like it, I'll give you the login details. If you don't, I'll delete it. No probs either way!


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## Phyrebrat (Apr 15, 2014)

Leisha said:


> I threw this together for you in the last half hour. It's free, cos it's hosted at WordPress.com, but if you like, you can customise it and write all your blurb there (_you_ can do it, cos it's easy!) - and it changes to fit whatever screen size a person it viewing it on, so would be ideal for you. And you can add your links to it and whatnot - and there's even a contact form so people can contact you if they're interested (the form has already been set up to link to the email address listed on the posters you made).
> 
> Semekor Dance | Teaching African Dance
> 
> ...



OMG Leisha! You're amazing! I'm sorry I just saw this as I've been dashing all over London ruining childhoods one kid at a time  as we prep for shows. This is great. I'll get onto it ASAP. You guys amaze me. Thanks!

pH


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## Erin99 (Apr 15, 2014)

Yay! Glad to help. I'm a freelance web designer in my spare time, so putting together a WordPress-hosted site is an easy job, cos they don't give you a lot of customisations to play with (or free templates that would do what you wanted). That's why I prefer running self-hosted WordPress sites on people's own web addresses - you can do almost anything, then. Anyway, sorry it's not stunning or anything, but it will serve you for now for as long as you want.

I tweaked your header image, since it was late when I finished it the other day and I had been too tired to notice that the colours could be much better. So I've added you a subtitle and new header colours that match the default green of the theme. 

When you log in, it takes you to what's known as your Dashboard. Just go to "Pages" > "All Pages" on the left, then hit the page you want to customise and add text/images to, to open up an editor window.

And if you want to write posts for the blog part, when you're in the Dashboard, hit "Posts" > "Add new" to bring up a post editor window.

And if you want to edit a previously written blog post, go to "Posts" > "All Posts" in the Dashboard.

Aaaand... if you want to add a hyperlink in a page/post, since you said you wanted to link to sites, you just write the web address in your editor window and, once you publish, WordPress will convert it to a clickable link for you. Easy!


And I'd advise you to change my email address to yours (you have to signup with an email address, so I used one of mine). Just press the little person icon in the top right of your screen once you're logged in, then you'll go to a page to change it.


Good luck. And I meant to say, those posters DO look snazzy!


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## Phyrebrat (Apr 15, 2014)

Hi Leisha, once again.

Yay! I will get onto it. Right now I have barely enough time to shout, so I will begin this after the Easter break and rehearsals finish. I've sent you a PM anyway, all the same.

I tried explaining this to Semekor on the phone today (my partner, the man in the pic above) and it was like pulling teeth  so I possibly wasn't explaining it correctly. 

Thanks again for all the time and your investment in this little thread! 

pH

(Anyway, as soon as we get the budget, I will be asking  him for money to invest in a proper site. Do you only do author  websites? I already have exactly what I (ahem, I mean, we) want in mind  but it may be a bit extrav.)


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## Erin99 (Apr 15, 2014)

Ah yes, the "having to explain technical things" issue. I know that one well!  A lot of people are smart enough to understand, but as soon as they know computers and "technology" are involved, their faces go blank and they think it's beyond them to learn. It's always nice when you can teach them otherwise.

Anyway, heh! I hope to specialise in author sites one day, if I can't be a world-famous author myself (), but tbh most of the sites I've created have been for other things (a beautician and hairdresser, a builder, a holiday-letting agency). I'll be making an author site for one of my pals soon, though, which I'm looking forward to. I always enjoy helping authors the most.


But yes, sounds like you do a lot of work to help the kids, so I'm glad I've helped you, too.


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## Ursa major (Apr 15, 2014)

Phones are not one's friends when trying to explain something through the medium of dance....


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## Phyrebrat (Apr 25, 2014)

Leisha said:


> Ah yes, the "having to explain technical things" issue. I know that one well!  A lot of people are smart enough to understand, but as soon as they know computers and "technology" are involved, their faces go blank and they think it's beyond them to learn. It's always nice when you can teach them otherwise.
> 
> Anyway, heh! I hope to specialise in author sites one day, if I can't be a world-famous author myself (), but tbh most of the sites I've created have been for other things (a beautician and hairdresser, a builder, a holiday-letting agency). I'll be making an author site for one of my pals soon, though, which I'm looking forward to. I always enjoy helping authors the most.
> 
> ...



I think he is techno savvy, (he has ipad, iphone, a Wii etc) but as soon as he hears about the nuts and bolts business and marketing thing he just switches off. I will get him engaged, though. 

I sent you a PM a moment ago but lost my wifi connection (hardly rare for Virgin-on-the-ridiculous-Media) but when I resent I couldn't tell if it worked and my sent PMs folder never shows any sent messages anyway. I wonder if you got it. It was just a note of thanks but I didn't want you to think I had ignored all your lovely work and help.



Ursa major said:


> Phones are not one's friends when trying to explain something through the medium of dance....



That's why those hippy 60s contemporary dancers have 'expressive dance'. <shudder> 

pH


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## Erin99 (Apr 29, 2014)

Yep, got your PM (just once!). And no, I feel appreciated, don't worry!  Glad to help. 

BTW, there are some nicer (free) WordPress themes out there that will also scale to a mobile-screen size, if you want, since that one isn't the prettiest.


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