Though I did poke some fun at our current Veep Joe Biden earlier this yearfor not knowing the website 'number' linked to the stimulus site (for those wanting to know the URL, it's recovery.gov), I will tip my hat to El Prez Obama and his team for getting some things right in this whole hullabaloo.
With more than $44 billion in stimulus funding opening up to the states over the next month, recruitment and retention efforts can be greatly increased with the influx of federal dollars. What better way to cost-effectively promote your school to potential and current students than with Vontoo high volume voice messaging?
A successfully implemented broadcast campaign can increase the productivity of your stimulus dollars, and innovative techniques will certainly aid in schools receiving a portion of the $5 billion competitive grants from the 'Race to the Top' fund.
For more information on how you can implement Vontoo's services into your current marketing mix, visit us on the web.
Speaking of races, I'm running the Kentucky Derby Festival Mini Marathon this Saturday. Wish me luck!
I'm not so much beating a dead horse this time, as we haven't mentioned the whole 'green' thing yet, especially not in this blog. I guess more so you could say we're going the way of Leonardo DiCaprio, jumping on the band wagon, and taking a serious interest in what happens to the size of our carbon footprint. More importantly even, we're hoping to help others reduce theirs at the same time.
Apart from the obvious financial restraints involved with engaging customers, communications can also be quite taxing on the environment. Direct mail is a go-to for many marketers, but that same message can be conveyed more efficiently and effectively through the use of Vontoo high volume voice messaging. Automated voice messaging can take the place of costly fliers and can help your organization...
cut down on printed materials
save 60% on direct mail costs
generate $9 for every $1 spent
conserve staff efforts
send a more timely message
nurture relationships with customers
track campaign results in 'real-time'
So tell me, what are you waiting for? Show me the way you can Vontoo and sign up today for a free trial account or even better, give us a holler at 877.868.6686. We'd love to chat.
Be like Leo and go green. Take your first step with Vontoo permission based voice marketing!
I'm obsessed with this song. Amy MacDonald, This Is The Life.
First of all, I want to follow up my Fat Tuesday post and report that I successfully made it through the Lent season without shopping. Not a single purchase of shoes, purses, articles of clothing or any other accessories. Score. Now that Holy Season is over though, all bets are off.
Moving on...
In the age of 3G networks and cell phones that are so much more than their name actually implies, companies are smart to keep their user interfaces sharp and to the point.
One fine evening I was having dinner with friends Mark and Lauren, fellow members of the 'Finer Things Club', when Lo mentioned she never received my Vontoo Christmas call. Understand, this was the 5th of March, and as I'm a campaign specialist and I put all of customers' audio files into my account to test before uploaded them in the final form, you can imagine the large volume of files in my audio library.
Never fear, Vontoo is completely compatible with my lovely little lavender iPhone. I was able to change my caller ID (which if you'll recall I was remiss in doing originally), set up a call with the appropriate recipient and audio files, and share my joyous Christmas wishes to Lauren three months three months after the original broadcast campaign was sent. Not sure why I waited until now to mention this, but it's good info nevertheless.
Even in a pinch, high volume voice messaging customers can send out stellar cell phone notifications to recipients with those magic little computers that fit in the palm of your hand. Since the day I bought it, I loved my iPhone. It only continues to prove its use as time goes by.
New music coming your way again...Enjoy 'Fluorescent Adolescent' by the Arctic Monkeys.
Also for your enjoyment, check out our own Jesse Jett with Alex P. Keaton...I mean Michael J. Fox...in the lobby of the hotel for the AACRAO conference. Quite blurry, but we don't pay Tyler for his best impression of Ansel Adams.
I find it slightly ironic that March Madness ends in April. Maybe that's just me. Either way, though President Obama foresaw UNC taking the title, the tournament definitely ended in some shockers here in the Vontoo high volume voice messaging company bracket pool.
Dena, our office manager, ended up taking the third spot with 191 points. Go girl, that's all I can say. Jeff, one of our sales associates, came in second with 209 points, and leading the way was our March Madness pool coordinator, Ross from business development, with 249 points. Don't worry, he didn't play foul...We like to think he just got incredibly lucky. Here's your good word, Ross: Thanks for putting everything together!
As for me, once my hometown favorite U of L fell off I was toast. I had them going all the way, and even had Pitt defeating the reigning champs during the Final Four. Apparently, all that Sports Center isn't really paying off. I still had some hope with my lady Cards, but even they fell Tuesday night to UConn.
So, thus endeth another round of March Madness. Hopefully you enjoyed the grace and athleticism of the fine ladies and gentlemen of Division 1 basketball. We'll look forward to seeing you again next year. Until then, keep in touch with us by setting up your own mass voice messaging account to send out broadcast messages. Check it out.
Enjoy 'No You Didn't, No You Don't' by one of my new finds, The Courteeners.
Freshly released from a weekend in jail (for Residents Encounter Christ) and back from my self-imposed blogging hiatus last week, I'm ready to jump in and continue my quest for journalism glory.
You'll have to forgive me as this information is a bit old, but nevertheless still a point of interest. In a (ahem) fairly recent TechCrunch post, Erick Schoenfeld discussed the newest addition to Gmail Labs, the 'Undo Send' feature. A veritable 'panic button' used in the small lag time between hitting 'send' and the message actually taking off into cyber space, the Undo Send feature allows users the opportunity to eliminate sender's remorse in that short 5 second period. So, when you just sent an angry email to your jerk of a boss, or when you invited Ashleigh to your birthday party when you meant to invite Ashley, if you're quick enough, you can eliminate an embarrassing follow up with the click of a button.
The Vontoo high volume voice messaging system has always been a step ahead of the curve with functionality much in the same vein. During each and every Vontoo call, users can always hit our version of the panic button, 'pause', and make edits and corrections to audio and recipient lists at any point. Once a broadcast campaign has been set in motion, feel free to make tweaks throughout.
Message too long? Forgot to add the transfer audio? Wrong recipient list? Forgot to add your mom to your Christmas call list? We can't stop a call once it's gone out, but we can definitely prevent further mishaps with a quick pause, edit, and resume. No worries, Vontoo mass voice messaging has got your back.
Hello, dead horse. My name is Meg and I'm here to beat you.
Seriously, how many times can we discuss the economy and the recession? It comes up frequently in daily conversation and believe me, the high volume voice messaging world is absolutely not immune. (Have you seen my email signature?)
Unfortunately, I had one of those 'aha' moments last night that I felt needed to be translated into a blog. I popped into Keystone Fashion Mall (No, not to shop. Lent is not yet over and I've been a good girl.) to get my sunglasses repaired and walked past Tiffany & Co. Realizing my good fortune that I just happened to be wearing a pair of earrings from the jewelry power house that were particularly dingy, I decided to drop them off and have them shined up a bit.
One of my favorite perks of being a Tiffany's customer has always been that they maintain your pieces for you, free of charge. You can imagine how surprised I was when the sales clerk had to pull out a book to check the 'new pricing list' for cleaning services. What? I have to pay? You're kidding.
I suppose it's no shock that the luxury jewelry industry is being hit pretty badly across the country, but I was still quite thrown. Of course, I still left the pieces with the gentleman and will pay for their return today. Perhaps if they were to use automated phone messaging instead of those nice little note cards to follow up with all customers, they'd be able to once again return to the glory days of helpful (and most importantly free) service to their most faithful clients.
It's really quite impressive how much we can save our customers on direct mailing and other marketing costs. Give us a glance and see the potential the power of the human voice can have on your organization.
Wow, nothing pithy about that post...
Enjoy 'Give Love' by Third Day, dedicated to Erin Mulay out in sunny AZ. She was witness to my very first Tiffany purchase, which was coincidentally of the earrings in question.
Well, things have ended sadly for me in the 2009 March Madness bracket challenge. Purdue's out (no shocker there) and U of L folded to Michigan State to crush my hopes of a National Championship. The only team I have left in the Final Four is UNC, and I have them losing to a no longer existent Pitt team. Oops.
Still, my Boiler and Cardinal Ladies present me with hope as they play Oklahoma tomorrow and Maryland tonight, respectively, for berths in the Women's Final Four.
There are a few high volume voice messaging kiddos who still show hope for a successful men's bracket, however. Dena, our office manager and my lunch time gym pal, is solidly in the lead with 195 points, with Jeff from sales trailing by one point. The rest of us fall so far behind it's barely worth mentioning. So much for my perfect Southern bracket. (Actually, that's still perfect, save the fact that I had Syracuse beating Oklahoma.)
I'll be sure to wrap up the automated phone messaging bracket challenge after the final game on . Until then, I'm rooting for the Huskies.
Thanks to Izzy Hatke for introducing me to Everest. Enjoy 'Rebels in the Roses.'
I thought all throughout the day on what a great post topic could be for today and came up with absolutely nothing related to high volume voice messaging, opt-in marketing, or broadcast campaign best practices. I gave it a shot, but I'm all tapped out. It's been a pretty crazy Friday, so I'm phoning it in today and wrapping the week with a bit of music. As I said, it's Friday, and that means it's time for our Club Level dance break. Enjoy.
By the way, YouTube launched its EDU site today. Basically another form of Academic Earth, EDU is an education hub that plays lectures from some of the country's top institutions. So go, learn something new.
Read the blog post by Michael Arrington in TechCrunch.
I mentioned a while ago that Vontoo voice messaging consultants have started a little friendly competition regarding March Madness and the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. (Sidebar: People don't really care about the ladies, do they? So sad.)
Unfortunately, our Ross has been plugging away at business development for our voice messaging sales team and really hasn't had a ton of time to update the results. So, even though we're at the Sweet Sixteen, we're not quite sure who's out in the lead. I'd like to think I'm doing quite well though, especially since my entire South bracket is 100% perfect. Yep, I'm bragging.
Since we don't have numbers, I thought I'd give you a peek at the ten kiddos who have submitted seventeen brackets in hopes of sports glory.
Dena Bjortomt, Office Manager: 2 Meg Shireman, Campaign Specialist: 1 Jeff Stoia, Sales Representative: 1 Tyler Wilson, Senior Business Development: 1 Sam Bachmann, Account Manager: 4 (Go girl!) Luke Schwyn, Business Development: 1 Brad Salyer, Senior Sales Representative: 2 Ross Stauffer, Business Development: 2 Jesse Jett, Sales Representative: 2 Jason McDonald, Director of Sales: 1
Hopefully after this round, we'll get some hard numbers to see who's cleaning up. Until then, as always, Boiler Up!
The time for new automated phone messaging regulations is quickly upon us. Are you ready for the changes?
Vontoo was founded as permission based marketing, so we're ahead of the curve and ready to bring you along with us. We're set to give your organization the tools it needs to successfully impliment Vontoo's Opt-In Suite and truly experience the power of the human voice with our new webinar series beginning 2 April.
Vontoo Voice Marketing can increase response to promotions, ensure attendance at events and webinars and can help you collect cash faster in a way that is more affordable and completely measurable.
Vontoo is here to help with our Whitepaper & Webinar:
Permission Based Voice Marketing: Your Roadmap to Opt-in Success
Upon registration, you will be sent a confirmation email with webinar & dial-in information. All webinar registrants will receive the Permission Based Voice Marketing Whitepaper.
We look forward to sharing new innovative marketing ideas with you!
Last week, I wrote a post about the gray areas of FTC regulations and how those changes impact Vontoo voice marketing and automated phone messaging. I gave examples of black and white situations and those a bit fuzzier both in the broadcast marketing world and life.
How unfortunate was it though that I posted the blog without the one gray area that was the best example of all possible disputes; Hillary Swank's beauty? It's such a popular discussion that it was even the plot of an episode of The Office from this season. Seriously, where was my mind?
When I initially thought of the idea for the post, Hilary was the first gray area I came up with. Obviously I'd lost my train of thought, because no sooner had I gotten to work than the Swank debate flew out of my mind and into thin air.
I was going to show a clip from the episode of The Office to job your memory, but apparently YouTube has them blocked. Fortunately, there's always Hulu. Check it out.
Now I feel my post has been completed. Thanks for humoring me.
Hi, my name is Meg and I'm a social media slacker. I took on the job of spreading the voice marketing word back in February, and while I make constant attempts to Tweet (and not well to be honest), LinkedIn and Facebook have certainly been left behind.
We currently have fourteen friends on Facebook, and while we enjoy their company, fourteen just really isn't an impressive number. LinkedIn has seen a slight improvement with 25 connections, but really it all comes down to the fact that I'm just a slacker.
Social media is helpful in all arenas, including high volume voice marketing, for building and maintaining relationship with customers, potential clients, and other friends in the service business, and obviously it's time for Vontoo to step up our game. The quality v. quantity debate is still going strong, as showcased by our friend Kyle Lacy on this very day, but we're not even close to 30,000 Twitter followers. Heck, I got excited when we surpassed 100, so it surely won't kill us to up our game and increase our numbers.
Help out your poor voice messaging campaign specialist and make us your friends today. I promise I'll be better soon! (Oh heck, I just turned into Julianne Hough, begging for your affection.)
Gott Sie dank, heute ist Freitag! Any of my favorite client messaging customers feeling excited for the weekend? I've got friends in town, a birthday party tonight for my friend Mark, and a long run and bike ride with Cheryl to look forward to this weekend. (No fear, I enjoy working out and training for the Derby Mini Marathon...It's not a punishment.)
The voice messaging consultants have joined the bandwagon with a friendly inter-office rivalry. Unfortunately Ross, our fearless bracketeer and ring leader of the tournament, is out sick today so we're not exactly sure who's in the lead. My guess is that Dena and I are, as we only have three misses from the first round.
By the way, did anyone hear President Obama give his Barack-etology spiel on Sports Center Wednesday? EPSN is all I watch when I'm on the treadmill at lunch and, direct quote, 'I like Purdue.' Score, the President has our back. Of course, he also has us losing to UConn, but many do and that's not a huge shocker. I've got U of L taking the whole thing. Go Cards!
Keep checking in to see how your high volume voice messaging kiddos are doing throughout the rest of March Madness.
Note to my readers: Though he's never left a comment physically on my post, this song goes out to Paul Roales for his comments at St. Patrick's Day, and because I know he's reading each post. Plus, he's going to try take to our gang sailing again this Sunday. Can't beat that!
I just bought a new Giant bike this weekend and am quite excited to brag about it. Thanks to Cheryl for holding my hand through the process and to she and master cyclist Andy O'Bryan for sharing my first ride (12 miles!) with me.
This morning on my way to work I was listening to The Killers' Day and Age album (I know, act surprised) and a line from the first track, 'Losing Touch', sparked the thought for today's high volume voice messaging post: 'Convince me that the truth is always gray.'
That got me to thinking about all the gray truths in my world. I suspect that life would be much easier, though admittedly less interesting, if everything truly could be black and white, laid out before us with clear consequences for each choice. Whether or not we like it though, nothing comes so easily. Let's look at a few examples:
Dmitri Martin's Comedy: Black and White. He's hilarious, end of story. Personal Relationships: Gray. Speed Limits: Black and White. I will admit though that apart from Cheryl, I don't know many people who don't take it upon themselves to make them quite gray. My wardrobe: Frequently all of the above, including today.
Then I began to think about how that applies to Vontoo and the new FTC regulations. Our automated phone messaging services can be used in literally every industry imaginable, though the messaging in broadcast campaigns are often aberrational from client to client, presenting the aforementioned 'gray area' in our own little vMarketing world.
Below are some Vontoo-specific examples: Reminder to ticket purchasers of game time change: Black and white. No opt-out message required. Notification to season ticket holders of deadline to renew season tickets: Gray. Is it a reminder or solicitous? Call to previous rent-to-own customers offering special pricing for new items: Black and white. Opt-out message required.
Being the granola-eating, bike-riding, vegetarian, Republican that I am, I'm a 'better safe than sorry' kind of gal when it comes to federal regulations. Getting slapped with a lawsuit for not following FTC regulations is not only fiscally damaging, it will ultimately lose you customers. Credibility=Shot. If you're ever unsure about your messaging, talk to us. It's why we're here, and we love to help.
The Indianapolis Colts are spreading Hoosier Hospitality in a big way. I've embedded the video for your enjoyment to promote the mission of 'Helping a Hoosier...And Then Some.' Visit their website for more details. Come on Colts!
Recently, we had the good fortune to spread the word about our exciting philanthropy program, Vontoo's Gift of Voice, through an amazing outlet: Tim Sander's 'Saving the World at Work' community.
Through our Gift of Voice program, high volume voice messaging is brought to the non-for-profit sector of Marion county free of charge, with the hopes of collecting unpaid pledges, as well as reaching out to participants and others involved in these worthy causes.
An excerpt from the post follows: The challenge for non-profits is in contacting their donors to remind them of their pledges and offer a convenient way for them to pay. Direct mail is expensive and easily lost in piles of mail. Personal calls are difficult because non-profits generally have very tiny staffs.
Understanding the economic challenges that not-for-profit organizations are facing right now and seeing a tremendous opportunity to help, voice marketing provider Vontoo initiated a new corporate citizenship initiative to benefit non-profit organizations in its local, Indianapolis County.
Since I had such an amazing time last night during the St. Patrick's Day festivities, let's have one more round of some good ole Irish music. Enjoy 'Kiss Me I'm Irish' by Gaelic Storm, from the album, Bring Yer Wellies.
Faith and begorra! It's the day to wear green and celebrate those of us lucky enough to call ourselves Irish.
For our high volume voice messaging customers, it's time for sports management marketing, event notifications, and any other day of 'wearing the Green' goings on our customers might have on this fine day. Send cell phone notifications to friends to help coordinate plans to meet at your favorite pubs (I'll be at O'Bryan's 9 Irish Brothers tonight!) and make sure you celebrate this day to honor the Patron Saint of the Irish with the best of 'em.
Set up your trial account just in time to share the magic with 25 of your closest friends.
Click here to see a photo of me attempting to play the bagpipes at last year's celebration. Oh, the memories.
Enjoy an Irish standard, 'Haste to the Wedding,' performed by The Corrs. In my opinion, the best rendition is by Siochain, an amazing Irish band that sadly no longer exists. Unfortunately, their version isn't listed on Imeem.
Google has taken a step closer to the marriage of the telephone and the computer with the premise of 'one phone number for all your phones, for life.'
In an effort to help you manage your voice communications more efficiently, Google Voice, originated from GrandCentral in 2006 and purchased by Google in 2007, gives users archives and search features for SMS text messages from both your in- and outbox, as well as transcripts of all voicemails. In addition, Google offers directory assistance through Goog-411, low-priced international calls, a single number that rings to home, work and mobile phones, and a central voicemail box, to name a few.
GrandCentral users are the only fortunate ones thus far, but certainly the new developments can be useful for our permission marketing software customers as well. High volume voice messaging customers' messages can be better tracked by recipients, giving your campaigns more staying power. Those wanting to try out the service at its outset can email Google to be notified when it goes live.
Today's extra little something isn't a song, but is instead a computer animation which recreates Sully's heroic Hudson River landing. The video is timed to the audio track from the traffic control towers, showing how quickly decisions had to be made to save the lives of the passengers. It absolutely gives me chills.
Today's song is Wax Simulacra by The Mars Volta. This is the first time I've showcased a song by them, but I've been a fan for some time now. My friends Ashley Barnes and Eric Norrington introduced me back in college.
I tried to think of a way to tie the lyrics into something to do with high volume voice messaging and cell phone notifications, but I was entirely unsuccessful. Hopefully though, my readers understand that my bi-weekly blogs are more Vontoo-oriented, while the 'song of the day' posts are more for reader enjoyment, and quite honestly a ploy to keep you coming back daily.
Seriously though, do check out our website to set up a trial account today. Nothing is more fun than having someone call you back after receiving a voice message from you. They think it's magic. As for me, I'll be sitting here in Castleton, sipping my Lady Grey tea with a splash of milk while I work on bringing campaign management expertise to my clients. Have a fabulous weekend!
It's something we at Vontoo have known about for a while, and an important message we've made quite clear to our customers. Fortunately, our voice messaging consultants have been on top of the situation from day one. It seems though that a Utah-based company has dropped the ball and forgotten rule number one in the FTC handbook: Permission is King.
Verizon Wireless has just filed a lawsuit against Feature Films for Families, Inc. for sending nearly 500,000 calls in a span of 10 days to market the new film, The Velveteen Rabbit. The calls came from either an auto dialer or an individual reading a script to promote the release of the movie, but were made without any regard for privacy and were in complete contempt of the Federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act. In addition to suing for damages already done, Verizon has also filed a preliminary injunction to stop further calls from being made. (Click here for the full article.)
Listen up kiddies; it's time to learn that cell phone notifications should only go to those who want to hear from you. Protect your pocketbook from court costs and losing customers, as well as earn a better ROI by only paying for minutes sent to people who care to hear your message. Check out our website for more information on permission based voice marketing and how we help our customers stay compliant.
Thanks to Compendium for the article. In your honor, I present today's song, Get on the Good Foot by James Brown.
It's time I just come straight out with it. I'm a nerd. I'm a huge, hugenerd. I'm obsessed with Josh Groban, I'd rather read a book than watch TV, and last night was an event I've been waiting for months to take place. What happened last night? The premiere of the 8th season of, that's right, Dancing with the Stars. When I first heard the premise for the show seven seasons ago, I thought it was absolutely absurd. Unfortunately, I've been turned and haven't missed as show since the season in which Helio and Julianne took home the illustrious mirror ball trophy.
How does this tie to Vontoo? Easily, just wait. Last night, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak took the floor for the first time with his pro partner Karina Smirnoff and it was quite, well, interesting, to put it nicely. The man honestly cannot dance and his performance was called 'an overall disaster.' Though the outcome of 13 points out of 30 was what you would probably have expected from the Super Geek that is Steve, he and Karina came off the floor smiling, and a good time is a major factor in why people watch the show. The other factor of course would be to watch actors, athletes and professionals come out of the woodwork and attempt to tango, which is often quite hilarious. Carry on, Mr. Wozniak, you make us all proud.
To tie it back to high volume voice messaging, even if you're not the most verbose or the quickest with the repartee, be sure to have fun with your scripting efforts. Include fun music in the background, maybe spice it up with multiple voice talents, and send your recipients cell phone notifications they can really cheer for. Make your next broadcast campaign the best yet!