John (Jack) N. Allinson, II BSc, AMS®

Level III Certified Infrared Thermographer

J.N. Allinson Associated Inc.
Allinson Infrared Inspection Services Inc.

222 University Blvd. North #2
Jacksonville, FL 32211

Abstract

At the IR/INFO 2011 Conference, Jack was introduced to some remarkable video and audio social media products. Join Jack as he reviews how he implemented these products and how he monitors their performance to measure the success of increased visibility using social media.

Introduction

Potential clients learn about a company’s services through channels of communication such as referrals, print or electronic media. Once targeted, a key component of decision making often equates to whether that business presents a website that piques curiosity enough for them to make contact. To be successful a website needs to be easily found. A classic example of success would be for the website to appear on the first page of a search engine such as GOOGLE. In the past the use of relevant key words was critical to rank high on a search engine. Now the factors for high ranking have expanded to:

– the website must not be static (i.e. the content pages must change)
– along with how many external sites link to the website

Social Media promotes the ability for rapid website change and increased external links. It can be maintained through either a traditional workstation or laptop environment or on the go through the use of web-based and mobile technologies. In the mobile arena WI-FI enabled “Smart Phones” and “Tablets/Pads” running operating systems such as Apple IOS and Google Android have applications that effectively engage Social Media products such as TWITTER, FACEBOOK, ANIMOTO, CINCHCAST, LINKEDIN, BLOGTALKRADIO and YOUTUBE. In addition to the Social Media products, mobile analytical products such as ANALYTICS are available which provide a measurement of a website performance.

Social Media products include audio, visual, blogs, webinars, email marketing and networking through links to others who have similar interests. All of these avenues of communication share a common goal which is to develop a following that can be led back to your website.

This paper discusses two (2) products that exemplify the audio visual aspects of social networking using video and images. Reference is made to products that allow you to review the effects of implementing change.

Shown below are websites for the Allinson companies where videos have been embedded. These videos were produced using ANIMOTO, and migrated to YouTube.

“ANIMOTO” is an online web-based service that automatically produces beautifully orchestrated, completely unique video pieces from your photos, video clips, and music. The features of this service are presented in a 60 second video clip at http://animoto.com/features

“You Tube” is an online web-based service where you can create your own “Channel” (i.e. Allinson Associates), upload, edit and share these videos on the web and receive viewing statistics and comments from viewers.

Through the use of website analytical products you can review the effects of implementing changes and different marketing campaigns.

Summary

Visual and thermal images used to generate reports can be easily incorporated into the basic building blocks required for Social Media.

Social Media tools can be accessed either at your office workstation or while you are in the field.
Adding Social Media links to your website promotes your visibility, credibility, and increases your success of demonstrating your business services and capabilities.

Refrences

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank Mr. Ken English, Social Media Marketing Consultant, aka the “MediaMojoGuy” http://mediamojoguy.com/ for his mentoring and assistance with non infrared related projects.

About the Author

“JACK” is a Level III thermographer and has been actively using this technology since 2002 for electrical, mechanical, and structural applications in the Marine Industry.

“JACK” is co-author of the ”Standard for IR Inspection of Recreational Yachts & Small Craft Constructed of Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic and Composite Materials” and offers seminars on how to Apply Infrared Thermography to Marine Surveying.