Tag: smart speaker

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Alexa Amazon Echo App Everywhere B2B Apps Mobile Apps Push Notifications Smart Home Voice Commands

3 Reasons Why Radio Stations Should Have an Alexa Skill

voice controlled smart speaker

Smart speakers give radio the chance to bring back in-home listening. Listeners can now engage with their favorite radio stations by just using their voice to ask Alexa to play their favorite radio station in their bedroom, bathroom, living room, kitchen, etc.

Here are 3 reasons why radio stations should have an Alexa skill:

 
1. Engage your listeners by bringing back listening to your home
Alexa skills are giving your listeners the opportunity to listen to their favorite radio stations in their home! One key trend to keep in mind is that consumers are forming new habits and radio broadcasters have an opportunity to benefit from the changes in technology, voice, and interactive audio devices. Consumers today ask their Alexa device what the weather is like, to set a timer, or make a grocery list. They also want to listen to music while cleaning their house, cooking, relaxing, hanging out with friends… and now they have the chance to  just ask Alexa!
2. Control the Listener Experience 
Many radio streams are available today on Alexa through TuneIn. So, one may ask, “Why do I need an Alexa skill if I’m already on Alexa?” There are so many stations on TuneIn that many have the same name and you cannot be sure listeners will find your stream. Additionally, with TuneIn there is no opportunity to offer on-demand listening to your shows or your podcasts.
Having your own Alexa skill allows you to showcase your station’s personality right up front. It allows you to truly connect with your listeners and control their experience by making sure they are tuning in to your radio station.
3. Claim your name
When dealing with Amazon Alexa, you will ask for the radio station by name and Alexa needs to know the right phrase or “invocation”. Searching for content by voice doesn’t let you show the top ten search results, instead if offers only the top search result. So you have to get it right!
When you are thinking about getting an Alexa skill for your radio station, keep in mind the invocation names of the voice web are assigned on a first come first serve basis.
UX
 
Here’s a little fun fact to wrap it up…Some stations are finding that as much as 25% of their streaming is on smart speakers!
Smart speakers are truly taking over. They help build your audience, engage your audience, and connect with your listeners now more than ever.
We would love to talk mobile strategy and Alexa skills with you to help engage your audience. Contact our Director of Business Development, Sari Zalesin. sari@jacapps.com or 248-353-9030

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Alexa Amazon Echo App Everywhere Awards Connected Car Mobile Apps Push Notifications Radio

4 Ways to Engage Your Listeners with Mobile

Your audience is on mobile more than they’re on any other device! And with proper promotion on air, and online, there is no reason you can’t move a significant portion of your audience to use your station’s apps! Here are 4 important ways to engage your listeners on mobile.

Upstream

Our “open mic” feature allows listeners to use the microphone in their mobile device to interact directly with your station. Users can create a message with just a tap, and send it to your station personnel with another tap, creating immediate engagement with the audience. We’ve seen stations use Open Mic to take requests, or call in to talk shows.
The user can also send photos or videos. One of our clients uses Upstream to boost contest involvement. The station wanted their listener to send in a certain picture in order to win a prize and upstream made this so easy.

Push Notifications

We all get push messages on our phones all day, whether it be news alerts, sports scores or traffic updates. By sending your audience a push message, you can tell them what’s on your station, give them the inside scoop on station events and even pass along breaking news.
Instead of waiting for users to open the app, use push notifications to entice the user to open and use the app. Those messages might include popular app content, event reminders and promotions.

Social Media

One of the biggest benefits of integrating your social media presence into the app is that your listeners can post directly in the app! Let your users check out your morning show’s latest post, or picture, without ever leaving the app. You can display your social feeds separately – Twitter and Facebook – or with feeds from the station and a variety of hosts all pulled together in one social timeline.

Guides

The V4 app from jācapps has the ability to provide users a local directory to businesses or attractions. The guide contains a collection of locations, provided by your station, and can display that collection as an easy to scan list, or it can map those locations, providing one tap turn-by-turn directions. If you have a rock station, maybe you provide your listeners a local bar guide. An AC station could provide a directory of family-friendly activities. These guides are a great way to create another revenue stream for your station.
If you are interested in the apps we’ve built or a product of your own, contact us at sales@jacapps.com or (248) 353-9030

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Alexa Amazon Echo App Everywhere B2B Apps Mobile Apps news and press Smart Home

Digital Summit Detroit

Digital Summit Detroit 2018 kicks off for a two-day digital marketing gathering on Wednesday September 12th, and jācapps will be there to talk mobile strategy, and to mix with hundreds of other leaders in the digital space. We are looking forward to this opportunity to hear brilliant speakers, meet the best of Detroit’s digital industry and pick up some cool event swag! In addition to the event’s productive networking, jācapps will be exhibiting with examples of our most recent apps and some swag of our own!
There will be over 50 sessions and workshops that will provide info about the latest digital trends plus lots of practical, game-changing ideas to apply to your marketing strategy!
Additionally, there will be over 45 digital marketing sessions in mission-critical topic areas that include: Social, Email, Data & Analytics, Brand Storytelling, Search, Conversion & Engagement, UX & Design, Mobile, Strategy, B2B Marketing and B2C Marketing. As you can see digital and mobile are some of the hottest marketing topics this year.
You will get the opportunity to learn directly from the brands and leaders who you believe make the largest impact on today’s world economy now and in the future! Some of the brilliant speakers include; Chelsea Handler, Scott Dikkers, Cailin Lavallee, Andrew Malcom, Rob Lawson, Kraig Hansen, Amber Lewis, Nick Skislak and many more! Along with the learning experience, you’ll get insight from BuzzFeed, Waze, Discover, Jaguar, Salesforce, and many more!
Not only will you gain great content from the different sessions, you will also have the chance to engage in professional networking! There will be hundreds of professional marketers, strategists, designers, and more to connect and chat with.There is a countless amount of opportunities here that may lead into inspiration, partnerships and/or business deals that you will leave with after ONLY two days at Digital Summit Detroit!
We’re excited for our second year at DSD! If you are attending, let’s set up a meeting to talk about your mobile strategy! Stop by our booth between sessions for a chance for a chance to win a free smart speaker!
Get your tickets here!

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Awards Uncategorized

jācapps Wins Bright Spots Award

Recently, on Thursday, June 14th, our jacapps team attended Corp! Magazines event hosting an awards ceremony honoring Michigan Economic Bright Spots! We have been awarded by Corp! Magazine the Michigan Economic Bright Spots, Small Business Award!
 

 
Before we get into the award itself, let me tell you a little bit about our company here at jācapps!
Through current technology, mobile apps can be very versatile solutions, for businesses and consumers alike. Not only do we have over 1100 apps and 10 years in the industry, they go beyond common devices. While many developers focus on iOS and Android applications for mobile phones, we deliver your messagethrough the most-used device in the world. As well as, in the Connected Car, Tablets, Smart Speakers, Smart TVs, Streaming Devices, Wearables, and whatever comes next. Our App Everywhere® suite allows clients to utilize apps in unique ways, as mobile is put to work outside of the consumer sphere.
Over the past 10 years, we have not only doubled our team and office size, where we are also continuing to develop for small and mid-market businesses, we even expanded our industry focus! We moved beyond radio and into the healthcare and construction industry! 
Through our expansions as a team and as a company we have grown in talent and economically. Which got us recognized by Corp! Magazine! They are honoring the companies that have continued to thrive in economic growth, expansion and hiring Michigan’s brightest talent. We are honored to be recognized by Corp! Magazine multiple times and appreciate and enjoy all of the award ceremonies we have attended!
Not only do we want to congratulate our team, we would like to notice and congratulate the other businesses who were also awarded in the same category! We were awarded the Small Business Award along side numerous outstanding businesses, such as; Charity Voice, InsITe Business Solutions, Inc., Goldfish Swim School Franchising, LLC, Simplify Healthcare, Blackford Capital, Tech Defenders, Brooklyn Outdoor, and many more!

Thank you Corp! Magazine for honoring businesses from all over and hosting a unforgettable awards ceremony!
If you are interest in us, the apps we’ve built, or a product of your own, contact us at sales@jacapps.com or (248) 353-9030

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Alexa Amazon Echo Google Home Radio Smart Home Techsurvey

Smart speakers are this year's trending gifts

UX

We recently collaborated with our sister company, Jacobs Media and Sonic Ai on a national study regarding smart speakers. Our online study shows that one in five (20%) respondents age 13 and older with Internet access plan to purchase a voice-controlled smart speaker such as an Amazon Echo or Google Home during the 2017 holiday season.
Notably, more than one in six online households (18%) now own at least one smart speaker, with 40% of this group already having two or more of the devices in their household. Smart speaker owners are also especially likely to purchase another of these voice command gadgets for themselves or as a gift this holiday season. In fact, six in ten smart speaker owners (61%) plan to purchase at least one more device during this all-important gift-buying cycle.
The study also shows that one in ten online households (11%) specifically owns an Alexa-enabled Amazon smart speaker such as the Echo, Echo Dot and Show devices; the majority of these owners (69%) have at least one Alexa “skill” enabled, while 45% have two or more Alexa “skills” enabled.
Bob Kernen, COO of jācapps, notes, “With Black Friday and Cyber Monday now in the rearview mirror, both Amazon and Google continue to compete heavily to get as many of their smart speakers, now at their lowest price points ever, into as large a number of households as possible. This data strongly suggests smart speaker ownership will take off in the coming weeks.”
“Smart speakers are clearly the must-have gadget for the holidays. Like anything else, habits will form quickly which is the remarkable opportunity for broadcasters and podcasters. They need a smart audio strategy for smart speakers,” said Steve Goldstein, co-founder of Sonic Ai.
We can develop Alexa skills for your business. Reach out to us at 248-353-9030 or marketing@jacapps.com to learn more!

Categories
Alexa Amazon Echo Google Home Radio Smart Home Techsurvey

Smart speakers are this year’s trending gifts

UX

We recently collaborated with our sister company, Jacobs Media and Sonic Ai on a national study regarding smart speakers. Our online study shows that one in five (20%) respondents age 13 and older with Internet access plan to purchase a voice-controlled smart speaker such as an Amazon Echo or Google Home during the 2017 holiday season.

Notably, more than one in six online households (18%) now own at least one smart speaker, with 40% of this group already having two or more of the devices in their household. Smart speaker owners are also especially likely to purchase another of these voice command gadgets for themselves or as a gift this holiday season. In fact, six in ten smart speaker owners (61%) plan to purchase at least one more device during this all-important gift-buying cycle.

The study also shows that one in ten online households (11%) specifically owns an Alexa-enabled Amazon smart speaker such as the Echo, Echo Dot and Show devices; the majority of these owners (69%) have at least one Alexa “skill” enabled, while 45% have two or more Alexa “skills” enabled.

Bob Kernen, COO of jācapps, notes, “With Black Friday and Cyber Monday now in the rearview mirror, both Amazon and Google continue to compete heavily to get as many of their smart speakers, now at their lowest price points ever, into as large a number of households as possible. This data strongly suggests smart speaker ownership will take off in the coming weeks.”

“Smart speakers are clearly the must-have gadget for the holidays. Like anything else, habits will form quickly which is the remarkable opportunity for broadcasters and podcasters. They need a smart audio strategy for smart speakers,” said Steve Goldstein, co-founder of Sonic Ai.

We can develop Alexa skills for your business. Reach out to us at 248-353-9030 or marketing@jacapps.com to learn more!