Foodspotting as an iPhone app

Foodspotting is a site with an app for iPhone that lets users take a photograph of a meal that they’ve enjoyed and share it along with the location, it’s free and connects to Twitter and Foursquare. This makes it the perfect app for those who enjoy food and sharing the experience with others, it also provides a great source of information for people looking for somewhere to eat and it’s integration with Twitter will doubtless make it very popular in no time at all.

We’ll keep an eye on it and see how it develops but there are bound to be some fantastic opportunities for food marketing. Let us know you’re ideas.

We though that it was about time we put some of those ideas into practice and provided a platform whereby we can create a conversation with those involved in the local food industry and also pass on some of our knowledge and expertise in various areas. We hope that the whole thing will be organic… that is to say, grow in an organic way… rather than meet organic bureaucracy like some of the food products. Our idea is that we can provide useful information and techniques and that other people will contribute with either questions, comments or contribute their own ideas and content.

We will, of course, be show casing some of our products and services, but there’s no obligation to buy, even if , in some cases, they will make your business ten times easier and often more profitable. anyway… enough of the advertising blurb!

Scotts Miracle-Gro—is a company with no direct on-line sales channel—who use email-marketing to increase sales. When customers join the mailing list they are asked to provide their grass type and post code; then, once each month during their region’s growing season, they receive a Scotts Lawn Care Update newsletter with content tailored to their needs.

This monthly news letter guides potential customers about caring for their lawns and what particular products they might consider using at any given time. By providing their customers with useful, relevant and timely information the company are not abusing the privilege of having contact details and are encouraging sales of the right products at the right time.

The same can be applied to food businesses who don’t have their own e-commerce solution on the web, by sending out advice as to what’s in season, how it can be used, tips and tricks for cooking or recipes. This carefully chosen advice will be gratefully received by your customers and may result in them paying a visit next time they are near your shop rather than going to the supermarket.

If you are an accommodation provider, why not send out an email detailing forthcoming attractions and things to do in the local area, particularly if you know your guests hobbies such as walking or fishing. They will appreciate the effort and might just be in need of a weekend away.

It’s simple and cheap to set up a mailing list solution attached to your website and you can split your customers into groups according to their likes and dislikes or hobbies etc. Not only that, but you can directly measure the success or otherwise of your campaigns and do more of what works.