Customers tell us all the time that one of the reasons they wanted to work with Saffire was the ability to control their own website! 

But having control over your site doesn’t mean you won’t need a little help now and then.  As you are getting to know our software, you may have questions and our team has the answers!

And while our team isn’t available 24 hours a day 7 days a week (we do require a little bit of sleep), that doesn’t mean you should have to wait to find answers to your questions.  You should have access to help all the time!

We recently released the new and improved Saffire Help Desk so you can find answers to your questions whenever you need a little extra help.  Check it out!

We are very excited to introduce the new features we’ve included in the Saffire software with Version 1.8, included the biggest update we’ve had so far this year!

• The most exciting thing in this release is a complete redesign of your mobile site! As mobile web usage statistics continue to skyrocket, we think it is more important than ever to make sure your Saffire mobile site keeps you a step ahead of the game.

  When you visit your mobile site for the first time on Saffire 1.8, you’ll immediately notice big changes. Your navigation buttons are much larger, making it easy to explore. Buttons that encourage actions from your customers, such as buying tickets and signing up for your email list, appear front and center. Additional large buttons include customer conveniences like directions and event information.
  Watch this video to learn more!

• Your customers will now receive an automatic confirmation email when they complete one of your dynamic forms. Previously, a confirmation was only sent if a customer made a purchase. Now, regardless of payment option, your customers will be worry-free in knowing your event received their information.

•  With this release, you now have the ability to add an interactive event map to any dynamic page on your entire website! Use the maps to mark out vendor booths, specify locations for your barbeque cook-off teams or lay out facility rentals. The possibilities are endless!
  Watch this video to learn more!

•  If you have a Saffire member site, you’ll notice the member site has its own separate dashboard! Take a look at the top of your admin site, you have two tabs reading “Customer” and “Member”. These tabs allow you to toggle back and forth between your sites, making it even easier for you to manage your complete online presence.
  Watch this video to learn more!

• When you log in to your admin site, you will now be able to view direct messages from the Saffire Team. We’ll be using this feature to post announcements and exciting news straight from us to you. Keep your eyes open at the top of your dashboard for updates!

We hope all of our clients are enjoying the updates this morning.  Let us know what you think!

It’s hard to believe we’re about to say this, but: we now work with 15 events in the great state of Texas!  We are so happy and proud to be making such a difference here in our home state.

The Brazoria County Fair is the newest member of the Saffire community, so please give them a warm welcome!

Cassie has made a few trips to Angleton and had the opportunity to get to know their team after we met at the TAF&E Convention this spring.  We are excited to bring a new online presence to such an established event!

Their new site will be up and at ‘em by their event this fall.  So you folks in South Texas, make plans now to visit the Brazoria County Fair October 12-20!

Since our Saffire boot koozies have been such a hit every where we’ve gone, we decided to get a new color this year and every year from now on!  We went to visit our partners at American Royal last week, so they were the first to receive the 2012 edition of the koozies. 

And we just can’t get over how cute they look on these little feet!  Thanks for sharing this adorable picture Jody.

In one of our previous software updates, we introduced the ability to crop photos for your Saffire site to make sure you’re highlighting your images in the best way.  After using the cropping tool, we thought of ways to make it even better, including showing previews!

Watch this Saffire 101 video as Rebekah shows you how to use the cropping tool to enhance your photos.

Last fall, we partnered with our friends at the International Association of Fairs & Expos (IAFE) to launch a new kind of event calendar called Fairs Everywhere.

It’s hard to believe 2012 is going by so fast and it’s already May.  Many of you are putting the finishing touches on this year’s event while others have already started working on 2013! While you’re in planning mode, we wanted to offer a quick video tutorial to remind you just how easy it is to update your event’s listing.

And remember, if you upload at least one photo we will feature your event on our homepage as your event approaches!  You can’t beat free advertising, right?

The creation of your event’s brand has been a process that has taken years, if not decades!  As with any new brand, there was a period of trial and error to fine-tune what it means to be associated with your event as you found your identity.

For some of you it means supporting youth livestock scholarships.  For others it means staying on the cutting edge of the fried-food craze, while others are focused on creating the ultimate concert lineup. Whatever it may be, there is an immediate thought that comes to mind when someone hears your event’s name.

Over the years, we have found that many events are sure of who they are, but just aren’t quite sure how to translate their brand to the web.  Check out these 5 tips to help you enhance your online marketing to truly reflect who you are as an organization.

1.  Make your website the online front gate to your event.

The moment people arrive at your website, they should feel like they have stepped onto your event grounds.  If there is a specific theme or color associated with your event, make sure that plays a part in the look and feel of your site. People may only visit your grounds once a year, but visiting your website is an experience they can have daily, so make sure you make it memorable!  Honestly, I can’t be on the Rodeo Austin website for very long before I can “taste of the dirt” of the rodeo.

2.  Strut your stuff!

Your event is unique and has a personality all its own, so don’t be afraid to show it.  The Tulsa State Fair has fun to spare on their website!  Their mascot, Dizzy the goat, pops in and out showing off different aspects of the fair.  From food to livestock, they highlight different aspects of their event with a twist.  They also incorporate their colors in a great way by creating a bright, eye-catching design.
 
3.  Don’t lose sight of what you’re all about.

Make sure you feature the mission of your organization.  For example, the American Royal Association highlights right on their homepage that they give over $1 million annually to support youth and education.  While lots of people visit their site to learn about events like the rodeo or World Series of Barbecue, they want to make sure that you know right from the start the heart of who they are and the difference that want to make in Kansas City.

4.  Create a community of fans and supporters.

You hear us harp all the time on the importance of social media, but an event that seems to really “get it” is the Florida Strawberry Festival.  They have over 36,000 Facebook fans and over 5,000 Twitter followers.   The often run contests and post pictures to spark conversation among their followers, which are great ways to create a sense of community.

5.  Don’t be afraid to try new things.

I think we can all agree that fairs, festivals and rodeos aren’t always the first to jump on board with new online trends.  For example Pinterest is the fastest growing website in history, but only a few fairs, like the Kansas State Fair, have actually created accounts!  If you’re late to trends, you are missing out on free, primetime marketing!  We encourage you to pay attention to the “buzz” you might hear about new online marketing tools, and don’t be afraid to take the plunge.  What have you got to lose?

The Saffire movement continues to spread to events around the United States, and today we announce our second event in the great state of Kansas.  So folks, please join us in welcoming the Dodge City Roundup Rodeo!

“The Greatest Event on Dirt” will take place August 3-7, so we’ve already started getting their new online presence ready.

We first met the team from Dodge City last summer at the Association of Rodeo Committee’s Conference in Nebraska, and we can honestly say that partnering with them was worth the wait.

After all, we do love a rodeo!