Social Media Customer Care Company Raises $1 Million for Growth

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• Social Media Customer Care Company Raises $1 Million for Growth
• New TouchBase Business Card Could Transfer Digital Profile to a Smartphone
• Chuck Hamrick on Succeeding with Affiliate Marketing in 2014 #AMDays
• 11 Direct Mail Marketing Secrets
• Pinterest Marketing Tool Discover Can Give Better View of Your Brand
• Automate The Hiring Of New Staff For Your Business With iCIMS
• Got a Startup Tech Hardware Product to Sell? Try Grand St.

Social Media Customer Care Company Raises $1 Million for Growth Posted: 26 Feb 2014 04:30 PM PST UK-based Brand Embassy, a company that offers management of social media mentions, recently raised $1 million in funding. The company currently has only 20+ employees, but the money will be used to take its service global and to expand its features. Co-founder and CEO Vit Horky explains in a recent post on the official Brand Embassy blog: “We’ve opened offices in the USA, Dubai, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, and Latin America to complement our offices in Prague and London. The partnership with new investors will help us expand our sales and product development team and launch new unique product features.” Besides monitoring your company’s social media mentions, Brand Embassy places a big emphasis on customer service. Managers can assign social media mentions to company employees (known as ambassadors) so they can respond. If the mention is a complaint and likely to gain traction online, it is given high priority. In the past few years, customers have increasingly abandoned toll-free telephone numbers, and instead taken to social media to praise a brand or complain. So businesses must focus more on monitoring social media everyday.  It can become quite a chore to keep on top of all the social channels separately. So having a dashboard where it all comes together is a huge plus. Vit says his company’s clients have handled over 7.5 million service issues via its service since 2012. Currently Brand Embassy primarily serves companies in the telecom and financial services sectors. The company’s clients may include mainly larger brands at the moment like Vodafone, Telefonica O2, T-Mobile, General Motors and ING.com. But with professional packages starting at $70 per month, it’s conceivable Brand Embassy could become an option for small boutique social media marketing firms with multiple brands to manage. If you are curious about how Brand Embassy works, the company has released an 8 minute video, showing the main features: As brand management on social media becomes ever more important, Brand Embassy would appear to offer a higher end service than tools like HootSuite, for example. Other services, like Socialbakers, offer variations on social media measuring and management for brands. Socialbakers also recently announced it had raised additional funding to expand its services. The post Social Media Customer Care Company Raises $1 Million for Growth appeared first on Small Business Trends.

New TouchBase Business Card Could Transfer Digital Profile to a Smartphone Posted: 26 Feb 2014 02:30 PM PST The way people network may be changing. Swapping business cards has been a mainstay of small business networking. Sites like LinkedIn and a number of others have offered new ways to connect with industry professionals. But through it all, traditional paper stock cards have stuck around. One startup, however, is proposing a new option that doesn't aim to replace business cards, but to enhance them instead. TouchBase Technologies, a startup out of MIT, is pitching a new business card embedded with conductive ink. The company says the technology allows users to transfer their information by tapping the card against a smartphone. But the new cards would contain more information than what you might find on a typical business card. It might include, for example, digital information, including links to your profiles on sites like LinkedIn and Twitter. Even digital photos, videos, contact and biographical information could be transferred to a contact’s smartphone, company representatives say. Here’s the idea behind the cards the company’s CEO shared with Mashable: “We realized that business cards really aren’t going away. It’s a critical part of business etiquette…This is a way to keep the look and feel of your card, but when you want to share more information, you have that ability.” Though the company still has some kinks to work out, such as creating cards that are flexible enough to transfer information to phones with cases, the concept is an interesting one. In-person networking is not going away. But there may be ways to improve the process with technology . Whether TouchBase can make the cards convenient and inexpensive enough to catch on with business owners remains to be seen. To do that, the app will have to run on as many devices as possible, and the cards will have to be easy to obtain and use. Will TouchBase cards, or ones like them, actually replace traditional business cards? Maybe not. But smartphones and social media have greatly changed the way we communicate. So at some point it would make sense for the plain old business card to catch up and integrate those features. The company is currently running an Indiegogo campaign to fund the project. The pilot version of the product will only include apps for the iPhone 5, 5S, and 5C. But TouchBase plans to add other native iPhone and Android apps in the future. Image: TouchBase Technologies The post New TouchBase Business Card Could Transfer Digital Profile to a Smartphone appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Chuck Hamrick on Succeeding with Affiliate Marketing in 2014 #AMDays Posted: 26 Feb 2014 12:30 PM PST Meet Chuck Hamrick, a 15-year veteran of digital marketing, seasoned outsourced affiliate program manager (OPM) who currently serves as the administrator of the world’s largest affiliate marketing forum, ABestWeb.com. At the upcoming Affiliate Management Days SF 2014 conference (March 19-20) Chuck will moderate “Inside the Mind of the Super Affiliate” panel, as well as speak on “Using Affiliate Forums and Blogs to Create an Online Reputation.” * * * * * Question: If you were to emphasize one area that every affiliate manager should be paying attention to in 2014, what would it be, and why? Chuck Hamrick: Mobile marketing. This spring mobile will surpass traditional desktop/laptop as the main way consumers shop and make online purchases. Is your site optimized for mobile and your cart? Do you offer mobile banners to your affiliates? Does your affiliate software/network track mobile traffic and sales? Question: What do you see as the main areas of opportunity for affiliate marketing (and affiliate marketers) 2014? Chuck Hamrick: Online sales grow year over year. Are you taking advantage of it? Affiliate marketing isn't shrinking, it's growing. Poorly managed affiliate programs are no different than poorly managed social media, SEO or paid search. Site conversion is your first step while you grow your advertising and traffic. Affiliate marketing is an incremental addition to a successful eCommerce merchant. Question: As a veteran digital marketer and affiliate program manager, what do you view as the main areas where affiliates can truly help online merchants? Chuck Hamrick: To partner with the merchant/AM/OPM. When I send out a newsletter we have pushed the affiliates – the latest promotion, hottest products, latest coupon. These are also promoted through the merchants email, display and social channels. Consumers may check via a search engine to research the product before purchase or if it's the best deal. Affiliates can endorse this for the merchants brand and are rewarded with a commission for closing the sale. Merchants are spending heavily on TV and radio yet consumers will go to the Web to purchase. Affiliates can be there to capture those eyeballs. Question: With the vast majority of merchants interested in having their affiliate programs drive truly incremental business, what types of affiliates you would recommend they recruit, and why? Chuck Hamrick: My preference is a mix and it takes time to recruit productive affiliates to your program and get them active. Partner with 1-2 PPC affiliates who "bid the gap" for your merchant, finding terms they missed. Pick 5-10 coupon/deal sites that are responsive to getting your ads up quickly and taking them down when expired.  Content/Review sites are great and will need content/videos. Bloggers have low conversion so you need a bunch. Offer samples for reviews. Datafeed/price comparison needs a detailed datafeed with sales price (often left out). Partner with a few loyalty but insure they are not using software to hijack others sales. Specialty affiliates can be tested such as email marketers, contextual, third party tool sites, cart abandonment, social. Be open minded as affiliates are the R&D arm of online marketing. When in doubt, talk to the affiliate directly. Question: If you were to leave online advertisers/merchants and affiliate managers with one piece of advice, what would it be? Chuck Hamrick: Investigate and understand attribution. With total visibility through your total online marketing channel you can better understand where to allocate resources. Marketing channels need to complement each other and not compete with each other. Don't double pay for sales. * * * * * The upcoming Affiliate Management Days conference takes place March 19-20, 2014 in San Francisco, CA. Follow @AMDays or #AMDays on Twitter as well as Facebook.com/AMDays. When registering, make sure to use the code SMBTRENDS to receive $500.00 off your two-day and all-access passes. See the rest of the interview series here. The post Chuck Hamrick on Succeeding with Affiliate Marketing in 2014 #AMDays appeared first on Small Business Trends.

11 Direct Mail Marketing Secrets Posted: 26 Feb 2014 10:00 AM PST Remember when getting a letter in the mail was exciting? So do we. But how do you recreate that feeling and get customers excited about your business when they’re facing a sea of junk mail, flyers and credit card offers? We asked 11 members of the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) their top secrets for making direct mail marketing more appealing to the people who matter most — those opening the envelopes. “What is one way brands can make direct mail marketing more appealing to potential (and current) customers?” Here's what YEC community members had to say: 1. Make Mailers Useful “Consumers use scrap paper every day for grocery and to-do lists, phone books and notepads. So, why should your promo, assuming it’s not immediately trashed, languish uselessly in a drawer somewhere? This year, we sent something people tend to keep — a New Year’s resolution sheet (with business info, of course). Brands should think of an additional use for their mailers; consumers sure could.” ~ Manpreet Singh, Seva Call 2. Open With a Proposition “Consumers have short attention spans. Instead of building excitement toward your value proposition, just open with it. This will attract the recipient’s attention and force you, the sender, to see if your value proposition is worth sending to potential customers.” ~ Brett Farmiloe, Internet Marketing Company 3. Make It Lumpy “The first goal of a direct mail campaign is to get your envelope opened. We’ve sent thousands of direct mail pieces to prospects, and we find mailers with a lumpy object inside of the envelope have a near 100 percent open rate. People are curious what’s inside, and the curiosity gets them to open it. Now your job is to make it personal, relevant and captivating to get your piece read.” ~ Charles Gaudet, Predictable Profits 4. Include Product Samples “Paper direct mail can be a nuisance to most customers, but if you include a product sample, the direct mail instantly becomes more valuable as a trial tool. There are several companies that specialize in creating product samples, such as Arcade Marketing for the fragrance and makeup industries, and they often have interactive programs that aim to increase the ROI for your brand.” ~ Doreen Bloch, Poshly Inc. 5. Make Mailers Creative “Direct mail can be very, very powerful. The key is what you send out. Last week, someone mailed me a message in a bottle. The message was about the company changes this business planned to instill in the new year, and the idea was so well put out that I called them immediately. Here’s the key: Send a more creative message to less people. It’s about quality, not quantity. “ ~ Joe Apfelbaum, Ajax Union 6. Include Something Useful “People often only think of promotional products as items to give away during a tradeshow or to clients. But what about using them in direct mail campaigns? Along with your sales/marketing message, include something like a pen. Those who are on the receiving end are at least 50% more likely to keep the pen, and in doing so, you’ll remain in their house in the future, used or not. “ ~ Logan Lenz, Endagon 7. Tailor Content to the Consumer “Invest in learning about your customer, and communicate with them accordingly. Leverage information on customer purchasing behavior and shopping preferences to segment and personalize marketing content and drive sales.” ~ Katie Finnegan, Hukkster 8. Use MailLift “MailLift is basically an API for direct mail marketing. It allows you to integrate your CRM or customer service software directly into its messaging system. You can write out a message, and it will be transcribed as a handwritten letter and sent to your customer. It’s completely revolutionary because you can do mass mail customization efficiently for the first time.” ~ Liam Martin, Staff.com 9. Provide Value “Most direct mail pieces deserve the moniker of “junk mail.” To make sure yours stands out from the crowd, you must deliver some kind of real value that transcends your brand message. There are so many creative things you can do that are cheap: Deliver curated content, use creative techniques (such as punch-outs or folds) to make something that consumers can use or write witty copy. Be boldly creative!” ~ Brittany Hodak, ZinePak 10. Partner Up “Partner up with a complementary company to increase the value of the piece. By doing this you can create a more creative, useful piece. Tap into their customer base as well and use the piece both ways.” ~ Brooke Bergman, Allied Business Network Inc. 11. Use a Stamp “Consumers can tell when something has been mass-mailed. If you make the envelope look like it came from a person rather than a machine, then the piece will more likely get opened. Try using stamps instead of metered mail, and use a font that looks like handwriting instead of typed text.” ~ Sarah Schupp, UniversityParent Direct Mail Photo via Shutterstock The post 11 Direct Mail Marketing Secrets appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Pinterest Marketing Tool Discover Can Give Better View of Your Brand Posted: 26 Feb 2014 07:30 AM PST Tailwind, the analytics and marketing suite specifically for Pinterest, has announced an interesting new service called Discover. The company claims it is the first ever targeted Pinterest marketing tool, and will seamlessly integrate into the existing Tailwind suite. Discover will give a more “holistic view” of a company’s customers, community and brand. Companies will be able to see all Pinterest content related to a campaign, including pins from the brand’s website, repins from their Pinterest profile and recent pins about related topics. The company says the new tool allows users to: Track the increase in followers, repins, likes and comments for your brand and compare growth in engagement across various time periods. Measure Key Performance Indicators including virality, fan engagement level and content engagement rate. You can also benchmark and compare your results with competitors. Analyze content performance by category, keyword, hashtag and pin. Discover has been compared to Twitter listening and monitoring tools. But since Pinterest is based on images, Tailwind believes that their tool provides a different kind of insight. In an official release on the new tool, Tailwind CEO and Co-Founder Danny Maloney explains: “Yesterday’s listening and monitoring tools use simple text-based analysis or outdated pixel-matching technology, which simply do not serve the needs of today’s visual marketer. In a visual world, real insights come from understanding the complete context of an image – including accompanying text, as well as image analysis and factors such as where the content originated. Tailwind provides such insights, helping marketers engage customers in meaningful ways that drive awareness, purchase intent and brand loyalty.” Tailwind is positioning Discover as a way to engage with people in real-time on Pinterest, and to build a “targeted community” which will include influential pinners in their area of expertise. Prices start at $29 a month for the Lite plan, but the $99 monthly Professional package is prominently displayed. Each package has a 14 day free trial. For most small businesses, the $29 monthly package should be more than enough. The post Pinterest Marketing Tool Discover Can Give Better View of Your Brand appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Automate The Hiring Of New Staff For Your Business With iCIMS Posted: 26 Feb 2014 05:00 AM PST Sponsored Post Sometimes one of the most difficult aspects of running a small business is the hiring of new staff. That’s because it doesn’t just involve an interview and a handshake. As any Human Resource employee will tell you, there are other aspects to keep on top of. They include keeping in touch with interested parties, searching for talent yourself and keeping a list of all the open jobs. But you also need to maintain career portals so prospective candidates can submit their resumes. And this is only part of the list of tasks. iCIMS is a complete system that can handle all of these tasks, and more. Automate The Hiring of New Staff If you do a lot of hiring of new staff, then iCIMS is definitely something you should think about using. It enables you to maintain a broad overview of everything your company needs to do and remember to fill your job openings. For example, you’ll need to advertise the vacancy on your site, collect resumes, keep notes and interview questions. Then you’ll need to keep track of the paperwork needed for a successful candidate. All of this can be viewed and edited from the convenience of one single dashboard. Though iCIMS hosts the system on its servers, configuration and branding can make it look as if the pages are on your company’s website.  iCIMS guarantees a 99.9% uptime, so there’s no need to worry about the pages crashing when you need them the most. People interested in applying for a job with your company can submit their resumes through the Candidate Career Portal. Resumes can be sent via Google Drive or Dropbox. After all, the applicant may not have his or her resume immediately on hand. Job vacancies can be shared via social media, and you can refer a vacancy to a friend. Interested applicants must create a profile on the iCIMS system.  If you prefer, you can make the profile using an account on either Facebook, Google Plus, or LinkedIn. Or you can do it the old-fashioned way and make an account with the online form, or by email. When the profile has been created, the applicant can log in and see the vacancies they have applied for in your company. They can leave their resume (which can be uploaded from LinkedIn), and their contact details such as email and Skype ID. They can even upload a photo. In addition to resumes, a candidate can also submit images and even a 2 minute video cover letter. A video cover letter is especially useful if the candidate is too far away for an initial interview, for example. Video cover letters are a great tool to find the candidates you need before you spend the time and resources on a face-to-face interview. On the employer side, all job vacancies and descriptions can be edited using HTML markup. But the system also gives you the ability to set pre-screening questions, to make sure that the applicant is qualified to apply for the job. There is also an iForms section, where relevant forms can be sent to the applicant electronically. But what if you have a sudden vacancy and you need to find a suitable candidate? iCIMS allows you to search for applicants in the system who specified the relevant skills in their application. So if you’re looking for someone with Java and XML experience, you could type “Java XML.” You would then be given all of the applicants in the system who have that experience listed in their resumes. The system’s email templates should also save you time when responding to applicants. If you want to send out an email offering a job, or requesting more information on a job, then you can pull up the appropriate template, and just add the applicant’s details. The iCIMS system can be configured for companies of many different sizes from a few dozen to 10,000 or more. And since the company handles all hosting, configuration and branding, you don’t need an IT department to maintain it all. For pricing, contact iCIMS and tell them the details of your company, including the number of employees and your specific needs. But regardless of your company’s size or industry, the system should streamline your hiring process, and automate the many tasks you need to handle in the process. The post Automate The Hiring Of New Staff For Your Business With iCIMS appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Got a Startup Tech Hardware Product to Sell? Try Grand St. Posted: 26 Feb 2014 02:30 AM PST Grand St. aims to give independent hardware manufacturers a place to sell their products and to test prototypes. If you’re looking to get any consumer electronic to the marketplace, there’s an arduous process involved. One of the biggest obstacles is getting funding for a venture that could miss the mark. Another is finding customers interested in your product. Grand St. provides potential solutions for both problems. Right now, the site is the place to get The Loop, a leather organizer that can charge your iPhone. There’s also a hackable alarm clock kit and an iOS enabled guitar for sale there, now. Fortune says that the addition of independent manufacturers selling their gadgets on the site has turned it into the Etsy of the electronics world. On the official Grand St. blog, co-founder Amanda Peyton explains: “Our goal has always been to create a better way for hardware creators to find an audience and get their products to market. For this new version of Grand St. we wanted to create a flexible solution that addressed indie hardware makers at different stages in the development cycle.” The company says it now has about 200,000 users. And indie gadget makers have three ways to sell their new products through the site: Consumer Ready When you’re ready to sell the gadget you’ve created, you can list it through the Grand St. Shop. Grand St. says it previews and must approve any new listing. If a product doesn’t make the cut, Grand St. notifies the maker of its reasons for rejection. If a product is approved and listed, the site takes an 8 percent commission on all sales. It takes the same commission on Beta sales. These are products that haven’t received any customer feedback and aren’t quite ready for a mass audience. Beta A Beta product maker can pick testers for the products and await their feedback. Based on the feedback, Grand St. says the maker of the product can then decide to seek more funding for changes or get the product ready for the marketplace or pre-order sales. Pre-Order If a product is within six months of being ready for the marketplace, it can be sold through a pre-order feature on Grand St. The site doesn’t take a commission on those sales and there are no monthly fees linked to selling on Grand St. Sellers need to handle all their customer service and shipping commitments, the company notes in its seller guidelines. The post Got a Startup Tech Hardware Product to Sell? Try Grand St. appeared first on Small Business Trends.

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