Monday, October 8, 2012

Unmetric Releases Benchmarking Tool for Pinterest

Unmetric Releases Benchmarking Tool for Pinterest

Link to Small Business Trends

Unmetric Releases Benchmarking Tool for Pinterest

Posted: 07 Oct 2012 01:00 PM PDT

Pinterest has been gaining a lot of popularity with businesses looking for ways to connect with consumers and drive traffic to their sites. There are already some tools available to help brands manage their Pinterest accounts and measure results.

Unmetric

And now, social media benchmarking company, Unmetric, has launched a new intelligence tool for Pinterest users.

Unmetric is already known for providing insights for brands using Facebook and Twitter. But Pinterest adds a different type of social media experience, particularly for brands in industries that rely heavily on visual media to connect with their target audience, such as those in design, fashion, and other arts industries.

Says Brian Solis, Principal Analyst at Altimeter Group and author of The End of Business as Usual:

“Pinterest represents a notable opportunity for many social marketers, especially in any market where products or brand-related lifestyle can become a visual experience.  In the three P’s of successful social marketing, people, promotion and performance, many miss the very thing that provides a benchmark for comparison today and over time. Performance marketing metrics represent an emerging and important next step in social media marketing.”

Unmetric monitors the Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, and now the Pinterest boards of leading brands in different sectors. Users of the service can choose the accounts they'd like to track, either their own accounts, their competition, or other brands they think are using social media successfully.

The service then can tell brands who their fan base is, how they're engaging with consumers, and what types of posts are working for them.

Particularly for the new Pinterest platform, brands can measure follower growth, reach for each pin or board, frequency and sources of pins, and what type of content is most likely to garner results.

Though this isn't the only tool available for brands that want to measure their engagement and improve their presence on Pinterest, Unmetric is already used by some businesses for other social media platforms.  The competitive analysis offered could be useful to certain brands looking to see where they stand in their particular industry.

Overall, Pinterest can be a very powerful tool.  But businesses need to use it correctly, with tools to help them understand and make the most of the platform.

The post Unmetric Releases Benchmarking Tool for Pinterest appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Garnering Success Through Human Interactions

Posted: 07 Oct 2012 11:00 AM PDT

Small businesses need to focus on their advantages.  Let me clarify, so as to not make the most generic statement of the century.  As an entrepreneur, it is absolutely natural to want your business to grow quickly. Whether you want to form a million dollar empire or get big quick so you can sell your business in five years and retire on the beach (like I wanted to do), the inclination is to take on as many big business tactics as you can.

This is understandable. In many walks of life it can be very useful to fake it 'til you make it. As a small business this is sometimes the case. You want to engender trust, both from investors and customers, and behaving like a big dog can often do that.

However, this is only a good idea if you can maintain the unique advantages of a small business. One of the most directly useful benefits of dealing with a small business is that, due to the lack of a large corporate bureaucracy, it can often feel like you are dealing with a human being. Sometimes, this is literally the case.

However, even in Web-based or tech-focused industries that don't usually fall into the "mom-and-pop" category, you can leverage this for a unique advantage.

One of the best examples of this kind of interaction can be found in Saddleback Leather, a purveyor of fine leather goods for business and personal use. I already hear you clamoring about the fact that leather is hardly Web-focused.

Not true in Saddleback's case: they have no physical store and have built a ravenous community of fans based on personal interactions via their incredibly humorous website, as well as social media and a wonderful customer service team. Their goods are clearly high quality, though very expensive, and I would venture a guess that most of their customers never see their products in person before purchasing them.

That is highly unique, considering that many people will drop over $500 on some of their most popular items without ever holding it in their hands. Why do they do this?

For one thing, through videos on their site, you see the owners talking to people every day. You also get a clear view of who they are, and there is a sense of transparency to the whole operation. From their support of underprivileged children to the occasional post on religious views, whether or not you agree with them, you get the impression that these are just people next door, talking to you like you're friends.

This transparency also extends to their business practices, and this is the real kicker. Recently Saddleback posted a letter on their site explaining an upcoming price increase.

Rather than simply blame the economy, they took the time to explain the process, and why they are raising prices. Going further, they stated when, specifically, prices would be raised so that customers could buy before the jump. Rather than the usual social outcry, they received messages of understanding (and quite a bit of business, I imagine) by being up front and straight with their customers.

Staying human for as long as possible can be a distinct advantage. Don't hide behind a corporate wall just for the sake of increasing your legitimacy.

You might find that maintaining some of the human elements of a small business works better for you, even once you find success and strike it big.

The post Garnering Success Through Human Interactions appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Read Digital Dollar to Get Your Online Strategy in Gear

Posted: 07 Oct 2012 06:00 AM PDT

Digital DollarI recently reviewed Chris Brogan and Julien Smith's book The Impact Equation and if you've read that book and signed up for making an impact with your online marketing, then the next book you need to read is The Digital Dollar: Sustainable Strategies for Online Success by Joe Wozny (@JoeWozny).

Where 80% of The Impact Equation put you in the space of understanding what you needed to do with your online communication and 20% was how to do it, Digital Dollar is 80% specific actionable strategies and tactics on how to manage your digital communications.

Who Is Joe Wozny?

Joe Wozny is a digital and online media strategist, author and blogger.  He is the CEO of Cencentric, a company that helps businesses manage and leverage their online media.  In other words, Wozny is in the thick of things when it comes to pulling your company's plethora of online communication channels together and focusing them on what matters most.

Digital Dollar Is For Doers

Have you seen the movie Glengarry Glen Ross where a young and brash Alec Baldwin says:

"Put that coffee down….Coffee's for closers?”

Digital Dollar is like that.  You can read all the feel good strategy you want.  You can read about social media and internet marketing, but Digital Dollar is about actually DOING what it takes to get the job done.  There is very little philosophizing and waxing nostalgic about feelings here.  This book is about doing, baby.  And if you're not ready to DO digital, you're not ready to read Digital Dollar.

I'm not usually this brash and up-front in my reviews.  After all, who am I to tell you how to read a book and what to get out of it?   But reading through Digital Dollar felt like having someone who knows, gets and understands social media channels walk up to me, grab me by the collar and tell me what it takes to get the job done.  And believe me – it's not fluffy and feel good.  It's practical, down-in-the-trenches-this-is-how-the-Internet-works kind of stuff.

All Your Digital Marketing Questions Answered

I get asked a lot of questions about digital marketing so it's a good thing I've got myself a review copy of Digital Dollar because now I can answer basic questions like what kind of domain name to get as well as more complex questions such as  how to create a powerful content plan.

Digital Dollar has it all covered in about 200 pages with lots and lots of charts, tables and specific how-to action items that will keep you on track to achieve your digital marketing goals.

And practical tips?!  There are so many of them I can't even begin to cover them here.  But I will just give you a few from the pages I've dog-eared on my copy:

  • Why create a full web site, when a micro-site will do?  A microsite is exactly what the name says – a small site with just a page or two.  It has a very descriptive domain name such as www.easyfreemarketing,com for example.
  • Create a content plan to keep yourself and your staff on track.  (LOVE this one!) Wozny also includes a picture of a sample content plan in an Excel sheet.  Your content plan should include marketing and promotional information and shared with key personnel.  This is one of my favorite tips because it allows you to integrate all your social media channels in one place.
  • Run a solid and ethical link strategy.  Prospect for links before executing a link strategy.  Always ask for and provide an appropriate links to any relevant party who has an interest in your organization.  Be clear on which pages and links are the most important to your business.

I could go on and on and believe me, each page of Digital Dollar is loaded with insider tips and strategies that you would pay thousands for to a consultant.

But more importantly, the value of this book lies in some great advice I got from Anita Campbell years ago; you don't have to be the one to DO IT ALL, but you DO need to know what is going on with your site.  Every business owner needs to have a basic understanding of what certain internet strategies entail so that they can make good decisions.

This is exactly what Joe Wozny delivers in Digital Dollar.

The post Read Digital Dollar to Get Your Online Strategy in Gear appeared first on Small Business Trends.

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