Social media and smartphones are disrupting the established patterns and practices for B2C interactions. To be successful, businesses have to engage with customers through their preferred channels, whether that be mobile, IM or social networks.
The link between technology and consumers is, however, a two-way street. Take, for example, Facebook notifications (the auto-generated email or text alerts you get when someone posts you on your wall or comments on a photo). These alerts constitute B2C dialogue, though they operate under the guise of a C2C interaction.
The initial attraction of social networks like Facebook and other pioneers in the space was bringing groups of people of shared interest together on the web. Adding a messaging capability to the basic web presence extends the social experience beyond the website. Without notifications, you’d have to go online to Facebook to hangout with your friends. With notifications, your friends — and the Facebook brand — come and check in with you throughout the day via your inbox.
This kind of messaging lets businesses participate in, inform, and add value to the social interaction (wall post/sharing) without ever forcing users back to the site.
Adding messaging to social media is a simple advancement that is having a big impact on the way we all connect. For instance, transactional messages – automatically generated notifications – were largely one-way communications. You bought something on Amazon or paid for something online through PayPal and you got a receipt emailed to you. That message probably contained a link to a support site if you had questions, but usually the interaction terminated right there.
Facebook notifications are an entirely different animal. You can respond to them, post comments in return or click through to see entire comment threads. It’s a transactional email or text as a starting point for two-way interactions. These kinds of communication are bound to spread to more conventional industries like banking, health care and retail especially in areas like customer care and marketing.
We’re seeing other companies creating complex message-driven workflows to automate processes that previously relied on live operators, or online lookup — for example, banks enabling customers to text short codes to get current account balances or mini statements listing out the most recent transactions. Where things get interesting is when banks provide options for callback requests, click-to-call or click-to-IM options, so that the digital conversation can go beyond the initial message.
Done right, this kind of messaging sets up “context-aware” interactions. Much like a person-to-person conversation that progresses from email to Facebook message to SMS, context is preserved throughout this B2C interaction. A company will know the context of a user conversation even as the conversation bounces across message channels. Just as important, the account holder doesn’t have to re-explain their issue if and when the interaction turns into a live exchange.
Social media and smartphones have allowed individuals to conduct conversations across multiple channels that can stop and restart over hours or days, but within a sustained context. People increasingly expect to employ that style of communication with businesses as well.
The trick is having an intelligent messaging capability that can interface with multiple backend systems and handle outgoing and incoming messages in multiple formats. Large organizations hit roadblocks because they have multiple systems for email and text: Marketing has their own email vendor and data sources, customer care uses in-house infrastructure for email but outsources their SMS/MMS operations, and so forth. It becomes impossible for the organization to follow or maintain a coherent two-way dialogue if the customer decides to stray from email over to text or IM.
There’s no going back to single-stream messaging. Businesses that can respond to consumer demand for multiple channels will better serve their customers and see real gains in loyalty and marketplace advantage.
_____
Source: Mashable
***
Comments:
By: Toronto Plumbers
Toronto Plumbing Contractors
March 14, 2012
Friday, September 9, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Want to rope in customers? Run an online contest
Over the last few years, customers have sent so many photographs into Algonquin Outfitters’ photo contests that Randy Mitson, the firm’s marketing director, has started to assemble a virtual Algonquin Park by plotting them against a map.
The entries – which Mr. Mitson figures now number more than 5,000 – do more than give customers a chance to win prizes. They remind them of the firm, which operates 12 stores under three brands, offering a wide range of sporting equipment and custom travel in Algonquin Park. It also reminds customers of the park itself, keeping the idea of travelling next season top-of-mind.
Contests aren’t what they used to be. The rise of social media has provided a potent vector for small businesses to harness their customers’ competitive instincts. Platforms like Facebook and web services that are tailored to the task make it easy to stage a contest without an onerous investment. Building a contest isn’t without its perils – social media is an unpredictable beast – but the rewards can be as great for the host as for the winners.
What’s in an online contest? For all the different styles of contest there are, they break down into two camps: On one hand, there are sweepstakes and giveaways, in which the winner is drawn at random. On the other, competitions where contestants enter material to be judged.
Venerable as both of these are, the Internet has brought new twists. Giveaways today frequently involve the use of redemption codes. Coca-Cola might hide a enter-to-win code beneath a bottle-cap, but the technique can work for smaller business too.
When running a large sweepstakes promotion, Algonquin Outfitters worked with the programmers behind their point-of-sale software so that each receipt’s sales ticket could be used as a sweepstakes entry code that could be plugged in online. The first digits of the codes identified which store the receipt was issued at, so Mr. Mitson could tell which stores were doing a good job of signing up customers, and which needed some coaxing.
Competition-style contests, meanwhile, have become all the more prevalent as it’s become easier and easier to both collect and judge entries. Most involve some element of public voting on the results, or a hybrid approach of public input and jury selection. These contests are substantially more labour-intensive, and can require some kind of software backup, but can yield far more buzz and wider exposure.
Why hold a contest? There are a few obvious benefits to holding a contest online – and a few less obvious ones.
Contests can keep a company on consumers’ radars, foster relationships, and encourage future business. As attention-getting devices, they can introduce a business to new customers, or broaden existing customers’ understanding of a business’ offerings. Part of the rationale behind the sweepstakes at Algonquin Outfitters was to make sure that consumers know that the business is about more than camping, and also offers skateboarding and boating equipment.
“When we do a contest, there’s always a reason behind it,” says Mr. Mitson. In this case, the way to impress his firm’s broad offerings on his customers was a well-publicized giveaway.
By the same token, a customer who puts in the effort to craft an entry into a competition, and then receives the satisfaction of seeing their entry featured on the contest website has forged a tighter bond with the merchant and has probably generated some word-of-mouth chatter along the way, whether or not they win anything.
But contests also bring a halo effect that extends beyond the relationship between the merchant and the people who enter their contest. For instance, if they’re implemented properly – and that’s a big if – contests that ask the public to vote on their favourite entries will bring in a much wider audience than entrants. (This is especially true if entrants themselves start roping in their friends to vote for them.) Some of these visitors might become contest entrants in their own rights.
Even simple sweepstakes can be harnessed to yield helpful data. Asking customers for an e-mail address to sign up for a contest is one way of encouraging customers to opt into an e-mail newsletter; it can also be a way of encouraging “Likes” of a Facebook page, which can be converted to mailouts later.
How? It’s always been possible to run a participatory contest by hand, using tools as simple as e-mail and hand-coded web pages, but running online contests today is easier than ever. The arrival of Facebook Pages as a full-bore platform for small business (to say nothing of ubiquitous gathering-spot for consumers) has provided a natural venue for contests. These can take the form of Facebook apps, or web pages that appear within Facebook pages (though Facebook has strict rules for running contests on its site). Another option is a micro-site, an independent website devoted exclusively to a contest or promotion. Finally, an category of online services devoted exclusively to helping businesses run promotions – led by firms like the Vancouver-based Strutta.com and its American competitor, Wildfire – is bringing advanced contest-running capabilities into reach of small businesses. We’ll be looking at how best to put these tools to work – and how to avoid the pitfalls that come with online contests – in the weeks to come.
____
Source: Globe & Mail
The entries – which Mr. Mitson figures now number more than 5,000 – do more than give customers a chance to win prizes. They remind them of the firm, which operates 12 stores under three brands, offering a wide range of sporting equipment and custom travel in Algonquin Park. It also reminds customers of the park itself, keeping the idea of travelling next season top-of-mind.
Contests aren’t what they used to be. The rise of social media has provided a potent vector for small businesses to harness their customers’ competitive instincts. Platforms like Facebook and web services that are tailored to the task make it easy to stage a contest without an onerous investment. Building a contest isn’t without its perils – social media is an unpredictable beast – but the rewards can be as great for the host as for the winners.
What’s in an online contest? For all the different styles of contest there are, they break down into two camps: On one hand, there are sweepstakes and giveaways, in which the winner is drawn at random. On the other, competitions where contestants enter material to be judged.
Venerable as both of these are, the Internet has brought new twists. Giveaways today frequently involve the use of redemption codes. Coca-Cola might hide a enter-to-win code beneath a bottle-cap, but the technique can work for smaller business too.
When running a large sweepstakes promotion, Algonquin Outfitters worked with the programmers behind their point-of-sale software so that each receipt’s sales ticket could be used as a sweepstakes entry code that could be plugged in online. The first digits of the codes identified which store the receipt was issued at, so Mr. Mitson could tell which stores were doing a good job of signing up customers, and which needed some coaxing.
Competition-style contests, meanwhile, have become all the more prevalent as it’s become easier and easier to both collect and judge entries. Most involve some element of public voting on the results, or a hybrid approach of public input and jury selection. These contests are substantially more labour-intensive, and can require some kind of software backup, but can yield far more buzz and wider exposure.
Why hold a contest? There are a few obvious benefits to holding a contest online – and a few less obvious ones.
Contests can keep a company on consumers’ radars, foster relationships, and encourage future business. As attention-getting devices, they can introduce a business to new customers, or broaden existing customers’ understanding of a business’ offerings. Part of the rationale behind the sweepstakes at Algonquin Outfitters was to make sure that consumers know that the business is about more than camping, and also offers skateboarding and boating equipment.
“When we do a contest, there’s always a reason behind it,” says Mr. Mitson. In this case, the way to impress his firm’s broad offerings on his customers was a well-publicized giveaway.
By the same token, a customer who puts in the effort to craft an entry into a competition, and then receives the satisfaction of seeing their entry featured on the contest website has forged a tighter bond with the merchant and has probably generated some word-of-mouth chatter along the way, whether or not they win anything.
But contests also bring a halo effect that extends beyond the relationship between the merchant and the people who enter their contest. For instance, if they’re implemented properly – and that’s a big if – contests that ask the public to vote on their favourite entries will bring in a much wider audience than entrants. (This is especially true if entrants themselves start roping in their friends to vote for them.) Some of these visitors might become contest entrants in their own rights.
Even simple sweepstakes can be harnessed to yield helpful data. Asking customers for an e-mail address to sign up for a contest is one way of encouraging customers to opt into an e-mail newsletter; it can also be a way of encouraging “Likes” of a Facebook page, which can be converted to mailouts later.
How? It’s always been possible to run a participatory contest by hand, using tools as simple as e-mail and hand-coded web pages, but running online contests today is easier than ever. The arrival of Facebook Pages as a full-bore platform for small business (to say nothing of ubiquitous gathering-spot for consumers) has provided a natural venue for contests. These can take the form of Facebook apps, or web pages that appear within Facebook pages (though Facebook has strict rules for running contests on its site). Another option is a micro-site, an independent website devoted exclusively to a contest or promotion. Finally, an category of online services devoted exclusively to helping businesses run promotions – led by firms like the Vancouver-based Strutta.com and its American competitor, Wildfire – is bringing advanced contest-running capabilities into reach of small businesses. We’ll be looking at how best to put these tools to work – and how to avoid the pitfalls that come with online contests – in the weeks to come.
____
Source: Globe & Mail
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Using the Best Web Browser for Your Small Business
An estimated 40.9% of all web surfers use Internet Explorer, making it the most used web browser available. While Internet Explorer is certainly a viable option for Internet-surfing, especially with the faster, better IE 9, not all IE users made a conscious choice. Are you using the best browser for your business…or did you simply stick with the familiar? Here are the many browser options available to today’s computer user.
Internet Explorer
If you buy a computer with a Microsoft Windows operating system, chances are Internet Explorer was pre-loaded. In fact, for many consumers, that big blue “e” on the desktop is all they’ll ever use. While Internet Explorer has improved greatly in recent years, Firefox (below) still passes IE in some speed and performance tests and Safari wins speed tests in initial browser start-up time. In the end, it comes down to personal preference.
If you prefer Internet Explorer, it is important to be sure you have the most up-to-date version of the browser. As reported in AllBusiness.com, all too many users are still on Internet Explorer 6. Using an outdated web browser leaves your browser wide open for malicious attacks. Running Microsoft Updates should automatically give you the latest security patches.
Firefox
Mozilla Firefox began as an alternative to Internet Explorer, but it is quickly gaining popularity. StatCounter reported 26,8% of users choosing Firefox as a web browser. Until the release of IE 9, there seemed to be good reason. Firefox always surpassed IE in speed tests and had a more convenient interface. Features such as Download Manager, now available in IE 9, and tabs, which only became available with IE 7, were available on Firefox long before IE incorporated them.
IE 9 looks to possibly convert a few Firefox die-hards back to Microsoft’s way of doing things. But those still using Windows XP may need to stick with Firefox, since IE 9 is not supported on XP.
Google Chrome
Google seems to be everywhere these days, but don’t mistake Google’s diversification for simplification. Google’s three-year-old web browser, Chrome, is a strong contender in the search engine wars, winning speed tests and usability compliments alongside Firefox and Safari. Chrome is also gaining on Firefox in popularity, with StatCounter reporting 22.14% usage worldwide in 2011.
Safari
Apple’s web browser has gained in popularity thanks to the advent of iPads, along with the popularity of iPhones. Safari is pre-installed with all Mac computers, as well as Apple’s other devices, but it is also available for Windows versions XP and greater. Some have reported issues with operating it on the Windows platform, however, so have another browser as a back-up, just in case.
Opera
Opera was the original browser of choice for cell phones and still is the only browser available for the Wii and Nintendo gaming consoles. Even though it is the least popular of the five biggest browsers in the States, Opera is the most popular in some smaller countries throughout the world. For portable devices, Opera is the best, but as a desktop browser, most people will likely continue to stick with the tried and true.
You may read all of these descriptions and still decide to stay with the same browser, but at least you will be making an informed decision, in the best interests of your small business.
_____
Source: Business Insider
Internet Explorer
If you buy a computer with a Microsoft Windows operating system, chances are Internet Explorer was pre-loaded. In fact, for many consumers, that big blue “e” on the desktop is all they’ll ever use. While Internet Explorer has improved greatly in recent years, Firefox (below) still passes IE in some speed and performance tests and Safari wins speed tests in initial browser start-up time. In the end, it comes down to personal preference.
If you prefer Internet Explorer, it is important to be sure you have the most up-to-date version of the browser. As reported in AllBusiness.com, all too many users are still on Internet Explorer 6. Using an outdated web browser leaves your browser wide open for malicious attacks. Running Microsoft Updates should automatically give you the latest security patches.
Firefox
Mozilla Firefox began as an alternative to Internet Explorer, but it is quickly gaining popularity. StatCounter reported 26,8% of users choosing Firefox as a web browser. Until the release of IE 9, there seemed to be good reason. Firefox always surpassed IE in speed tests and had a more convenient interface. Features such as Download Manager, now available in IE 9, and tabs, which only became available with IE 7, were available on Firefox long before IE incorporated them.
IE 9 looks to possibly convert a few Firefox die-hards back to Microsoft’s way of doing things. But those still using Windows XP may need to stick with Firefox, since IE 9 is not supported on XP.
Google Chrome
Google seems to be everywhere these days, but don’t mistake Google’s diversification for simplification. Google’s three-year-old web browser, Chrome, is a strong contender in the search engine wars, winning speed tests and usability compliments alongside Firefox and Safari. Chrome is also gaining on Firefox in popularity, with StatCounter reporting 22.14% usage worldwide in 2011.
Safari
Apple’s web browser has gained in popularity thanks to the advent of iPads, along with the popularity of iPhones. Safari is pre-installed with all Mac computers, as well as Apple’s other devices, but it is also available for Windows versions XP and greater. Some have reported issues with operating it on the Windows platform, however, so have another browser as a back-up, just in case.
Opera
Opera was the original browser of choice for cell phones and still is the only browser available for the Wii and Nintendo gaming consoles. Even though it is the least popular of the five biggest browsers in the States, Opera is the most popular in some smaller countries throughout the world. For portable devices, Opera is the best, but as a desktop browser, most people will likely continue to stick with the tried and true.
You may read all of these descriptions and still decide to stay with the same browser, but at least you will be making an informed decision, in the best interests of your small business.
_____
Source: Business Insider
Saturday, March 26, 2011
30+ Top Social Bookmarking Sites
The most popular social bookmarking sites, listed alphabetically:
bibsonomy.org
blinklist.com
blogmarks.net
care2.com
clipmarks.com
delicious.com
designfloat.com
dezineidea.com
digg.com
diigo.com
dzone.com
fark.com
i-am-bored.com
kirtsy.com
linkfilter.net
linkinn.com
linkroll.com
linkswarm.com
metafilter.com
netvouz.com
newsvine.com
nowpublic.com
reddit.com
slashdot.org
sphinn.com
stumbleupon.com
thoof.com
tipd.com
unalog.com
ycombinator.com
___
bibsonomy.org
blinklist.com
blogmarks.net
care2.com
clipmarks.com
delicious.com
designfloat.com
dezineidea.com
digg.com
diigo.com
dzone.com
fark.com
i-am-bored.com
kirtsy.com
linkfilter.net
linkinn.com
linkroll.com
linkswarm.com
metafilter.com
netvouz.com
newsvine.com
nowpublic.com
reddit.com
slashdot.org
sphinn.com
stumbleupon.com
thoof.com
tipd.com
unalog.com
ycombinator.com
___
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Facebook Tools, Manuals, & Tips
FACEBOOK GUIDES:
Facebook Marketing Bible
http://gold.insidenetwork.com/facebook-marketing-bible/
CheckFacebook.com: Facebook marketing statistics, demographics, reports, and news
http://www.checkfacebook.com/
8 Quick Tips for Developing a Facebook Marketing Strategy
http://mashable.com/2010/10/07/facebook-marketing-tips/
All Facebook - The Unofiicial Facebook Blog
http://www.allfacebook.com/
Facebook articles on Mashable.com
http://mashable.com/?s=facebook&tab=site&sortby=mostrecent
Effective Facebook Marketing
http://www.citynews.sg/index.php/2010/10/effective-facebook-marketing/
Social Intelligence for Facebook Marketing
http://searchenginewatch.com/3641462
Facebook Marketing Methods
http://www.facebookmarketingmethods.com/
Facebook Revealed
http://www.facebookrevealed.com/
Only Facebook
http://onlyfacebook.com/
***
Facebook Marketing Bible
http://gold.insidenetwork.com/facebook-marketing-bible/
CheckFacebook.com: Facebook marketing statistics, demographics, reports, and news
http://www.checkfacebook.com/
8 Quick Tips for Developing a Facebook Marketing Strategy
http://mashable.com/2010/10/07/facebook-marketing-tips/
All Facebook - The Unofiicial Facebook Blog
http://www.allfacebook.com/
Facebook articles on Mashable.com
http://mashable.com/?s=facebook&tab=site&sortby=mostrecent
Effective Facebook Marketing
http://www.citynews.sg/index.php/2010/10/effective-facebook-marketing/
Social Intelligence for Facebook Marketing
http://searchenginewatch.com/3641462
Facebook Marketing Methods
http://www.facebookmarketingmethods.com/
Facebook Revealed
http://www.facebookrevealed.com/
Only Facebook
http://onlyfacebook.com/
***
Popular Chans' List
"Chans", or image boards, are great for free advertising. Keep in mind though, they are full of porn, sexually disturbed teenagers, and autistic geeks with swollen egos. So, here's our list of the most popular image boards; use at your own risk :)
http://www.4chan.org/
https://7chan.org/
http://www.99chan.in/
http://1024chan.org
http://www.101chan.org/st/
http://000chan.org/
http://ichan.org/s/
http://lolzchan.org/p/
http://www.nigrachan.org/
http://4chon.info/
http://666chan.pushthenet.com/
http://www.anon.scarform.com/
http://auschan.org/
http://chan3.org/
http://dartchan.org/imgboard/
http://dobrochan.ru/
http://chan.gizmothegreen.org/
http://iichan.net/
http://www.imageboard.org/
http://legi0n.789chan.org/
http://localchan.com
http://loopchan.org/
http://mikuchan.org/
http://moochan.org/
http://nekoarcnetwork.com/dis/
http://petichan.org/
http://www.poschan.tk/
http://rockstararmy.com/
http://img.squisso.com/
http://thewired.info/
http://trapchan.org/
http://www.wangdangle.org/
http://lulz.net/
http://wtfux.org
http://konatachan.net/
***
http://www.4chan.org/
https://7chan.org/
http://www.99chan.in/
http://1024chan.org
http://www.101chan.org/st/
http://000chan.org/
http://ichan.org/s/
http://lolzchan.org/p/
http://www.nigrachan.org/
http://4chon.info/
http://666chan.pushthenet.com/
http://www.anon.scarform.com/
http://auschan.org/
http://chan3.org/
http://dartchan.org/imgboard/
http://dobrochan.ru/
http://chan.gizmothegreen.org/
http://iichan.net/
http://www.imageboard.org/
http://legi0n.789chan.org/
http://localchan.com
http://loopchan.org/
http://mikuchan.org/
http://moochan.org/
http://nekoarcnetwork.com/dis/
http://petichan.org/
http://www.poschan.tk/
http://rockstararmy.com/
http://img.squisso.com/
http://thewired.info/
http://trapchan.org/
http://www.wangdangle.org/
http://lulz.net/
http://wtfux.org
http://konatachan.net/
***
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