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Best Background Check Companies https://ift.tt/2EWaxXQ Running background checks is an essential part of the hiring process. The information revealed in a background check can give you crucial information about a prospective employee. According to a recent survey, 96% of employers run at least some type of background screening before they hire someone. So if you’re running a business, you need to be doing this as well. But where can you get a background check done? Are all background checks the same? If you run a quick Google search, you’ll learn that there are countless types of background checks offered by hundreds of different services. It’s tough to figure out which ones will actually give you the information that you’re looking for. That’s what inspired me to write this guide. I’ll show you the top background check services on the market today, and help you decide which one is the best for your business. The 5 Best Background Check CompaniesIn a market flooded with background check services, there are really only five companies that I would consider using as an employer. I’ll explain the pros, cons, and pricing of each service below. GoodHireAs the name implies, GoodHire is clearly intended for employment background checks. It’s one of the most popular background check services for small business owners. But it’s also used by some larger and well-known companies like Tuft & Needle and Draft Kings. More than 75,000 businesses trust GoodHire to run background checks. 72% of GoodHire customers say that these background checks are faster than other services that they’ve used in the past. One of the reasons why GoodHire is such an excellent choice for small business owners is because of the flexibility in their pricing. Since a small business owner doesn’t hire as frequently as a larger organization, you won’t have to pay a monthly fee for background checks. If you plan to run less than 25 background checks per year, then GoodHire will only charge you for each report. Only need five checks? Just pay for the five; it’s that simple. The cost of a background check depends on how much information you want to find: Basic — $29.99 each
Standard — $54.99 each
Premium — $79.99 each
As price increases, the background checks become more extensive. GoodHire also gives you the option to add-on other screenings and services like:
GoodHire provides additional assistance for drug screenings and healthcare sanctions as well. At the end of the day, they have nearly every type of background check that a small business owner would need before hiring someone. One downside of using GoodHire is that they charge a one-time setup fee to verify your company. This $49.99 cost might be tough to justify if you’re only running a couple of checks per year. But if you plan to use the service at least a dozen times or so, it’s worth it. The add-ons can also drive up the cost of your checks. So if you need lots of add-ons for each background check, it might be worth requesting a custom quote from their sales team. B&B ReportingB&B Reporting has been in business for more than two decades. On average, they turnaround reports in less than 24 hours. B&B Reporting also has a 19% criminal hit ratio, which is above the industry average. I like B&B Reporting because they use superior technology. This cloud-based platform makes it easy for you to order and review background checks online. Each background check is completely customized. Choose exactly what types of records you want to search for or verify, and the price will vary based on those inquiries. Unlike other background check services on the market today, B&B reporting does not require a monthly minimum or charge you for an initial setup cost. The B&B Reporting technology allows you to send electronic consent forms to applicants to initiate the process. They also have a visual dashboard that shows you the status of candidates and reports at a quick glance. With B&B Reporting, you can run background checks for:
Again, B&B Reporting is another background check company that provides basically everything you could possibly ask for when screening an employee. The biggest downside of this service is that the pricing isn’t very transparent and getting started isn’t so simple. To start running background checks and get a quote, you need to fill out a form online to discuss your screening program with a sales agent. Prices for the services won’t be listed until you’ve been verified and set up an account with B&B reporting. AccurateNowIf you want a simple and straightforward way to run background checks for your small business, AccurateNow will be a top choice for you to consider. The platform is advertised for small and medium-sized companies. But I’d recommend it to microbusinesses and companies with very small teams. AccurateNow is affordable and does not require any monthly minimums for background checks. They are FCRA compliant, which will help you avoid lawsuits while screening employees. To get started with AccurateNow, you’ll need to register your account, e-sign their agreement, and get approved before you can start ordering reports. This company does charge a one-time setup fee of $25 to verify your business. Once you’ve been verified, you can order the following reports: Basic — $29.95
Standard — $59.95
Premium — $74.95
As you can see, these plans are very similar to the ones offered by GoodHire, which we reviewed earlier. The biggest difference between AccurateNow and GoodHire is the add-on options. AccurateNow doesn’t offer as many add-ons, but the add-ons they do offer are cheaper. GoodHire’s add-ons typically start at $14.99, whereas AccurateNow begins at $9.95. All of this makes AccurateNow a better choice for smaller businesses that don’t need features like international employment verification. But this does make AccurateNow a bit more limited than some of the other options on our list. InteliusIntelius is slightly different compared to other background check services that we’ve reviewed so far. It’s marketed toward the average person, as opposed to employers. However, an employer could still use this service to find information about a prospective hire. You can use Intelius for free to search for names, phone numbers, and addresses. But the results will be extremely limited. It will show you the person’s age and a few associated cities. To get the most out of Intelius, you’ll need a premier account. These reports include:
With Intelius, you’ll pay a fixed monthly fee to run unlimited reports. Memberships are month-to-month and cost $29.95. You can try your first month for a discounted rate of $14.95. The price of Intelius is definitely appealing, but the reports are limited compared to other companies. If you have a large business that runs tons of background checks, you could use Intelius as a way to pre-screen candidates before running a more thorough report. For example, the $29.95 per month fee could save you money in the long run if you avoid wasting upwards of $100 on extensive reports. A red flag on Intelius would be enough to narrow down your candidate pool. Then you could always run a full background check through another platform. VerifirstVerifirst has been running background checks for 15 years. They offer a wide range of services including:
While all of these options are viable, I’d prefer to use Verifirst for niche-specific solutions. Their tenant screening services stand out the most to me. Whether you own one investment property or run a larger property management business, Verifrist has what you need to find the most qualified tenants. If you’ve been managing properties for a while, you know that renting a unit to the wrong person can be a costly mistake. Not only are you putting your property at risk, but this decision can also result in thousands of lost rent, legal fees, and turnover costs. Verifirst offers specific background checks for tenant screening. These reports include:
In addition to the actual reports, Verifirst makes it easy for you to manage applicants and view everything online. You can access this web-based platform 24 hours per day and grant access to an unlimited number of users. This is perfect for those of you who run a property management business. Furthermore, Verifirst integrates with popular property management systems that you’re already using. You’ll also benefit from complimentary pre-screenings of an applicant’s income and analysis of their assets. Verifirst lets you run multiple screenings simultaneously, which is ideal for joint applications or leases with co-signers. All pricing on Verifirst is custom. So you need to contact their team to get started and learn more about the rates for running reports. Overall, Verifirst is the best background check company for tenant screening. But I’d look for other options if my business was in another industry. How to Find the Best Background Check ServicesWhen searching for the best background check company, there are certain feature sets that you need to keep an eye out for. This is the methodology that I used in this guide. I’ll explain why each one is important as you’re narrowing down your choices. Types of Background ChecksNot every background check service is the same. Some are intended for personal use, connecting with relatives, or finding information about your neighbors. None of these are really useful for employers. When running a check on potential hires, these are some of the most common types of searches you’ll want on the report:
Depending on the type of business you have, you might also want to run motor vehicle records, or various international screenings. Turnaround TimeBasic information like identity verification is usually instant. Other reports can take a few days, depending on what you’re searching for. It’s important to understand how long your reports will take. If it’s taking companies a week to get reports back to you, then it’s way too long. You don’t want that much time to pass, as it extends the hiring process longer than it needs to be. Company SizeThe size of your business is crucial when looking for a background screening service. Smaller companies obviously don’t run checks as frequently. So as a small business owner, you should find a service that doesn’t require monthly or annual minimums. Very small businesses don’t always need extensive reports either. A basic identity verification and criminal check is usually sufficient. Initial Setup and New Background ChecksIf you’re running a background check for the first time with a new service, you might need to get your business verified before you get started. This process is easier with some services compared to others. Sometimes you can just sign up online, but in other instances, you’ll need to request a quote and speak to an agent to get set up. In some cases, you’ll need to pay a one-time setup fee as well. Once approved, look for background check services that make it as easy as possible for you to run a new search. Companies like B&B Reporting let candidates e-sign consent forms, which speeds up the process. Report AccuracyAt the end of the day, accurate reporting is probably the most important part of the background check process. It would be terrible if a report came up clean, but the person actually had a criminal history. This is something you need to know about before hiring someone. All of the companies in this guide have been around for years, which should help you rest easy when you’re running reports. But it’s always a good idea to check and see what databases they are using for screenings. ConclusionBackground checks are common practice in the hiring process. As a business owner, this is something that needs to be taken seriously. If you’re looking for the best background check services, these are the companies that you need to consider:
You can’t go wrong with a service like GoodHire. It’s made for employers and has every possible report you’d need to screen for. But with that said, these other options are viable choices as well, especially if your company falls into a certain category with specific needs. Social Media via Quick Sprout https://ift.tt/UU7LJr December 26, 2019 at 08:59AM
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Best Credit Card Processing Services https://ift.tt/2QpSXAO If you want to accept credit card payments from your customers, you need to find a payment processing service. This holds true for both ecommerce and in-person retail sales. However, all credit card processors are not the same. So it’s tough to name one as the definitive best option. Finding the right credit card processing service for your business is crucial, since the fees, performance level, and customer experience will vary based on your choice. An ecommerce giant and small local coffee shop shouldn’t be using the same processing company. Whether you’re looking to switch processors or you’re accepting credit card payments for the first name, this guide will help steer you in the right direction. My methodology will make it much easier for you to find the perfect credit card processing service for your business. The 8 Best Credit Card Processing ServicesThe credit card processing industry has become extremely competitive over the years. With ecommerce on the rise, companies have adapted accordingly. New players are emerging in this space as well. But with so many options to choose from, there are really only eight different payment processors that I would recommend. You’ll likely be familiar with at least a couple of these names, but others are lesser-known. For each processor, I’ll breakdown the pricing, benefits, drawbacks, and explain which types of businesses should consider the processing service. StripeIf you’re accepting payments online, Stripe should be one of your top choices. In fact, Stripe ranked first on my list of the best payment methods for your ecommerce site. Stripe is built for developers, so you might be a little overwhelmed when you first land on their website. However, you’ll quickly realize that this payment processor is easy to use, regardless of your technical experience. For those of you who want to take advantage of the developer features, you’ll be impressed with the Stripe API and UI toolkit. Another top benefit of Stripe is its built-in fraud protection system. This will help you manage and avoid ecommerce chargebacks. It’s easy to integrate Stripe with your ecommerce store, regardless of the platform that you’re using. Stripe accepts a wide range of payment options, including digital wallets like Apple Pay, Microsoft Pay, Google Pay, and Visa Checkout. Stripe helps simplify your checkout process. According to a recent IDC report, businesses using this payment processing service were able to increase their revenue by 6.7%. The report also found that Stripe resulted in 59% higher productivity, 81% fewer unplanned outages, and 24% lower operating costs. Speaking of costs, Stripe is an affordable payment processor, even if you’re just starting out. The fixed pricing model is very straightforward:
If you use Stripe to set up recurring charges for subscription customers, your first $1 million is free. After that, you’ll pay $0.5% on all recurring charges. I like Stripe because you pay the same flat rate for all credit cards, including digital wallets and premium cards like American Express. For those of you with unique business models and large payouts, you may qualify for a customized pricing solution. Contact the Stripe sales team about volume discounts, interchange pricing, and multi-product discounts. Overall, Stripe is an ideal solution for any ecommerce business. It is highly technical, which can be a drawback for companies that don’t have a developer on staff. HelcimHelcim is an all-in-one payment processing service for retail locations and online stores. It’s a top choice for small business owners. Transparency is the reason why Helcim ranks so high on our list. Their interchange pricing structure shows you exactly how much you’ll pay above the interchange rate set by the credit card companies. Helcim has arguably the best rate guarantee in the industry. They will never increase your rates for the lifetime of your account. While the fees for certain cards might go up, the Helcim margins will always remain the same. When you sign up for Helcim, you’ll choose between two base plans:
While Helcim does have the online feature, I’d personally just consider them for in-person payments. Your rates will vary by industry, monthly processing volume, and average transaction amount. The industry options are:
Here’s a detailed look at the pricing rates for retail merchants based on monthly volume. If you compare these rates to other processing services out there, you’ll see that Helcim interchange pricing costs are below average. So it’s an excellent way for small businesses to save some money on credit card processing, even if they are in the lower pricing tiers. Helcim contracts are month-to-month, and they don’t charge any cancellation fees. You can integrate Helcim with QuickBooks to improve your small business accounting process as well. Helcim offers a POS system, with an app that’s free with your plan. However, the app does not integrate with the credit card terminals as of now, which isn’t ideal. Terminals purchased through Helcim range from $229 to $649 per unit. While Helcim prices are competitive and generally low, it’s not the best choice for those of you who are only processing less than $3,000 per month. You can probably find a more cost-effective alternative elsewhere. SquareMore than 2 million businesses use Square to process payments. Square offers POS systems with built-in payment processing. This company ranked first on my list of the best POS systems, so the fact that they double as a payment processor is an added bonus. Any business accepting in-person payments needs to take a closer look at Square. Square also processes payments online, on the go, through recurring invoices, and manually for orders taken over the phone. But with that said, the in-person POS processing is where Square really shines. Another standout of Square is the ability to get paid fast. While most processing companies usually take a couple of days for funds withdrawals, Square gets money in your bank account in the next business day. They also offer instant transfers for a fee. Square’s pricing is straightforward and transparent. You’ll pay the same rate for every card, including Discover and American Express. They don’t charge any startup fees, monthly fees, cancelation fees, authorization fees, statement fees, terminal fees, or other common industry-standard markups. Square pricing varies slightly by industry and POS hardware, but here are the most common rates offered:
Square provides you with everything you need for success when processing payments. They have active fraud prevention, account takeover protection, dispute management, other security measures like PCI compliance and end-to-end encryption. Signing up and getting started with Square is simple. The only major drawback of Square is that its customer service is not available 24/7. Most processing companies can be reached on weekends, nights, or other odd hours. If I were running a physical retail store and wanted a POS system and payment processor from the same company, I’d choose Square. PayPalPayPal has been a giant in the world of processing transactions for more than a decade. It’s a name that we’re all familiar with, and there’s a good chance that you’ve used PayPal in some form or another in your personal life. While PayPal has always been known for its P2P payments, it’s also a great choice for businesses to use as a payment processing service. You can use PayPal to accept payments both online or in-person. It’s the best option for low-volume businesses to get paid online. I recently wrote an article comparing PayPal vs. Stripe for ecommerce. While Stripe definitely has its fair share of advantages, the PayPal technology is much simpler. It’s also extremely easy to set up. You won’t need to worry about all of the developer features like you do with Stripe. Let’s take a closer look at PayPal’s processing fees:
As you can see, the pricing is nearly identical to Stripe. One of the best parts about using PayPal as your online payment processor is that you’ll be able to accept PayPal, Venmo, and PayPal credits in addition to all major credit and debit cards. This is a massive advantage over other payment processors, where you would need to integrate PayPal separately. While I personally like PayPal’s online features, the flat rate of 2.7% per transaction for mobile and in-store payments is appealing for low-volume merchants as well. The biggest downside of using PayPal is that customers will be taken to the PayPal website to finish processing all online transactions. You can eliminate this step and integrate PayPal directly into your site, but there is an added fee for that. Speaking of added fees, PayPal has a long list of add-ons and other incidentals that they charge for. They are transparent about these prices, but make sure you review all of them in your contract so you fully understand the terms. Overall, you know you’re getting a trusted and reputable brand if you use PayPal to process credit card transactions for your business. Flagship Merchant ServicesFlagship Merchant Services is a bit different compared to other credit card processors that we’ve reviewed so far. If you land on their website, you’ll quickly see that there aren’t prices listed anywhere. In fact, their website is just one page. There’s nowhere to really navigate and learn much more about their services. The benefit of Flagship Merchant Services for credit card processing is that everything is totally customizable. They offer flexible terms and month-to-month pricing for all businesses. Types of pricing plans are customizable as well. Flagship Merchant Services has tiered pricing and interchange plus options, whereas other payment processors typically just offer one or the other. More than 25,000 small business owners trust Flagship Merchant Services to process their credit card payments. While this payment processor might be a bit smaller or lesser-known than some of the other options on our list, working with a smaller company has its benefits. Flagship Merchant Services offers exceptional 24/7 customer service. You’ll get a free EMV terminal or Clover Mini POS system when you sign up. If they can’t lower your processing rates, they’ll send you a $50 AMEX gift card. The downside of this payment processor is the setup and getting started. No prices or contract details are available online. So you’ll need to speak to a sales rep to request a quote, which isn’t convenient for everyone. Payment DepotPayment Depot processes more than $4 billion in credit card sales with over 3 million transactions per month. Their system is simple; they charge a membership fee to give you access to wholesale processing rates. Think of Payment Depot as the Costco for credit card processing. The prices are lower than the competition, but you need to be a member. For this reason, Payment Depot is the best option for high-volume merchants. Payment Depot does not take a percentage of each transaction. They simply charge a fixed amount per transaction based on your membership tier on top of the interchange fee. Here’s an overview of the plans, features, and pricing: Basic — $49 per month + interchange
Most Popular — $79 per month + interchange
Best Value — $99 per month + interchange
Premier — $199 per month + interchange
All plans come with a 90-day free trial. Payment Depot is used by big brands like Dominos, Boost Mobile, Subway, Arco, and Sprint. I wouldn’t consider this payment processor unless you’re over the $25,000 monthly limit. As you can see from the rates, you can save lots of money on processing fees with a Payment Depot membership. Overall, this is an impressive payment processing service. The only downside is that it’s not realistic for most smaller businesses to consider. CDGcommerceCDGcommerce offers custom credit card processing services for different industries. Some popular categories include:
Clearly, all of these different business types will have varying needs. But overall, CDGcommerce is the best choice for nonprofit organizations. That’s because CDGcommerce doesn’t charge any monthly fees or require monthly minimums for nonprofits. You can get an integrated mobile card reader, set up recurring billing, and benefit from special nonprofit rates. The rates will vary based on volume and specific needs, but nonprofit processing typically starts 0.20% + $0.10 per transaction, plus interchange costs. If you fall into one of the other categories, CDGcommerce has flexible pricing options based on your monthly volume. One Rate Pricing: $1,000 – $10,000 monthly volume
Interchange Plus Pricing: $10,000 – $200,000 monthly volume
Wholesale Membership: $200,000+ monthly volume
Again, the specific rates will vary for each business based on a number of factors. You need to contact the CDGcommerce sales team to request a quote. I chatted with an online sales rep just to see how long this would take, and I got a quick answer in just a couple of minutes. This wasn’t an official quote, but it’s nice knowing that they are quick to respond. That’s where I got the starting rates for nonprofits, which isn’t listed anywhere on the website. PaylinePayline is another lesser-known payment processing service. But they have a wide range of solutions for mobile payments, ecommerce payments, and in-person payments. They can meet the needs of small business owners, enterprises, and everyone in between. However, Payline is the best option for a very specific type of business—high-risk merchants. For one reason or another, certain merchants are considered a high risk to credit card processing companies. It could have to do with the history of your company, or maybe it has to do with the types of products that you’re selling (CBD, firearms, vaping, etc). It’s tough for these merchants to find a credit card processing service that will work with them, and even harder to find one that will offer favorable rate terms. So if you fall into the high-risk merchant category, Payline will be your best option. Payline will even work with businesses in online gaming, casinos, multi-level marketing, and adult industries. Rates and plans are customized for each merchant. But if you’re struggling to find a payment processor that will accept your business, I’d schedule a call or apply online with Payline. How to Find the Best Credit Card Processing ServicesThere are certain features that you need to keep an eye on when you’re evaluating a credit card processing service. This is the methodology that we used here at Quick Sprout to filter results and come up with the list above. Pricing TypeThere are two main pricing structures for credit card processing.
With fixed pricing, it’s the same rate for each transaction, regardless of the credit card that the customer uses. Stripe, Square, and PayPal are examples of processors with fixed prices. For interchange pricing, you pay the amount charged by the credit card company, plus the markup fees of the processor. Helcim has interchange pricing. Flagship Merchant Services offers both fixed-rate plans as well as interchange pricing, since they provide custom solutions for different businesses. Some credit card processors, like Payment Depot, will charge you a monthly rate to access wholesale prices. It’s crucial to figure out which pricing structure works best for your business because the structure will ultimately affect how much you pay. Monthly VolumeIn most cases, high-volume merchants can get lower processing rates per transaction. You can request a custom quote from nearly every credit card processor, even if they have fixed rates advertised on their website. With that said, there are certain services that are best for high-volume merchants, and others that are better for low-volume merchants. I’d recommend PayPal for low-volume processing and Payment Depot for high-volume credit card transactions. IndustryThe type of business you have will affect your credit card processing terms. Rates vary if you’re processing cards online, in-person, or over the phone for “card not present” transactions. Stripe is the best provider for online transactions, while Square is better for brick-and-mortar retail locations. Other payment processing services specialize in nonprofit organizations or high-risk merchant industries. So if you fall into one of those categories, you’ll need to find a processor that can meet those needs. Funds WithdrawalsHow soon can you get your money? In most cases, funds are available in your bank account after two business days. Sometimes this period can be a bit longer when you’re just starting out. Other credit card processors offer next-day delivery for funds. Some providers will let you do an instant funds withdrawal for an added fee. So if you need your money immediately, this is definitely something that you need to keep in mind. Extra CostsIn addition to the transactional fees or monthly plan rates, there are other costs that you need to keep in mind when you’re evaluating a credit card payment processor. I’m referring to things like hardware, POS systems, and payment terminals. Some providers charge extra for international transactions, setup fees, or cancellations. So make sure you review all of this before you decide on service based on the transactional rates alone. ConclusionEvery business needs a processing service to accept credit card payments, whether you’re selling in-store, online, or both. What’s the best credit card processing company? It depends. All credit card processors are not created equally. Here’s a recap of the best processing services for specific instances and business types:
No matter what type of business you have, I’m sure you fall into one of the categories above. I made sure to include something for everyone on my list. Use this guide to find the best credit card processor for your company. Social Media via Quick Sprout https://ift.tt/UU7LJr December 26, 2019 at 08:45AM
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5 Ways to Keep Your Cell Phone in Top Condition https://ift.tt/397sHE5 Keeping up with social media posting can be grueling. Finding new ideas of photos to take and text to post takes a bit of time, planning, and patience. But what if your cell phone isn’t working when you want to take that perfect sunset shot or burrito selfie? What do you do? That’s why it is important to take good care of your equipment ahead of time so that it is ready when you need it most. Here are five ways to keep your cell phone in top condition. #1: Use a Cell Phone Case Perhaps the easiest and most cost-effective way to keep your cell phone in top condition is with a quality cell phone case. Not only does this help with drops and other accidents, but it can also keep dust, debris, and pocket lint from getting into the hardware components. In turn, this extends the life of your phone and keeps it working when you need it most. #2: Install All Appropriate Updates It can be really tempting to skip that smartphone update. However, doing so could be a really bad idea. Most cell phone companies roll out these upgrades to help combat hackers and make sure their equipment is compatible with various apps and features—including many popular social media platforms. Instead, go ahead and complete the system update as soon as it is available and make sure you’re checking app updates, too. #3: Keep Your Cell Phone Away from Water One of the worst habits of cell phone owners is bringing your device into the bathroom. This is usually a bad idea, as it is incredibly important to keep your cell phone away from water—including steam from bathing. Instead, opt to use other accessories like Bluetooth speakers for audio when playing music while you’re in the shower or wireless earbuds for calls while putting on your makeup. These items are much easier and affordable to replace than the actual smartphone itself. #4: Always Use Precautions in Extreme Weather Both extreme hot and extreme cold can have a negative impact on your cell phone. Instead, keep your device away from very hot and very cold temperatures, such as never leaving it in your locked car during the summer and winter months. If you accidentally forget, take your time turning on the device and wait until it has been at a moderate temperature for at least twenty-four hours. #5: Have Your Screen Repaired by a Professional It happens to everyone at some point, but a broken screen is no trivial matter. As soon as possible, have your smartphone screen repaired by a professional. Not only can this keep further damage from happening, but the process is also usually quick and affordable when handled by a cell phone repair shop. Plus, they can usually help answer questions about any other problems you’re experiencing with your smartphone device. Staying selfie-ready is important to growing your social media account and you have to post frequently to see an increased number of followers. These five tips mentioned here can help ensure your cell phone is ready to go whenever you are. The post 5 Ways to Keep Your Cell Phone in Top Condition appeared first on Social Media Explorer. Social Media via Social Media Explorer https://ift.tt/2onGYog December 26, 2019 at 02:35AM
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What is an Inbound Marketing Strategy: The Important Things to Know https://ift.tt/2PShCPE With 71% of marketers globally using inbound marketing as their primary marketing method, if you aren’t using inbound marketing, you’re falling behind. If you’re stuck in a rut only using outbound marketing strategies and you need an inbound marketing strategy you can implement right away. We will help you understand inbound marketing further and give you tips for starting inbound marketing. What Inbound Marketing IsYou’re familiar with outbound marketing strategies like billboard ads, television commercials, and radio spots, but what is inbound marketing? Inbound marketing is a strategy that uses pull marketing like content marketing, event, social media, and more. When you use inbound marketing, you make your company easy to find, and you help the people that do find you. Looking at outbound marketing, you’ll notice that you rent people’s attention, but with inbound marketing, you earn their attention. If you aren’t providing useful information and helping people, they aren’t looking at your company and what you have to offer. Why You Should Focus on Inbound MarketingUnderstanding how powerful inbound marketing is important because you’ll want to act on it right away. When you use inbound marketing, you get a higher ROI than you do with outbound marketing. Inbound marketing also helps marketers solve their number one problem of needing more web traffic and leads. Even if you’re a great salesperson, that isn’t going to any good if you don’t have anyone leads to sell to. The beauty of inbound marketing is that communication is a two-way street. With outbound marketing, you’re talking at the consumer, and you don’t know if what you’re saying to them is effective or not. How to Start Inbound MarketingWhen you’re just starting out with inbound marketing, you have to change your entire mindset of how you market to people. Instead of thinking that you have to get them to do something like opt-in, make a purchase, etc., you need to think about how you can help your target audience. Give, give, give without requiring anything in return. When you do this for long enough, and you have a good product or service that services this target audience, you won’t be able to help but get conversions. Now that you’re in the right mindset let’s talk about some inbound marketing strategies you can use to start getting results. Create a Customer PersonaBefore you start marketing, you need to have a very specific idea of who you’re marketing to. This customer persona should be built out as a fully rounded person with a name. Creating this customer persona will be the foundation for all the other parts of your inbound marketing campaign. Generate High-Quality Content People LoveNow that you know who you’re creating content for, it’s time to get started. When you’re creating content, it doesn’t have to have great production value in the beginning, but it does need to be valuable to the person consuming it. Does it help them solve a problem that is weighing down on them? Does the content inform them on topics they are interested in learning more about? High-quality content makes a major difference in the way people perceive your company. If your content isn’t well thought out and well presented, you’re not going to get the best results from this part of your inbound marketing strategy. Start Posting on Other SitesGuest posting is a great way to get your name out to the masses. If you can land guest posts on websites that are respected and that have a lot of traffic, this can help your brand and influence grow. Learn and Implement SEOSEO stands for search engine optimization and is when you optimize your content to come up at the top of the search engines. You can do this by off-page and on-page methods. SEO allows you to get in front of people that are searching for the solutions your content provides. Since organic traffic converts well, this is an important part of your inbound marketing strategy. Use Influencer MarketingPeople love their influencers and using influencers to get the word out about your products and services will allow you to borrow their influence with these people. Since influencers have built trust with their audience, you’ll often notice much higher conversion rates than you’ll get from other means of promotion. Can You Use Inbound Marketing and Outbound Marketing?When you’re having some success with outbound marketing, it might be difficult for you to put these strategies to sleep. The good news is that you don’t have to stop using your outbound marketing strategies. Many companies find combining outbound marketing and inbound marketing strategies gives them a lot of options and the ability to reach people at different phases of the buying cycle. Being able to get in front of people when you want to, as well as when they are looking for your solution allows you to be even more in control of your marketing. You’ll find that you can use the information you gather from your inbound marketing strategy to create stronger outbound marketing plans. Inbound Marketing Strategy for the WinNow you understand more about inbound marketing strategy and how it can help your company move toward success. If you’re still sitting on the fence about inbound marketing, we have other articles that can help you understand more. Browse our site, find more articles about inbound marketing and other closely related topics, and get any other information you need to get excited about the prospect of inbound marketing. The post What is an Inbound Marketing Strategy: The Important Things to Know appeared first on Social Media Explorer. Social Media via Social Media Explorer https://ift.tt/2onGYog December 24, 2019 at 03:56PM
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4 Reasons to Boost Your Instagram Followers & Likes https://ift.tt/2EN32T6 Instagram is one of the most popular social media sites and has quickly become a very lucrative advertising tool. If you want to showcase your business, however, you need to be able to drive potential customers to your Instagram page. Purchasing high-quality followers and likes can give your company the boost it needs to surpass its competitors in the search engine rankings. High-Quality Followers and Likes High-quality followers and likes do more than just build your numbers and boost your search engine rankings. With having high-quality followers on your Instagram account, it ensures that your page will be more visible to the types of subscribers who will enjoy seeing what you have to offer. This also ensures that your page’s visibility will also increase putting you out there for more and more potential followers. Immediate Start Times Immediate start times guarantee that you will see results in minutes rather than months. When you sign up for our services, an immediate start time will offer many benefits including:
Immediate start times mean that you don’t have to wait for results. You will begin to see progress within a few hours of signing up. The best part is that the progress you see is long-lasting and will continue to work to your advantage. Less Than $1! You need to be able to choose a package that suits your needs. It also has to be affordable. Some of the packages we offer are less than $1 which means you can start slow and steadily increase your visibility at a rate that suits your needs. If you are ready to go all out, we have other packages that will boost your visibility across a widespread audience, ensuring that you get the number of followers and likes you want in a matter of hours. You are able to choose the type of service that meets your needs and have the option to adjust your choices at any time. Automatic Package Options Are Available With automatic packages, you won’t ever have to log back in to purchase more followers. We will automatically drive them to your Instagram account on a regular basis so you don’t have to worry about doing it manually. We take the guesswork out of the equation and make sure you get the followers and likes you need gradually throughout the day creating a natural flow. The best way to boost your Instagram account is through dedicated followers and likes. Automatic package options provide you with the quality followers and likes you need to keep your account growing and expanding beyond your normal boundaries. Let your Instagram account be the tool you use to boost your company’s visibility! The post 4 Reasons to Boost Your Instagram Followers & Likes appeared first on Social Media Explorer. Social Media via Social Media Explorer https://ift.tt/2onGYog December 24, 2019 at 11:45AM How to Use Social Media For Your New Product Idea https://ift.tt/2ZjM9ZP Social media is not going away anytime soon. In fact, it has taken on a life of its own since it was started so many years ago. People use social media for much more than just keeping in touch with loved ones and friends. They also use it to connect with celebrities, learn more about brands they are curious about, to report on their own social activities and to connect with products that they use. Companies have taken notice and they use social media for their own devices, too. All of the most successful companies use social media to help spread the word about their products or services. If you have a new product idea, you can also use social media just like the large companies. Here is how to use social media for your new product idea. Social Media Paid AdsOne of the easiest ways to promote your new product idea is to use paid social media ads. These ads, which are charged on a click basis, are affordable and easy to implement. All you have to do is to set up your product’s social media account on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or something else. Then just use that social media’s platform to design your advertisement. You can even set who you want the ad to appear to be adjusting the “audience” settings. Paid social media ads work. Your audience will see your ads as they use social media. If your ad is good and the person is curious, they will click through to your website page to learn more about your new product. Use Social Media to Raise FundsIf your new product idea is brand new, you might want to raise funds for it on one of the crowdfunding sites. But no one will see your crowdfunding page unless you advertise, and social media is perfect for just that. You can use social media to raise awareness of your crowdfunding campaign, and indirectly raise fund through social media. Run Polls on Social MediaAnother way to use social media for your new product idea is to run polls on social media. Polls are just as easy to run as it is to post a social media comment. Just go to your Facebook page and set to make a post. You’ll see an option to run a poll. You can ask your audience anything you want about your new product idea, including what they think about the overall idea of your idea. Polls are a great way to take the temperature of the audience. You can see how well your product might be received without actually spending the time and money bringing it to market. If you get good results in your poll, you can move ahead with your idea. If you get poor results in your social media polls, you can choose a different idea. Social media is fun to use purely as a social networking tool. But it’s even more powerful to use as a marketing tool, which is what the big companies are doing. Follow suit and use these ideas to use social media for your new product idea! The post How to Use Social Media For Your New Product Idea appeared first on Social Media Explorer. Social Media via Social Media Explorer https://ift.tt/2onGYog December 24, 2019 at 11:45AM
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A Twitter app bug was used to match 17 million phone numbers to user accounts https://ift.tt/398iLdp A security researcher said he has matched 17 million phone numbers to Twitter user accounts by exploiting a flaw in Twitter’s Android app. Ibrahim Balic found that it was possible to upload entire lists of generated phone numbers through Twitter’s contacts upload feature. “If you upload your phone number, it fetches user data in return,” he told TechCrunch. He said Twitter’s contact upload feature doesn’t accept lists of phone numbers in sequential format — likely as a way to prevent this kind of matching. Instead, he generated more than two billion phone numbers, one after the other, then randomized the numbers, and uploaded them to Twitter through the Android app. (Balic said the bug did not exist in the web-based upload feature.) Over a two-month period, Balic said he matched records from users in Israel, Turkey, Iran, Greece, Armenia, France and Germany, he said, but stopped after Twitter blocked the effort on December 20. Balic provided TechCrunch with a sample of the phone numbers he matched. Using the site’s password reset feature, we verified his findings by comparing a random selection of usernames with the phone numbers that were provided. In one case, TechCrunch was able to identify a senior Israeli politician using their matched phone number. While he did not alert Twitter to the vulnerability, he took many of the phone numbers of high-profile Twitter users — including politicians and officials — to a WhatsApp group in an effort to warn users directly. It’s not believed Balic’s efforts are related to a Twitter blog post published this week, which confirmed a bug could have allowed “a bad actor to see nonpublic account information or to control your account,” such as tweets, direct messages and location information. A Twitter spokesperson, when reached, did not immediately comment outside of business hours. It’s the latest security lapse involving Twitter data in the past year. In May, Twitter admitted it gave account location data to one of its partners, even if the user had opted-out of having their data shared. In August, the company said it inadvertently gave its ad partners more data than it should have. And just last month, Twitter confirmed it used phone numbers provided by users for two-factor authentication for serving targeted ads. Balic is previously known for identifying a security flaw breach that affected Apple’s developer center in 2013. Social Media via Twitter – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com December 24, 2019 at 11:25AM
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Why Your Locksmith Company Needs to be on Social Media https://ift.tt/34UsIb9 It is evident that Locksmith brands have taken up the social media space by storm. With all the new locking systems and technology in sight, the digitization in marketing is no surprise. Amongst all these on goings the fundamental question that arises is why a Locksmith brand should be on social media in the first place. Why social media? The simple answer to this question can be owing to the massive digital presence in the modern day world. Everything, from ordering food to shopping for clothes has an online platform, custom fit for that purpose. Why not Locksmiths then? You can ask yourself, when encountered with the need for anything wouldn’t searching online or on social media be your first step to find a service that you need. Other than this simple fact, there are a combination of advantages a social media presence provides . Here are few pointers highlighting the benefits of the social media presence of a Locksmith brand. Some essential benefits include: 1. Location sensitivityLocation sensitivity works like a charm to boos your business at the local levels. Location based keywords can be used by customers looking for locksmith services in a particular area. This will be a direct link to the customer who will now know your service exists even from the comfort of their homes. 2. Greater online presenceYou can create mobile friendly websites such as https://ift.tt/2t2OxaZ with attractive interfaces in order to draw in your customers. With a highly dominant online brand presence this can be easy to achieve and establish a connection with your customers and potential clients. 3. Easy updates and advertisingYou can make regular posts informing the masses about updates regarding your products or any other information pretty easily. You can make posts everyday to maintain regular contact without having to pay anything for using the social media platform. 4. Understand your competitionThis can also be a great way of gauging your competition and the differences of how audiences interact to your services and digital content. Understand your competition and fine tune your representation to yield better interactions and higher profits. 5. Gain reviews and a customer baseWith an active presence on social media you can accumulate reviews from past customers which can serve as testimonies for the new potential clients to refer to. This will not only help to establish your credibility as a brand but also acquire a loyal customer base to count on. ConclusionThus, these prime benefits can not only help to reflect a true representation of your brand but also help to cut down on unnecessary costs of marketing to irrelevant audiences. Social Media offers multi fold benefits to Locksmith brands to promote their features as well as grow into highly successful ventures standing out against all market competition. The post Why Your Locksmith Company Needs to be on Social Media appeared first on Social Media Explorer. Social Media via Social Media Explorer https://ift.tt/2onGYog December 24, 2019 at 10:13AM
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How to Use Instagram Stories in Your Sales Funnel https://ift.tt/2QegtRo Want to turn Instagram followers into clients? Wondering how to use Instagram stories to nurture warm leads? In this article, you’ll learn how to use Instagram stories to engage and guide people through your sales funnel. #1: Nurture Warm Instagram Leads in the Middle of the FunnelInstagram stories are best used to target followers who are in the middle of your sales funnel, rather than new users who are unfamiliar with your brand. Stories invite users who already follow you to view and engage with your content more consistently. Those who are already interested in your brand can be carried from the middle all the way to the bottom of your funnel through consistent and compelling story content. You can post new stories daily or even multiple times per day. Because they disappear in 24 hours, stories don’t gum up your followers’ feeds the way that multiple standard social media posts shared in the same day would. It’s generally an acceptable marketing strategy for brands to post consistent and frequent stories for their followers to see throughout the day, increasing their exposure to your brand and encouraging interested prospects to swipe up and learn more. When creating your social media stories, your content needs to be compelling enough that followers will watch to the end. Your audience will remember stories that evoke emotion or share important, easily digestible information. You should also consider tactics that will make brief story segments valuable and memorable for your followers. Here are a few concrete ways to accomplish this. Tips and Tricks StoriesQuick, easy-to-follow tips and tricks make great Instagram story content because they provide value to your followers. They’re also a seamless, natural opportunity for product placement, and they appeal to followers who are between the middle and bottom of your sales funnel. Customers can discover new ways to use your products or services, while prospects are presented with additional or more specific reasons to take the next step or make the purchase. These types of stories are most effective when you use clear, simple messages and examples. Your followers are more likely to stay for quick and easy-to-digest information as opposed to text-heavy or overly detailed story content. Understanding the concepts shared in the story shouldn’t require followers to take notes or bring in a lot of outside knowledge. Lowe’s Home Improvement offers handy tips for their Instagram followers on many home and gardening topics. The story below introduces a new tool that people can use to help avoid under- or overwatering houseplants. Rather than focus too heavily on technical information, the story keys in on the visuals and keeps the message short and sweet. It’s not about explaining everything at this point, but rather just giving users a taste of information, letting them ultimately decide if they want to learn more. Discover the best social media marketing strategies from the world's top experts! Don't miss this event! Stories like this offer an opportunity to nurture a relationship and build trust with your followers because when executed correctly, they come across as honest and helpful. Educational StoriesSharing educational Instagram stories allows you to keep rewarding consumers with great content, while also providing an opportunity to keep them moving down the funnel. With an educational story, you can teach something basic and broad about your industry or one that your clients or customers work in. To illustrate, you might create a 15-second story that shows people new industry-specific software that can make their job or an everyday task easier. An educational story can also offer a surprising statistic about your industry, followed by a brief explanation or call to action. Educational stories also give you space to share how-to’s that feature your products or demonstrate your brand’s knowledge or mastery of your industry. Introducing a new concept or discussing a new trend in the industry can educate followers and bolster your credibility. As with stories that share tips and tricks, educational story content should be quick, clear, and helpful. Remember, people don’t want to sit through a lecture! Keep your educational content interesting, applicable, and on-brand, as Drybar does in this story about styling holiday hair. Pet food company Royal Canin took advantage of National Take Your Dog to Work Day to provide educational and fun content about dogs in the workplace. In the story below, they don’t shove their product in people’s faces, but rather talk about related content that’s of interest to their target audience. Royal Canin’s marketing is typically fine-tuned with a whited-out background and use of bold red. However, in this story, they offer a much more authentic experience with their brand (though they do use red and white throughout). Lifestyle or Brand StoriesInstagram stories are also a great place to share more general lifestyle and brand content for your followers. You could post stories that show behind-the-scenes footage from your business or photo shoots, or content that features lifestyle models or influencers using your products in their daily lives. The key to effective lifestyle or branded story content is entertaining viewers. While tips and tricks and educational videos offer valuable information, lifestyle content can offer entertainment value. You don’t always have to feel compelled to teach. Lifestyle content provides this alternative. Consider using techniques like humor, aspirational appeal, fictional characters, or personal stories. You can surprise your followers with relevant memes or jokes that they’ll want to tell their friends about. Give viewers a sneak peek at what your team is doing to prepare for an upcoming holiday season, sale, or launch. Depending on your brand’s journey, your followers may even like to see a story about your founder or the company’s growth and development. Creating lifestyle stories that make your followers laugh, feel nostalgic, or connect with your brand and its values will help guide them to the bottom of your sales funnel. Footwear company Allbirds has always maintained a strong brand image. They share stories content that simply reinforces the look, feel, and connection of the brand with their consumers. Specs and Dimensions for Instagram StoriesInstagram allows you to post stories content in 15-second chunks that disappear after 24 hours. Users tap through the queue of stories from accounts they follow rather than scrolling through typical analog-style posts. This difference in format is often advantageous to brands because users will see a series of only your stories as opposed to a singular post as they quickly scroll through their timeline. The dimensions of Instagram stories are different from traditional posts or ads. Instead of the classic Instagram square, stories usually take up the entire smartphone screen. This means your stories content should be 1080 pixels wide by 1920 pixels high, an aspect ratio of 9:16. Keep these dimensions in mind when creating your content so your stories blend seamlessly into your audience’s story feed. Stories serve a different purpose than traditional Instagram posts do, so you can’t simply recycle your standard Instagram posts as stories. Because of the temporary, casual nature of stories, followers generally expect to see story content that feels unedited, spontaneous, or intimate. When producing your stories, focus on capturing videos with a more natural aesthetic, as opposed to videos that appear heavily edited and highly styled. Save that content for your posts! Get Expert Social Media Marketing Training!Want to keep ahead of your competitors? Need to master a social platform? Discover how to improve your social media marketing at Social Media Marketing World 2020, brought to you by your friends at Social Media Examiner. You’ll rub shoulders with the biggest names and brands in social media, soak up countless tips and new strategies, and enjoy extensive networking opportunities . Don’t miss the industry’s largest conference. Get in early for big discounts. Sale ends Tuesday, December 24th, 2019.CLICK HERE TO LEARN MOREThis example from natural home goods company Buffy isn’t overly edited or produced. It’s just a fun, off-the-cuff story that viewers might receive from one of their friends. #2: Convert Your Hot Instagram Leads via StoriesWhile you’re creating your awesome stories and tracking your followers’ engagement with your content, keep the big picture in mind. Every so often, check to make sure you’re driving those who watch your stories down the sales funnel. There are a few ways to accomplish this. If you have the means, consider hosting a live webinar to kick off the launch of a new product or service. Advertise this webinar in your stories, and track how many followers and viewers take the extra step and attend the webinar. You can also create a designated landing page or video that your followers are taken to if they swipe up on your stories to learn more. You can design this web content with that audience in mind, using language and features that have been proven to appeal to viewers. Going back to the Royal Canin example, if you were to continue watching the story, you would eventually be led to the graphic below that invites you to read more about bringing dogs to the workplace. #3: Warm Up New Instagram Followers or Cold Instagram Leads via Stories Highlights AlbumsSo you’ve created and shared a variety of engaging stories with your followers across your social media platforms. But once your story’s 24 hours are up, what do you do? How can stories offer long-term marketing value to your brand? While stories disappear from your followers’ feeds after 24 hours, you can save stories to highlights albums that users can access anytime from your Instagram profile. This allows you to preserve and organize your best story content for current followers to go back to and for future followers to discover later on. Group Your Instagram Highlights Into Topics of InterestWhile earlier I mentioned that Instagram stories are best for viewers in the middle of the funnel, story highlights allow you to spotlight content that appeals to those at the top and bottom of the funnel. For consumers who are unfamiliar with Buffy, there’s an interesting story about the brand in the Meet Buffy highlight album. And consumers who are in the middle of the funnel can get more nuanced information from the other story highlights albums. The Buffy IRL highlight album spotlights content from customers who have posted about Buffy comforters on Instagram. It helps influence people who are on the fence about making a purchase. Of course, before you name your highlights albums, you need to develop an organizational system that makes sense for your content and followers. A real estate agent may organize their highlights by client needs, such as Buying and Selling, or by interests, such as Down Payment Saving Tips or Home Design Inspo. Pro Tip: When grouping your highlights, plan for the future. Ask yourself what kind of stories you’ll want to save to your profile and what kind of content your followers will come back for. HubSpot segments their stories in logical highlights that correspond with what the users may want to know about. The highlights are organized into Tips, Growth, Marketing, Tech, Sales, and so on. This approach helps HubSpot create a better marketing communication channel for all of their users. You can also use stories highlights to help your followers self-identify where they are in your funnel and find the information that’s most relevant to them on your profile. A family photographer might create a highlights album for potential clients that offers information about scheduling, pricing, and other general information that prospects may be gathering. The same photographer could also create a highlights album for customers who are waiting to receive their photos, including information about timelines, editing, and sneak peeks. Alternatively, the photographer could create highlights albums organized by category such as Newborns or Family Christmas Cards, and include pricing, scheduling information, and samples of their work in those specific categories. When choosing names for your highlights albums, go with short, easily understandable titles that coordinate with one another. Make sure that the titles are short enough to be fully displayed on your profile. Also consider using emojis or single keywords in your highlights album titles for clarity and brevity. However you decide to organize your stories highlights, be sure to consider clear organization, future content, and the chronology of your clients’ journeys and sales funnel. Design Custom Covers for Instagram HighlightsWhen creating your highlights albums, be sure to design custom highlights covers. Your cover images should be clean and simple, while either clearly indicating the purpose of the highlight or matching the branding of the rest of your Instagram presence. You can accomplish this through simple icons or intentional color palettes, or by coordinating with the other story albums. To visualize this, you may choose a solid color background that maintains your branding or a simple, easily recognizable icon that relates to the album content such as a house, a hammer, a dollar sign, or a cat. Like any other Instagram content, you can archive or delete highlights when necessary. Consider using this feature when it’s time to give your online branding a refresh, or when a short-term sale or program has ended or changed. Your highlights should always be relevant and up to date. #4: Use Analytics to Optimize Your Instagram Stories Content for ViewsAre your Instagram stories too long? Are you posting static photos to your stories instead of dynamic videos? Do followers seem more interested in your educational content than your humorous lifestyle content? Trends in follower retention and viewership will help you determine how best to harness your stories as powerful social media marketing tools. Instagram provides insights for business profiles to help you track engagement. While the metrics can be ambiguous, they are an avenue of measuring engagement. At the end of the day, they’re the only way to determine which kinds of stories are doing well or poorly with your audience. When reviewing your Instagram Insights for stories, pay close attention to when and where viewers drop off. And remember, engagement on stories shouldn’t be interpreted the same way as other web marketing analytics. For instance, taps back are not negative metrics; they mean users are intrigued and want to see the content again. And taps forward can be viewed as content that’s not resonating. This is the reverse of website analytics where the faster and farther a user goes down web pages, the better. ConclusionWhen executed properly, Instagram stories can be an excellent tool for keeping your brand top of mind with your followers. Think of your stories as micro-conversations that help you maintain a constantly visible presence in your followers’ daily lives. Discover the latest tactics and master social media marketing in 2020! Don't miss this event! Stories give you the opportunity to get creative and craft entertaining, engaging content to share with your followers. Taking full advantage of stories will help you grow your brand and guide your followers from the middle to the bottom of the sales funnel. More articles on Instagram stories:Social Media via Social Media Marketing | Social Media Examiner https://ift.tt/1LtH18p December 24, 2019 at 05:04AM
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Can’t Miss Strategy for Growing Your Business with Digital Relationship Building https://ift.tt/2MmPhyM Facebook digitized our real-world friendships. LinkedIn digitized our professional networking and career-building. Now RelyCircle is helping to further digitize the way customers make timely, relevant recommendations to their friends and family based on personal experiences with businesses. Referral Marketing is the Next Digital Marketing Evolution.Many industries operate with the understanding that the people or organizations that generate referrals will be compensated if the referral leads to a sale. Let’s look at law firms for an example of this: The attorney that generates a new client for their firm is usually rewarded, even if another lawyer does the new client’s legal work. But this is just one example. Another example is the pay-per-sale or lead type of influencer marketing. It’s become popular because it allows small businesses to have bloggers and social media influencers monetize their audiences. Companies love it because they can pay only for sales, instead of throwing money at advertising campaigns with mixed results. RelyCircle: A Platform for Monetizing Referrals Across IndustriesRelyCircle is trying to take all of this a step further by allowing small businesses to incentivize virtually anyone to recommend their product or service to someone else – going beyond a tweet or online review. All of their customers can then earn a cash reward if their recommendation results in a purchase. It might sound like influencer marketing, and it kind of is, but there’s more to the story. Influencer Marketing 2.0?Any small business that has tried their hand at pay per sale or pay per lead marketing will tell you that there are a lot of hoops to jump through. First, you have to find the right influencers willing to send you traffic and/or sales. Then you have to find a way to get their audience to click on your link and make a purchase. If you are successful, you’ll end up with a sale. If not, well, you just wasted a bunch of time and resources chasing your tail. RelyCircle is a Community that Better Reflects Real-World Interactions RelyCircle is a social community where past customers can recommend a company’s product (online or offline) to their friends. If their recommendation generates a sale, RelyCircle sends them a cash reward on behalf of the small business. You are literally monetizing something your customers are already doing in their social circles. The term industry insiders are using to describe this phenomenon is “social selling”. Marketing Tools with Zero Up-Front FeesIf you look at what this means for businesses, especially smaller businesses (home improvement contractors, mechanics, trainers, etc.), it’s a game-changer. When a company signs up for RelyCircle, they gain immediate access to email marketing and text marketing tools they can use to encourage satisfied customers to recommend their business to friends. I recently received one of these texts after getting my car serviced. The service rep texted me with a follow-up asking if I was satisfied, and then immediately provided me with a link to recommend their services to a friend. It was very simple and convenient. Because I appreciated how quickly they took care of my vehicle, I was happy to tell a friend about the experience I had, primarily because he and I had discussed car maintenance earlier in the week. For businesses operating in the digital age, getting satisfied customers to make recommendations is crucial for growth. So, right away there’s a benefit for businesses. Things really get cooking when those customers realize they can also earn a cash reward for referring their friends and family, without feeling like they’re spamming their contact list. If you’re looking to grow your business, I recommend checking out RelyCircle’s mobile platform for small businesses. No, I won’t receive a commission, but I do think it’s helpful to point out emerging trends in our industry – especially when they remove barriers to entry and help small businesses grow. The post Can’t Miss Strategy for Growing Your Business with Digital Relationship Building appeared first on Social Media Explorer. Social Media via Social Media Explorer https://ift.tt/2onGYog December 23, 2019 at 01:40PM |
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