Startup Helps Marketing Reach More Customers More Effectively

One of the most common challenges in marketing, even in the age of social media, is turning data into something upon which a business can act to improve and continue drawing customers. There are plenty of tools that provide businesses with customer data, and some that take specific information pertinent to an individual business and make it usable. A startup called Spredfast goes beyond that in many ways with more comprehensive social media marketing and action. Read more »

With the constant access granted by the Internet, particularly by means of social media, the modern consumer wants and expects to engage with the brands they love.  Conversely, it is of great benefits to companies to grow as large and knowledgeable a fan base as possible.  Fancorps is a service that works to aid in this process by giving brands control over interactions and recommendations on social media that have become key to success on major networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, and Instagram.  Brand success relies heavily on these networks, serving as free or cheap advertising and information for customers on everything a company may desire to share. Read more »

It is easy enough to find a good deal on the items you want, whether that means searching through the Sunday paper, clipping coupons, or using websites such as Amazon or eBay.  Unfortunately, however, these methods are very often time-consuming and sometimes fruitless.  Even with mobile devices, finding a bargain may require you to install several apps, possibly even on a brand-by-brand basis or through many individual companies, and an online retailer may not always have what you are hoping to find.  Fortunately, there is Upside, which helps you save money simply by linking an online account with existing social media to let you find all the discounts that once required much more effort or the use of many different mobile apps.  Upside is a quick, paperless option that works with a large range of major brands at any store that accepts coupons.  Online retailers can be cheap, but Upside can give you discounts in real time while you are out shopping, even on items that are already on sale. Read more »

Traditionally, photo booths have been a popular way to entertain guests at wedding, parties, and other such events.  With the advent of social networking, one of the major changes in the events industry is the growing use of social media at events.  TapSnap is a unique service adding social media to the traditional photo booth.  It features an interactive touch screen so users can do much more than simply take pictures.  TapSnap offers all the fun of the photo booth experience and adds even more to it, whether for the purpose of entertaining wedding guests or encouraging collaboration and participation at business events. Read more »

Attracting likes and followers online is important for businesses active on social media, but it can be difficult to determine how exactly these things affect a company’s overall revenue. This is where a startup called Inside Social is most helpful, helping brands attribute value to specific social media actions. It is a way to help businesses measure and increase the influence social media has on its profit to help them get more fans and followers. Essentially, Inside Social utilizes its own patented software to help companies measure how social media engagement translates to actual business results. Read more »

When searching for social media information based around a specific area, the options social networks provide are limited to those specific websites, apps, or services. Echosec is a map-driven search engine that harvests and searches hundreds of social media services for real time posts and media. You can use the service to see breaking news and live updates from areas of conflict of any kind, or simply to see real time posts from your favorite sporting event.  The idea is very self-explanatory; you simply choose the area that interests you by creating a square on the world map, and Echosec will then display the tweets, Facebook posts, and Flickr images, or any other social media mention from that area.  While this is especially useful for obtaining the most relevant news as it happens right from the source, you can choose the period that interests you as well. Read more »

Social media is not just for personal use, and it is a main part of almost any company’s marketing as well. It is rapidly becoming more and more important for brands to have strong presences on multiple social media platforms, as consumers have come to expect social media content from the brands whose products they use.  Everypost makes it easy to organize visual content from a variety of sources, customize and schedule posts, and take greater control over your social pages.  Essentially, it is an all-in-one publishing solution making it easy and convenient to share multimedia content across multiple social platforms.  Professionals in many industries as well as bloggers and journalists have turned their attention to how best to create and share meaningful multimedia content that can best connect with their target audience, and this app may be one of the most important tools yet. Read more »

Almost everyone has a personal account on at least one social media website, and the Internet provides the best forum for those who share a specific interest.  Combine these two elements with a passion for sports and you have Sportlobster, an app its developers refer to as “The Sports Social Network.”  Certainly most teams have pages on social media as well as their own websites while providing news feed for their fans, and sports journalism is also widely accessible online.  What makes Sportlobster unique is the ability to get all the information you want on as many teams as you want without having to switch from page to page or open another browser, while at the same time viewing all the sports news you want without having to sort through any other information to see it. Read more »

Though we can communicate with more people than ever before, our communication seems to have become less personal through the Internet, making collaboration and community key to developing relationships and expressing ourselves online.  Creator Republic is, in its creators’ words, a leading source of the most popular independent web videos that focuses deeply on surfacing the best video content before anyone else and connecting fans with the content creators.  From posting photos and videos on the Internet to collaborating on ideas through email to communicating on social media and much more, almost anything we enjoy can be shared online.  The real appeal, and one of the app’s more unique aspects, is the ability for fans to communicate with the people who create the entertainment they enjoy. Read more »

For all of the social media that we engage in daily, there is very little that tailors directly to families while allowing the privacy we need in a potentially dangerous online environment.  Along with the dangers that can come with browsing the Internet, it can be challenging to keep family coordinated and emotionally connected.  Squarehub is an app that, in its developers’ words, is the private social network designed exclusively for your family. The development of technology brings with it unique new problems as well as solutions, and Squarehub looks to solve these problems.  While social media offers us myriad new ways to branch out and connect to people we may not otherwise meet, the lack of privacy can become increasingly worrisome. It can also be difficult and complicated to gather family information through multiple emails, text messages, and social media accounts.  Meanwhile, teenagers desire more freedom while parents are concerned about their safety, and they do not always understand online etiquette.  Along with all these things, communication between family members can significantly diminish between all of the online chatter and busyness.  Squarehub offers an innovative solution to deal with all these dilemmas. Read more »