By Amanda Elam
Effective use of technology is a must in order to efficiently produce, distribute, and service products as well as maintain high levels of customer service and engagement. In order to effectively keep up with, and differentiate from competitors, it is important to choose and become proficient in the right applications.
If everyone else is doing it, how is differentiation possible? By finding out what your competitors are doing and finding ways to make it better. If your company is the benchmark, then you may be doing these things already. Regardless of the size or status of your business, it never hurts to know what’s going on around you. Here are some applications that can help:
Builtwith: Since most businesses today have an online presence, it is important to understand how your competitors are using this channel for business. Your website is your 24 hour sales and marketing tool. It never sleeps and it can be your most effective asset when it comes to sales, lead generation and both outbound and inbound marketing. If you are able to effectively identify and expound upon the tools your competitors are using, then you are on your way to surpassing their online presence. Built with can not only identify the CMS and design technology a site is built upon, but can also provide competitive analysis and business intelligence (content delivery networks, advertisers etc.) that is invaluable in “keeping up with the Jones.’”
SpyFu: If you’ve had a bit of experience in e-commerce, you’re likely well aware that keyword research and a site built around carefully selected keywords are the platform for successful online businesses. Search engines drive traffic and revenue and in order for customers to be able to find your business, you have to let Google and other search engines know why you’re worth finding. SpyFu allows you another avenue to analyze your competitors. With the ability to search any domain and subsequently track their rankings, organic and paid keywords as well as their ad copy for the last 6 years, SpyFu is basically the James Bond of digital espionage.
Now that you’ve successfully drawn a baseline and can effectively establish a benchmark for your operations, you can start trying to meet and exceed the standards set by your industry foes. A great first step is to establish an online community that encourages customer interaction and fosters brand loyalty. Obviously, this is easier said than done. I would argue however that the key to successful social media advertising is the same as in any other marketing medium; an enticing, consistent voice and message. So, with all the clutter social media users are bombarded with on a daily basis, how do we cut through that to create something genuine and useful for all parties? As in business, the key is providing unique value.
Content Curation Tools & Tips
At its core, good social media should be based on good content. If you can create something worth talking about and sharing and can promote it effectively, then you’re well on your way to developing a successful online community. Here are some tools that can help.
Feedly: Subscribe to industry influencers and receive their content in the form of an email or RSS feed to you mobile reader application and share it (or some form of it) on your site.
Newsle: Follow prominent personalities in your industry, find out when news about relevant brands are published, discover when certain journalists publish articles and more. This is a great tool to figure out what is trending and capitalize on it quickly in the form of an interview or roundup as part of your content marketing campaign.
Scoop It: Find great content on the web, create boards, follow other people’s boards and compile all the content into an awesome newsletter or other publication for your followers. This tool is basically a Pinterest-like application for content management.
Hootsuite: Manage multiple social channels as well as track mentions of your company/brand, schedule posts/tweets and access a variety of useful analytics and tracking metrics.
EarthIntegrate: Integrate and manage content, in a variety of digital formats, in one place.
If you are able to use these tools effectively, you will not only dramatically improve your online brand presence and challenge you competitors, but hopefully you will set the standard in your industry. Managers will be able to take a little more hands-off approach and still maintain the direction of the company and the overall success of the company will increase; driving more traffic and purchases as well as increasing ROI and brand recognition. The possibilities are endless.
Amanda Elam is marketing director of EarthIntegrate.
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