Image from: Markus Gann / Shutterstock

Crowdfunding is quickly becoming a new trend especially in the online space. With websites like Kickstarter.com, Quirky.com and Indiegogo.com creative projects are being supported and funded by people on the web.

With even more ways to fund creative projects I looked at Compete.com to see which website sees highest traffic.

Looking at Compete.com we can see that Kickstarter.com has over 700,000 Unique Visitors and takes the lead as the go-to crowd funding site.

Looking further we can see that 54% of the domestic internet population visiting Kickstarter has a household income of 60K or less. Not only that but we can see that the majority are between 25 and 34 years old.

With approximately 250,000 unique visitors 34 and under, where are visitors going after they visit the site?

As a platform for funding, Kickstarter uses various sites to promote the projects. Looking at Outgoing Sites we can see that blogging and networking sites are visited after viewing the projects.

Kickstarter.com is not only driving traffic to their site, but also to industry sites. It looks that Kickstarter is not just a Crowdfunding site but a crowdsending site as well.

How can Kickstarter further kickoff creative projects that are also being shared on other sites?

Kathyran, 2012 Customer of the Year

Customer-centric — similar to the way Zappos approaches selling shoes online, Jon and Anthony aim to make you part of the family. This is evident not only in the branding around their loyalty program, focusing on “b.good Kin” but also in the way they resolve mistakes and bring the WOW factor in social media. Tweet about loving their food, get retweeted or @replied; accidentally pick up the wrong order – they’ll happily add a sorry burger to your “kin” account. It’s this extra effort that delights those Bostonians lucky enough to enjoy b.good regularly.

They weave their customers into the brand story with and annual contests where they name the b.good champion. Allowing customers to vote on who they think is the most deserving of the title, they create a community of loyal brand advocates.

Authentic — b.good is one of the most approachable and fun-loving brands that I’ve had the pleasure of encountering.

Harvey, b.good's ice cream truck

Their newsletters and promotional emails are informative and also entertaining, making it seem as if you’re part of the story rather than a customer they’d like to upsell. They like to poke fun at themselves and clue you in on the challenges and triumphs of their labor of love.

Approachable — In their monthly email newsletters they often ask for feedback on things you love, and are open to suggestions. A great example is how they embraced the gluten-free community in Boston, by offering gluten-free buns. While many businesses are adverse to trying new things or taking risks, Jon felt that doing so really helped the business because it made his customers extremely happy. He recalled one customer was over the moon, because he could go out and grab burgers AND fries with his buddies and simply feel ‘normal’.

The b.good team

In addition to offering things most fast food businesses won’t, it’s note-able that they have a great crew of employees and I’d say probably some of the best retention of any food business in Boston. I’ve been a customer of one location for over two years and there has been very little turnover. Jon attributes this to treating their employees with respect, encouraging them to build rapport with customers, and working hard to make the work environment fun. Even though the business sees hundreds of customers a day, I can tell that many of the employees can spot a regular. One particular employee, has a knack for saving me from accidentally ordering items on the menu that aren’t gluten-free. It’s this kind of relationship that turns your deep like for a restaurant, company, or brand from like to love.

Responsible — they attempt to create a connection between the food you’re eating and the people behind making that happen. By sourcing locally they keep more dollars in the local economy and fresh food just plain tastes better!

Steve and Ruthie, farmers from CT who raise beef used by b.good

They feature pictures of the farmers prominently in the store, with the names of the towns and what they produce proudly displayed below. Including the farmers that raise the beef in the burgers, the potatoes that make the fries, and the cheese on their sandwiches. So that customers can get a visual of real people, helping create the real food that they’re eating. If you look at the long list of ingredients in burgers at most fast food restaurants, there will likely be at least a few unpronounceable words listed.

Environmentally conscious — All b.good food consumed in-house is served on stainless steel pizza plates and bowls, depending on what you order lined with a thin parchment, cutting waste down considerably. For those that need to-go orders they use bio-degradable recycled cardboard boxes and paper bags, because sometimes you need to grab food and go.

In addition, to supporting local farmers they source their beef from family farms in Maine that never use antibiotics or growth hormones and are fed a strict vegetarian diet. In warmer New England months they source most of their veggies from Dick’s Market Garden and over the past three years have growing a few veggies with the help of Green City Growers. Check out the video below to see what they grew this past season.

These five components of b.good’s killer content strategy aren’t just items on a checklist, they are the foundation of what they’re all about. It’s one thing to declare as an organization what you’d like to be, but it’s another to commit to walking the walk. For me it was my experience with catering that caused brand awareness, but it was their food and their honest fun-loving storytelling style marketing that made me a brand advocate. While this may not work for every business, I’m certain that at least one of the five keys can be adopted into your marketing or maybe even your company culture and garner a positive affect.

Image from: Semisatch / Shutterstock

Let’s face it, if you are a musician finding great gear is an uphill battle.  There is almost an art to finding music instruments and accessories that have just the right affordability and quality to meet each buyer’s personal needs.  This constant search for the better and more exciting instrumentation is part of every musician’s life.  So, naturally there are a lot of users out there who are using the web to help them get a great deal.  Music purchases can range from ten or twenty dollars to thousands of dollars and there are a lot of smart searchers online who know how to find what is just right from various retailers.

After looking at some online activity, music retailers do experience some seasonality during the holidays and  it is not hard to see a big influx of Unique Visitors during the holiday season.  Here is a comparison of the UVs to some of the top music retail sites, MusiciansFriend.com, Music123.com, GuitarCenter.com and SweetWater.com, over the past two years:

After seeing a slight drop in unique visitors to the top music retailers I thought it would be interesting to take a look at what musicians are searching for after the holiday rush.  Looking at the top search referrals driving traffic to music retailers, there was a higher frequency of used equipment searches to those top music retailers after the holidays were over.  With so many shoppers getting new gear for the holidays musicians might be trying to take advantage of the new used equipment on the market.  It is also possible that after the high spending during the holidays used gear becomes a more attractive option.

Musicians are definitely informed buyers and usually have a good idea about the products that they are searching for.  So it isn’t surprising that after the holidays musicians are out trying to find some used deals and equipment.  This is great for the veteran and beginner musician alike making equipment more affordable so they can get playing as soon as possible.

Being a musician can sometimes have its downs but finding gear online doesn’t have to be one of them.  If there is anything we can learn from these users, it is that looking for music gear in the off seasons can result in some great deals.  So if you are a musician or if you are looking to pick up a new musical hobby, now might be the time to take a look at what used deals there are out there.

Image from: AISPIX by Image Source / Shutterstock

LinkedIn has secured their seat as one of the most widely used social networks on the web and since they went public last year, they’ve seen even more explosive growth and remains a site to keep an eye on (even with all the recent buzz about Pinterest). What was once thought of as an online résumé repository has quickly become much more. Is everyone’s favorite professional network becoming more personal? LinkedIn is also a dream come true for marketers who work with online advertising; advertisers have a fantastic audience available to them since in January 2012, 56% percent of the visitors to LinkedIn.com made over $60k and 28% made over $100k!

Based on the incoming traffic referrals in the chart below, it looks like the start of a shift in the way people are using LinkedIn. The social network has seen a large rise in referrals from retail sites since October 2011, perhaps due to people looking for seasonal holiday work at retail stores. Add into the mix sites like Woot.com and NewEgg.com, and it may be a safe bet that people are starting to use LinkedIn as a primary social network—including both personal and professional needs—and sharing deals and products with their LinkedIn connections.

Because Compete’s search referral data shows that many people are arriving at LinkedIn after searching for names of specific people, LinkedIn is becoming a great tool to personalize marketing campaigns for your customers and prospective clients, and staying current with how potential customers use social media outlets like LinkedIn is a critical component of how they will buy what you’re selling.

Want more information about your favorite social networks? Get the full story and download Compete’s free report, The State of Social Media!

Image from: PISETSAK PUKAEWPUEAK / Shutterstock

Those that are romantic (or obligated) diligently prepare Valentine’s Day surprises for their loved ones months, weeks, or days before the holiday.  But what of those who wait until the last minute?

With our Compete search data, we found that of the top 500 search referrals from Google, Bing and Yahoo on Valentine’s Day last week, only about 10 were even related to the “commercialized” holiday.  When it comes down to the wire, most people are not banking on flowers or chocolates.  The gift of choice for procrastinators?  E-cards!  Most online users were searching for free e-cards to send out and love quotes to fill them up with.  Alright, of course, there were searches for jewelry as well, but handmade jewelry.

Without spending any money, these people ensure that their significant other, friends, and family know that they care about them on this special day.  On Valentine’s Day, these users accomplished this by using the top 5 Valentine-related Search Referred sites which create e-cards.  On the other hand, Valentine’s Day makes lonely souls yearn for companionship and nothing speaks louder for this than the number of users who searched for online dating sites on the 14th.

That’s probably why over 17K unique visitors also searched for “The Bachelor” to catch up with bachelor Ben Flajnik and his hometown dates.  I guess more people were concerned about this than the 14K UVs who searched for “Obama Itinerary for February 15, 2012” for his LA visit

Hope you had a wonderful Valentine’s Day!  Next year, feel free to send an e-card to those you love!

Image from: Eric Broder Van Dyke / Shutterstock

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For most parts of the country, this winter has been relatively snow-free.  Here in Boston, we only had 6.8 inches of snow this January—compared to a whopping 60.8 inches last year. Many people are enjoying the break from harsh winter weather, happy to leave their heavy coats and boots at home. However, others are bemoaning the lack of snow, waiting for that one storm that will bring better skiing conditions or a day off from school. Online retailers may also be waiting for snow, as winter weather often brings sales in the form of apparel and recreational gear. I decided to take a look at some of Compete’s data to see just how much this mild weather has influenced shopping patterns this year.

I looked at all searches containing the words “ski” or “snow” that led to an online retailer in January of this year and last year. Not surprisingly, volumes had dropped significantly, with overall searches down 44% from last year.

Search terms remained similar from year to year, but volumes dropped once again. Searches for “snow blowers” fell 68% YOY, and “snow boots” was down 60%.

I also took a look at some of the top retailers people were referred to after their search. As with the terms, top sites remained similar year over year. Though all sites saw a drop in referrals from last year, eBay had one of the least dramatic declines. As the winter draws on without snow, people may be more likely to visit eBay for used or cheaper winter products, rather than making an investment on something new.

Based on this search data, it is clear that consumers’ shopping patterns have shifted with the change in the weather this winter. However, we’re not out of the woods yet. One major snowstorm in the final weeks of winter could be just the thing to boost the volume of searches—and sales—of winter gear and apparel.

Image from: iQoncept / Shutterstock

Tax season is upon us, and it is apparent in the Fast Movers for January; the top three sites with the most gains in unique visitors were tax-related websites.

This week we tragically learned that musical legend Whitney Houston passed away, inspiring Jennifer Hudson to perform a beautiful tribute to the late artist at this year’s Grammy awards. Although this year Grammy’s achieved a record high tweets per second, Hudon’s Whitney Houston tribute was so moving that people actually stopped tweeting during her performance, according to AdAge.

In other celebrity related news this week, we learned that Facebook it will roll out verified pages for celebrities. Gizmodo reports that celebrities, like Lady Gaga for example, will be able to register Facebook pages under her stage name, instead of her government name, Stefani Germanotta.

Boston Innovation put out a list of  Boston’s best Twitter accounts, and what they are worth. Twitter accounts for the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald and Boston Phoenix topped the list, followed by a variety of sports figures and Mayor Menino.

Search Engine Watch also put out a similar list this week, they published the top 6 brands on Google+. H&M ranked number one with half a million users who circle their brand on Facebook.

Lastly, we learned that the music industry may sue Google for including pirated music in their search results. According to Gizmodo, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry believes that Google should sensor their search results to include only legal links. What do you think Google should do?

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