If you’ve ever sent an email hoping you’ll remember to follow up (and who hasn’t?), FollowUp.cc can change your email life forever. When you send an email to a client, employee or whoever, you can set an email reminder for any time period. If you enter into the CC box: 4days@followup.cc, both you and the person you emailed will get a reminder email (if they haven’t responded) in four days. If you’d prefer for only you to get the reminder, you simply BCC the same address: 4days@followup.cc. To keep track of what reminders are coming up, you can integrate FollowUp with iCal and get RSS feeds of your upcoming reminders.

By Rieva Lesonsky

Do you use daily deal sites like Groupon and LivingSocial to lure customers to try your business? A new study from Edison Research, The Daily Deals Consumer 2012, offers some useful insights into who’s using these services, why and the potential impact on your brand and business. Here’s a closer look.

Nearly one in six Americans (15 percent) use daily deal services. Daily deal users are primarily in the 25 to 54 age group; two-thirds are women; and they have a higher than average household income.

Daily deal sites are most popular in the South, where 45 percent of users are located. Next comes the West with 22 percent of users, the Midwest with 20 percent, and the Northeast with just 13 percent.

Groupon is by far the most popular daily deal site, with 83 percent of daily deals users registered there. Forty-four percent use LivingSocial, and 12 percent use “other.”

More than half of users are relatively new to daily deals, having joined in the past year. Since they started using daily deals, most users (48 percent) say their purchasing habits have remained fairly steady, but 32 percent are using deals less often than when they first started, while 14 percent are using them more often.

Deals work–only 6 percent say they have signed up but never purchased a deal. As to how well they work, there’s good news and bad news. While 28 percent of users say they’ve tried a new business because of a deal, then continued to patronize it without a deal, 30 percent say they’ve tried new businesses once, but never gone back, and 28 percent say they use deals from businesses they already patronize.  Daily deals can be a good way to get new customers, but you’ve got to work to earn their loyalty beyond the deal.

Daily deal users were substantially more likely than average consumers to own a smartphone or tablet. Because they’re so mobile, there are opportunities to reach out to them with “just-in-time” deals that are local and mobile.

Daily deal users spend more time online than average consumers (3.34 hours per day, as opposed to the average of 2.25), and 85 percent go online at work. They’re also far more likely to choose the Internet over other forms of media, such as radio, TV and newspapers. In fact, they’re also more likely to listen to Internet radio and watch online videos, which could lead to cross-platform promotional opportunities.

Not surprisingly, daily deal users are far more likely to have social media accounts than non-daily deal users, and spend more time there. Some 83 percent are on Facebook, 40 percent are on LinkedIn, 20 percent are on Twitter and 20 percent are on Google+. They are also twice as likely to follow companies or brands on social media. When you get a daily deal user hooked on your business, you have a great opportunity to reach their friends and family circles as well.

How are you using daily deals in your business?

Image by Flickr user Taro Taylor (Creative Commons)

With all the documents flying back and forth among you, your clients and your staff, it’s easy to come across a PDF (or two) you need to edit—and quickly! PDF to Word can convert any PDF into an editable Word document in the format of your choice. You can control the layout, the images and the header, and even use the font of your choosing. Convert one file at a time or a whole batch. Plus, the conversion happens on your desktop and not on a third-party site, so you enjoy greater security. Download the free trial version to try it out.

By Thursday Bram

Being able to hold a meeting when the attendees are scattered all over the globe has changed the face of business. You can take on international clients or choose manufacturers in other countries with relative ease. You don’t even need to calculate the long-distance charges anymore: with cloud-based software, holding a meeting, even when you need to share large files, can be free.

But there are certain steps that you need to take to make sure that you have just as useful a meeting online as you would have if you were talking to the meeting attendees face to face. Cloud-based applications continue to evolve, as do the ways we use them, so you need to make sure that you’re up to date.

1. Test your technical solutions: Technology is wonderful and offers us a lot of easy solutions for holding meetings online — but it doesn’t always perform perfectly. Test the tools you plan to use in advance, preferably with a similar load to what you expect during your meeting. You may not need to conduct tests after you’ve ran a few meetings with a particular piece of technology, but keep an alternative ready, just in case a particular site goes down.
2. Write out directions for joining the meeting: If your tool of choice does not offer a step-by-step guide to joining a meeting that you can point attendees to, you need to create one of your own. There are a few exceptions: if you choose a solution that just requires attendees to open an app on their tablet or computer and then click the appropriate meeting, you may not need such detailed instructions. But the easier you can make it for attendees to join the meeting , the more likely you are to see things go off without a hitch. Your directions should also include other crucial details, like what time zone the meeting date is set in.
3. Keep your data under control: One of the benefits to a meeting where everyone shows up in person is that any information that isn’t intended to be made public is a little easier to control — the only potential problem was if someone chose to repeat it. But with many cloud-based technologies, once you share a document, it’s tough to get it back. Make sure you choose a tool like Anywhere Pad that describes its options for controlling access to documents and presentations clearly.
4. Set an agenda and stick to it: Some people have the bad habit of opening up their meeting in one window and working on something else in another window, so you need a way to keep everyone on track. Other potential issues, like people joining your meeting late or having a connection drop, make an agenda just as important as it was for in person meetings. The best practice is to write up the agenda and send it out in advance, as well as keep it up on the screen during your meeting when you’re not looking at other documents or a presentation. It’s worth sending out a follow up document, as well.
5. Offer a back channel for the meeting: With a distributed audience, it can be harder for your attendees to catch someone after the meeting to confirm details or ask questions. By offering a way to have private messages or chat while the presenter is speaking, the people attending your meeting can make sure they have all the information they need. You may see an increase in interactions in the meeting, as well.

The etiquette for managing an online meeting isn’t yet carved in stone. You can make the changes necessary to ensure that your meetings accomplish everything they need to. But you do need to take the constraints of operating in the cloud into account. These steps can help you make minor modifications that can have big impacts.

Thursday Bram is a writer for Anywhere Pad.

Image by Flickr user Jessica Mullen (Creative Commons)

Are small businesses taking a cue from the nation’s consumers—in other words, borrowing less and paying down debts? That seems to be the case based on two separate reports out from PayNet.

The latest Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index declined in March, which could indicate slowing in the nation’s economic growth. The Index tracks the overall volume of lending to small businesses nationwide. In March, it declined to 98.5, down from 101.8 in February. Although small business borrowing did increase 10 percent compared to the same time last year, that is the smallest 12-month growth rate since January 2011.

On the plus side, a separate indicator from PayNet, its most recent 30+/90+ Day Delinquency report, found that small businesses are having no trouble paying off their debts. The report, which uses real-time datat to measure the percentage of loans to small and medium-sized businesses that are past due by 30 or more days and 90 or more days, found that accounts in moderate delinquency (late 30 days or more) dropped to 1.39 percent in March, down from 1.47 percent in February. At their height in May 2009 these accounts hit 4.42 percent.

Accounts in severe delinquency (late 90 days or more) hit a record low of 0.34 percent in March. That’s down from 0.36 percent in February. And accounts in default (late 180 days or more) dropped to 0.48 percent in March, down from 0.50 percent in February.

There’s good news and bad news in these two reports. Clearly, the fact that business delinquency is down is a positive sign for the health of the nation’s small businesses. At the same time, the lack of interest in borrowing could indicate small businesses are either feeling uncertain about the nation’s economy, have given up on getting the financing they need, or are feeling too cautious to expand their companies.

What financial steps are you taking in your business these days? Are you focused on debt repayment, or on expansion financing?

Image by Flickr user Vectorportal (Creative Commons)

In this recovering economy it’s not enough to get new customers; you need to get new customers who can pay you. Experian, the leading credit scoring company, has developed a new tool to help small businesses to manage their risk by evaluating, monitoring and collecting from their customers. With BusinessIQExpress, small businesses can search Experian’s extensive database to find a potential business and see what kind of risk the company would be before entering into any kind of relationship. Once the customer is part of the small business’s portfolio, BusinessIQExpress will monitor the customer and alert the small business of any changes (good or bad) to the customer’s credit risk. There are also tools for collection, if the situation comes to that.

If you’ve been feeling pressure to prove the value of your social media efforts to managers, don’t worry. You are in good company, as marketing managers are increasingly being asked to show how social media is affecting their company’s bottom line.

Read on to learn about this trend to produce measurable results from social media and to start reflecting on your own social marketing efforts.

Social Media Is Producing Increased Benefits

According to a Wildfire App survey, nearly all of the 700 marketers questioned find value from social media. In fact, 75% of them plan to increase social media spending this year.

And, just how are these marketers benefiting? Increased brand awareness and being able to engage directly with customers are at the top of the list.

Social Media Examiner’s 2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report found similar results. In this study, 88% of marketers listed increased exposure as the number-one benefit of social media marketing.

How has your business benefited from social media? How can you demonstrate these benefits to management?

Businesses Are Investing More in Social Media

According to Borrell Associates, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMB’s) plan to double their social media advertising budget this year, up an estimated $2 billion in the U.S. alone.

Similarly, Awareness Networks found that 70% of businesses plan to increase their social media marketing efforts, and half of marketers plan to enhance their social media management practices and tools.

Even though marketers are increasing their social media investment, Awareness found that 75% of businesses spend $10,000 or less – a relatively small advertising budget. So, where are these companies spending their increased investments? They’re spending more on people’s time to manage social media; however, three-fourths of the businesses only employ three or fewer employees to staff their social media efforts.

What resources – both human and financial – are being devoted to your company’s social media strategy? Are these resources yielding the results you want to see?

Measuring ROI Tops the List of Marketing Challenges

According to Awareness, companies of all sizes and experience levels are faced with the challenge of measuring ROI for social media. This uncertainty has led to only half of survey respondents measuring their social media efforts.

Altimeter Group also found that the majority of brands don’t have a system for social media measuring in place. Even the bigger brands aren’t measuring social media properly.

Those who do measure are barely scratching the surface of determining social media ROI. Most businesses know how to track their social presence and traffic, but they are unsure of how to measure lead generation and sales resulting from social media.

Does your company have a social media measurement system in place? What could you be tracking that you currently are not?

Integration Provides Greater Financial Results

According to a study by Insights Consulting, some companies still view social media from the sidelines, rather than integrating it fully with their overall marketing efforts. Less than half of the businesses surveyed have integrated social media into their business processes. And, 43% of U.S. firms are just getting started with their social media efforts, or are still in the process of evaluating whether social media is effective.

The most important information Insights discovered is that businesses that have already integrated social media into their operations are seeing greater financial results from their efforts than those who have not. It’s time to get off the fence!

How about your company? Are you still cautiously wading into social media waters, or do you already know how to swim?

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While marketers who struggle with pressure to show ROI from social media are not alone, it’s important to take the first step towards social media measurement. Use these insights to evaluate your own social efforts, and find ways to show your social media tactics are key to an effective marketing strategy.

Image courtesy of wizmarketings.com

U.S. consumers are more likely than consumers in other nations to shop online—and increasingly, they’re using mobile devices to shop online, according to the recently released Global Online Shopper Report, conducted by WorldPay and reported in Internet Retailer.

The study found that U.S. consumers spend an average of 23 percent of their disposable income on online purchases—above the overall average of 22 percent for consumers in all 15 countries that were surveyed. They also spend an average of 5.4 hours a month shopping online—above the global average of 5 hours.

The survey covered the three months prior to March 2012, and found that among customers who had made a purchase online during that time, 53 percent had used a smartphone or tablet to buy clothes, 46 percent had used a smartphone or tablet to buy books and 42 percent had used a smartphone or tablet to buy DVDs or online games.

Of course, purchasers of books or games could be simply downloading ebooks or games to use on their mobile devices. But to me, the fact that more than half of shoppers are buying clothes with their mobile devices shows a sea change is underway.

The report took a closer look at m-commerce spending among people who are “heavy spenders” online (spending 30 percent or more of their disposable income online) and who owned mobile devices.  Fifty-one percent of U.S. “heavy spenders” had made purchases on a smartphone and 55 percent had done so on a tablet. Globally, the figures were even higher, with 55 percent of heavy spenders having bought something via smartphone and 67 percent having done so on a tablet.

Other findings in the report:

• 95 percent of e-commerce purchases worldwide are made at home;
• 59 percent of online U.S. consumers watch TV while shopping online;
• The most common time of day for online shopping among U.S. consumers is 10:30 a.m.

With online shopping rapidly moving mobile, it’s no surprise that the new Small Business Mobile Survey from Web.com found that 69 percent of small businesses say mobile marketing will be crucial to their growth in the next five years, and 64 percent plan to increase their investment in mobile marketing this year.

You can find a full copy of the Web.com Small Business Mobile report and Infographic at http://bit.ly/JwvrMU. Help your friends in the small business community go mobile during National Small Business Month by sharing this report on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn using the hashtag #smbmobile.

Image by Flickr user Lululemon Athletica (Creative Commons)

Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence, a leading provider of resources, business education, and community support for women entrepreneurs, will hold the Urban Rebound-Los Angeles Conference and Competition on May 10 and 11, 2012, at the Skirball Cultural Center in Downtown Los Angeles. The goal is to help women entrepreneurs in Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange and Riverside Counties grow their businesses, and specifically to help 100 women-owned businesses in the area to reach $250,000 in annual revenues within 12 to 18 months. Participants in the competition will pitch their businesses to a panel of experts for a chance to be part of the Count Me In Business Accelerator Program.

Pinterest is growing like crazy, so I thought I’d write a series on everything Pinterest. This four-part series can help marketers determine whether Pinterest should be added to their social media lineup, as well as help existing Pinners hone their skills.

With every popular social network comes a wave of tools designed to help maximize your user experience. Here is a list of 12 tools that can help streamline your Pinterest workflow and enhance your pinning efforts.

1.  Pin a Quote turns a text quote into something you can pin. Great quotes are very share-worthy, so think of how your business might use this tool to engage other Pinners.

2.  SpinPicks finds content across the web that you may want to pin. If you’re just getting started on Pinterest, you may want to use this tool until you get a feel for your own curating style.

3.  Pinterest Pro has a hover and zoom feature, as well as a function that lets you “right click to pin” for quick pinning. You can even view trending pins with a drop-down view from the toolbar.

4.  ShotPin is a screen capture tool that lets you crop images, too. So you can put even more of your personal flair on each image you grab with a little editing.

5.  Snapito! is another screen capture tool, but this one adds the ability to automatically include the full-source URL into the description of every pin. Responsible pinning is easier with tools that help you attribute as you pin.

6.  Curalate provides a monitoring, analytics, and brand intelligence platform so companies can curate community along with great content. This company realizes the marketing potential of visual curation and can help you get a grip on your overall Pinterest strategy.

7.  Percolate is another curation tool that serves up new content in an organized way. Then, its dashboard shows you what types of content resonate the most with your audience.

8.  PinReach can help you monitor trends and measure your success with Pinterest. It includes a “trending pins” section to keep you abreast of the newest and best pins.

9.  PinPuff is another analytics service that lets you know how much your Pinterest account is worth and gives you scores for reach, activity and virility. The platform includes the PinPerks program, which lets you earn free stuff for your activities on Pinterest.

10.  Pinitics is in closed beta, but it promises a multiple account dashboard, similar to how Hootsuite lets you monitor different accounts using a single dashboard. Its metrics include sales data, which could be really helpful for businesses using Pinterest to advertise their products.

11.  Google Analytics may not come to mind when you think of Pinterest tools, but a recent article on Mashable could change that. From custom reports to multi-channel funnels, Google Analytics can be leveraged to provide some valuable Pinterest data.

12.  The Official “Pin It” Pinterest Bookmarklet is a simple, readily available tool that many Pinners aren’t putting to use yet. Now you have no excuse for forgetting to pin something fabulous you’ve come across on the web. Just click “Pin It,” and you’re done. The bookmarklet will even grab the source link so you can give proper credit.

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Have I missed any Pinterest tools that make your Pinterest marketing strategy easier and more effective? Share your own favorite Pinterest tools in the comments section below.

And be sure to check back for the rest of my four-part series on Pinterest. I’ll show you how to get more pins, how to create shareable photos, and let you know what thought the marketing thought leaders have to say about Pinterest.

Image courtesy of thecultureist.com