'Net Features : widget

Monitor Email Video Metrics

Allison Howen — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 18:00:00 GMT

Email marketers can start monitoring how their subscribers interact with videos thanks to the Email + Video widget from StreamSend.

The email marketing provider’s widget helps marketers identify their video subscribers and monitor how their videos are being shared. Additionally, the widget can be leveraged to add list building and a call-to-action button to any video, which is a less expensive method than building this capability directly into the video production.

“Video channels need to know who their subscribers are, and where their videos travel online, so that they can better target and add value to their customer communications,” said Dan Forootan, president of StreamSend Email Marketing. “Earlier methods have been expensive and inflexible. With our widget capability, they can get to know their audience, and messages can be tailored to changing customer preferences, while costing way less.”

Businesses can drag and drop the widget for any existing video, including YouTube videos, and then configure it for sending. By sending a video through email, it has an increased chance of being shared by subscribers on social networks. Furthermore, businesses can add a form to videos in order to encourage subscribers to respond.

It is also important to note that since StreamSend allows subscribers to watch videos within the email, all of their behavior will be available and trackable, which helps marketers optimize future messages according to subscriber likes and dislikes, while also building response rates and increasing the value of their messages to customers and prospects.

Social Sharing, Faster Checkouts

Allison Howen — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 20:30:00 GMT

Offer consumers faster checkouts and better social sharing options with a new version of Ecwid.

Ecwid, producer of the platform-neutral, drop-in store builder widget, has launched version 11 of its e-commerce software that works for Web, mobile and social sites. The new version extends on the platform’s current feature set by offering enhanced social sharing tools, expanded shipping options and faster checkouts.

"Ecwid has advanced to the point where our feature set is comparable to the best online stores,” says Ruslan R. Fazlyev, Ecwid’s founder and CEO. “Yet our installation is still as simple as embedding a YouTube video, with ongoing management as easy as maintaining a Facebook page. This makes Ecwid an ideal, drop-in e-commerce solution that hosting companies and affiliate partners can easily offer their customers.”

The new features have already been updated for all members, and include:

Social sharing – The new "Share your purchase" option encourages consumers to share their purchases on Facebook or Twitter after an order is placed.

Revamped shipping module – this feature has been completely rebuilt and includes a shipping wizard that makes it easier for merchants to add new shipping methods, as well as the ability to limit carrier-calculated shipping rates by region and customize shipping rates based on order subtotals.

Promotional pricing features – these new features now include bulk pricing discounts via an algorithm that offers suggestions to shoppers on how to secure better discounts, as well as a "Compare to" sales price feature that highlights how much better your store's price is vs. the competition.

Faster checkout – Although this feature is only available for customers who use Google Chrome, it is definitely worth noting. Version 11 supports an experimental Google API that allows Chrome users to complete Ecwid checkout forms quickly – with just a click. This experimental “autocomplete type” enables Chrome to pre-populate a checkout form with the consumer’s appropriate information.

Tumblr Reaching Out with Chat Widget

Michael Garrity — Mon, 14 May 2012 20:00:00 GMT

It just got easier to communicate with users on the Tumblr microblogging platform, thanks to a new integration with Chatwing.

Tumblr's recent surge in popularity is often referenced in conjunction with its supposed limitations, namely that it appeals to a younger audience and that only its visual content is likely to go viral. The latter assumption leads many marketers to believe that the site is lacking when compared to other social networks such as Google+, Facebook and Twitter in terms of fan engagement.

While that may not necessarily be true, it has caused some established brands to hesitate before migrating to Tumblr. But the new Chatwing partnership will introduce a website chat widget to Tumblr that adds an element of communication that never existed before.

Chatwing has been integrated with Facebook for some time now, and has greatly improved the communication experience for many global companies. Now Tumblr users will also be able to add the chat box to their blogs and quickly share and receive information from their followers to expand their social horizons.

The latest version of the Chatwing tool is available to Tumblr users, including a filter for “indecent” words and a greater selection of emoticons and avatar displays.

Brightcove Widget for the Ektron CMS Platform

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 14:30:00 GMT

Online video platform BrightCove and web content management solution Ektron have expanded their partnership, enabling customers to incorporate branded video intot heir online properties and marketing campaigns through a new Brightcove widget.

“This is an exciting partnership that makes it easy for customers to take advantage of the most advanced online video platform and Web content management system in a fully integrated way,” said David Mendels, Brightcove president and chief operating officer. “Now thousands of marketers around the world can execute state-of-the-art video campaigns with the same efficiency as any other aspect of building and maintaining their websites and marketing campaigns.”

Ektron customers will be able to use Brightcove's media transcoding, management and publishing tools within the Extron user interface. Users can simply drag-and-drop a Brightcove widget into a site, page, or marketing campaign, creating a rich platform that can fuse text, audio, images and video into a transformative Web experience. Ektron also supports inserting Brightcove’s player embed codes manually for more customized video experiences.

Five Ways to Build Your Own Groupon

Mike Phillips — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 20:00:00 GMT

Group coupon buying has overrun the Internet. A $6 billion buyout offer of Groupon.com from Google should be enough evidence of that. Now, Groupon is getting hit from all sides. LivingSocial has turned up the heat, Yelp.com has introduced group coupon buying, Google is working on their own solution, Facebook won't be far behind and even local websites and newspapers are in on the rush.

Why aren't you?

You can be, by using one of these group buying options below.

Chompon.com provides full-scale group buying functionality and, according the them, a site can be set up in under three minutes. That is, if you have deals ready. The software can be white-labeled for full branding, social widgets are available to help spread your deals, daily emails can be set up, analytics are provided and there's even the option of setting up an iPhone app.

DealCurrent.com not only provides group buying software for your website but also offers marketing and sales help and training, affiliate tracking, merchant agreements and customer service, among other options. Deal Current also handles payment processing.

PoweredByTippr is a little more labor-intensive but it might be the most brandable solution out there. They claim to have, "...the industry’s only patented white-label platform, providing the deepest branding options and widest array of configuration options such as three different deal types, incentive/sharing credit management, progressive account creation, Single Sign On (SSO), mobile and iPhone apps, Facebook connect, sales agent commission reporting, and advanced analytics." http://www.poweredbytippr.com

GroupDeals for WordPress is a group-buying widget for WordPress administrators. It can be implemented into your existing blog - a good option for those with an existing audience.

EnMasse for Joomla is an extension (just like a widget for WordPress) that just might put the Joomla CMS on the map. This extension was built from the ground up, specifically to handle group deals and even supports a multi-language pack.

Keep in mind that some of these solutions are more hands-on than others - particularly the widgets. So, expect a few bumps in the road. But the opportunities are there.

Audit That Widget

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:03:00 GMT

The Audit Bureau of Circuluations' interactive auditing unit (ABCi) announced the launch of its Digital Technology Accreditation program, an audit service for emerging technology platforms.

From the release: ABCi's audit and accreditation program brings the cornerstones of media buying and selling -- transparency and accountability -- to interactive media. Following industry standards and guidelines, the service can provide accreditation for such emerging areas as widget platforms, ad-serving technology, e-newsletter delivery systems, gaming platforms and other digital ad-based technology.

Under the new initiative, ABCi recently completed an audit and accreditation of Clearspring Technologies, the world's leading widget syndication and tracking service. AdJuggler Inc., a leader in online ad management systems, has also enrolled in the service to have its ad-serving technology audited by ABCi.