Relationship marketing is increasingly important in a world where traffic from social referrals is growing. Influencers can drive significant numbers of visitors and customers. However, the sheer number of relationships and connections can make influencer marketing complex and even chaotic at times. This week we take a look at BuzzStream, a tool which works intelligently inside your browser to make you more efficient and more effective.
How many times have you found a useful contact or website while browsing the web but not added them to your CRM database, as you simply got distracted between one browser window and another? Ok, maybe that is just me. However, even the most organised of you will benefit from a tool that integrates outreach management into your browser and your workflow.
BuzzStream is a web based CRM tool designed specifically for influencer outreach. If you are developing an outreach programme with key influencers you will need to undertake a number of tasks that include:
Researching and qualifying prospects
Collecting contact information
Conducting outreach activity
BuzzStream helps you with all of these key tasks. It helps you research influencers, cultivate relationships and allows you to track all your touch points including email and Twitter. BuzzStream has two related tools that help you manage relationships for outreach and PR.
The core of BuzzStream is a CRM into which you can import a list of contacts in csv form. The CRM keeps tabs on all your activity with the people in your database. It also allows you to set up standard template mails, to send mails to contacts and keep track of response rates. So far, it sounds like a normal CRM, however, where BuzzStream really excels is the way it creates an efficient workflow that helps you to be more effective. Let's have a look.
Buzzmarker - Streamlining Your Prospecting and Relationship Management
BuzzStream has a very clever Chrome extension called the BuzzMarker. Once you have installed the BuzzMarker you have your own augmented reality on the web. The BuzzMarker provides an overlay that collects data on prospects and shows you everything you and your team already know about a contact or site.
The BuzzMarker is a great example of streamlining your workflow by operating inside your browser. For example, let's say you are on a blog which is relevant to your business, the author is someone you know and you want to build your relationship with them. You simply click on the BuzzMarker icon and it will slide across a panel from the right to show the details in your database about the author. In the example below I am reading Matthew Barby's blog, which I highly recommend. By simply clicking the BuzzMarker icon in my browser I can slide across Matthew's details including his Twitter details and his contact details.
I can also see all of my team's contact history with Matthew via email and Twitter by clicking the history icon.
I can also click on the email icon to send an email directly to Matthew, to make this even more efficient I can select from any pre-set email templates I have set up. The email history is all recorded in the BuzzStream CRM.
If I was on the blog of someone who is not in our database, BuzzMarker pulls in information such the author byline and contact details into the right hand panel. I can add to and update these details directly, including notes and tags; and save these details into the database. See the example below.
The BuzzMarker also allows you target websites and individuals to secure placements. The tool has a nice feature that allows you to quickly create prospecting lists and it also integrates with other tools, such as BuzzSumo (no relationship) to help you do this. For example, let's say you have searched for the most shared 'content marketing' articles on BuzzSumo and have your page of results. You can right click on the page and Buzzmarker will give you options such as highlighting articles by contacts within your database or creating a prospecting list.
If you choose create a prospecting list Buzzmarker will pull in the details of the websites in your BuzzSumo results as shown below and allow you to then add these directly to your prospecting database. Pretty neat.
All of the data you save and edit sits inside your BuzzStream database. Thus when I login to my BuzzStream I can view my prospecting websites, set out below, as well as my people contacts. As with any other CRM, I can also manage and monitor client and prospect relationships, but BuzzStream has a particular focus on my digital PR and link building activity.
Summary
If you want a tool to help you prospect and manage influencers efficiently then BuzzStream and the BuzzMarker extension is hard to beat. I personally love the way the BuzzMarker works and I believe that we will see many more tools that allow you to work directly within your browser without needing to switch sites or applications.
I personally believe that the way Buzzmarker works inside your browser represents the future for many social media tools. Other tools are already developing or have browser plugins that allow you to work in your browser. For example Buffer, Hootsuite and Spout Social all have sharing buttons that allow you to share and schedule content directly from your webpage.
If you want to find out more about BuzzStream contact the team at http://www.buzzstream.com/about.