The Swiss Army Knife is an incredible tool. It comes in a variety of sizes, is handy in many different circumstances, and is small, but mighty. Some of the tools inside this versatile little guy will come in handy on a regular basis, while others might never get used. Or so you think. The beauty of the Swiss Army Knife is that you never know when it will come in handy, but when you need it, you’ll be glad it’s there.
As I work with small business and non-profit clients on their digital presence, I find that often what they need is a social media Swiss Army Knife. A handy tool with lots of applications all in one place. I’ve tried a number of social media management platforms, from smaller ones like Hootsuite, Seesmic, or Tweetdeck, and have found that while they are helpful, they don’t offer enough. On the other end of the spectrum are the more robust (and pricey) solutions, like Hubspot, Radian 6, or Vocus. But at times they seem too large, not to mention, most of my clients don’t have an extra $300 to $10,000 a month lying around.
You see, my clients are usually rather small operations, with tight budgets, small staffs, and owners/managers that are working 12 to 14 hour days, wearing multiple hats. They are CEOs, CFOs, CMOs, and more…all in one. As a result, they still often need an easy to use, yet feature heavy tool to manage their day to day digital/social presence.
For many, much of what we need to do in the social realm can be overwhelming. Posting and monitoring to multiple platforms, engaging, creating content, checking analytics, monitoring your brand, etc. These are all important tasks which many of us take for granted, but for a small business owner or someone at a small nonprofit, it’s enough to make their eyes glaze over and send their head spinning.
Enter Jugnoome, which is still in beta, but is definitely the most useful and user friendly, full service social media tool I’ve found to date. It is free, and integrates well with WordPress sites, as well as other platforms.The company describes it as an
“on-demand social customer relationship management (CRM) tool”
which really cuts to the core of what they are offering: a way to manager your relationships with your customers in a near real-time fashion.
In other words, doing online what you’re already doing in your business offline: being social and building relationships.
I admit, I was a bit skeptical at first, because from a consumer standpoint, the most visible aspect of the Jugnoome platform is a toolbar which resides on your website, and allows for social sharing and the gathering of metrics. I’ve never liked toolbars, having tried them quite a few times. The good news is that the toolbar is now optional, and the company will eventually be rolling out different versions of the program with varying levels of capabilities for those of us with differing levels of experience and need. While there will always be a free version, Vice President of Partner Strategy Danny Brown tells me that several affordable premium versions are on the way later this year.
Once I got past the toolbar, I discovered a management platform that is incredibly easy to use. Mind you, it’s not a tool that most social media professionals will use at this point, but people like me aren’t the target market; my clients are. The overwhelmed small business social media newbies. The kind of people who are more likely to either avoid social media, or simply outsource and have someone tweet for them. In my mind, neither of those is a great option. This is a tool for people who might need to have their hand held a bit as they begin the process. They have to crawl before they walk; or wade before they swim or dive.
The Jugnoome interface allows you to create and share content, as well as engage across a variety of social platforms, with more being added regularly. It will even help you create a video, a slideshow, or a Facebook coupon. There’s even a social monitoring tool, and for even better results, they provide nice, usable analytics to help you determine how you’re doing. This is key because many small business owners will freeze up at the thought of having to dig deep into Google analytics.
While many CRM platforms are delivered to you as an all-in-one solution, Jugnoome goes a step further. They are with you along the way. You are frequently emailed a list of tasks to complete, each of which helps you move forward as your own social media manager:
And, as they move forward they will be adding webinars and other curriculum elements to keep you up to date on all of the latest advancements in social media, as well as best practices. All of these are designed to help you build relationships with your customers and grow your business. This isn’t a company that hands you a tool and then leaves until you have a problem. They will be with you throughout the entire process; a process that has no expiration date.
Granted, they’re still in beta, but the customer service aspect has been great. Anytime I’ve had a question, they have answered it quickly, and have been extremely accessible. They’ve been incredibly responsive and open to suggestions, and are constantly looking to add new features. There were a few glitches early on, but they were quick to move and correct them.
There’s been a lot of talk lately about the pros and cons of automating various aspects of the online social process. Some seek to automate a lot, while others work hard to oppose that. I definitely fall closer to the latter of these, and believe that the human element needs to be maintained at all costs. Fortunately, Jugnoome has been created with the user in mind, and with a full understanding of how relationships are built. This is key.
If you’re a small business or non-profit looking to get a start in social media, Jugnoome might just be the Swiss Army Knife you need.
If you’re a consultant working with small businesses, Jugnoome might be the tool you need to share with your clients.
Give it a try. It’s free, so you have nothing to lose, and you might just find it to be one of the most valuable tools in your online toolbox.
