Do you ever wish that your company would’ve jumped on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn right away? It’s not the easiest thing to jump into a competitive network like Facebook and not only solidify you presence, but become a thought leader within your industry. The best way to stand out is to be ahead of the curve, especially with social media.
There’s a new social media app, Cinch, that just came out and your B2B business should be excited. I don’t blame you if you’ve never heard of it but you may be familiar with its “parent” app, Klout. Klout is a social media app that rates users on their social influence across multiple social media networks. Cinch is the next step, pairing users with experts on certain topics for a one-on-one conversation. Cinch will allow your business and its employees to become visible thought leaders and experts in your industry as you answer questions your prospects have.
How Does Cinch Work?
As of this writing, Cinch is limited to iOS devices but it will probably roll out to everything under the sun soon enough. Once the app is downloaded, a user will need to link it with their Facebook or Twitter profile. No worries though, Cinch won’t post anything or spam your friends. After a user is logged in they’ll enter a question into the search bar…then the magic happens. Cinch scours its user base to find the experts best suited to answer your question. The results aren’t instant and can be prolonged if the question is extremely specific.
Eventually Cinch will find a suitable expert registered on Klout that’s willing to answer your question. This is great because you’re now talking to an “expert,” and it’s one-on-one. It’s not like posting on a forum or Quora where everyone can see your question and the responses. Cinch is more personal and private. In my opinion, this will facilitate more questions and better responses.
Why Should We Be Interested?
Cinch only rewards you for the social media activity that you’re already working on. If you’re not registered with Klout, it’s fast and easy. You’ll also get some metrics from Klout which will show you what sort of impact you’re social media is having. That’s it, once you’re setup with Klout just download the Cinch app so you can start asking/answering questions. What I’m getting at is that Cinch is a, well…umm a cinch to set up. It’ll take you 15 minutes.
Now you have another avenue to directly interact with your prospects and address their pain points. You can also direct prospects to your content and greatly increase the chance of them converting. One of the biggest benefits to Cinch is that you don’t need to do anything outside of your all-star social media activity that’s already happening.
Cinch is also very new and Klout’s adoption in the B2B world doesn’t appear to be nearly as high compared to Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter. It’s easier than ever to claim an industry “as your own” since the competition isn’t as high. I’d get on it sooner rather than later since it’s a growing trend. Just look at Facebook, how many B2B businesses thought it was vital to be on Facebook four years ago compared to now? It’ll pay off in the long run for your business to be an early adopter and master of Cinch.
What Should We Be Wary Of?
Don’t expect a flood of questions via Cinch right away. At the moment, many of the questions are B2C related and tips/tricks for homeowners. It really depends what industry your B2B business is in. Try not to get discouraged; social media takes time. Think of Cinch as another tool for you to reach prospects, not your primary approach.
Questions can also take some time to get answered depending on the topic and how many experts are willing to respond. The community is small, but this is understandable since Cinch has only been out for 2 months. The time it takes to get a question answered will decrease once Cinch’s adoption rate increases.
Start Using Cinch!
If you have 15 minutes to spare today then get set up with Klout—if you haven’t already—and then download Cinch. You don’t have to do anything to maintain these profiles so you’re really only hurting yourself if you choose not to get set up. Cinch is a great opportunity to communicate with prospects and get ahead of the competition with social media.
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