From branchnext, the same company that delivered the personal web scout service Yotify (our coverage), there comes a new B2B alerts service called LetMeKnow. As with Yotify, LetMeKnow lets you track any number of changes that happen on the web – from price changes to new blog posts or comments and much more. However, unlike Yotify’s consumer-facing service, LetMeKnow is designed for use by web publishers instead.
About LetMeKnow
The white-label service LetMeKnow allows any web publisher to easily integrate the company’s alerts technology into their web site by using just a small bit of copy-and-paste code. According to branchnext, that means the LetMeKnow platform can be implemented, tested, and released in days without placing the burden of software development on the web publishers themselves.
They call their technology “alerts-as-a-service” or “AaaS,” but we think perhaps they haven’t read that acronym out loud yet…it’s not good. There’s no need to use clever abbreviations to sell this product, though; the idea makes sense and can stand on its own without trying to join the “as-a-Service” bandwagon. Put simply, LetMeKnow allows anyone to integrate alerting technology into their site with little effort, adding additional value for their site’s visitors, be them blog readers or shoppers.
Using LetMeKnow
After publishers implement LetMeKnow, visitors can use the service to stay informed about new posts, content updates, price changes, new comments, new reviews, saved searches, and more. The alerts they sign up for can arrive via email, mobile (SMS), instant messaging, RSS, or even via a downloadable Adobe AIR desktop software program.
Also included in the LetMeKnow service is the ability to add in extensible widgets that allow broadcasting of the alert notifications across the web, including to sites like Facebook, MySpace, and iGoogle. Users wishing to share their alert notifications can do so using email, Twitter, Delicious, Digg, and StumbleUpon, which are also integrated with the service.
Like Yotify, LetMeKnow also includes the social recommendation technology “AskFriends.” With this, users can solicit input from their friends by sharing their scouts on sites like Facebook and FriendFeed and then gathering the responses.
For the Publishers
Besides the ease of implementation, LetMeKnow provides publishers extensive reporting tools which enable them to see how their site’s visitors are using the service. There are 50 different metrics tracked that indicate how, when, and where the content is being viewed, shared, and published. Businesses using LetMeKnow also have the option to completely brand the service to their liking, so it appears to be a part of their web site and not some outside tool. Additionally, brandnext promises to deliver 99.9% uptime and support.
How much this will all cost or how well it will work isn’t known as of yet. There isn’t word on pricing for the service – only a sign-up form for those interested. However, if Yotify is any indication, LetMeKnow may be worth a look.
