Should "The Fancy" Tickle Your Brand's Fancy?

I’m often asked my opinion of various marketing channels, both online and offline. With the ever-increasing array of social, local and mobile channels available, it’s no wonder that many businesses aren’t sure whether to chase the “hot new thing” or if these up-and-comers won’t last.

Here’s a case in point. Recently, I’ve been talking a lot about Pinterest and its uses, so much so that TechTarget recently included me in their look at Pinterest as part of a social CRM strategy. And yet, in the time since I gave the interview, Pinterest’s star seems to have dimmed in favor of upstart social bookmarking/e-commerce site The Fancy.

Unlike Pinterest, which started out purely as a way for people to share and save images they enjoyed, The Fancy is built around e-commerce. For instance, “fancy” a stay at a resort in the Maldives?

Well you can reserve a stay, right there on the embedded image.

Gotta have these hipster-approved chukkas?

Again, click the little price tag button and they’ll be on their way to your Brooklyn crib (or whichever hipster-approved community you live in) in no time.

Slick.

The Fancy offers businesses and brand many of the benefits of Pinterest, but also has baked-in its monetization strategy from the outset.

So, here’s the question: Is The Fancy right for your brand? Is it time to ditch Pinterest in favor of The Fancy?

Maybe. But maybe not.

Now before you accuse me of playing coy, keep in mind that there’s a bigger question at play here. This isn’t a matter of whether Pinterest or The Fancy is better. It’s a question of whether Pinterest or The Fancy (or LinkedIn, or Facebook, or Twitter, or…) is better:

1. For you
2. For your customer

Too many brands and businesses I encounter spend so much time worrying about what everyone else is doing that they don’t look at what makes sense for their brand or their business. But as I recently mentioned, different customers use different channels at different times in their purchase decision. The Fancy might be a great place to locate customers when they’re ready to purchase, but it might fail miserably at attracting attention in the first place. Pinterest might generate lots of traffic, but that traffic may never convert for your brand. Or vice versa.

The reason I put so much emphasis on web analytics and conversion tracking and the like is that they’ll tell you whether something’s working for your brand — or not. Your strategy needs to allow for testing new channels and new ideas and your execution needs to include appropriate measures and metrics from the get-go.

The Fancy might be a great way for your brand to reach new customers, generate huge sales and grow your business. Or it might be a monumental waste of time. Put your focus on a clear testing strategy for your marketing and you won’t have to ask anyone whether or not you should fancy The Fancy. You’ll know.

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Technorati Tags: analytics, E-commerce, e-commerce, E-commerce strategy, ecommerce, measurement, metrics, Pinterest, social, social commerce, social marketing, social media, social search, social strategy, strategy, success, The Fancy