BLARE Media, Has Launched A New Free Business Contact Management Website

BLARE Media, a Fresno web design and video solutions company, has launched a new free business contact management website with a twist called Contact Squid

Fresno/CA (I-Newswire) October 3, 2012 - BLARE Media, a Fresno web design and video solutions company, has launched a new free business contact management website with a twist called Contact Squid. Like most contact management systems, the site allows users to add resource and vendor contact information, organize them into useful categories, and rate them. Contact Squid’s other features, however, effectively transform it into a social-driven database of professional service providers with serious marketing potential.

According to BLARE Media’s Blake Barnett, the tool was originally developed for internal use in order to better remember who the best talent and crew resources were in each city the company operates its video production services in. Now open to the public, Contact Squid’s unique twist comes in the form of integrated promotional and referral functions which are missing in most contact databases.

First, once part of the system, vendors can build profile pages that are easily indexable by the major search engines. Part of the value-add is that the website allows users to generate search engine-friendly URLs for their profiles, such as “http://contactsquid.com/BLARE-Media/Fresno-Video-Production/4”, instead of something like “contactsquid.com/user/?47889489391.” Fields exist for adding meta-keywords, title and descriptions, allowing users to directly optimize their profile pages for discovery on the Web.

Search engine-friendly URLS and meta tags allow for easier indexing by Google, Yahoo! and Bing and will therefore help drive traffic to a user’s own website and increase lead development. Contact Squid also allows users to leverage social media by integrating all-important Facebook and Twitter feeds into each profile, as well as allowing users to display embedded videos and photos.

Users can network with other businesses and send them referrals through the system or via email, promoting their own pages in the process. Barnett explains that the intention behind the referral system was to make it a win-win for both the referring business and the receiving party. “Most businesses would rather return a favor with a favor instead of cash. This is why the referral system was set up so that the person who gives a referral receives a good faith favor in return, such as a “like” on one or two social networks.” The use of social media marketing is exploding, and BLARE’s intention was to build the system to take advantage of it.

The current categories on Contact Squid cover many business types, including advertising services, Fresno bridal jewelry, legal services, photographers, website design, catering, and home Fresno DirecTV—to name but a few. Users can also add custom categories to better manage their contacts. When a member needs a professional service, the system provides the ability to search not only self-entered contacts, but contacts entered by other users.

BLARE therefore expects that as Contact Squid’s membership base grows, vendors will increasingly visit the site to find professional services first rather than perform initial queries via search engines, as its social component will provide some vetting as to the quality of the businesses listed there.
For more information, visit www.contactsquid.com or call BLARE Media at 1-866-337-8331