New Features and Funding: A Conversation With Fanminder

After some time passed since we last covered Fanminder, we caught up with CEO Paul Rosenfeld last week in advance of yesterday’s announcement of new funding and its 2.0 release.

First, for those unfamiliar, Fanminder is a “freemium” SMB marketing and campaign management tool that counts simplicity and one-stop-shop appeal among its differentiators. This is of course a growing space with the advent of deals, mobile, social media and local in general.

The simplicity takes form most notably in the free entry level, and the two minutes it takes to design and publish local promotions according to Rosenfeld. Publishing then happens across Web, online, mobile, email and social channels (a Facebook fan page, for example).

Updates in v. 2.0 include (from the press release):

— Offers Gallery – Pick from 8 of the most successful, templated promotions.

— Hundreds of Bright Ideas – Choose from expertly-created headlines and content that take the guesswork out of what marketing to send.

— Themes – Skin offers with gorgeous seasonal and popular designs.

— Stunning Mobile Offers – Each offer has a dedicated mobile-perfect webpage to ensure fans have it conveniently in their pocket for in-store redemption.

Accompanying these feature updates was a funding announcement to the tune of $1 million. This comes from a notable list that include Square COO and prolific investor Keith Rabois. There’s also a “brain trust” of former Inuit execs invested (from whence Rosenfeld comes).

Meanwhile, Rosenfeld says Fanminder is used by 6,000 SMBs and growing by 1,000 per month across local verticals. Next up: a larger A round and further development of its email distribution channel — likely a subscription-based Constant Contact-like tool for local offers.

“The challenge gets harder for SMBs as technology get better,” says Rosenfeld, “reaching people across all of these [platforms]. We leverage assets SMBs have but don’t use, such as email lists or a Facebook page.”