Canadian Startup KnexxLocal Launches Instamonial to Help Businesses Market Themselves Online

Toronto-based technology startup KnexxLocal today launched Instamonial, a free iOS app designed to help local businesses market themselves online.

Instamonial allows local businesses to snap photos of their work using the app’s camera feature, the Canadian company says. The user then sends an email to the customer from the app with the attached photos, requesting feedback on the work. Once reviewed, the photo is posted to the business’ website and distributed via social media channels along with the real-time customer review, according to KnexxLocal.

“Word-of-mouth referrals are the single most important tool that local businesses can use to grow their business. Today, with the launch of Instamonial, we’re giving local businesses a way to use social media to grow those referrals in a way that wasn’t possible before,” explains Paul Chen, CEO of KnexxLocal. “By enabling one-click sharing of customer references across social media channels, Instamonial super-charges word-of-mouth marketing.”

One investor in Instamonial is Bruce Croxon, a cofounder of LavaLife and a star on CBC’s Dragon’s Den. His firm, Round 13 Capital, led a $1.1 million seed round investment in KnexxLocal last week.

“The shift in consumer expectations and growth in online reviews over the past few years has presented a big challenge for local business owners who don’t have a lot of time or resources to dedicate to online marketing,” says Bruce. “Simplifying the process for business owners to receive referrals from satisfied customers and distribute them easily online is the ultimate goal of localized, online word-of-mouth marketing.”

Instamonial is available to download from the iTunes app store.