According to Brad Klaus, Founder and CEO of Extole: “There is a fundamental shift taking place in social marketing. Marketers are realizing that a brand-focused approach of pushing out messages on social networks isn’t, in fact, social. The next wave of social marketing is about igniting your customer advocates and getting them spreading the word on your brand’s behalf. Extole’s approach to C2C social marketing helps brands leverage their owned media to increase earned media, which, in turn, augments the effectiveness of their paid media.”
Extole’s new platform provides a comprehensive set of C2C storytelling tools including:
- Full Facebook Open Graph Enablement which allows brands to capture consumer stories such as referrals, coupon claims and purchases to broadcast across Facebook to the consumer Timeline, as well as their friends’ News Feeds and Tickers.
- New Social Expressions enable brands to encourage consumer sharing about their products and services with expressions such as “want,” “try” and “recommend” being included on a brand’s website. For example, when a consumer shares that they “want” a pair of shoes, this story will be broadcast via the Open Graph.
- Advanced Social Analytics offers brands insight into the reach and ROI of their C2C social marketing programs and earned media. Customizable dashboards show real-time information on performance of social programs and promotions, including number of advocates, shares, clicks, conversions, top advocates and social influence.
Ian Hackett, vice president, e-commerce, of TastingRoom.com explained that Extole’s new platform helps his company extend conversation on social media, with customers amplifying awareness of the wine brands they’ve discovered and their experience with TastingRoom.com’s unique product line.