Hootsuite Inc. has made a slew of announcements today, saying it has acquired Brightkit, a social media marketing platform – and it has already used Brightkit’s technology to launch a new product called Hootsuite Campaigns, the first fruit of its acquisition.
On Thursday, the Vancouver-based social media management company said it had bought Brightkit for an undisclosed sum, allowing it to make more of a play within the enterprise with Hootsuite Campaigns. The tool allows digital marketers to launch about 13 types of social campaigns, contests, sweepstakes, and galleries to attract consumers, all through a simple user interface.
“[This] is also something that somebody without a computer science degree can figure out … and have it really work well on three distinct areas,” says Greg Gunn, vice-president of alliances, business development, and platform at Hootsuite.
“It can work well on Facebook itself, having it work well on a standalone microsite that people can navigate to. But more importantly, probably the competitive advantage that we have here is that it looks beautiful and delightful on a mobile experience, because that’s where most consumers are, and most brand marketers and social media marketers need to make sure that any campaign that they’re doing on social, plays really well on mobile.”
Aside from the acquisition and product announcements, Hootsuite said Thursday it had passed the 10 million user mark, with users hailing from more than 175 countries. It also said it had added new enterprise customers such as Telekom Malaysia, Singapore Press Holdings, Brooklyn Public Library, Cambridge University Press, Red Carnation Hotels, and Hyland Software Inc.
However, the company would not disclose how many of its 10 million users are paying for the service, and how many are using the free version.
Edging out of the territory of what the company has officially confirmed, Hootsuite may also have landed more funding, to the tune of $35 million from Boston-based Fidelity Investments, according to a story published in the Wall Street Journal.
The company already raised $165 million in August 2013 in a series B funding round. And in July 2013, the company reported it had seen record revenue growth of 300 per cent in its second quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2012. However, it would not disclose its revenue in a dollar amount.
Gunn would not confirm any news on funding, but he pointed to Hootsuite’s growing customer base, its recent acquisitions, and its hiring rush as signs of growth. The company was just 300 employees strong as of last year, but is now at around 600 – and at its job fair in Vancouver last week, it had 1,000 job seekers show up, vying for 100 more positions.
