Users of IBM Commerce software have better access into the data its customers pour into Facebook after announcing a deal with the world’s largest social network on Wednesday.
IBM Corp. and Facebook said that IBM’s marketing cloud will have access to Facebook’s Custom Audiences tool for building targeted campaigns. That should give them more insight into the information their customers post to Facebook, including their interests (based on Likes, for example), opinions and expectations of brands on an aggregate level. So IBM isn’t going to be able to know what your opinion of a specific brand is specifically, but just have a better idea of how people like you think of a brand.
Rather than having to login to Facebook to dig up these insights, IBM customers will now be able to use IBM Journey Designer and Journey Analytics to get at the data. The Analytics software will render correlations between customers on Facebook and their interactions across other channels, and Designer will be able to create campaigns that use this information to target specific types of customers.
IBM offers an example of the type of campaign its clients will now be able to orchestrate: a retailer selling running gear could segment out customers that are interested in long-distance running and then delve into their preferences for running gear (do they buy cross-training shoes or running shoes?) and then offer location-oriented deals on gear they might want and is a fit for their climate.
IBM says that Facebook will also be joining its IBM Commerce THINKLab, a research and collaboration environment where companies work directly with brands to develop technologies that can personalize a customer experience.