Shoutlet launches elegant social CRM features

Social media marketing platform for enterprise releases new tools for interacting with Facebook fans

Shoutlet, a social media marketing platform for enterprise, announced Thursday morning an expanded customer relationship management (CRM) component that makes it easier for brands to engage with users on social networks.

Launched in 2009, the Madison, WI-based startup offers clients a comprehensive set of tools for managing their brand across multiple social media avenues. Facebook fan page management and e-commerce, Twitter broadcasting, customizable and portable widgets, email and video distribution, tracking reports--each of Shoutlet’s many offerings directs clients to the one very feasible goal of bolstering customer-brand relationships through social media.

With today’s update, Shoutlet wants to make CRM even more social.

When Shoutlet CEO Jason Weaver and President and COO Aaron Everson demoed the new social CRM component for me, I was almost overwhelmed with the vast number of tools at the customer’s disposal. But the site’s artful use of colorful symbols and clean organization coupled with natural menus and buttons makes for a very intuitive experience.

Within the new component, Shoutlet users can view fan updates and comments on Facebook pages in real-time and create an internal task to respond to that feedback on a certain date. Users can also create custom categories to classify fans, which could be useful for identifying the brand’s most active influencers. Naturally, all Facebook and Twitter activity can be analyzed to see how an audience is reacting to various marketing campaigns.

“No one can argue the popularity and virality of social media, but the challenge for businesses is how to harness social media communication and use it as a tool for one-to-one communication, versus having it be just digital chatter,” said Weaver, CEO of Shoutlet. “Shoutlet’s Social CRM solution helps companies achieve just that. Our focus is on helping our customers monetize their social media efforts by arming them with the ability to harness customer evangelists and create more highly targeted and effective social commerce campaigns.”

Though neither Weaver nor Everson would comment on how many companies use Shoutlet, the service claims about 15 new clients each month. Well-known brands like Nissan, Perry Ellis and Rayovac already count themselves among Shoutlet’s users.

Shoutlet customers must pay an annual license whose cost depends on a few factors, like how many accounts will be managed, how many users will interact with those accounts, and page impressions. Everson says pricing rates range between $15,000 on the low end and into the six-figures on the high-end.