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Salesforce Drops $689M for Social Marketer Buddy Media

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

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Salesforce.com has agreed to acquire social media marketing platform Buddy Media for $689 million, the companies announced on Monday.

Salesforce, which provides cloud-based sales-management software, is buying Buddy Media to bolster its social media offerings. The transaction is expected to close during Salesforce's fiscal third quarter ending Oct. 31.

Buddy Media, founded in 2007, works with customers to build campaigns on social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. The company provides a platform for advertisers to publish content and measure the effectiveness of their social media efforts. Buddy Media currently has more than 1,000 clients, which Salesforce will now have access to, including global brands such as Ford, Hewlett Packard, L'Oreal, and Mattel.

The purchase follows Salesforce's multi-million dollar acquisition of Radian6, a company that helps businesses measure their effectiveness on social media sites. In a statement, Salesforce said it plans to combine Buddy Media with Radian6, a move that will allow the company to deliver "the first comprehensive Marketing Cloud that will allow customers to listen, engage, gain insight, publish, advertise and measure social marketing programs."

Social media has caused the biggest transformation in marketing since "the Mad Men era," requiring marketers to completely re-vamp their strategies, Marcel LeBrun, senior vice president of Salesforce Radian6, said in a statement.

"By bringing together market leaders Radian6 and Buddy Media, we are doubling down on the Salesforce Marketing Cloud to provide CMOs with the ability to manage the entire social marketing lifecycle," he added.

Salesforce in December unveiled the Radian6 Social Marketing Cloud. The offering lets customers monitor the Internet community and "effectively join conversations" Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.com, said during a keynote at New York's Cloudforce Winter conference.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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