Data doctors launch game changer in social media

When it comes to database development and monetisation, Ron McKay, chief executive officer of Montego Bay, St James-based contact centre Audience Data Strategies (ADS) Global, labels their new product, Social Advantage, a 'game changer'.

"It's definitely a game changer for our clients," said McKay of their process that enhances data drawn from varying social media platforms to suit customers.

"Year after year, one of the largest budgetary line items for our clients is renting third-party data. Every year the return on investments (ROI) on that data goes down. Everyone has been talking about how social-media is a solution for that. And it should be. But no one's been able to pull it all together for the media industry to give companies what they need for a high ROI. Until now."

What is the folio event?

The company recently showcased its offering at the Folio event in New York, United States, where McKay was one of nine industry leaders interviewed. The Folio event is the magazine media's most comprehensive industry trade show and conference, hosted in association with its parent company, Access Intelligence.

Commenting further on Social Advantage, McKay said: "First off, it is very new data, very updated. On average, we can query people who have updated themselves on social networks within the last six weeks. And you own the data. If you get socially sourced data, it's a marketing investment. You're not renting a list."

He added, "Another aspect is that ADS's product interfaces with sources of data for LinkedIn and Twitter and overlays its own database sources to append, to bring you a complete record. So our data is highly targeted. It's business-to-business (B2B)-focused, includes phone number and email address and is updated on average in the last six weeks. And with Social Advantage, it's more than just the public profile - we're able to pull data from the private profile too."

Matching needs

McKay, who is also president of the New Kingston-based American Chamber of Commerce of Jamaica (ACHAM), explained that, "You're a company whose response rates to an event, say, are declining. You, (a) tell us what the profile is of the person you're looking for; (b) tell us what you're going to use it for; and (c) we tell you how many records we have. So we match your need to our data and you get all that information."

He continued, "Companies right off the bat get a much greater conversion for whatever they're using the data for. And they get to own the data. They can append, upgrade, enhance as they see fit."

This year's event uploaded a record high of 700 publishing, advertising and marketing professionals from across the globe, with 50-plus sessions spanning six tracks, four keynote sessions, two co-located summits and an exhibit hall featuring more than 40 industry suppliers.