Involver, Inc.

Involver, Inc. was a provider of social media management software, offering software-as-a-service (SaaS) tools to help businesses manage their marketing efforts on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. It was acquired by Oracle on July 10, 2012.[1]

Founded in San Francisco in 2007 by Rahim Fazal and Noah Horton, the company was originally known as RapOuts, Inc. and changed its name to Involver Inc. in August, 2008.[2] The company offers software and services to publish, manage, moderate and measure customer relations across the social web.

In 2008, Involver powered advertising campaigns on Facebook for several customers[3][4][5] and its founders were named to Inc. Magazine's top 30 entrepreneurs under 30 list.[6]

Involver was the technology platform that powered the first sponsorship of a Facebook Page[7] and the first studio album from a recording artist that was released through a social network.[8]

Involver was recommended by Facebook as one of 14 original "Preferred Developer Consultants."[9] Facebook partnered with Involver to build applications for large events like Election Day,[10] The World Cup,[11] and the Super Bowl.[12]

Involver raised venture capital money from Bessemer Venture Partners, Western Technology Investment, and Cervin Ventures.[13]

Involver's main competitors in this space were Buddy Media (acquired by Salesforce.com[14]), Vitrue (also acquired by Oracle Corporation[15]), and Wildfire (acquired by Google[16]).

  1. ^
    • "Oracle Buys Involver to Expand in Social-Media Tools". Archived from the original on July 13, 2012.
    • "Oracle and Involver".
  2. ^ "Involver Inc.: Private Company Information - Businessweek". August 14, 2012. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013.
  3. ^ "Kiva Launches Facebook Campaign Using New Marketing Tool, Involver". July 9, 2008. Archived from the original on August 2, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  4. ^ Wortham, Jenna (April 7, 2008). "Olympic Torch Protesters Go Viral to Rally Support". Wired.
  5. ^ "Case Study: How a Software Company Generated Strong Click-Through Rates on Facebook". August 19, 2008.
  6. ^ "Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30 - Rahim Fazal and Noah Horton, Involver". Inc.com. Sep 29, 2008.
  7. ^ "'Us Weekly' Sells Facebook Fan Page Ad to State Farm". April 23, 2009.
  8. ^ "Alicia Keys Streams New Album On Facebook". December 7, 2009.
  9. ^ "Facebook Creates List of "Preferred Developer Consultants"".
  10. ^ "Facebook Helps You Find Your Polling Place". Mashable. November 2010.
  11. ^ "Facebook, Involver Launch FIFA World Cup Leaderboard".
  12. ^ "Watch 2012 Super Bowl Commercials Now With Facebook + USA Today's Ad Meter". 3 February 2012.
  13. ^ "Involver Closes $8 Million Series C For Its Social Media Marketing Platform". 14 October 2010.
  14. ^ "Salesforce.com closes deal for Buddy Media".
  15. ^ "Oracle Buys Vitrue to Add Cloud Social Marketing to App Portfolio".
  16. ^ "Google Snaps Up Wildfire". 31 July 2012.