CrowdTwist, a leading social loyalty and rewards platform, has received $6 million in equity financing in a Series A round led by SoftBank Capital and Fairhaven Capital. The funding round also included participation from investors like kbs+p Ventures and Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI).

CrowdTwist, which has already proven to be a powerful tool for brands like JCPenney and LiveNation, will use the funding for further expansion and strengthen is client base.  The company increased average time-on-site by 250 percent, average page views per visit by 450 percent and average purchase size by over 30 percent. CrowdTwist has also generated tens of millions of earned media impressions for its customers.

"Brands continue to increase their overall digital marketing spend, but they lack the tools to understand which customers wield the most value and influence and which engagement platforms are contributing the most to sales," said Joe Medved, Partner, SoftBank Capital, in a statement. "CrowdTwist solves this problem by providing cross-platform connectivity and actionable customer insight that drives measurable ROI for brands."

"Historically, purchases and point-of-sale transactions have been the foundation of brand loyalty programs, as these were the most common places for a consumer to directly interact with a brand," said Rudina Seseri, Principal, Fairhaven Capital. "The emergence of multiple social channels, both online and mobile, has disrupted this model. Consumers can be rewarded for engaging with a brand online or sharing brand experiences via their social streams. CrowdTwist is positioned as the leader in helping brands take advantage of this growing trend in social loyalty."

Integrating seamlessly into a brand's site and experience, CrowdTwist gives brands the ability to track, incentivize and reward customer engagement across online, social and mobile channels. CrowdTwist also helps brands identify their biggest cross-platform influencers and understand how an individual customer is interacting with their various properties.

Rahul Arora is a TMCnet contributor. He has worked as an editor and freelance writer for several reputed organizations in India. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Rich Steeves