Unmetric raises $5.5 million as social media industry gains steam

By Gerry Shih

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Unmetric, a "social media intelligence" provider, has won $5.5 million in Series B financing to build up its sales force, the company said Thursday.

Unmetric provides its customers, including Subway and Toyota, data on how their competitors' advertising campaigns or customer service efforts are faring on services like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Unmetric is one of several start-ups that in the past three years have built substantial businesses on top of Facebook and Twitter, a reflection of how the social media industry has grown into a mature ecosystem. This month, Twitter announced it has confidentially filed for an initial public offering that is expected by analysts to be worth $15 billion.

Companies that help monitor social media chatter and publish content have been the targets of some of the largest technology deals in recent years. In 2011, Salesforce paid more than $300 million to buy Radian6, social media monitoring service used by both Fortune 100 brands and law enforcement agencies. A year later, Salesforce acquired Buddy Media, which helps marketing departments publish content to their Facebook and Twitter accounts, for more than $750 million.

Unmetric's new funding round is led by JAFCO Asia, the venture capital firm headquartered in Singapore. JAFCO partner Murli Ravi will join Unmetric's board, the company said.

(Reporting by Gerry Shih; editing by Andrew Hay)