Socialware: Austin's social media referee

Social media exposure isn't always a good thing.

 

For large financial firms and compliance-heavy industries such as health and insurance, new technologies and innovation can be a gamble. And for most, the usual choice is to step out of the game altogether and avoid the penalties.

 

But for those that want to participate, Austin-based Socialware is their referee.

 

"Social media poses a big problem with the potential risk inherently involved — risk of data leakage, risk of misrepresentation, and compliance,” said Bruce Milne, the VP of Product and CMO for Socialware.

 

It's becoming more common for companies to regulate employees’ actions, and as the practice increases, management is something that can be daunting for global firms — particularly when it involves millions of access points for potential data leakage to the world.

 

Socialware’s platform allows “firms to put up guardrails and make sure the advisors themselves don’t get in trouble on social media inadvertently." It allows a centralized access point for managing and enforcing corporate compliance and IT policies through social channels. It also enables companies to automate brand-compliant campaigns through social media, effectively activating your financial professionals’ networks, and to listen for business opportunities through those networks. With Socialware, you can control social media risk on an enterprise scale, automate efficient enterprise-wide use of social media and profitably expand business opportunities.

 

This is an opportunity for Socialware customers to poise themselves as thought-leaders and build rapport instead of only regulating.

 

“Firms have to understand how their message fits within the arcane compliance rules that govern static advertising on social media [within the] mix of static and changing content — it’s an unusual environment,” Milne said.

 

With the turmoil in the financial industry over the past decade, there is a sliver of trust between consumers and financial firms. For advisors, and as Socialware poses, social media can be the medium to regain trust and slowly build a relationship between trusted advisors.

 

“Consumers would like to be associated with trusted advisors online and would like to have more financial advice through social media," Milne said. "This leaves an aperture to be filed.”

 

Additionally, their platform allows for brands to keep a consistent story and build cohesive message architecture.

 

Socialware’s platform has many uses and could be applied to just about any industry that faces these problems — cybersecurity, pharmaceutical companies, etc – as long as the decision makers understand the problem exists. For employers, the challenge arises in clarifying what may be problematic.

 

For instance, an employee can be unaware of the risk involved with a simple tweet regarding a sale, only to find out later that it could disclose confidential information that could lead to a security breach.

 

Like any Fortune 500, decisions are made with several decision-makers involved. Thus, Socialware has primed their team to explain the ‘pain-points’ to just about anyone. “We have a stacked team who have experience in building technology for financial services with background and training in compliance,” Milne said.

 

“We have situational influence, we solve the business challenges with the technology. But it’s when you combine the know-how and understanding of the market with the technology that we become a value.”

 

Socialware is looking to relocate to a space in central Austin and ramp up hiring throughout this year.