Thought Leaders in Mobile and Social: Clara Shih, CEO of Hearsay Social (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: Let’s double-click on this example a bit. Let me ask you a few questions that will clarify how you do it and how much of this is viable. What is the assumption? Are we talking about running these kinds of trigger analysis on Jimmy’s already connected set of friends or are we running this trigger analysis algorithm on a broader set?

Clara Shih: That’s a great question. On Facebook and on LinkedIn, we run this predictive algorithm on your existing connections. This is due to privacy policies. In a more public social network like Twitter where you can follow people without them having to follow you back, we can apply this analysis more broadly. Part of what Hearsay does is, we train our users on how to authentically connect with more people on their network whether those people are existing customers or not.

Sramana Mitra: That is my next question. How does a Jimmy figure out whom to connect with such that there will be such need? What is the recommendation there? How are you helping them broaden the connection?

Clara Shih: Traditionally, agents like Jimmy know a lot of people. They are active in the community. They are leaders in the community, coaching little league baseball teams and are in leadership positions in their church. They go to community events. They are presidents of the alumni associations. There have a lot of offline connections. We help bring those offline connections online. We help sustain the rapport and relationship that they developed in person by teaching them to habitually connect with these people on social networking sites.

Sramana Mitra: So you’re trying to algorithmize what happens in natural social behavior?

Clara Shih: Yes.

Sramana Mitra: How much of these triggers are actually coming online? I change my car every three years because I lease cars. I never put that on social media. How much of these triggers are actually happening on social media?

Clara Shih: There are a lot of trigger events that are shared on social media. It depends on geography and demographics whether it’s a car, people getting married, or having a baby.

Sramana Mitra: Those are big triggers on social media.

Clara Shih: Facebook, in particular, becomes one of the first places people go to share that information. I think the role of the relationship manager is very important because if a consumer posts that they got engaged and they hear from a faceless corporation, that’s creepy. On the other hand, if it is someone they know and someone they’re already working with, it’s not a hard sell. It becomes a win-win.

This segment is part 2 in the series : Thought Leaders in Mobile and Social: Clara Shih, CEO of Hearsay Social
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