ATLANTA, April 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Vitrue (http://www.vitrue.com), the leading social marketing software provider, is celebrating its fifth anniversary today, Thursday, April 7, by posting its best quarter to date – again.  The company has posted back-to-back, record-breaking quarters, riding the growing trend of businesses adopting SaaS-based software platforms to manage their increasingly expanding and sophisticated social communities on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other platforms.  Brands worldwide use Vitrue's Social Relationship Management (SRM) platform to manage their social marketing communications including McDonald's, P&G brands, Intel, Ford, Chanel, JCPenney, Disney, Best Buy and AT&T.

"Vitrue has quite literally grown up with social from the very beginning—evolving, innovating, leading and growing tremendously along the way," said Vitrue CEO Reggie Bradford. "These past five years have been an incredible ride, and I am extremely bullish on the next five and beyond.  Social media marketing will increasingly become more crucial and important for brands.  And through our SaaS-based social marketing software—the Vitrue SRM platform—we are uniquely positioned to help brands harness the expanding power of social across traditional platforms and the emerging platforms and technologies of mobile and beyond."

Vitrue Timeline & Key Milestones

April 7, 2006: Vitrue is launched in Atlanta, Georgia. The Company, among other things, has a focus on consumer-generated video, reflecting the rise and popularity of YouTube and consumer-video technology, helping brands develop video-centric communities on the web.

April 2006:  Initial funding takes place for Vitrue with General Catalyst and Reggie Bradford.

October 2006: Angel investor Ron Conway announces his investment in Vitrue.  

October 2006: Vitrue receives another round of funding from Comcast Interactive Capital and Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

October 2007: Early-stage venture capital firm Dace Ventures invests in Vitrue.

Spring 2008:  Vitrue begins working more closely with Facebook, providing the technology that helps brands succeed on the emerging social network.  A small product originally called "Link Tracker" becomes the kernel of what will one day become the Vitrue SRM platform.

Spring 2009:  Vitrue launches its Vitrue Publisher product, bringing a full suite of scheduling, moderation, and analytics capabilities to marketers.

Fall 2009: Vitrue becomes one of only seven companies selected as a Facebook "Preferred Developer Consultant".

Fall 2009: Vitrue launches Twitter Pages, allowing brand marketers to use Twitter's growing base to reach and engage with consumers.

Fall 2009: Vitrue launches its "Tabs" product, providing a best-in-class way for marketers to segment their presence geographically on Facebook.

Fall 2009:  Vitrue creates the first-of-its-kind Wall Application, giving brands a tremendous and highly effective engagement application.  

Spring 2010:  Vitrue brings Wall Apps to every marketer with a simple code-free design studio.

Spring 2010: Vitrue introduces first-ever Open Graph publishing platform.

Spring 2010:  Vitrue reveals the power of the Wall/newsfeed through detailed research from Vitrue's stable of top brands. The Wall generates 110X greater interaction than just a Tab alone.

Summer 2010: Vitrue introduces API for Agencies and Social Media Developers to customize their social media campaigns.

September 2010: Vitrue launches its first in a series of white papers, "The Anatomy of a Facebook Post." The new research data, which provides insights behind post effectiveness by post type, time and day part, was initiated to apply real-world analytics to determine effective Facebook publishing practices.

October 2010: Vitrue releases another white paper in its series: "Facebook Fans' Conversational Patterns:  Findings on Conversation Volume by Day of Week, Hour and Minute."

Feb. 17, 2011: Vitrue announced it has closed an $18 million Series C financing round led by Scale Venture Partners and Advent Venture Partners. Existing investors General Catalyst Partners, Comcast Interactive, and Dace Ventures will continue to participate.  Additionally, the company revealed an aggressive global expansion.

Feb. 17, 2011: Vitrue announced former Facebook Vice President of Global Sales Mike Murphy has been appointed to the newly created position of Special Advisor to the CEO.

March 2011:  Vitrue releases another white paper, "Spam vs. Your Brand: How to Win the Battle with Effective Moderation."

March 24, 2011:  Vitrue officially surpasses the "500 Million Fans Managed" mark for their stable of more than 2,500 Facebook and Twitter accounts in 47 countries. The count continues to grow daily.

April 2011: Vitrue launches Places with a major automaker with more than 2,000 dealerships nationwide.

April 2011: Vitrue hires almost 100 new employees in Q1 alone, continuing its global growth expansion.

April 7, 2011: Vitrue celebrates its fifth anniversary on the heels of yet another record-breaking quarter, besting the previous Q4 numbers across all categories.

CONTACT:
Erika Brookes, Vitrue; [email protected]; 404-478-8320
Amy Sorrells, Vitrue; [email protected]; 404-550-4885

SOURCE Vitrue