• Tech Crunch, Monday, March 19, 2012 12:26 PM

PeerIndex, a UK-based social influence marketing platform, has scored $3 million in funding from Antrak Capital, along with one-time Reuters head, Tom Glocer, Restoration Partners chairman Ken Olisa, and angel investor Sherry Coutu. Despite some consumer resistance against the business of quantifying social influence, sector leaders like Klout and PeerIndex remain hot commodities. Yes, “Whether you subscribe to the idea of social influence or not, services that mark -- or try to mark -- it are continuing to pick up momentum,” TechCrunch writes.

PeerIndex is than just a consumer-facing social ranking system. The startup also develops algorithms to detect influencers around specific topics, and is learning how to rope these influencers into specific marketing campaigns. To date, brand clients have included Atlantic Records, Penguin Books and the Telefonica-owned operator O2. With the fresh investments, PeerIndex plans to build out its B2B business, as well as its consumer-facing influence marketing service, PeerPerks.

“That service has seen the company do things like offer ‘influencers’ products and services … so that they can try them out and potentially enthuse to friends and followers about them,” TechCrunch writes.  Last year, for example, it worked with Penguin Books to get pre-publication copies of Hari Kunzru’s latest book into the hands of VIPs.

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