• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, September 4, 2014

In an effort to close the social-marketing loop, SocialCode’s social advertising and analytics services are being baked into Percolate’s content marketing platform, per an exclusive partnership.

The tie-up translates to less confusion and more effective social campaigns for brands, according to Laura O’Shaughnessy, cofounder and CEO of SocialCode.

“Effective marketing demands that content, advertising and analytics work together seamlessly,” O’Shaughnessy said Wednesday.

Moreover, “you can't create effective content if you don't pay to promote it against key audiences, and then test it,” said Max Kalehoff, senior vice president of marketing at SocialCode. “And, then you can't reach your key audiences with your … content if you don't syndicate it via promotion,” Kalehoff further explained. “And, then you need to channel that intelligence back to the point of origin -- the creators of content -- to do [it] all over again.”

The partnership comes at an exciting time for both SocialCode and Percolate. On the heels of selling a minority stake to WPP’s digital investment arm, Percolate recently raised $24 million in financing led by Sequoia Capital. Percolate helps brands create content that is “on message” and more likely to get traction across social media channels.

Percolate clients include Ford, General Electric, and Unilever. “We’re focused on the creation aspect, and [serve as] a system of record for brands,” Noah Brier, cofounder and CEO of Percolate, recently told Social Media & Marketing Daily.

More broadly, advertisers are expected to pump nearly $12 billion into social networks around the world, this year, according to eMarketer. That’s 25% more than marketers spent on social last year.

A product of The Washington Post Company -- which has since been renamed Graham Holdings Company -- SocialCode was not included in the sale of its flagship newspaper to Jeff Bezos’ holding company, last year.

O’Shaughnessy is the daughter of Donald Graham, longtime WaPo publisher, and presently chairman and CEO of Graham Holdings Co.