Just in case Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, Vine, Google+, YouTube, Snapchat, Tumblr, Secret, Whisper, and Yik Yak weren’t enough for you, now there is a new social network just for marketing professionals called Shocase. The new social net encourages marketers to, yes, “showcase” their professional skills by combining elements of LinkedIn, Pinterest, Facebook, and YouTube.
Shocase works in part by encouraging members to acknowledge their collaborators on projects by adding “Projects” and “Team Members,” which in turn will increase their own profiles’ visibility on the network. The social net also has a News Feed that delivers updates on their own personal network as well as industry trends, areas of interest and new projects. And it has capabilities to help members land new business -- for example, by enabling them to send samples of their work to potential clients through the network.
According to the company’s founder and CEO Ron Young, Shocase is intended for anyone who works in a wide range of marketing disciplines, including brand management, advertising, PR, design, digital, shopper marketing, packaging design, event and experiential, analytics, SEO, social and content marketing. The startup has already attracted $17 million in investment through two private equity-funding rounds.
While LinkedIn continues to dominate professional social media, as the launch of Shocase illustrates that the marketplace is heating up with new services and products -- some targeting specific verticals, others offering general collaboration tools.
In the most recent development, earlier this month Facebook officially moved into the workplace with the launch of a Facebook at Work mobile app, along with a desktop extension. Still in beta, the app and Web extension are primarily designed to help business colleagues more easily connect. Facebook at Work currently offers many of the same features as its flagship network, including News Feeds, Groups, messages, and events. It is widely expected to add additional enterprise features, like those that let users collaborate on documents.
Finally, a social network to connect with marketers! `Cause there aren't any marketers on those other social networks. :-)