In a world where cybersecurity threats evolve daily, even industry giants like Kaspersky can’t afford to let their guard down—especially in regard to social media management. So how did this global powerhouse, with more than 400 million users relying on its security solutions, find a social media tool to meet its rigorous security standards? The answer is Agorapulse. Learn how this partnership revolutionized Kaspersky’s approach to social media management without compromising on security.
Challenges Faced by Kaspersky
Jeff Esposito is the Head of Social Media at Kaspersky, and his role involves overseeing a global team of approximately 55 members, strategically divided between headquarters and regional teams.
Such coverage is especially crucial given the broad spectrum of audiences they engage with, from individual home users to high-level enterprises and government organizations.
Before the integration of Agorapulse, the Kaspersky social media team was dealing with several challenges:
Social media reporting
As Kaspersky looked beyond using simple last-click models, the reporting process became difficult and incredibly time-consuming.
“Anybody that’s in analytics knows that combining and managing data from Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok along with Google Analytics is a nightmare,” says Esposito. “And it takes our analysts a lot of time.
“We use a full-suite of attribution, and we wanted to be able to quickly see how successful a campaign is.”
But gathering data from each social media platform and combining it with their first-party data manually was far from quick. In fact, doing so was costing them upwards of 84 work hours each month.
“If I look at this data, I’ve had four days of a person’s week, or 80% of somebody’s working week taken up to do a report,” says Esposito. “That’s a lot of money being spent on something where technology could be used. And that’s stupid.”
Team management
Beyond the challenges with reporting, Kaspersky’s social media teams are scattered across various regions, making coordinating efforts and maintaining a unified voice a significant hurdle.
Identifying and fixing errors when posting natively was also particularly difficult because there’s no way to see which team member made a post. That meant if someone made a mistake, there was no way to know who made it.
Security concerns
For a cybersecurity company, safeguarding sensitive data and information was paramount. The existing tools did not offer robust security features, leaving a gap in their defense mechanism.
“When you log into something like a tool that has the keys to the castle, you need to be able to have that extra layer of security,” says Esposito. “For example, a social media management tool has the crown jewels of a business, maybe not their financial data or customer data, but it has the voice of the company and that’s a big thing.”
The Solution to Their Social Media Management Problem
Agorapulse emerged as a solution that could address these challenges effectively. Here are the key factors that made Agorapulse a winning choice for Kaspersky:
1. Collaborative development
Agorapulse, being a customer-centric company, showed a willingness to collaborate with Kaspersky to develop features aligned with their specific needs. That collaborative approach was a significant draw.
2. Enhanced security
Agorapulse offered robust security features, including multi-factor authentication, a critical requirement for Kaspersky to safeguard their digital assets. Esposito emphasized the importance of security, noting that “having multi-factor authentication was huge for us. You would actually be surprised at how few of the competitors actually have that.”
Learn more: Using Agorapulse at Scale? You Need These 3 Key Data Security Features
3. Tagging and reporting
The tagging and reporting features within Agorapulse have allowed Kaspersky to streamline their reporting process and analyze campaign success through detailed data analysis. They can assess metrics like engagement and reach while also tracking individual campaigns more effectively.
Implementation and Impact
The implementation of Agorapulse brought about a transformative change in Kaspersky’s social media management strategy.
Agorapulse’s reporting features allow Kaspersky to centralize data collection from multiple social media platforms. Instead of manually accessing each platform, pulling data, and compiling reports, the platform automatically aggregates relevant metrics and data points. Having a centralized approach eliminated the need to jump between different interfaces, saving considerable time for the social media team.
Additionally, with Agorapulse, Kaspersky’s social media team gains real-time access to data and insights. Instead of waiting for manual data gathering and reporting cycles, the team can instantly access up-to-date performance metrics. This real-time access empowers the team to make timely adjustments to campaigns and strategies based on current data.
“Agorapulse allows us to be able to pull data looking at tags, versus it being something where we need the analyst to dive in,” says Esposito. “Being able to get the results of a campaign ad hoc is better sometimes than a full deep dive report, based upon the time that’s available.”
The tagging feature has also helped to facilitate better team management, allowing for quick identification and correction of errors. It also fostered a culture of accountability, where team members could learn and grow from their mistakes without jeopardizing the company’s reputation.
“When you’re any type of business, a crisis can strike at any given time. And where companies need to be smart is having a tool to make sure that everything that is going on can be properly tracked and properly managed,” says Esposito.
Agorapulse’s responsive customer support was also highlighted as a strong point, with the team actively listening to feedback and making necessary adjustments to meet Kaspersky’s needs.
“We’ve been with Agorapulse for five years now, and one thing I will say is the support we’ve received has been off the charts compared to our previous vendor,” says David Buxton, Head of Social Media West at Kaspersky.
“I’ve had times when I’ve messaged the support system in Agorapulse and said, ‘Why don’t you do this?’ and they would willingly listen to us and take that feedback and work on it and make changes.”
A Future of Collaborative Growth
Over the years, Agorapulse has proven to be not only a tool, but a valuable partner for Kaspersky. By fostering collaboration, enhancing security, and streamlining processes, Agorapulse has enabled Kaspersky to maintain a strong and cohesive presence across various social media platforms, catering to a diverse audience without compromising on security or efficiency.
As Kaspersky continues to evolve, their ongoing partnership with Agorapulse demonstrates the commitment of both parties to work towards a promising future of innovation and mutual growth.
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