• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, July 30, 2014

In an effort to improve its social bona fides, data search firm Palantir has agreed to buy social listening shop Poptip. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
 
Unlike many social analytics firms, Poptip does not focus on metrics like “number of Likes” or “number of Followers.”
 
“Instead, we analyze the raw, unstructured conversation found in the captions and comments to provide consolidated consumer preferences,” Kelsey Falter, Poptip’s young founder, recently told Social Media & Marketing Daily.
 
Within Palantir, the Poptip team is expected to continue building products for data analysis in the commercial sector.
 
Since its launch in 2012, Poptip has sought to set itself apart with a real-time, natural language processing algorithm. “Our algorithm interprets certain signals within the conversation, like emerging topics and drastic shifts in the conversation,” said Falter.
 
Poptip attempts to provide context around how a brand or brand category is being referenced by consumers. Once clients like Budweiser, ESPN and Spotify determine whether Instagram is right for them, the insights are limitless, according to Falter.
 
For example, “by working with L'Oreal … we are able to identify which key products drove the most conversation around ‘trial’ specifically,” she said. “That's powerful when thinking about how to best position a giveaway or prepare for impending social commerce offerings that will be released by social networks in the next few quarters.”
 
Still, Poptip is only in the business of alerting clients to shifts in how their brands are being discussed, Falter said. “It's up to the brand to decide how to respond to that signal.”
 
Poptip operates in a highly competitive market that analysts say is ripe for rapid consolidation.