PeerIndex

PeerIndex was a London-based social media analytics company founded in 2009 by Azeem Azhar and Ditlev Schwanenflügel. The company emerged from a series of pivots, initially starting as Vbrief, then Viewsflow, before settling on the PeerIndex model. Azhar's extensive background as a technology correspondent for publications like The Guardian and The Economist, and in strategy and innovation roles at the BBC and Reuters, provided a deep understanding of media and technology landscapes. This experience was instrumental in developing PeerIndex's core offering.

The firm specialized in providing social media analytics, focusing on identifying and ranking influential voices online. Its core product analyzed public data from social platforms to score individuals based on their authority and engagement within specific topics, moving beyond simple follower counts to measure true influence. This technology addressed a key marketing need: to understand the people behind online conversations and identify key influencers who could amplify a brand's message. The company operated on a SaaS model, serving enterprise clients like Unilever and the Financial Times with a product called PiQ, which provided real-time audience analytics. Its proprietary algorithm, which it called 'peer expertise evaluation and ranking', was a key differentiator, helping businesses determine whose opinion to trust on any given subject.

After securing just under $4 million in funding from backers including Meridian Venture Partners and Anthemis Group, PeerIndex became a notable player in the burgeoning field of influencer analytics. The company's significant achievement was building one of the world's largest independent databases of Twitter authors, containing over 300 million profiles by late 2014. This asset, combined with its analytical technology, made it an attractive acquisition target. In December 2014, PeerIndex was acquired by Brandwatch, a social media monitoring company, in a deal reportedly valued at around £10 million. The acquisition allowed Brandwatch to integrate PeerIndex's deep audience insights and influencer identification technology, which later formed the basis of the Brandwatch Audiences product.

Keywords: social media analytics, influencer marketing, topic-based influence, audience intelligence, social capital, Twitter analytics, online influence, reputation scoring, audience segmentation, content marketing analysis, social data, brand monitoring, marketing technology, Azeem Azhar, audience analysis, PiQ, social listening, influencer identification, digital marketing insights, influencer ranking