Press Release | Gütersloh, 12/03/2013

Bertelsmann Launches Social Cloud on the Internet

Company site pools more than 2,000 social media channels

It has become commonplace for companies to seek contact with their customers and the public on platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Now the international media and services company Bertelsmann has gone one step further, by combining and displaying all of its official social media channels on a single website. Though its focus is initially on Facebook, Twitter and Google+, the site already pools news and posts from over 2,000 social media channels around the world – and the number is growing.

“It all started with the idea of creating more visibility for Bertelsmann’s digital activities, to highlight the broad spectrum of our offerings,” says Karin Schlautmann, Head of Bertelsmann Corporate Communications. “With the new social cloud, we have created a site of unprecedented topicality, diversity and transparency. The wealth of channels alone makes it clear how deeply our businesses are already anchored in the digital world, and how actively they make use of their opportunities.” New messages arrive practically by the second on the new website at http://socialcloud.bertelsmann.com  , in real-time and from a wide range of Bertelsmann companies and editorial teams around the world – from TV and radio broadcasting and production companies, book publishers, magazines and online portals, from the services sector, music and the international start-up scene. At any given moment, news is being announced somewhere, video clips are posted online, author chats are hosted, or tweets are being posted about programs currently being aired.

The interested public is invited to browse the social cloud at their leisure, exploring the details of the Group and what Bertelsmann is currently up to. The posts and channels can also be systematically searched. The site will be expanded shortly to include numerous YouTube channels whose content is supplied by Bertelsmann and its subsidiaries. Sorting by language, media genre and corporate division is also planned.

The fact that social media plays an increasingly important role at Bertelsmann is also evident from the corporate website at www.bertelsmann.com  and www.bertelsmann.de  , which was recently completely redesigned. Twitter channels have been inserted on many of its pages, and key activities are grouped in a social media newsroom.

Head of Communications Karin Schlautmann sees this as an obvious step: “Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have become a part of the daily routine for our employees and customers. So it makes sense for our media group to actively use all these channels and offer the appropriate sites and services. Especially given the fact that Bertelsmann’s CEO Thomas Rabe himself is an active Twitter user.”

About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is an international media company whose core divisions encompass television (RTL Group), book publishing (Penguin Random House), magazine publishing (Gruner + Jahr), services (Arvato), and printing (Be Printers) in some 50 countries. In 2012, the company’s businesses, with their more than 100,000 employees, generated revenues of €16.1 billion. Bertelsmann stands for a combination of creativity and entrepreneurship that empowers the creation of first-rate media, communications, and service offerings to inspire people around the world and to provide innovative solutions for customers.