Facebook has acquired CrowdTangle, a four-year-old tool used by publishers like Vox, BuzzFeed, and Mic to track how their content is shared on social media.
The two companies announced the deal on Friday for an undisclosed sum. CrowdTangle had raised $2.2 million in funding from investors like Betaworks and Advancit Capital.
Facebook’s Page Insights tool already lets publishers track the performance of their Facebook pages, but CrowdTangle can track content across other platforms, including Twitter, Reddit, Instagram, and YouTube.
CrowdTangle said it will continue to operate within Facebook and that its customers “should expect even more from us going forward.”
CEO Brandon Silverman and CTO Matt Garmur will join Facebook along with many members of the team, according to a Facebook spokesperson. CrowdTangle became an official Facebook partner earlier this year.
"Publishers around the world turn to CrowdTangle to surface stories that matter, measure their social performance and identify influencers," the spokesperson said. "We are excited to work with CrowdTangle to deliver these, and more insights to more publishers."
"We think Facebook is the single most powerful platform in the world in connecting people to each other and to stories they care about," CrowdTangle said in a blog post. "And at a time when there is a revolution taking place in how people connect with the world, our team is passionate about building tools that help publishers get the data and insights they need to succeed. Being able to continue our work but with the full support and resources of Facebook is a dream come true."
