Pogo Limited has secured a £100,000 investment to help it launch its new photography-based social media app. The investment comes from the Finance for Business North East Proof of Concept Fund, managed by Northstar Ventures.
Pogo is an innovative social media platform which offers a new way to share content. It is designed to track images, with a display to show where in the world those images have been viewed. Using GPS, Pogo takes the idea of media sharing and adds a new function to it – ‘bouncing’.
Bouncing allows a user to send their content to selected contacts, and those selected contacts can send it to their contacts and so on, creating an exponential chain. Users will also be set a series of challenges when they sign up to the app, for example to try and bounce an image to every continent in the world. It is this gamification that will differentiate Pogo from other image sharing apps.
Jack Francis, Founder and MD said; “Pogo came from the idea of the ‘six degrees of separation’- the notion that you can be linked to anyone in the world in six steps or less. We thought it would be really cool to see who you are connected to globally, through social media. This concept, combined with our image tracking software, led to Pogo being born.
“The investment from Northstar Ventures will allow us to bring on new staff, run the marketing campaign for the app’s launch and lease some new offices. As for the future, we would love to become the new go-to social media app for people looking to have their media shared all over the world.”
With its focus on geographical connections, Pogo sees itself as an addition to the social media that people use, rather than as direct competition. Pogo would like to sit between Snapchat and Instagram, and for brands, it offers a unique way to identify new audiences internationally.
On top of being a fully functioning social media app, Pogo offers an analytics platform with varying levels of detail, allowing companies to see heat maps of where their media is being shared, compare the demographics between countries and identify their key social influencers as well as many other features.
Jack said: “We’re working with several brands that are interested in finding new audiences, which are more likely to be receptive to their marketing content. Imagine as a brand if you discovered thousands of would-be customers sharing your content in another country – Pogo has the potential to help companies identify new markets, improve sales, as well as increasing brand awareness globally.”
Ian Richards, Investment manager at Northstar Ventures said; “Social media marketing has dramatically increased over recent years and today most companies use social media to connect with their existing customers and to attract new business. Pogo acts as a conduit for brand owners to better track their marketing messages and engage with their audiences in an innovative way.
“Jack is extremely passionate about the business, and has worked hard to develop a product that offers something different to both social users and big brands. We look forward to working with Jack and his team as they continue to grow.”