tack-adSeattle startup Snap Skout has changed its name to Tack and launched a new product that helps small businesses turn social media posts into online ads that appear on local news sites.

Aaron Goodin.
Aaron Goodin.

“We are launching our first advertiser product for local businesses and we needed a name that better reflects our mission of creating meaningful connections between local business and their customers,” CEO Aaron Goodin told GeekWire. “Tack is the perfect choice because it’s exactly what our new product does: keeps local businesses on the map.”

Tack’s technology uses natural language processing and location optimizing to make sure the most relevant ads appear on publisher’s Web sites. The service automatically chooses the most relevant Facebook posts from small businesses, and then transforms them into ads that run through the Tack network. It is free for businesses to set up, with the company saying that it takes just 30-seconds to activate.

Tack, which has raised $3 million and employs 10, has publishing partners like MyNorthwest.com, Sfist.com and Seattle magazine. It also has around 30 local business advertisers in Seattle, ranging from restaurants to bars to fitness studios to retail shops.

Goodin calls Tack the “future of online advertising.”

“Tack is the easiest and currently the only way for businesses and brands to connect with new and existing, engaged, online customers,” said Goodin, who previously co-founded Quantum Technologies.

“By taking already engaging social posts, turning them into online ads, and placing them directly in front of consumers, we are able to help our local business partners connect with new customers, while helping to drive an increase in revenue for publishing partners,” Goodin said in a release.

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