Salesforce Announces Content Streaming Service for Businesses With Salesforce+

The service will be initially free for the global audience and will not contain any ads.

The world-renowned CRM provider Salesforce is the latest to jump into the content streaming business with its new streaming service. However, this service is different. Salesforce+, the new content streaming serviceOpens a new window , features content for companies and industries. The service includes original series, live experiences, podcasts, and other types of programs that viewers can customize.

According to Sarah Franklin, president-CMO, Salesforce, “Just as brands like Disney, Netflix and Peloton have done with streaming services for consumers, Salesforce+ is providing an always-on, business-media platform that builds trusted relationships with customers and a sense of belonging for the business community.”

Details of the Streaming Service

The company’s in-house studio and its team of writers, broadcast producers, and editors have developed the core content for Salesforce+. According to an Axios reportOpens a new window , the company has recruited about 50 editorial leads who are working on launching the service. The company plans to hire more people in these roles as it plans more programs. The streaming service is free for now. The company also has no plans to feature any external ads.

While a significant number of programs are available on-demand around the clock, there will also be live event programs. Salesforce+ will also feature original content from the company for now. Eventually, Salesforce’s clients will create the content.

Salesforce+ will be launched at DreamforceOpens a new window , the company’s annual mega-conference, in September and available to audiences across the globe.

Also read: Streaming Sees a 44% YoY Growth in Q4 2020: Conviva Study Reveals

Saleforce+ Current List of Programs

Salesforce+ has already got a few programs lined up. They include:

• Connections — Franklin interviews marketing professionals from organizations such as Levi’s, IBM, and GoFundMe.
• Leading Through Change — This weekly program covers how business leaders across industries are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Boss Talks — This is a career advice series and is hosted by Ebony Beckwith, chief philanthropy officer, Salesforce.
• The Inflection Point — In this program, CEOs from various brands like Coca-Cola, Honeywell, PayPal, and Workday share their professional influences, personal backstories, and values with Monica Langley, former Wall Street Journal reporter.
• Simply Put — This is a short-form video series on challenges businesses face. The program is hosted by Emmanuel Acho, analyst of Fox Sports 1 and former NFL linebacker.

Besides its original series, Salesforce+ will also include four “broadcast channels”: Trailblazer for training content, Customer 360 for success stories, Primetime for news and announcements, and Industry Channels for industry-specific offerings.

The Driving Force Behind Salesforce+

The year 2020 was primarily driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies were forced to go digital and evolve. Salesforce has watched many of these companies struggle with their transformation into fully digital entities. Salesforce’s purchase of Slack was in response to the market’s evolution. However, the company also believes that it can do more by creating an on-demand video service that provides business content throughout the day.

Colin Fleming, the company’s senior vice president of global brand marketing, sees this to evolve the content Salesforce has been already sharing. In a Q&A sessionOpens a new window , he said, “As a result of the pandemic, we looked at the media landscape, where people are consuming content, and decided the days of white papers in a business-to-business setting were no longer interesting to people. We’re staring at a cookie-less future. And looking at the consumer world, we reflected on that for Salesforce and asked, why shouldn’t we be thinking about this too”.

Also read: Salesforce Buys Slack for $27.7B to Take On Microsoft

Why It Matters

The content streaming service is part of the company’s larger effort to transform its marketing approach from paid media to owned media to acquire customers. According to Franklin, the company hopes that the service will help professionals refine their skills and emotionally connect with the company, inspiring more people to engage with them better and use their products.

Salesforce is not the first Martech company to head this way and certainly will not be the last. Earlier this year, Hubspot acquired The HustleOpens a new window , a content and newsletter company targeted at small business owners and entrepreneurs. TheSkimm, another digital media company focusing on millennial women, is exploring a sale to non-media companiesOpens a new window . Having said that, Salesforce is taking its investments in a digital-first workforce a step further with its full-on streaming service.

This is what William Tyree, CMO of ringDNAOpens a new window , had to say, “Salesforce+ exemplifies continued investment from Salesforce in a digital-first workforce. Salesforce is taking it one step further than the rest with this full-on streaming service. As the world continues to settle into a hybrid environment, streaming will play a major role as organizations that formerly hosted thousands of people in a convention center aim to bridge online and in-person attendees. 2021’s Dreamforce with the addition of Salesforce+ will be an experiment that paves the way for enterprises. We will see other organizations follow the CRM giant’s lead.

That said, these content strategies aren’t just for the massive tech companies on their way to becoming ‘everything companies.’ It’s beneficial for smaller players to invest in digital-first content that enables them to meet their customers where they already are. Whether it be through a podcast or on-demand videos, the opportunity and demand for content are there. By building up their own catalog of stream able content, businesses can ensure Salesforce isn’t the only voice in the conversation. We recognized this opportunity at ringDNA, which is why we made the decision to acquire the Sales Enablement Podcast rather than building our own from scratch.”

There is undoubtedly a market for professional development and educational content. But given that the streaming service will act as a marketing vehicle for the company, it is yet unclear if the company can capitalize on the trend. Further, given that the service is free and without ads, how Salesforce will monetize this service in the short term is yet to be seen.

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