My personal motivation to participate in Alpe d’HuZes stems from a strong desire to help combat the disease. I've had this feeling for a long time, and it grew stronger when I started my own business. My first company sponsored good causes from the very beginning, and I was fortunate that the business allowed for it. I believe that when you are in a unique position as an entrepreneur to sponsor good causes, you should do so. Entrepreneurship is not just about starting new ventures, growing revenue, or making a profit; it is also about making connections, development, life, and contributing to society.
From the start, Coosto has sponsored various good causes, but a few years ago, we decided to fully focus on sponsoring cancer research and treatment. This includes supporting organizations like KWF, the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, smaller and sometimes personal initiatives, and we have been proud sponsors of the wonderful Alpe d’HuZes for eight years now.
As the years pass, I'm now 53, I have become increasingly aware of how lucky I am that my family, immediate relatives, and friends are in relatively good health.
I often reflect on the special things in life, such as the fresh scent of an early morning or freshly cut grass, the colorful display of clouds and light during a sunset, peacefully grazing cows in a meadow, or an energizing techno percussion set blasting from the speakers during a car ride. I can enjoy these things without worry, without medical stress, and that feels like pure happiness. I wish this for everyone. All these so-called givens are no longer so obvious when you are ill or when someone you love is sick. These 'trivialities' then suddenly become special moments of happiness.
Of course, this is different for everyone, and everyone experiences it in their own way. But if my company and I can contribute, even if it is just a drop in the ocean, to fighting cancer with the goal of increasing moments of happiness, then that is the best thing there is.
As mentioned, I am an entrepreneur, and from that background, I also wanted to participate and ride up the mountain as an Alpe d’HuZes participant. I love challenges, especially when they are tough.
In 2023, it was time; we participated for the first time, not just as sponsors but also by cycling and running. Being opportunistic, I thought I could just ride up the mountain. After all, it was just over 15 km; I used to cycle that distance to school, it couldn't be that hard. I started training by cycling about 40 km every weekend. With three months to go and extreme weather like snow and frost, I bought an indoor bike trainer to train at home. The advantage of this device was that I could simulate the climb of Alpe d'Huez, and that became my new training goal: climbing Alpe d’Huez as often as possible on the indoor trainer in the attic.
The first time I did it, I was in for a rude wake-up call. I started too fast, and as a result, 30 minutes later, I was completely exhausted and could barely move forward. It was one of my toughest sports experiences ever. I finished the training, but I was utterly wrecked, and the next day I could barely walk due to muscle soreness. That was a serious wake-up call. I realized I had severely underestimated it and that serious work was needed.
I began by reading up on how to train for climbing a mountain by bike. I read training schedules, watched various YouTube videos, and, on the advice of an enthusiastic cycling colleague (thanks for the tip, Stan), listened to the 'Beter Worden' podcast by Laurens ten Dam and gradually adjusted my training. I learned how to train based on wattage, how to adjust my diet, incorporate varied training, and the importance of a good night's sleep. Ultimately, the preparation for 2023 was too short, but I couldn't complain; Team Coosto did fantastic, and it left us wanting more, so we signed up for 2024 immediately.
This time, I planned to start training much earlier, but unexpected business circumstances threw a wrench in the works, and then my mother suddenly passed away. This combination resulted in little training. In the last few months, I have been able to train relatively well. Long rides on weekends of four to five hours, combined with hill training and intervals on the indoor trainer. The result is okay; it could be better, but I am glad I can participate given the circumstances, and I am looking forward to it immensely. It will be an amazing, yet emotional and impactful experience that I will savor to the fullest.
Regarding the sponsorship money, I have decided to personally double the final amount I raise. Hopefully, this will encourage everyone to give generously, but know that every donation is greatly appreciated.
I want to thank everyone in advance for their support, and of course, I will give everything I have on the mountain! 🙂! One last important word:
Don't forget to enjoy life, the little things, the big things, keep things in perspective, and go for it. It's not tomorrow, but now! ❤️
Do you want to contribute to Toine's mission to fight cancer? Donate here!
Coosto offers a powerful integration with Google Analytics that enables users to draw more, better, and faster conclusions from data than ever before.
This integration opens the doors to better insight into online performance, thanks to the powerful combination of social media metrics and website performance. Here are some highlights of what this new integration with Google Analytics has to offer:
Try it yourself and discover how Coosto integration helps increase your organization's online success with the newest integration. The Google Analytics integration in Coosto is available to Coosto customers and can be tested for free by interested organizations.
Since 2009 I began cycling actively, started on mountain bike but currently I alternate between MTB, road bike and gravel bike. In recent years I have been cycling about 7.5 to 8000 kilometers per year.
Each year I try to make a nice challenge. For instance, a few times I participated in Scherpenheuvel -> Hapert (100 km MTB) and Diekirch -> Valkenswaard (270 km with 3000 altimeters) and last year I cycled the Pieterpad with friends (520 km in 3 days).
The Alpe d'HuZes had been on my list for a long time but had not happened until now.
Fortunately I do not have any close experience with cancer, but everyone has to deal with it directly or indirectly. So the combination of a nice challenge and raising as much money as possible for charity and that on my birthday couldn't be nicer.
he training is going well, for now I stand at 2800 km for this year, I try to incorporate as many altimeters as possible. In Brabant not the easiest of tasks, but the Gulbergen in Nuenen (old landfill and with 62m above sea level the highest point in Brabant) is a nice place to train. I recently rode up 25 times to get 1200 altimeters in one ride in Brabant. Furthermore I try to make nice longer distances, picking up the uniforms in Papendal was a nice trip of 160km via Veldhoven -> Papendal -> Den Bosch (with the train back to Eindhoven).
During the longer rides I try to pay close attention to nutrition and drinking with energy bars, powders and bananas.
And of course we keep track of everything on Strava and StatsHunters (a side project of myself as a developer).
Help Stan reach his goal and donate here.
At 04:00 I was already awake and ready to start the ascent. It's still half an hour until the start, and there's already a massive line of people waiting. Everyone has their lights on, even before it has begun, and I find it extremely impressive.
After a long wait, I finally crossed the starting line at 04:47. The first climb was in silence, and since it was so early, it was still dark outside. The route was beautifully illuminated with candles. In every turn, I saw a long string of cyclists, hikers, and runners winding their way up the mountain. It feels good to me, but the climb is steeper than expected. Throughout the climb, I kept my gears in the lowest setting, trying to keep my heart rate below 145. I crossed the finish line at 06:21. It feels like a victory. Almost immediately, I started the first descent. Since it's still early in the morning and the sun hasn't risen yet, it's extremely cold. Descending 14 km with a windbreaker and a jacket, it's cold but enjoyable! Down at the turning point, there's thankfully some hot coffee to warm up.
I take off my rain jacket, and at 07:08, I ride down to the start again. More and more people gather on the mountain to cheer us on. At 08:00, the DJ finally cranks up the volume. Different music in every few turns, the atmosphere is already great early on!
Along the way, I encountered many emotional moments—a group of friends embracing each other by the candles, a woman crying alone on a wall, a man with his son's photo under his saddlebag, and a banner with a picture of a loved one by the road. It sometimes hits you hard. I finished for the second time at 08:36. After a short break, a restroom stop, and refilling my water bottles, I descend again. I grab a soup for some extra salt and then go for it again.
At 09:31, I started the third climb of the day. The first few turns are still relatively easy, but the higher I go, the harder it becomes. Some pain starts to creep into my calf at turn 5. I can't shift to an easier gear. I keep hydrating, eat an extra energy bar, and hope the pain doesn't escalate.
By turn 2 (counting backward from turn 21 to 1), the pain doesn't matter anymore because the finish line is in sight. Once I cross the finish line, it's 11:02, almost 5 hours of riding, so having lunch sounds like a good idea. I take a longer break with a sandwich, a can of cola, and weigh whether another climb is feasible. Together with Toine, we decided to go for it. We descend together and agree not to wait for each other during the climb, but to go at our own pace.
At 13:22, Toine and I start our final climb. Initially, I pull ahead of Toine, but at one of the last turns, I have to stop to give my legs some rest. I take this opportunity to take some photos. Suddenly, I see Toine, and I immediately get on my bike to ride together for the final climb. At 14:58, we crossed the finish line together for the last time.The entire week was incredibly impressive and a challenge never to be forgotten!
Climb 1: 01:34 hours
Climb 2: 01:27 hours
Climb 3: 01:30 hours
Climb 4: 01:36 hours
Personal contribution: €3,500.00
Total funds raised by Coosto Warriors: €10,982.04
For years, I had the idea of climbing Alpe d'Huez on my bike, inspired by the heroic images of the Tour de France, particularly the victories of Peter Winnen (1981), Gert-Jan Theunisse (1989), Lance Armstrong (2001), and of course, Marco Pantani (1995), who set a world record with an incredible time of 36 minutes and 50 seconds. Along the climb, the route was packed with enthusiastic supporters dressed in the most peculiar clothing. Every year, there was a supporter dressed as a red devil, chasing the cyclists with a trident. Alpe d'Huez in the Tour de France was always a great spectacle and gained a mythical status.
On television, the climbs looked tough, and the riders suffered, but watching from the couch, I thought I could do it myself. Maybe I could even come close to a good time!
On June 6, 2006 (6-6-6), 66 people cycled up Alpe d'HuZes 6 times for a good cause, cancer research. There was limited media attention initially, but year after year, the media coverage grew, capturing my attention as well. I would love to participate one day, achieve a sports performance, and sponsor a good cause—a wonderful combination. But the years went by, and there was always a reason not to sign up. I was too busy, not fit enough, cycling wasn't really that enjoyable, supporting charities could be done in other ways, and so on. Until Corona emerged and gripped the world in a dreadful manner. The number of sick people and deaths increased rapidly, and the news mainly focused on vulnerable individuals and those with underlying conditions who passed away to a disease.
During that period, I got to know Maud Burgers and Marlies von Mansveldt from the Prinses Máxima Centrum for Pediatric Oncology. The trigger was an episode of Jeroen Pauw's program "Pauw komt binnen", filmed at the Prinses Máxima Centrum for Pediatric Oncology, where he spoke with children, fathers, mothers, and families about the impact of cancer, the fear, but above all, the zest for life. I happened to come across this episode, and I was captivated by the intensity, honesty, and the pure, sad, but also beautiful stories. When the episode ended, I had an irresistible feeling that I wanted to contribute, to help. That same evening, I sent an email to Maud, stating that I wanted my company to contribute to the good work of the Prinses Máxima Centrum. The next day, I received a positive reply and was invited for a meeting. Two weeks later, I went for a visit, and after a warm welcome, a good conversation, and an impressive and discreet tour, I was even more convinced. We must contribute, and that was the start of our collaboration.
From that moment on, the Coosto management team decided to choose one charity for sponsorship, and that was everything related to cancer research. We were already sponsors of Alpe d'HuZes, but we had never participated in the event. That had to change, and besides, it was an opportunity to climb Alpe d'Huez and make a contribution. In December 2022, I sent an email to the entire company, announcing that we were registering for Alpe d'HuZes 2023. And so it happened, but there was a small detail, and that was the preparation.
By nature, I am quite positive and somewhat limitless in my thinking. Climbing that mountain on a bike couldn't be that difficult, right? The videos on YouTube of cyclists effortlessly riding up the mountain confirmed my suspicion—climbing Alpe d'Huez is quite doable. I wasn't in a hurry to train because I believed it wouldn't be that challenging. At the end of February, I decided to do a simulation training of Alpe d'Huez on my indoor bike trainer. I started off well and got into a good rhythm, but a quarter of the way up, it started to get tough, and by the halfway point, I was already quite exhausted. At 75%, I no longer found it funny and wondered what on earth I had gotten myself into. Two hours later, completely drained and with a significant mental blow, I got off the bike trainer. With a sense of panic, I realized I had a problem—this was much, much tougher than I had expected, serious work was required.
made a concise list of what needed to be done to cycle up the mountain multiple times. I needed to lose weight, sleep more, eat healthier, train more, vary my training routine, lower my heart rate, and, above all, find out how other climbers prepare. Slowly but surely, I made progress. My endurance training improved, my heart rate became more stable and lower, and my recovery also improved. But is it enough? Now, one week before the start, I still have doubts about whether I am adequately prepared, but the excitement for the event is growing. I think it's super cool that I can participate, and I won't disappoint my sponsors. On Thursday, June 1, I will be ready and give it my all, enjoy it to the fullest, and have a beautiful and extraordinary experience. Giving up is not an option.
Thank you for your support and generous donations, we're going for it!
Help Toine reach his goal and donate here
I am participating because I would like to raise money for a future where cancer no longer means certain death. Cancer is all around us and two hands are no longer enough for me to keep count of all the cases in my surroundings. Sooner or later everyone will have to deal with it in some way, so I am happy to support research into ways to cure, alleviate or prevent cancer.
Going to run up that mountain is quite a challenge. To prepare, I train three times a week. An endurance run to be ready for a long effort. An interval or high tempo run to improve my performance and a training with altitude meters, which I can only do by running up and down the former garbage dump in Nuenen. In terms of nutrition I am mainly focused on recovery during and after training: fluids and carbohydrates. For muscle building sometimes some extra protein because I hardly eat any meat.
So far the training is going well. I'll get there, but my target time of 2 hours may just become 2.5 hours or more....
Help Rob reach his goal and donate here.
I expected this day to be a bit weird, maybe even difficult, emotionally charged. However, it turned out to be not as challenging as I thought. I think we were too tense, anticipating what was to come. Throughout the day, we were confronted with many images of people who died from cancer and their loved ones remembering them by lit candles. We went to see the mountain by car, and the route was surprisingly steep. Even in the car, it took quite a while to reach the top. Along the way, every conversation revolved around how we were going to tackle the challenge the next day.
I also experienced a sudden knot in my calf today. Fortunately, there were volunteer physiotherapists present, and one of them was able to massage it away, although not without some pain.
We decided to start at different times: Stan at 4:30, myself at 5:00, and Toine at 6:00. So, it was an early bedtime for all of us.
I woke up at 4:00 due to messages from Stan and Tariq in our group chat. Trying to go back to sleep didn't help. So, I opened the window to hear the crowd gathered at the start and to feel the cold temperature of 9°C.
Yesterday, I prepared and laid out everything. Getting dressed and having breakfast was all I needed to do. I ate my brought-along milk and Brinta and headed towards the start. I had agreed to meet Tariq at the start, and fortunately, I found him quickly.
At 4:53, I started my first climb. It was still dark. I passed many hikers with flashlights and lights dangling from their backpacks. The only thing on my mind was not to go too fast; there was still a long way to go.
The cyclists from my starting group had already raced ahead. The first ascent towards turn 21 was already quite steep: 10%. I saw many cyclists struggling to make their way up. Quite a few managed to stay ahead of me (sometimes just barely), but I overtook the rest! The fastest ones were already at turn 20 or even further. I kept checking my sports watch every minute to make sure I wasn't exerting myself too much.
After the battlefield of the first few kilometers, I found a rhythm where most cyclists steadily passed me while sometimes offering encouraging words. The slower cyclists and hikers were usually focused on their own challenges. I kept jogging, keeping my heart rate low in Zone 3.
Apparently, it had become light without me noticing because around 6.5 km, I saw a beautiful view of Bourg d'Oisans. I stopped here briefly to take a photo and share it. It was already 05:49, and I was almost at turn 11. I realized I was already halfway there, and things were actually going quite well. I had already tackled the steepest part. I stopped briefly again for another photo at turn 9.
I continued running until I was surprised just before turn 3. The route was different from the one we took by car yesterday. In my delusion, I thought the exit we took with the car was a shorter route, but that wasn't the case, and it hit me. Suddenly, I saw countless people zigzagging up the landscape in front of me. I decided to walk a bit. Then suddenly, Stan came flying by on his descent, and I managed to shout congratulations to him on his birthday. With this boost, I started running again!
After turn 1, there was still nearly a kilometer of climbing through the village, and I tried to maintain my pace. People were cheering me on, and the atmosphere was incredible. I felt tired, but it didn't affect my mood at all. My first climb was completed at 07:03. At the top of the mountain I had planned to meet up with Tariq, he had warm clothes for me. However, he was not there yet, as the gondolas to get to the top did not start until 07:00.
At the top of Alpe d'Huez, it is 6°C. So I just bought some long pants here and watched the other finishers. They all crossed the finish line with different emotions. Happy, crying, with pictures of loved ones and some focused only on achievement.
Suddenly I see Toine flash by, he immediately goes on for the 2nd lap. Moments later, Tariq was also on the mountain. We talked together about how the event was and how my climb had gone. I see that everyone is going through, I decide not to wait for the ‘saamhorigheids’ climb, but to go again right now! I still feel surprisingly good and also my muscles were not yet stiffened.
To get down, it took me 1.5 hours. I had to take three gondolas and a bus. I chat with others and everyone is still going up that mountain. At the hotel I put on sunscreen and make my drinks.
At 10:47 I started running right in front of the hotel. In fact, this is where the start was early in the morning (moved to the beginning of the mountain in the meantime). I don't pay attention to my speed and a few turns after the steep start I feel that it is going a bit less. I walk for a while and start running again. Someone hands me an apple. I bite down and notice that I cannot eat this while running. Walking again. It is hard for me, the banners with statements of patients who have died are also suddenly more present.
I decide to walk until the next turn, then run again, alternating that way. This happens a few times, but when I end up in a traffic jam of walkers after turn 7, I only manage to run for about 100m.
It's not a race, just getting to the top, so don't give up!
I accept that I have to do it walking and continue until I reach turn 1. The part through the village I manage to run, but it takes a lot from me. At 13:25 I cross the finish line. Tired. Very tired, but satisfied and this is actually what I expected from the first attempt. The ‘saamhorigheids’ climb is no longer an option for me. The same goes for Toine and Stan who complete their 3rd and 4th climbs after me respectively.
Climb 1: 02:10 hours
Climb 2: 02:27 hours
Personal contribution: €2.625,04
Total funds raised by Coosto Warriors: €10,982.04
Eindhoven, February 28, 2023 - Coosto announced today the launch of Coosto for Salesforce Marketing Cloud, the second Coosto app available on the Salesforce AppExchange. These powerful Coosto apps enable customers to effortlessly manage their online content and social media presence directly within Salesforce.
Coosto delivers a cutting-edge content and social media marketing tool, providing practical solutions for every stage of the content marketing process. Our loyal customers rely on Coosto to generate and distribute exceptional content, expertly manage their online community, and track and analyze their results with ease.
Coosto offers an outstanding alternative for Salesforce customers who previously used Salesforce Social Studio, as this product is being phased out by Salesforce. By utilizing the Coosto for Salesforce Marketing Cloud app, customers can seamlessly access the full range of Coosto's features directly within the Salesforce Marketing Cloud platform.
Coosto for Salesforce Marketing Cloud is currently available on AppExchange.
This new app is a valuable addition to Coosto's existing Salesforce app, Coosto for Salesforce Service Cloud. Together, these apps allow customers to gain real-time insights on social interactions and engage with their customers directly from Sales & Service Cloud. Coosto for Service Cloud is available on AppExchange.
Toine Verheul, CEO of Coosto, stated: 'We are proud to have strengthened our partnership with Salesforce, providing customers with the tools they need to fully manage their online content and social media directly within the Salesforce platform. With both Marketing Cloud and Service Cloud apps now available on the Salesforce AppExchange, we are excited to offer our customers a seamless and streamlined experience.’
Click here for more information
The more media sources you monitor, the lower the odds you’ll miss an article that is relevant for your organization. Coosto therefore offers extensive coverage of various media, including social media, blogs, message boards, radio, tv and news sites.
The new Belga.press integration provides additional coverage of all major national and regional newspapers and magazines in Belgium. This helps you get an even better understanding of what is being written about your organization or industry.
The Belga.press integration grants access to multiple outlets, both in Dutch and in French language. Major titles like RTBF, RTL TVI, De Standaard and l’Echo are all included.
The Belga.press integration enables you to measure the full impact of your PR efforts, base your communication plans on a more robust situational analysis and get even more ideas for new content.
Read more about all integration options via Belga.press
“We’re seeing many content marketers putting a lot of time and energy in creating relevant, unique content”, says Paul van den Broek, product manager at Coosto. “But success is mainly determined by the way content is distributed. That’s easier said than done, though. How can you make sure your content is actually seen? That your target audience is engaging with and clicking on your post more often? With Post Optimizer, we offer a data-driven solution that removes any of those doubts.”
Post Optimizer provides proactive advice on the use of media, hashtags, emoji, URLs and the ideal copy length of your post. Not as a result of one-off or outdated research, but based on real-time analyses. Post Optimizer tells you what works and what doesn’t on your favorite social media platform at this very moment, making it 100% algorithm proof.
Post Optimizer is fully integrated in Coosto and available for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Book a free demo of the Coosto platform at coosto.com/en/demo.
Instagram is the no. 1 social media platform of this time, and its DM feature is used by almost 400 million people worldwide. This makes DMs a great opportunity for brands to engage with their target audiences in a personal way. DMs are perfect for improving customer loyalty, improving brand experience and get real conversions from conversations.
Coosto already enabled users to analyze Instagram messages, schedule and publish Instagram posts, and report all stats. Responding to public comments and mentions had been supported as well. With the addition of Direct Messages, Coosto now brings the entire Instagram suite under one roof. Altogether, the marketing tool supports full support for no fewer than 8 social media channels.
The new feature combines the best of both worlds: the popularity of Instagram DMs (including Story comments and mentions) and the reliable features of Coosto. The tool brings its user-friendly conversational interface, auto replies, quick replies and case tagging to Instagram, helping teams to work smarter and more efficiently.
Coosto offers a unique marketing tool that is entirely focused on helping organizations get better results from content and social media. Coosto lets you monitor how people are talking about your organization online, it helps you find ideas for new content, enables you to reach your target audience through all your social channels, and lets you handle questions and comments on social media, messengers and live chat. Reporting is easy, through PDF reports and real-time dashboards.
Morteza was working in the IT industry in Iran when Coosto came across his path. “An Iranian friend of mine lived in the Netherlands and worked at Coosto. During lunch, when he was visiting Iran, he talked about a vacancy at Coosto. When I got back to my desk I visited the Coosto website and read about the vacancy, looked exciting, requested a demo and walked through the product. Seemed like a cool project. I was like: are you ready for the next step? I decided to go for it.”
Morteza has always had an adventure abroad in his mind, but it was quite unexpected. “At that time, I wasn't thinking about it at all. It came on my path and the conversations with Coosto went very well. When I was offered the job, I didn't hesitate for a moment."
As a Developer in the Social Accounts team, Morteza is mainly working at the other side of Coosto. “I work in Coosto's engine room where we deal with thousands of incoming and outgoing messages. It always challenges you to improve things everyday Coosto's customers may not immediately notice the work we do, but it is essential.”
“At Coosto developers work continuously to improve Coosto as a product with new features, enhancements and bug fixes. Coosto has various development teams that are each responsible for a different part of Coosto. Each team has their own responsibilities, way of working and the freedom to address new challenges with carefully chosen technologies, and together all teams form the fundamental basis of a working product and happy customers.”
Packing your bags and moving to the other side of the world is not a small step, but Morteza would recommend it to everyone. Especially if Coosto gives you the opportunity. “Of course it is exciting, you don't know exactly where you will end up and the culture is different. At Coosto it was all great from the beginning. The colleagues are nice and very helpful. There's a good onboarding plan with a nice and cool buddy who helps and brings you up to speed very quickly. ”
Coosto also helped with the move from Iran to the Netherlands. “They arranged a home for my first month and helped with all the paperwork and arrangements surrounding my move, which I liked. This allowed me to get off to a good start without any problems and I quickly felt home. That way I could quickly focus on my work and find my way into the Netherlands instead of worrying about administrative things every day.”
His friends and family responded very well to his departure from Iran. “In the IT industry, it is quite common for people to live and work abroad. They knew it was an option for me too. Now I regularly speak to everyone via Whatsapp, for example. That is the advantage of these days. You are far away, but you can see everyone on a daily basis.”
Morteza was in the Netherlands for only two months when corona started in the Netherlands. From that moment on it became working from home and visiting his friends and family in Iran was no longer an option. “That was a sad situation, but it is what it is. It's not ideal if you just live in a new country and have a new job and then suddenly find yourself at home alone. But I can see it as an opportunity somehow. In the normal situation I would work from the office and my wife and son may get bored at home in a totally new city and country. Also for me it would be the case. but working from home gave me this chance to be with Mahdieh (my wife) and Parham (my son) and now we all don't feel new-in-town anymore.”
Morteza hopes to be able to work at Coosto for a long time to come. “I like the job and the people at Coosto are great. It is a very open organization in which you can come up with your own ideas. Everyone's input is listened to and that's nice. There are a lot of interesting events and opportunities such as Hackathons, self improvement budget, weekly knowledge sharing meetings, fun and sport and a lot more. If it is up to me, I will continue to work at Coosto for a long time.”
Sofie initially had a different career in mind. After her communications studies she started as a marketing & communication employee at an recruitment agency, but she missed the passion in that job. “It was not a match. I had previously worked in the hospitality industry for six years and I always loved the interaction with people. That disappeared in my role at the agency.”
Sofie made the step to Swiss Sense and got to know Coosto . “As a customer service employee at Swiss Sense, I worked with Coosto on a daily basis and that is how I got to know the company. The more people I spoke to, the more often I thought, "That seems like a great company to work for. "I decided to apply and that's how it all started."
After a few good interviews, the click was there and Coosto hired Sofie as a Support employee. From the beginning, there was the intention to help Sofie, who is eager to learn, grow to the CSM role in the future. "I liked that plan and I didn’t hesitate for a moment to accept the offer."
Sofie says she had a warm welcome at Coosto. “I felt at home from the very beginning. Of course all the nice colleagues play a role, but the HR process has also helped. Nothing is left to fate here. A first working day is often very exciting, but at Coosto I knew exactly what to expect. Before I started, I already received a complete plan from HR. Everything had already been arranged for me; training, introductions and so on. I immediately knew what to expect.”
That feeling never disappeared after that. “Everyone is so nice and helpful. You also notice this during activities outside of work. I have to mention the Christmas party. When I arrived I heard that it would be legendary and I experienced that myself for the first time in 2019. What makes it so legendary? I can’t explain, you need to discover it yourself.”
So Sofie took the first steps within Coosto as a Support employee. There she got to know the tool in detail and helped customers with questions or issues. After almost two years at Support, it was time to take the next step. “The initiative for my promotion to the role of CSM came from Coosto. Of course that was the approach from the start, but the fact that I never had to ask about it and they took the initiative, indicates to me what kind of employer Coosto is. Agreements are kept and that is not self-evident everywhere."
The CSM role fits perfect for Sofie. “Making people happy has always given me a lot of energy. Actually, I can do that full-time now. I have my own customer portfolio with nearly three hundred customers.”
As CSM, every day is really different, according to Sofie. “It is very diverse. One day I am busy onboarding new customers and the next day there are screen sharings where I help customers to get the most out of Coosto. I actually shut down my laptop every day and I think to myself: "This was a really nice day." Of course there are also less fun things to do, but compared to all the positive sides, it's nothing."
Sofie is regularly asked what a Customer Success Manager exactly does, and her answer is simple. “I always say that I do exactly what it literally says, haha. I manage the success of my clients. As soon as Sales has concluded a contract, it is transferred to a CSM. We contact that customer to get acquainted, to schedule training courses and to help them get started. From that moment on, the CSM is their contact person.”
A CSM actually builds a bond with customers and that is exactly what makes the work so fulfilling, according to Sofie. “I have a lot of conversations with customers and always try to make them happy. Of course, I also sometimes have to deal with a customer who has a complaint or a problem, but I see that as a challenge. Making those customers 100% happy again is what drives me and gives me the energy I need.”
The connection between Sofie and Coosto is a good one and if it is up to Sofie it will remain so. “I really enjoy my work and I have great colleagues. In addition, Coosto simply is a nice and good employer. At the moment I am happy and I get up to work every day with a smile. I only have one wish at the moment and that is that we can all see each other again soon at the office. I have nothing to complain, but I do miss everyone. ”
The 33-year-old Alexander became acquainted with Coosto while studying technical computer science. “It started as a side job on weekend days when I was studying at Fontys. Even when I went to the university after that, I continued to do so. After my studies, they wanted to hire me and I stuck around.”
Alexander witnessed the entire growth of the company. “If I am right, I was employee number nine. I signed my first contract in April 2007, a long time ago. I have seen the company grow from a very small start-up to a large and professional organization. It now employs more than a hundred people, which was hard to imagine at the time.”
Alexander, born in Deurne, still enjoys working at Coosto. “The advantage of Coosto is that you are always challenged. You're not a code monkey here (someone who just writes code). Within Coosto you get the opportunity to do your own research and you get a lot of freedom in your job. You get the chance to develop and for that reason you never get bored. I came in as a rookie and have grown from there and I am still growing. I am learning every day.”
Alexander is currently working on the "hidden side" of Coosto. “You don't see my work right from the front, but it is essential. I mainly work on the back of the tool. I am responsible for the links with our sources. Coosto has many sources such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, blogs, forums and so on. That produces a lot of data and that data is collected by programs that I have co-written.”
Alexander's work brings the correct data to the surface in Coosto. “All data must be cleaned up and in the correct format. In addition, we also don’t want any junk, spam or old data in our tool. It is my responsibility to ensure that those processes run smoothly. If the connection between the sources and Coosto does not work properly, then nothing will come out of the search engine. So I think my work is quite important haha.”
In addition to the fact that Coosto continues to challenge you, Alexander also likes the working culture. “Coosto is a very flat organization. Everyone is equal and there are no ranks and classes. It is very free and open. I never feel that things are being discussed behind closed doors. Everyone thinks along and helps and everyone is taken seriously. You are always listened to and when you have a good idea, it is implemented.”
The connection between employee and employer is a special one, according to Alexander. “Coosto thinks along with you. When you want extra training, when you are sick, when you have an idea, you are really taken into account. I feel appreciated and I think that I am not just speaking for myself. Even now that we all work from home, Coosto regularly let you know that they are thinking about you. This can be through a flower or a nice message. They care about you and that is genuine. That is very much appreciated throughout the company.”
Activities outside the daily work are also appreciated. “Coosto is somewhat known for that. That is in the company's DNA. Successes are celebrated in a big way and Christmas is a big hit. Then everything is possible. But it's not just Christmas. All sorts of things are organized throughout the year. Such as a Hackathon, which I have been co-organizing myself for years. That's great. The involvement of everyone within Coosto is great anyway.”
To indicate that everything is possible at Coosto, Alexander touches on last year's winter sports trip. “I had the crazy idea to throw in a winter sport and I indicated that to HR. The Coosto-way is then: "Cool idea, look at the options and arrange it." So we went on winter sports. That was great. No matter how crazy your idea is; within Coosto they are always listened to and if possible, you can implement it. ”
According to Alexander, anyone who wants to work at Coosto must have ambitions and want to develop themselves. “Of course I look at the technical side of Coosto, because that is my field. And if I look at that, you can go in so many directions at Coosto. You receive a personal development budget, you are allowed to go to conferences, you are given the space and freedom to conduct research and do you have an innovative and good idea? Then you can pitch it and perform it.”
However, those who prefer to get their work prepared is not in the right place at Coosto. “You really have to want to challenge and improve yourself. You get a lot of freedom within Coosto, but that also includes a lot of responsibility. You are expected to take it too. I really like that myself. That is why you always keep learning. When you come up with a good idea and are allowed to implement it, then that is really your project. That will not be taken over by someone from above who will advertise it. Isn't that cool ?!”
Alexander has been around since Coosto's foundation, but is far from tired. “Of course I have my ambitions, but I can realize them very well within Coosto. I am happy to work here and I am definitely not thinking of leaving. I appreciate Coosto and I have the feeling that that appreciation is mutual.”
My personal motivation to participate in Alpe d’HuZes stems from a strong desire to help combat the disease. I've had this feeling for a long time, and it grew stronger when I started my own business. My first company sponsored good causes from the very beginning, and I was fortunate that the business allowed for it. I believe that when you are in a unique position as an entrepreneur to sponsor good causes, you should do so. Entrepreneurship is not just about starting new ventures, growing revenue, or making a profit; it is also about making connections, development, life, and contributing to society.
From the start, Coosto has sponsored various good causes, but a few years ago, we decided to fully focus on sponsoring cancer research and treatment. This includes supporting organizations like KWF, the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, smaller and sometimes personal initiatives, and we have been proud sponsors of the wonderful Alpe d’HuZes for eight years now.
As the years pass, I'm now 53, I have become increasingly aware of how lucky I am that my family, immediate relatives, and friends are in relatively good health.
I often reflect on the special things in life, such as the fresh scent of an early morning or freshly cut grass, the colorful display of clouds and light during a sunset, peacefully grazing cows in a meadow, or an energizing techno percussion set blasting from the speakers during a car ride. I can enjoy these things without worry, without medical stress, and that feels like pure happiness. I wish this for everyone. All these so-called givens are no longer so obvious when you are ill or when someone you love is sick. These 'trivialities' then suddenly become special moments of happiness.
Of course, this is different for everyone, and everyone experiences it in their own way. But if my company and I can contribute, even if it is just a drop in the ocean, to fighting cancer with the goal of increasing moments of happiness, then that is the best thing there is.
As mentioned, I am an entrepreneur, and from that background, I also wanted to participate and ride up the mountain as an Alpe d’HuZes participant. I love challenges, especially when they are tough.
In 2023, it was time; we participated for the first time, not just as sponsors but also by cycling and running. Being opportunistic, I thought I could just ride up the mountain. After all, it was just over 15 km; I used to cycle that distance to school, it couldn't be that hard. I started training by cycling about 40 km every weekend. With three months to go and extreme weather like snow and frost, I bought an indoor bike trainer to train at home. The advantage of this device was that I could simulate the climb of Alpe d'Huez, and that became my new training goal: climbing Alpe d’Huez as often as possible on the indoor trainer in the attic.
The first time I did it, I was in for a rude wake-up call. I started too fast, and as a result, 30 minutes later, I was completely exhausted and could barely move forward. It was one of my toughest sports experiences ever. I finished the training, but I was utterly wrecked, and the next day I could barely walk due to muscle soreness. That was a serious wake-up call. I realized I had severely underestimated it and that serious work was needed.
I began by reading up on how to train for climbing a mountain by bike. I read training schedules, watched various YouTube videos, and, on the advice of an enthusiastic cycling colleague (thanks for the tip, Stan), listened to the 'Beter Worden' podcast by Laurens ten Dam and gradually adjusted my training. I learned how to train based on wattage, how to adjust my diet, incorporate varied training, and the importance of a good night's sleep. Ultimately, the preparation for 2023 was too short, but I couldn't complain; Team Coosto did fantastic, and it left us wanting more, so we signed up for 2024 immediately.
This time, I planned to start training much earlier, but unexpected business circumstances threw a wrench in the works, and then my mother suddenly passed away. This combination resulted in little training. In the last few months, I have been able to train relatively well. Long rides on weekends of four to five hours, combined with hill training and intervals on the indoor trainer. The result is okay; it could be better, but I am glad I can participate given the circumstances, and I am looking forward to it immensely. It will be an amazing, yet emotional and impactful experience that I will savor to the fullest.
Regarding the sponsorship money, I have decided to personally double the final amount I raise. Hopefully, this will encourage everyone to give generously, but know that every donation is greatly appreciated.
I want to thank everyone in advance for their support, and of course, I will give everything I have on the mountain! 🙂! One last important word:
Don't forget to enjoy life, the little things, the big things, keep things in perspective, and go for it. It's not tomorrow, but now! ❤️
Do you want to contribute to Toine's mission to fight cancer? Donate here!
Vorig jaar keken we terug in de data van Newcom, waar al sinds 2010 jaarlijks onderzoek wordt gedaan naar het social media gebruik in Nederland. Dit jaar duiken we in de 14e editie van dit onderzoeksrapport en delen we de belangrijkste conclusies en inzichten in dit overzicht.
Kanttekening: sommige platformen, waaronder WhatsApp, zijn in de eerste jaren van het onderzoek niet meegenomen.
Vooralsnog geen reden om je als organisatie terug te trekken van deze platformen, maar wel een wake up call om jouw content & social media strategie weer eens onder de loep te nemen.
Ook opvallend: TikTok is de grootste stijger in het aantal gebruikers met maar liefst 34%. Zet deze trend zich door en dwingt TikTok volgend jaar een plekje af binnen de stabiele top 5? Dat moeten we nog maar eens zien. Naast TikTok stijgen ook Snapchat (21%) en Instagram (18%) nog altijd flink in het aantal gebruikers.
Het aantal Nederlandse social media gebruikers is ook dit jaar gestegen: vorig jaar stond het totaal aantal nog op 14,1 miljoen. Dit jaar tellen we 14,3 miljoen Nederlandse actieve social media gebruikers, die gemiddeld op 4,2 platformen actief zijn.
Gemiddeld besteden deze Nederlanders 2 uur per dag aan social media. De stijging is vooral te zien in de leeftijdscategorieën tot 40 jaar. De leeftijdscategorie 20-39 jaar is dan ook de groep die de meeste social media platformen gebruikt. Voor de andere leeftijdscategorieën blijft het gebruik van het aantal platformen gelijk, alleen bij 65-79 jarigen zien we een zeer lichte daling.
Ondanks dat Threads zowel internationaal als in Nederland een vliegende start maakt, is het platform toch nog geen doorslaand succes. 400.000 gebruikers zijn al afgehaakt en het lijkt erop dat de eerste hype om een account aan te maken, voorbij is.
Kortom, vooralsnog lijkt het succes van Threads kortstondig en verwachten we voorlopig geen grote groei in de gebruikersaantallen. Maar wie weet! Het platform is volop in ontwikkeling, dus het kan nog alle kanten op.
Meer weten over dit nieuwe social media kanaal? Hier lees je alles over Threads.
WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram en LinkedIn blijven aan de top van de meest gebruikte social media platformen. Waar Facebook vorig jaar een kleine daling zag, is er dit jaar weer groei. Hetzelfde geldt voor X: door de vele veranderingen op het platform en de komst van Threads leek het erop dat het platform snel daalde in populariteit, maar niks is minder waar.
Alleen Snapchat en Pinterest blijven achter: zij hebben minder gebruikers in 2024. Ook voor TikTok zijn de resultaten in groei dit jaar minder. In 2023 zagen we nog een groei van 34%, dat is dit jaar afgenomen naar 6%. Desalniettemin betekent dit nog steeds dat het platform stijgt in populariteit!
Zoals het onderzoek van Newcom uitwijst is social media nog steeds niet weg te denken uit het online landschap. Het aantal gebruikers blijft stijgen en zo ook de tijd die dagelijks op de platformen wordt doorgebracht. Als organisatie dus de uitgelezen plek om jouw merk onder de aandacht te brengen en te focussen op doelen als bereik, interactie en conversies!
Bovenstaande inzichten zijn essentieel om een passende social media & contentstrategie te maken én tot uitvoering te brengen.
Newcom voert sinds 2010 jaarlijks het grootste trendonderzoek naar social media gebruik in Nederland uit. Dit jaar werden 7.159 deelnemers boven de 15 jaar ondervraagd voor het Nationale Social Media Onderzoek. Voor meer inzicht in de demografische ontwikkelingen binnen de verschillende social media platformen, verwijzen we je graag naar het volledige rapport op Newcom.nl.
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Coosto offers a powerful integration with Google Analytics that enables users to draw more, better, and faster conclusions from data than ever before.
This integration opens the doors to better insight into online performance, thanks to the powerful combination of social media metrics and website performance. Here are some highlights of what this new integration with Google Analytics has to offer:
Try it yourself and discover how Coosto integration helps increase your organization's online success with the newest integration. The Google Analytics integration in Coosto is available to Coosto customers and can be tested for free by interested organizations.
Het nieuwsartikel van NU.nl over de groene pistes heeft in totaal al bijna 8,5 miljoen mensen bereikt. De hoge trending score is te danken aan de enorme online discussie die is ontstaan als reactie op dit artikel. Op verschillende online kanalen laat Nederland van zich horen.
Uit onze analyse blijkt dat op X de discussie op volle gang is: het negatieve sentiment overheerst duidelijk. Niet alleen komen de meeste negatieve reacties van X, via X worden de meeste reacties geplaatst, hebben de berichten het meeste bereik, en de meeste interactie.
Ook op Facebook is de discussie gaande, maar opvallend genoeg met heel wat meer positieve berichten. Zo wordt er gezegd dat ze dan maar in Scandinavië gaan skiën, maar ook hier laat het nieuws hen niet koud en verschillen de meningen enorm.
Figuur 1: De bronnen en het sentiment is op deze platformen
Het online gesprek over klimaatverandering gaat al snel verder dan alleen de gevolgen voor de wintersportliefhebbers. Zoals ook in de trending topics te zien is, staan in de reacties waarschuwingen over bepaalde partijen die de klimaatverandering niet serieus nemen.
Als we vervolgens kijken naar de klimaatverandering in combinatie met de politiek, is het sentiment ook direct een heel stuk negatiever (27%) dan als we alleen kijken naar de klimaatverandering zelf (13%).
Figuur 2a: het sentiment omtrent de huidige klimaatveranderingen
Figuur 2b: het sentiment omtrent de Nederlandse politiek in combinatie met het klimaat
Figuur 3: Trending topics in de discussies rondom klimaatverandering
Zoals uit onze analyse blijkt, zijn de meningen zeer verdeeld over de klimaatveranderingen. De een maakt zich er geen zorgen om en laat weten dan wel in Noorwegen te willen skiën maar een grotere meerderheid vindt dat de focus van het nieuwe kabinet meer moet liggen op de ernstige klimaatveranderingen en hoe deze aangepakt moeten worden. Een stijging van 4 °C heeft grotere gevolgen dan alleen het sluiten van een paar skigebieden. Hoewel Nederland niet eensgezind is over deze discussie, is het duidelijk dat er veel kritiek is op het artikel en de klimaatverandering ons niet in de koude kleren laat zitten.
Discover in Coosto laat aan de hand van een trending score de artikelen zien die het snelst stijgen in populariteit. Met behulp van Listen in Coosto, onze social listening tool, zijn we dieper in de berichtgeving rondom dit trending nieuwsartikel gedoken, om te achterhalen waarom dit artikel een snelle stijger in populariteit is. In Listen zoomen we onder andere in op het bereik van de discussie, het sentiment en waar deze discussie zich online afspeelt. De resultaten in deze blogpost zijn gemeten in de periode van 31 juli tot en met 30 augustus 2023.
Lees hier alle highlights van onze bevindingen rondom emojigebruik op X. Wat zijn de populairste emoji’s? Zit daar nog verschil in tussen mannen en vrouwen? In dit artikel delen we alvast een aantal opvallende conclusies.
Download het volledige rapport hier gratis.
In dit onderzoek gingen we onder andere op zoek naar de meest populaire emoji’s op X. Jarenlang stond de ‘tranen van vreugde’-emoji steady op de eerste plek: in ons onderzoek van 2019 en 2020 kwam deze emoji ook al als beste uit de bus. En ook dit jaar is daar geen verandering in gekomen. Gevolgd door ‘rolling on the floor’. Gelachen wordt er dus zeker!
Afgelopen jaar werden er 31 emoji’s toegevoegd aan het al uitgebreide repertoire aan emoji’s. Deze nieuwelingen werden meteen met veel enthousiasme in gebruik genomen! Deze nieuwe emoji’s vielen het beste in de smaak.
Emoji’s zijn de perfecte manier om een online boodschap extra kracht bij te zetten. Met behulp van emoji’s breng je gemakkelijker emoties over en geef je context aan een bericht. Extra belangrijk in de digitale wereld, waar online berichten meer dan eens ruimte overlaten voor interpretatie.
Daarom hebben wij een kijkje genomen in het online sentiment rondom het emojigebruik op X. Goed nieuws! Het gebruik van de positief gestemde emoji’s ligt veel hoger dan het gebruik van negatieve emoji’s.
Benieuwd naar alle bevindingen van het Nationaal Emoji Onderzoek 2023? We bespreken onder andere het verschil tussen man en vrouw in emojigebruik, opvallende pieken in positieve en negatieve gebeurtenissen van 2022 en welke emoji’s gebruikt werden tijdens deze spraakmakende momenten.
In dit onderzoek hebben we de volledige online berichtgeving rondom het WK vrouwenvoetbal geanalyseerd en vergeleken met de online berichtgeving rondom de Johan Cruijff Schaal, die afgelopen vrijdag door PSV is gewonnen. Om een eerlijke vergelijking te maken, hebben we alleen gekeken naar de Nederlandse online berichtgeving.
Op basis van het aantal berichten blijkt dat het mannenvoetbal overduidelijk populairder is dan het vrouwenvoetbal. Over de Johan Cruijff Schaal wordt ruim 10 keer meer gesproken dan over de prestaties van de Nederlandse vrouwen tijdens het WK. Dit is direct ook terug te zien in het bereik dat beide voetbalevenementen online halen. Met 55 miljoen views is het vrouwenvoetbal bijna tien keer minder populair dan het mannenvoetbal, dat ruim 535 miljoen views haalt.
Er wordt niet alleen meer, maar ook positiever gesproken over de mannen. Met 23% positieve berichten (8.800) zijn de berichten rondom het mannenvoetbal positiever gestemd dan die van de vrouwen, waarvan 21% van de berichten positief zijn (833). Bij de negatieve berichten scoren de Oranje Leeuwinnen weer het slechtst, met 11% van de berichten negatief (439), is dat toch opmerkelijk met de 10% negatieve berichten (3.743) voor het mannenvoetbal. Het blijkt dus dat we toch meer waarde hechten aan het mannenvoetbal, dan aan het vrouwenvoetbal.
Figuur 1a: aantal berichten, verdeeld over het sentiment, van alle platformen over de Johan Cruijff Schaal.
Figuur 1b: aantal berichten, verdeeld over het sentiment, van alle platformen over het WK vrouwenvoetbal.
Ook als we kijken naar wie de berichten posten, is er een duidelijk onderscheid zichtbaar tussen mannen en vrouwen. De hoogste toon in de online discussies wordt duidelijk gevoerd door de mannen. Bij het mannenvoetbal is maar liefst 57% van de auteurs mannelijk, en 11% vrouwelijk. Ook bij het vrouwenvoetbal is het onderscheid groot met 47% mannelijke auteurs en 13% vrouwelijke auteurs. Procentueel zijn er dus iets meer vrouwen actief rondom het vrouwenvoetbal dan bij het mannenvoetbal, maar het verschil is nog steeds opmerkelijk groot. Kortom, mannen zijn overduidelijk degenen die het meeste over voetbal praten, ongeacht het geslacht van de spelers.
Figuur 2a: aantal auteurs, verdeeld over het geslacht voor zover bekend, van alle platformen over de Johan Cruijff Schaal
Figuur 2b: aantal auteurs, verdeeld over het geslacht voor zover bekend, van alle platformen over het vrouwenvoetbal.
De online platformen bestaan uit nieuwssites zoals nu.nl, maar ook uit social media kanalen zoals Facebook. Als we alleen kijken naar de social media platforms kunnen we op een andere manier kijken wat het sentiment en bereik is van de geposte berichten en kijken of meningen anders zijn dan bij de nieuwsplatformen. Bij het mannenvoetbal zien we dat de sfeer positiever is met 24% positieve berichten (6.944), dit met een totale afname van 25% van het totaal aantal berichten, laat zien dat er bij het mannenvoetbal vooral veel berichten via social media gepost worden.
Bij het vrouwenvoetbal is dit wel wat anders, met 2.219 geposte berichten is dit bijna gehalveerd ten opzichte van alle berichten samen. Opvallend is dat het percentage vrouwelijke auteurs groter is, namelijk 16%. Social media zorgt bij het mannenvoetbal dus voor de meeste berichten, bij het vrouwenvoetbal heeft social media wederom veel minder impact. Maar alsnog posten meer vrouwen iets over voetbal (ongeacht het geslacht van de spelers) op social media dan op nieuwsplatformen. Toch blijkt maar weer wat voor invloed social media heeft op de online discussies, bij de mannen zijn ruim 75% van de berichten gepost op social media platformen, bij het vrouwenvoetbal is dit ruim 50%, een significant verschil in verhouding tot nieuwsplatformen dus.
Figuur 3a: aantal berichten, verdeeld over het sentiment, van alle social media platformen over de Johan Cruijff Schaal.
Figuur 3b: aantal auteurs, verdeeld over het geslacht voor zover bekend, van social media platformen over het vrouwenvoetbal.
Er is dus ook online overduidelijk een verschil in populariteit tussen het mannen- en vrouwenvoetbal. Zijn er inhoudelijk ook verschillen te ontdekken in de online discussies? Daarvoor zoomen we in op de trending topics, de onderwerpen die het meest worden besproken.
Rondom het WK vrouwenvoetbal praat iedereen gespannen over komende wedstrijd tegen Zuid-Afrika. Bij het mannenvoetbal is er veel bekijks over de Johan Cruijff schaal en wordt er nog nagesproken over de finale.
Figuur 4a: de trending topics vanuit de Johan Cruijff finale.
Figuur 4b: de trending topics vanuit het vrouwenvoetbal.
De resultaten in deze blogpost zijn gemeten in de periode van 20 juli tot en met 1 augustus 2023. Met behulp van onze social listening tool zijn we dieper in de berichtgeving rondom het WK vrouwenvoetbal en de Johan Cruijff finale gedoken, om onder andere de mate van discussie en het sentiment hiervan te onderzoeken. Daarnaast hebben we verder ingezoomd op de oorsprong van de berichten, zoals de auteurs en bronnen om een duidelijker beeld van de online discussie te geven.
Er zijn ruim 20.000 online berichten verspreid over de Champions League finale in de afgelopen maand. Ook Nederland deelt massaal hun voorspellingen over de 'strijd om de cup met de grote oren' op social media, met ongeveer een 50/50 verhouding over de uiteindelijke winnaar. Binnen de online discussies en threads valt echter te zien dat er toch echt meer verwacht wordt van Manchester City en dat deze club het zal winnen van Inter Milan.
Figuur 1: Een overzicht van de online Trending Topics rondom de Champions League finale
Als we kijken naar waar de meeste berichten vandaan komen, valt hier direct iets op: de Rotterdammers zijn het meest fanatiek met het verspreiden van online berichten over de Champions League finale. Als Manchester City wint, heeft dat positieve gevolgen voor Feyenoord in de volgende Champions League aankomend jaar. De Rotterdammers zouden in dat scenario de beste ploegen in de groepsfase kunnen ontlopen, en dat zou de kans op overwintering aanzienlijk vergroten voor de Rotterdamse club. De finale van aanstaande zaterdag leeft dan ook een stuk meer in Rotterdam, zien we in onze social media listening tool. Vanuit Rotterdam worden de meeste online berichten verspreid over de Champions League, met 10% meer berichten in verhouding tot de Amsterdammers, en 20% meer berichten in verhouding tot de Eindhovenaren.
Figuur 2: Een overzicht van de plekken waar de meeste online berichten rondom de Champions League verspreid zijn
Met behulp van de social media listening tool valt ook op dat de mannelijke voetbalfans hun stem harder laten horen dan de vrouwelijke voetbalfans. Ruim 50% van de berichten zijn van mannelijke afkomst, waarbij maar 8% van de berichten verspreid zijn door de vrouwelijke voetbal-supporters.
Figuur 3: De verschillen in auteurs op basis van gender
De supporters zijn vooralsnog positief gestemd, er zijn veel meer positieve dan negatieve berichten over de Champions League finale te vinden online. De meeste Nederlanders laten weten dat ze vertrouwen hebben in Manchester City, maar vooral dat ze uitkijken naar een spannende finale.
Figuur 4: een overzicht van hoe het sentiment is verdeeld rondom de Champions League finale
De resultaten in deze blogpost zijn gemeten in de periode van 6 mei tot en met 7 juni. Met behulp van onze social listening tool zijn we dieper in de berichtgeving rondom de Champions League finale gedoken, om onder andere de mate van discussie en het sentiment hiervan te onderzoeken. Daarnaast hebben we verder ingezoomd op de oorsprong van de berichten, zoals de auteurs en afkomst om een duidelijker beeld van de online discussie te geven.
Since 2009 I began cycling actively, started on mountain bike but currently I alternate between MTB, road bike and gravel bike. In recent years I have been cycling about 7.5 to 8000 kilometers per year.
Each year I try to make a nice challenge. For instance, a few times I participated in Scherpenheuvel -> Hapert (100 km MTB) and Diekirch -> Valkenswaard (270 km with 3000 altimeters) and last year I cycled the Pieterpad with friends (520 km in 3 days).
The Alpe d'HuZes had been on my list for a long time but had not happened until now.
Fortunately I do not have any close experience with cancer, but everyone has to deal with it directly or indirectly. So the combination of a nice challenge and raising as much money as possible for charity and that on my birthday couldn't be nicer.
he training is going well, for now I stand at 2800 km for this year, I try to incorporate as many altimeters as possible. In Brabant not the easiest of tasks, but the Gulbergen in Nuenen (old landfill and with 62m above sea level the highest point in Brabant) is a nice place to train. I recently rode up 25 times to get 1200 altimeters in one ride in Brabant. Furthermore I try to make nice longer distances, picking up the uniforms in Papendal was a nice trip of 160km via Veldhoven -> Papendal -> Den Bosch (with the train back to Eindhoven).
During the longer rides I try to pay close attention to nutrition and drinking with energy bars, powders and bananas.
And of course we keep track of everything on Strava and StatsHunters (a side project of myself as a developer).
Help Stan reach his goal and donate here.
At 04:00 I was already awake and ready to start the ascent. It's still half an hour until the start, and there's already a massive line of people waiting. Everyone has their lights on, even before it has begun, and I find it extremely impressive.
After a long wait, I finally crossed the starting line at 04:47. The first climb was in silence, and since it was so early, it was still dark outside. The route was beautifully illuminated with candles. In every turn, I saw a long string of cyclists, hikers, and runners winding their way up the mountain. It feels good to me, but the climb is steeper than expected. Throughout the climb, I kept my gears in the lowest setting, trying to keep my heart rate below 145. I crossed the finish line at 06:21. It feels like a victory. Almost immediately, I started the first descent. Since it's still early in the morning and the sun hasn't risen yet, it's extremely cold. Descending 14 km with a windbreaker and a jacket, it's cold but enjoyable! Down at the turning point, there's thankfully some hot coffee to warm up.
I take off my rain jacket, and at 07:08, I ride down to the start again. More and more people gather on the mountain to cheer us on. At 08:00, the DJ finally cranks up the volume. Different music in every few turns, the atmosphere is already great early on!
Along the way, I encountered many emotional moments—a group of friends embracing each other by the candles, a woman crying alone on a wall, a man with his son's photo under his saddlebag, and a banner with a picture of a loved one by the road. It sometimes hits you hard. I finished for the second time at 08:36. After a short break, a restroom stop, and refilling my water bottles, I descend again. I grab a soup for some extra salt and then go for it again.
At 09:31, I started the third climb of the day. The first few turns are still relatively easy, but the higher I go, the harder it becomes. Some pain starts to creep into my calf at turn 5. I can't shift to an easier gear. I keep hydrating, eat an extra energy bar, and hope the pain doesn't escalate.
By turn 2 (counting backward from turn 21 to 1), the pain doesn't matter anymore because the finish line is in sight. Once I cross the finish line, it's 11:02, almost 5 hours of riding, so having lunch sounds like a good idea. I take a longer break with a sandwich, a can of cola, and weigh whether another climb is feasible. Together with Toine, we decided to go for it. We descend together and agree not to wait for each other during the climb, but to go at our own pace.
At 13:22, Toine and I start our final climb. Initially, I pull ahead of Toine, but at one of the last turns, I have to stop to give my legs some rest. I take this opportunity to take some photos. Suddenly, I see Toine, and I immediately get on my bike to ride together for the final climb. At 14:58, we crossed the finish line together for the last time.The entire week was incredibly impressive and a challenge never to be forgotten!
Climb 1: 01:34 hours
Climb 2: 01:27 hours
Climb 3: 01:30 hours
Climb 4: 01:36 hours
Personal contribution: €3,500.00
Total funds raised by Coosto Warriors: €10,982.04
For years, I had the idea of climbing Alpe d'Huez on my bike, inspired by the heroic images of the Tour de France, particularly the victories of Peter Winnen (1981), Gert-Jan Theunisse (1989), Lance Armstrong (2001), and of course, Marco Pantani (1995), who set a world record with an incredible time of 36 minutes and 50 seconds. Along the climb, the route was packed with enthusiastic supporters dressed in the most peculiar clothing. Every year, there was a supporter dressed as a red devil, chasing the cyclists with a trident. Alpe d'Huez in the Tour de France was always a great spectacle and gained a mythical status.
On television, the climbs looked tough, and the riders suffered, but watching from the couch, I thought I could do it myself. Maybe I could even come close to a good time!
On June 6, 2006 (6-6-6), 66 people cycled up Alpe d'HuZes 6 times for a good cause, cancer research. There was limited media attention initially, but year after year, the media coverage grew, capturing my attention as well. I would love to participate one day, achieve a sports performance, and sponsor a good cause—a wonderful combination. But the years went by, and there was always a reason not to sign up. I was too busy, not fit enough, cycling wasn't really that enjoyable, supporting charities could be done in other ways, and so on. Until Corona emerged and gripped the world in a dreadful manner. The number of sick people and deaths increased rapidly, and the news mainly focused on vulnerable individuals and those with underlying conditions who passed away to a disease.
During that period, I got to know Maud Burgers and Marlies von Mansveldt from the Prinses Máxima Centrum for Pediatric Oncology. The trigger was an episode of Jeroen Pauw's program "Pauw komt binnen", filmed at the Prinses Máxima Centrum for Pediatric Oncology, where he spoke with children, fathers, mothers, and families about the impact of cancer, the fear, but above all, the zest for life. I happened to come across this episode, and I was captivated by the intensity, honesty, and the pure, sad, but also beautiful stories. When the episode ended, I had an irresistible feeling that I wanted to contribute, to help. That same evening, I sent an email to Maud, stating that I wanted my company to contribute to the good work of the Prinses Máxima Centrum. The next day, I received a positive reply and was invited for a meeting. Two weeks later, I went for a visit, and after a warm welcome, a good conversation, and an impressive and discreet tour, I was even more convinced. We must contribute, and that was the start of our collaboration.
From that moment on, the Coosto management team decided to choose one charity for sponsorship, and that was everything related to cancer research. We were already sponsors of Alpe d'HuZes, but we had never participated in the event. That had to change, and besides, it was an opportunity to climb Alpe d'Huez and make a contribution. In December 2022, I sent an email to the entire company, announcing that we were registering for Alpe d'HuZes 2023. And so it happened, but there was a small detail, and that was the preparation.
By nature, I am quite positive and somewhat limitless in my thinking. Climbing that mountain on a bike couldn't be that difficult, right? The videos on YouTube of cyclists effortlessly riding up the mountain confirmed my suspicion—climbing Alpe d'Huez is quite doable. I wasn't in a hurry to train because I believed it wouldn't be that challenging. At the end of February, I decided to do a simulation training of Alpe d'Huez on my indoor bike trainer. I started off well and got into a good rhythm, but a quarter of the way up, it started to get tough, and by the halfway point, I was already quite exhausted. At 75%, I no longer found it funny and wondered what on earth I had gotten myself into. Two hours later, completely drained and with a significant mental blow, I got off the bike trainer. With a sense of panic, I realized I had a problem—this was much, much tougher than I had expected, serious work was required.
made a concise list of what needed to be done to cycle up the mountain multiple times. I needed to lose weight, sleep more, eat healthier, train more, vary my training routine, lower my heart rate, and, above all, find out how other climbers prepare. Slowly but surely, I made progress. My endurance training improved, my heart rate became more stable and lower, and my recovery also improved. But is it enough? Now, one week before the start, I still have doubts about whether I am adequately prepared, but the excitement for the event is growing. I think it's super cool that I can participate, and I won't disappoint my sponsors. On Thursday, June 1, I will be ready and give it my all, enjoy it to the fullest, and have a beautiful and extraordinary experience. Giving up is not an option.
Thank you for your support and generous donations, we're going for it!
Help Toine reach his goal and donate here
Coosto offers a powerful integration with Google Analytics that enables users to draw more, better, and faster conclusions from data than ever before.
This integration opens the doors to better insight into online performance, thanks to the powerful combination of social media metrics and website performance. Here are some highlights of what this new integration with Google Analytics has to offer:
Try it yourself and discover how Coosto integration helps increase your organization's online success with the newest integration. The Google Analytics integration in Coosto is available to Coosto customers and can be tested for free by interested organizations.
Lees hier alle highlights van onze bevindingen rondom emojigebruik op X. Wat zijn de populairste emoji’s? Zit daar nog verschil in tussen mannen en vrouwen? In dit artikel delen we alvast een aantal opvallende conclusies.
Download het volledige rapport hier gratis.
In dit onderzoek gingen we onder andere op zoek naar de meest populaire emoji’s op X. Jarenlang stond de ‘tranen van vreugde’-emoji steady op de eerste plek: in ons onderzoek van 2019 en 2020 kwam deze emoji ook al als beste uit de bus. En ook dit jaar is daar geen verandering in gekomen. Gevolgd door ‘rolling on the floor’. Gelachen wordt er dus zeker!
Afgelopen jaar werden er 31 emoji’s toegevoegd aan het al uitgebreide repertoire aan emoji’s. Deze nieuwelingen werden meteen met veel enthousiasme in gebruik genomen! Deze nieuwe emoji’s vielen het beste in de smaak.
Emoji’s zijn de perfecte manier om een online boodschap extra kracht bij te zetten. Met behulp van emoji’s breng je gemakkelijker emoties over en geef je context aan een bericht. Extra belangrijk in de digitale wereld, waar online berichten meer dan eens ruimte overlaten voor interpretatie.
Daarom hebben wij een kijkje genomen in het online sentiment rondom het emojigebruik op X. Goed nieuws! Het gebruik van de positief gestemde emoji’s ligt veel hoger dan het gebruik van negatieve emoji’s.
Benieuwd naar alle bevindingen van het Nationaal Emoji Onderzoek 2023? We bespreken onder andere het verschil tussen man en vrouw in emojigebruik, opvallende pieken in positieve en negatieve gebeurtenissen van 2022 en welke emoji’s gebruikt werden tijdens deze spraakmakende momenten.
Eindhoven, February 28, 2023 - Coosto announced today the launch of Coosto for Salesforce Marketing Cloud, the second Coosto app available on the Salesforce AppExchange. These powerful Coosto apps enable customers to effortlessly manage their online content and social media presence directly within Salesforce.
Coosto delivers a cutting-edge content and social media marketing tool, providing practical solutions for every stage of the content marketing process. Our loyal customers rely on Coosto to generate and distribute exceptional content, expertly manage their online community, and track and analyze their results with ease.
Coosto offers an outstanding alternative for Salesforce customers who previously used Salesforce Social Studio, as this product is being phased out by Salesforce. By utilizing the Coosto for Salesforce Marketing Cloud app, customers can seamlessly access the full range of Coosto's features directly within the Salesforce Marketing Cloud platform.
Coosto for Salesforce Marketing Cloud is currently available on AppExchange.
This new app is a valuable addition to Coosto's existing Salesforce app, Coosto for Salesforce Service Cloud. Together, these apps allow customers to gain real-time insights on social interactions and engage with their customers directly from Sales & Service Cloud. Coosto for Service Cloud is available on AppExchange.
Toine Verheul, CEO of Coosto, stated: 'We are proud to have strengthened our partnership with Salesforce, providing customers with the tools they need to fully manage their online content and social media directly within the Salesforce platform. With both Marketing Cloud and Service Cloud apps now available on the Salesforce AppExchange, we are excited to offer our customers a seamless and streamlined experience.’
Click here for more information