Author Archives for Kirsty Sharman

Why brands should let influencers create unique content

September 16, 2015 9:34 am Published by

This blog post was originally written by Ruan Fourie. We pride ourselves on having influencers as part of Webfluential that go the extra mile. All influencers are not the same, and we love it when our influencers create great content for a job. Anna-Belle Mulder recently did a job for Castle Lite Lime, and she created awesome content, that would suit her audience. Anna-Belle Mulder Webfluential Profile Anna-Belle was originally asked to share a branded video on her Instagram profile, but she suggested that she rather create her own video, as that will suit her audience better. The video she created was great, and it got a lot of positive feedback from her audience. That is a win for Anna-Belle, and also for Castle Lite Lime. We grabbed Anna-Belle recently to ask her a few questions about the campaign and her experience on creating great sponsored content. You can read all she said below, but one piece that stood out was the following, as it is something that can help make any influencer marketing campaign successful:

"Let influencers create their own content, or help them create unique content that actually means something." (Click here to tweet this quote)
   
 

Why did you decide to create your own content for the campaign?

As a blogger and photographer my reputation is built on my personal opinion, feelings and outlook. That's what makes influencers so important to brands and advertising agencies. Instagram accounts aren't billboards for brands to just slap an advert on they are curated pieces of opinions and endorsements, and communities respect that. If I'm not creating my own content whats the point of my blog or social media accounts. If I hadn't gone out the way to actually try the product I wouldn't be offering a truthful endorsement on the product. I wanted to show my followers that I really did enjoy the product...enough to make me dance around!

We know it takes considerable time to create good content, how long did the process take you from concept to sharing it on your channels?

I'll be honest the easier route would have been for me to post the video provided. I would have saved myself an entire afternoon of dancing. Seriously though in total it took about five hours, but I don't think that that's too much time if it provides my community with some genuine content that they wouldn't find in the pages of a magazine. I think it also provides great value to the brand too and brands in general by helping them realize what works within the social media space and what doesn't.

How did your audience respond to the content?

My audience responded extremely well to the content and I stand to be corrected but the video gained almost three times more engagement than any of the other videos that were posted as part of the same campaign. I genuinely think my community was happy to see just how much fun I was having with the product.

Can you give us some tips for brands when creating content with influencers?

Influencers are important because they offer an 'in' into a captured market. To really gain that markets trust you have to become one of the girls...or boys. As traditional marketing becomes less popular and social media and influencer camapigns become more popular its important to remember that you are in the consumers space...and the same goes for influencers. People want authentic, creative and unique content and it's your job (both brands and influencers) to give it to them.
  1. All bloggers are not created equal. Don't approach campaigns with a blanket approach. Use the influencers personality and community to your advantage. Tailor your campaigns to target specific markets through a range of different influencers.
  2. Blogs, Instagram accounts and Facebook pages are not billboards so stop treating them like they are. The same advert that is sitting on a billboard along William Nicol cannot be used as a social media post. Let influencers create their own content or help them create unique content that actually means something. Never forget that people love seeing people so don't forget to add a human touch.
 

Nobody knows your audience better than you

The reason marketers want to work with influencers is because influencers have a very unique type of relationship with their audience. Influencers know their audience better than anyone else, and thus they can create great content that works specifically for their audience. By working with influencers that create great content that is specifically for their audience, an Influencer Marketing campaign can be one of the most powerful marketing channels at a brand's disposal. Are you an influencer that know his audience better than anyone else? Do you create awesome content for your audience? Hit the button below and apply to become a Webfluential Influencer right now. Global Influencer Marketing Platform


From zero to hero: The Chive

September 9, 2015 3:52 pm Published by

This blog post was originally written by Ruan Fourie. Every blogger dreams about monetizing their blog, so that they can blog full-time. We love helping bloggers and influencers monetize their social platforms. Webfluential can be just one of the multiple revenue streams that keeps a blog going. But everyone has to start somewhere. It takes time and work to make your blog a success. So we thought we would inspire you with an inspirational story of a blog that made it big, after almost falling flat on it’s face.

The Chive: A Photoblog with an audience that cares

How many blogs are started because they want to become a multimillion dollar company. When John and Leo Resig started The Chive, they had no idea that they would be creating a company that would soon have 50 employees and a charity division created with the sole purpose of raising money for charitable causes. The Chive employees are not your average employees The Chive employees are not your average employees

It all started by simply driving traffic

John was an actor (he had a recurring role in True Blood) and Leo was an office manager at a movie-poster design company. This is where Leo first discovered how profitable digital media could be: “The Travel Channel would spend like $2 million on digital ads,” he says. “I thought, Wow, there is a lot of money to be had here. How do we get it?” theCHIVE founders Jon and Leo Resig theCHIVE founders Jon and Leo Resig Their first blog was a Perez Hilton copy celebrity gossip site charmingly called “Derober”. Driving traffic to your blog can be tricky, but the Resig brother’s created a bunch of online pranks that would get them coverage on Fox News, E! Online and The Huffington Post. The prank was simple: Photoshopping of a receipt with Donald Trump’s signature and claim that he left the waiter a $10 000 tip. The Donald Trump receipt prank earned Derober 15 million visitors, but because of their inexperience in digital media they had almost no advertising on the site and the prank only earned them $153. Viral pranks were not going to lead to a solid income so John and Leo set out to generate a constant stream of traffic to their site, against which they can sell ads. This is when their experimentation around driving traffic to their site began. The first channel John would use to market their content was Digg, the link-voting platform that eventually led to the creation of Reddit. If your content could get enough votes and land a spot on the front page of Digg, you could potentially drive 120 million views a day. He studied Digg and started sharing content from Hollywood Reporter, IGN and other entertainment websites, rather than self-promoting Derober content. After sharing content for a month he would contact IGN and the other publications that he had been driving traffic to, asking them if they experienced a traffic spike over the last month. Once they confirmed the spike in website traffic, John would explain that he was responsible for the spike, and that he could continue doing it if they paid him. Pay him they did.

The Chive is born

Soon (Septermber 28th, 2008 to be exact) John and Leo abandoned Derober to start The Chive. The site’s success grew quickly because of Leo’s previous Digg connections. In no time TMZ, College Humor and Cracked were linking to The Chive content. The Resigs also started The Berry to cater more to their female audience, and The Brigade as a military themed offshoot. They hired other Resign family members to help them edit all the sites. The Chive offices are not your average offices The Chive offices are not your average offices Their initial success is also coincidentally the thing that almost killed The Chive. The Chive was getting tons of traffic to their themed photo posts, but this also meant that they were incurring a massive hosting bill, $16 000. They had an offer that would save the company and get them out of their debt, but it would also mean that they would have to offer up 51% of their company. In a last ditch effort to keep The Chive afloat they printed 200 t-shirts at the local t-shirt store down the road from their cramped three bedroom office that was also their home. They put the t-shirts up for sale and thought they would sell in maybe a couple of months. The 200 initial t-shirts sold out within minutes. They printed another 200 t-shirts and these also sold out within minutes. Not only does The Chive love beer, they also sell beer Not only does The Chive love beer, they also sell beer Not only did this save The Chive, and keep the business 100% family owned, but it also created the strong connection between The Chive and it’s audience. The audience saved the company by buying the t-shirts. Thus the “Chivers”, as The Chive’s audience is affectionately known, unbeknownst to them also opened up a new revenue stream for The Chive. Merchandise now earns The Chive more than four times what they earn on advertising revenue. A substantial amount when you consider that The Chive makes more than $50 million annually. This close bond with the “Chivers” has also lead to The Chive raising millions for various charitable causes. Not only is The Chive giving back to the community, they are making their audience part of the process. The team behind Chive Charities The team behind Chive Charities

What can we learn from The Chive?

  • Even when it feels like you are about to fail, you have to keep going. You never know when those 200 t-shirts might sell out. But if you give up, you will never know.
  • You need more than just one revenue stream. Ad sponsored content to your revenue streams by signing up as a Webfluential influencer.
  • If you are authentic with your audience, they will support you through thick and thin. They trust you and you should trust them, and keep nurturing that connection with great content and by listening to your audience.
  • The influence an influencer has over it’s audience can not only be used for marketing purposes like advertising, but also to sell your own or a brand’s products.


Case Study: How Vodacom reached nearly 4 million music lovers with Influencer Marketing

September 2, 2015 9:37 am Published by

Editor's note: Download this case study to learn how Vodacom used Influencer Marketing to create online talkability for the music streaming service Deezer, a Vodacom partner Download Vodacom Deezr Case Study PDF

Vodacom wanted to increase awareness with various youth, entertainment and music audiences on why they should consider music streaming and why Vodacom Deezer is the best option. With Deezer being an online download, the objective was to create the conversation online where potential users could access the download easily. To achieve the goal of igniting online conversation, Vodacom used Webfluential to search for music loving influencers, who could create relevant content about music streaming and Vodacom's partnership with Deezer that they would share with their audiences. The Webfluential team then briefed the approved influencers, managed the campaign logistics and workflow, tracked the results and reported on the findings. Screen Shot 2015-09-01 at 12.22.25 Once the influencer content starting rolling-out, the campaign hashtag trended on Twitter countrywide and the various blog posts, Facebook posts and Tweets collectively reached nearly 4 million people. Whilst reach is important when your objective is to build awareness, the success  of the engagement of the campaign is worthy of highlighting. Over 11, 250 people engaged with the influencer content (that's over 11, 250 likes, comments, shares and link clicks). Jeanine Ferreira, Portfolio Manager of Content and Digital Marketing for Vodacom, was impressed with Webfluential and the success of the campaign. "Webfluential offers excellent service and a thorough understanding of Influencer Marketing. They have made our journey into this new way of advertising both exciting and rewarding," says Jeanine.

Download the Vodacom Influencer Marketing Case Study to find out more.

  Download Vodacom Deezr Case Study PDF


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