Categories for Influencer marketing
November 8, 2016 1:18 pm
Published by Kirsty Sharman
At Webfluential we constantly help our influencers improve their platforms and up the ante on the content they’re publishing. We’re also always on the lookout for the best apps, products and services that can take them from internet influencer to going viral.
With that in mind, we popped into the YouTube Space at 6 Pancras Road (a short walk from King’s Cross Station in London) to see what the new studio building offered creators producing content on Google’s video-sharing network.
There are nine YouTube spaces worldwide. Locations tend to be focused on areas where there are a large number of YouTubers who can then easily access the facilities. Apart from the London location there are also studios in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, Mumbai and São Paulo. The London space isn’t new but recently moved to Pancras Road, making it the second-largest creator studio.
The YouTube Space is freely available to creators who have more than 10 000 subscriptions. For those still pushing to reach that number there are discussion sessions to share information around improving their channels. If you have more than 1 000 subs you can sign up on the website to attend these sessions.
On entering the space we were greeted by a giant screen showcasing some of the best YouTube talent in the UK. There’s an area where the discussion sessions are conducted, as well as a collection of booths designed to look like train seating. With prior booking, you can vlog in these spaces. In the common area you can also enjoy the Space Café where the resident barista makes the most fantastic lattes!
Top tip: Utilise this common area as a space to conduct informal meetings or catch up on emails.
The set-up
The new London space is 20 000 square feet and has three soundproof studios that can be booked to film in. When we visited, two of them had been set up for filming; one had a custom-built set for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (yes, THAT Harry Potter movie). Eddie Redmayne had collaborated there with various creators on promotional material that should roll out on YouTube in the coming months.
The second set was a temporary design that’s done for holidays or special occasions. So every Halloween or Christmas, professional set designers are brought in to create a set for creators to use. We were lucky enough to be able to film on the Halloween set.
The largest studio has a Dolby Atmos 4K resolution screening option allowing creators to shoot in ultra-high-definition.
Utilising the tech and the support
The YouTube Space is more than just studio space. It also has a host of technology to help take your content to the next level. There are cameras able to live-stream direct to YouTube in 4K resolution, as well as 360-degree cameras, rigs, VR technology and two audio booths. (Webfluential’s roots are South African and it was great to see a fellow South African working in the audio department at the space!)
While there are numerous editing suites and select audio consoles available, you can also access some of the greatest minds in the business. Whether you need to improve lighting or audio, more than 20 employees with experience in their chosen fields are at hand to assist you with creating incredible pieces of content. They guide you without interfering and this ensures quality creations that are still in your distinct voice.
Supporting fellow creators
The key takeaway from our tour of the space is that growing a YouTube channel takes time and needs the support of fellow creators. And they don’t necessarily have to be other YouTubers; they could be the sound specialist or the lighting technician. Everyone in the space is keen to assist other creators to up their game. Even the walls promote creators — UK YouTubers are invited to submit their channel promotion posters and four are selected for the channel wall. A creator only needs 1 000 subscriptions (or more) to submit and it’s a great way to get their channel to a new audience.
Next to the space is a YouTube Creators Store that stocks branded products from some of YouTube’s biggest stars. The concept is to help build the profiles of these creators by sharing their merchandise. They have some great items so it’s definitely worth going there to shop.
Remember that one great piece of creative is all it takes to grab attention for your YouTube channel. So whether you’re attending a workshop or utilising the facilities, using one of the YouTube spaces is a must for budding YouTubers.
Also be sure to sign into your Webfluential account regularly to monitor your channel analytics, as well as any other social media promotion you do. Our influencer dashboard gives you all your insights in one place, allowing you to monitor the development of your channel and the conversion of viewers from other social platforms.
Click here to login to your dashboard now.
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November 2, 2016 9:22 am
Published by Kirsty Sharman
During the next few editions of the creator showcase, our focus will be specifically on Instagrammers. We feature a creator from our community and tap into their talent, knowledge and tips to share with the rest of the community.
In our previous showcase, we featured one of Instagram’s first users, Dan Rubin. In today’s edition, we engage Natasha Amar.
Based in Dubai, Natasha left a finance career to pursue her dream of a career as a travel storyteller and photographer. Her Instagram account is a curation of well-crafted images capturing her adventures throughout the world. Whether she’s hiking through the fairytale landscapes of Cappadocia in Turkey or kayaking through the Abel Tasman National Park in New Zealand, her perspective is bound to infect you with the travel bug.
1. How long have you had your Instagram account for?
I’ve had my Instagram account since December 2012.
2. When did you start getting popular on Instagram?
My success with Instagram has been very gradual. I noticed that my page was growing at a faster rate when I started focusing on my photography and put in the time and effort to learn photography techniques as opposed to when I took photos with my old digital camera and phone.
3. What advice do you have for other influencers who want to improve their Instagram and grow their audience?
Ask yourself why you create. Do you just want to be famous? Do you want your feed to tell a story? Do you want it to be the go-to place for an audience that’s interested in a particular topic (hiking, fishing, footwear)? Once you find the answer to these questions, you get to the point where you can figure out the kind of feed you want to be known for and work towards making it the best it can be. Work on your craft- with the amount of knowledge that’s available online for free, there is no excuse for not learning basic photography techniques.
I find that the most interesting pages have a theme, interact with their audiences, and show personality. The least interesting ones are self-obsessed (think a selfie in every post) and lack creativity.
4. What camera do you use to capture your images?
I use a Sony A6000 for all of my photography including the images on my Instagram feed.
5. How often do you upload pictures on Instagram?
My feed is focussed on travel- in keeping with the theme of my travel blog TheBohoChica.com, so when I’m travelling, I post at least thrice a day. Some work campaigns have had me posting up to five times a day. When I’m back home, I try to post at least once a day.
6. Are there any apps or equipment you would recommend to other Instagram users?
I use Snapseed on my iPhone to quickly edit photos on the go for my Instagram feed. For Instagrammers who are looking to improve their craft and invest in a good camera, I can highly recommend the Sony A6000 mirrorless.
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October 24, 2016 11:35 am
Published by Kirsty Sharman
Webfluential empowers creators and influencers by providing technology in the form of Pitched by Webfluential and the Quoting Engine. The technology places power into the hands of our creator community by allowing them to pitch their creative proposals to marketers as opposed to waiting for marketers to approach them.
With great power comes great responsibility, so we decided to compile a list of tips, tricks and guidelines for creating a proposal that is more likely to be approved by a marketer. Read our tips below and be sure to comment with your own tips for writing a winning proposal.
Research, Research, Research
Your first step is always to do research — analyse the client’s needs, analyse the limitations of what you can offer, analyse the interests of your audience and identify a place where the requirements of each of the parties overlap.
The most important element of a good pitch is clearly communicating that you understand the client’s problems and goals. A good understanding allows you to craft a creative proposal that’ll hopefully solve their problem(s) and reach their goals effectively.
Why Choose You?
It makes no sense for a marketer to accept your pitch if they have no understanding of who you are. As with any conversation, begin with a greeting and then introduce yourself. Explain why you think you are a suitable candidate to collaborate with the marketer and help them reach their objectives and goals. In the same way that you need to do research before pitching, you need to make it easy for the marketer to understand exactly who you are and how you could help. Courtesy goes hand in hand with an introduction, so remember to thank the marketer for the opportunity pitch on their brief.
Elevator Pitch/Executive Summary
When pitching on a brief, you become a salesman — you sell your creative proposal as the one that’s best suited to meet the client’s needs. A good salesman is someone who is able to succinctly and persuasively pitch their idea or product.
Your creative pitch should have a summary at the beginning, which shows your understanding of the problem, explains your suggested solution, defines the target audience (in this case the target audience is your followers) and why you are the right person to execute.
Being able to distill your creative proposal into a few sentences is incredibly valuable. This part of your pitch is the hook which will either win or lose you the pitch.
Insider tip: It’s easier to create the elevator pitch introduction after you’ve created the entire proposal.
References & Recommendations
As with CVs, having good references can influence a decision, so include a few of your references with your pitch. Provide examples of your idea to allow the marketer to get a clearer picture of your idea in action, as well as examples of your previous work. This informs the marketer that you’re able to create, as well as execute a creative strategy.
Make sure that you include examples of what your content will look like or links to previous pieces of content you’ve created.
In your pitch, you’re not only selling your creative idea, but also your thorough understanding of your audience. While the marketer may know exactly what they want for their brand, they don’t have the same understanding of your audience that you do.
Leverage this understanding of your audience into creative recommendations the client may never have thought of. The brief from the marketer sets the destination but it’s up to you to decide how to get there. Don’t be scared to think out the box, just make sure the audience need is met. Copy and paste is not pitching.
Structure
Finally, a marketer will often have to go through hundreds of proposals. To make their job easier, it’s important to structure your proposal so that it’s accessible. Tell the marketer everything they need to know in a quick and concise way. We’ve provided a breakdown of the elements which should be included in your proposal:
Title: Give your pitch a creative title
Overview: Introduce yourself and provide an overall picture of your creative proposal.
Target Audience: Provide some details about your audience and why it’s the audience the brand wants to be talking to.
Plan: This is where you get into more detail by highlighting your strategy. Include the finer details, as well as provide a timeline and rollout schedule for your content. Also make sure to define the channels you will use.
Performance: Provide client with an overview of the expected results of the campaign in terms of reach and engagement.
Budget: Share the cost-to-client and include any discounts you’d like to offer.
Appendix: This is where you add any other information of value including your references.
Check out an example of what a great proposal looks like here and login here to create your own proposal.
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