July 1, 2016 1:20 pm
Published by Kirsty Sharman
Exciting news! I’m heading to Israel in September to represent Webfluential in one of the most incredible start-up economies in the world.
We found out this week that Webfluential won first prize in the Startup-Up Tel Aviv competition – where women founders and business owners of some of South Africa’s most dynamic start-ups competed for the opportunity of a lifetime: five days at the DLD Tel Aviv Innovation Festival.
There are some incredible women doing smart things in the technology space in South Africa, and I was up against some fearsome talent: Annabel Dallamore (founder of Stock Shop), Leeko Makoene (founder of Go Rural), Darlene Menzies (founder of SMEasy) and Catherine Luckhoff (founder of Nichestreem). It was an honour to compete against these ladies.
I realised after the announcement that not everyone understands why winning a competition like this is so important to me, and to Webfluential as a business. This blog post is an effort to explain why.
Over the last two years I’ve learnt an incredible amount about growing, running, scaling and understanding a technology business – together with my business partners. The more I learn, the more I want to learn, the more I need to learn.
Here are two reasons i’m excited to learn more about Tel Aviv.
1. Israel is one of the world’s smallest countries, yet it’s ranked #2 in the world for VC funds
Israel is a tiny blip on the radar in the middle of the world. So how can so much technology be coming out of one of the smallest countries in the Middle East? Companies like WeWork, Hotmail, Waze are just a few on the list.
Israel has a strong track record of building smart tech and scaling it to the rest of the world, and by doing this repeatedly they’ve built a reputation that breeds confidence in the international venture capital space.
As a technology business built in Africa, and scaling globally, Webfluential has a steep learning curve ahead of us. I’m hoping some of the lessons learned on this trip can help accelerate that. We’re learning to navigate with a global mindset, something Israeli start-ups seem to get right from the get go.
2. Israel’s start-ups focus on building products that add value, before building products for a pay out
I’ve heard of the phrase “Tikkun Olam” in conversation, but I never really had a full understanding of how that affects the start-up culture in Israel.
Entrepreneurs in Israel aren’t just driven by monetary payouts. They’re inspired by bringing great new ideas and technologies to the world, and making it a better place by doing so. Don’t get me wrong, we all have to make a living – but I like to work with people who solve big problems first and cash comes second.
That’s why we invest so heavily into building technology for social influencers at Webfluential. For the last two years, our model has been that we only earn revenue on bookings. It’s forced us, as a business, to invest in building technology that helps agencies and influencers add value to the brands they work with long term.
Learning more about Tikkun Olam will help us keep our focus on building products that add value to the market.
During my five-day stay in Tel Aviv, I’ll be attending the DLD Tel Aviv Innovation Festival. I’m super excited to see what hot start-ups are on the rise, not only from Israel, but from all over the world. I’ll be spending time with engineers, entrepreneurs and investors who are looking 10 years down the line and building products for the future. I’m sure I’ll come home with a shift in my perspective of the world.
I’ve had the book ‘Start-Up Nation’ next to my bed for some time now. I think it’s time to read it before I fly out in September. I’ll be sure to report back 🙂
Written by Kirsty Sharman, Global Head Of Operations.
A big, big thank you to the Israeli embassy, Microsoft, and all the individuals who made this competition a reality. #TeamWebfluential will be sure to make the most of it!
Share this article
July 1, 2016 7:34 am
Published by Webfluential
Twitter – @patson_shaba
We recently kicked off a new feature on the blog which introduces you to some of the incredible people at Webfluential. We’re a technology company that has some talented individuals who each play a huge role in bringing our tech, service, brand and vision to life.
Our second feature is on the heartbeat of #TeamWebfluential, please meet Patson! Our very own In-house Barista.
1) Hi Patson! Please tell us a little about yourself in two sentences
I am Patson, the driver and office barista. I love being with and around people, through interacting with them one is able to learn a number of things.
2) What inspired you to come work with #TeamWebfluential?
I have never worked for a company before, so when I was offered a chance to work at Webfluential I was quite nervous but then soon realised that it’s a great opportunity to learn new things in life.
3) What is the one thing you hope to accomplish in the next five years?
In the next five years, I hope to learn as well as have more things that will hopefully help me to stand on my own one day.
4) If you could have dinner with any three people in the world, who would they be?
Barack Obama, Nicki Minaj and Murray Legg.
Thank you!
Share this article
June 30, 2016 2:03 pm
Published by Kirsty Sharman
As a marketer one of the first questions you have to ask yourself with every marketing campaign is:
What does success look like to you?
Think about your current or future marketing campaign, what does success for that look like to you?
It might also be worth pondering whether you want to reach a targeted – but engaged – audience and achieve a high conversion rate? Or do you want to get your brand out there with a big bang viral strategy that scores impressions and ramps up your follower count?
Your campaign goals will determine whether you need to collaborate with an influencer, what kind of influencer you should build a relationship with, and if you’re aiming for a wide reach (popularity) or depth of reach (influence).
Webfluential’s New Business Relationship Manager, Samantha Wright, wrote this piece for Social Media Today. You can view the original article here or alternatively you can read it below – it gives you worthwhile insight into how best to determine the success of your influencer campaign based on the goals you set.
Influence and popularity might look the same, but they’re not.
Do you remember Sweet Valley High? Sweet Valley High was a 603-book-strong series of tween novels which followed the adventures of identical twin sisters Jessica and Elizabeth as they navigated the melodramas of high school life in California. Jessica was bold, brash and popular. Elizabeth was bookish and reserved, and had a small friendship circle that stung in authenticity compared to her sister’s dazzling clique.
In the world of influencer marketing, there are the popular Jessicas with their hoards of followers, and the more authentic Elizabeths with their small but invested audiences.
The Jessica
A celebrity influencer with a follower count in the millions doesn’t automatically make them the best option for your campaign. Sure, they’re dazzling, but they might not hold the same level of resonance and relevance that a niche expert with a much smaller following would command. And then there’s always the chance that your busy celebrity might pull a Scott Disick (although, if skinny-tea brand Bootea’s goal was to raise brand awareness, Disick’s faux pas certainly did the trick).
The problem with gunning for popularity is that if you’re measuring your campaign’s success according to its width only – follower counts and content impressions – how do you know who is really listening?
Follower counts only matter if your audience cares about and consumes your content. If 20k of your 50k Instagram followers download your eBook, that’s a valuable conversion, but if you’ve purchased 100k fans and you’re still not seeing engagement on your posts, it’s because nobody cares.
Seriously. Nobody cares.
The Elizabeth
According to McKinsey, we’re 50 times more likely to buy a product or order a service that has been recommended by a trusted friend than we are if the same recommendation comes from a celebrity, columnist, or Internet personality. The same report states that word of mouth advertising generates double the sales of paid advertising. Nielson’s 2015 Global Trust in Advertising report states that 80% of consumers will buy a product recommended by friends, with two thirds saying they trust other consumers’ opinions as well.
Most influencers – of the non-celebrity variety – already come with an invested audience who care about quality over quantity. These influencers have been talking to their audience for years. They have a relationship with their readers. They’re the online friends whose recommendations matter.
Sara Donaldson has around 700k followers across her channels, a small audience compared to someone like Disick. The difference is influence. Speaking to ABC News about her readers, she said:
“They read my blog, they follow my Instagram and they actually buy what I tell them is trending, so I know that my audience. When I put something up, they actually do convert into sales [sic].”
The Sweet Spot
But are influence and popularity mutually exclusive? Do you have to choose one without the other? If you look at influencer marketing according to Stephen Covey’s rocks and pebbles theory, would it be safe to say you can have your cake and eat it?
Let’s assume you’re marketing Best Lipstick, and your goal is to 1) raise brand awareness and 2) convert leads to sales. If you employ Covey’s principle to influencer marketing, you’d need to find a popular influencer with a big following to run your core content. This influencer would be your rock, and would guarantee eyes on your content. You’d then seek out smaller influencers (niche beauty and make-up bloggers) to disseminate your core message to their engaged audiences. These are your pebbles, and more likely to drive click-through rates and sign-ups. It’s a possible viral campaign that feeds into smaller more authentic influencer channels, and has the potential to positively affect your ROI.
Right?
It all depends on the authenticity of the content.
If there’s one thing you take from this piece, it’s that when it comes to investing in an influencer, choose one that knows what matters to their audience.
Share this article
