Our journey to 225 million

March 30, 2016 11:54 am Published by

This month we hit a milestone. Our total audience size has just crossed the 225 million mark!

Two years, more working hours than we can count, 175 000 lines of code, 30+ staff and offices on three continents – that’s what it takes to build a platform with a total audience size of more than 225 million people. Our brand has been mentioned by some of our favourite media across the globe: Social Media Today, Metro.co.uk, Business2Community, VentureBurn, SmartInsights, Disrupt Africa, The Next Web, UK Bloggers, Unilad, DailyDot, DailyMail, The Evening Standard, and more.

Today Webfluential has more than 7,300 influencers, 2,800 marketers and a reach across 185 different countries. We cover five leading social media channels, have created more than 7,200 pieces of brand-rich content through our network of influencers, and our audience has just recently crossed the 225 million mark.

That’s still a figure we’re still working on getting our heads around!

“For any marketplace application, there needs to be a certain critical mass achieved before it’s credible and efficient, and I feel that we’ve achieved that now,” says Murray Legg, Head of Global Strategy at Webfluential. “The platform allows brands to run anything from local to multi-country influencer campaigns from one place as our audience now stretches across the globe. This not only improves on the ability for marketers to reach more of the right market, but it allows for consistency in pricing, execution and even reporting.”

“Webfluential’s audience figure shows that the combined social following of thousands of influencers has greater reach than some of the biggest names on the online block. Mashable reached 45 million in August 2015, its biggest traffic month to date; The Huffington Post achieved 126 million in September last year and Buzzfeed captured 178.8 million global uniques in February 2016. Having reached the 225 million mark, positions Webfluential as one of the biggest content media owners on the internet. That’s really exciting for us” says Murray Legg.

Webfluential gets more than 1,000 brand searches monthly as brands seek to connect with the right influencers, and our technology impacts both marketer and influencer in the most positive ways. Influencers gain access to a free, easy to use technology – Media Kit builders, WordPress plugins, collaboration areas, automated reporting, guidance on pricing and even payment security. And it’s all in one space.

For brands the benefits are just as exciting – pricing in seconds, influencer credibility, collaboration areas, reporting to ensure you get a the right ROI on your Influencer Marketing budgets, as well as the opportunity to build great relationships with new influencers every week.

“We get to work with some of the most creative and influential people on the planet” adds Kirsty Sharman, Head of Global Operations at Webfluential. “We’re extremely proud of the work produced through our platform, and we’re excited to be part of the collaboration journey between brands and influencers every day. The fact that technology can change the way people have done things for years is incredible, but the thing that gets me out of bed every morning is knowing that we’re building technology to empower influencers all over the world – giving them the tools they need to turn their passion for content creation into a meaningful revenue stream.”

From every member of the team at Webfluential, we’d like to say thank you. A great big THANK YOU to our influencers, our brands, our people, and all those who believe in our vision to build the smartest technology for brands and social influencers to connect, tell stories, and positively influence consumers.

Here is some insight into our journey:

225 million-02

 

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Influencer Marketing: Why you should care!

March 23, 2016 7:26 am Published by

Sit up, take notice and get connected, because Influencer Marketing is here to stay

Influencer Marketing is one of the most powerful ways to share your brand’s message, by using people who your audience already trust: individuals with immense personal reach and reader engagement. They make your brand the talking point of their conversations. It’s engaging. It’s credible. And it’s real.

People trust people.

When Aunt Zelda recommends the bistro on 7th Avenue, you know it’s worth checking out. When your best friend raves about a book she read and loved, you know it’ll grab you too. This is the power of personal persuasion and it can be harnessed by savvy brands.

Influencer marketing - why you should care

Influencers can be incorporated into marketing strategies and play a pivotal role in how the brand is shaped and portrayed on social media. They can run an effective word-of-mouth campaign which starts conversations and, if done well, gets people talking about the brand across multiple platforms and markets.

So why use it?

Well, it’s not a growing trend just because it sounds nice. A McKinsey study found that word-of-mouth-inspired marketing delivers 37% greater customer retention rates and twice the sales when compared with paid advertising.

Furthermore, RhythmOne data shows that the average earned media value (EMV) of Influencer Marketing programmes in the United States were 1.4 times higher in the first half of 2015 than in 2014 altogether.

Add to this the fact that a Schlesinger Associates study found that 81% of marketers believe that influencer engagement is effective; that 92% of consumers say they trust earned media such as word-of-mouth and recommendations from friends and family, and you’re onto a winner.

The flip side shows exactly why Influencer Marketing is growing in popularity at such a rapid rate. Brands are in desperate need of that next big breakthrough because consumers aren’t listening to the usual marketing channels anymore.

The Content Marketing Institute’s 2015 B2B and B2C Content Marketing Trend report revealed some sobering facts towards the end of last year. It found that although 78% of brands increased the content they produced, engagement with the brand dropped by 60%.

According to the report brand-generated content had the lowest engagement rates on social media. Improvements in ad-blocking technology, which consumers are readily adopting, are lowering brand reach as ads are stopped before they are even seen.

So, it’s pretty obvious why Influencer Marketing is enjoying such a strong and loyal following, while yielding impressive results in value and return on investment. And it’s not just for the chosen few or the lucky guy who happened to launch a campaign at just the right time (although that always works).

It’s ideal for any brand which is ready to engage with influencers using a clear brand strategy, an authentic voice and consistent messaging.

A robust Influencer Marketing strategy will know when to amplify your content, build credibility around your brand, reach new audiences, create and share relevant content and influence the path to purchase.

Now you just need to figure out which influencers are right for you and connect with them in the right ways.

 

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Influencer Marketing landscape in South Africa

March 16, 2016 2:04 pm Published by

Influencer Marketing is a global phenomenon that is continuously growing and firmly making its mark in the South African marketing and advertising landscape.

At Webfluential, our influencers cover 96% of the online audience in South Africa with the most popular categories for branded content comprising of entertainment, finance and business, and technology.

Our infographic below explains the above in more detail:

 

South African influencer landscape-01

 

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