How to best use influencer marketing platforms - In a latest blog post, we analyzed how influencer advertising has become arguably the most popular and productive way for brands to reach audiences. This prevalence has caused a number of influencer advertising platforms, most of which try to properly bring brands and influencers together and offer superficial detection tools. Before investing heavily in these influencer advertising platforms, advertisers and business owners need to be informed about the benefits, constraints and how best to use these new marketing and advertising platforms and tools. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay What is an influencer marketing platform? An influencer advertising platform is a virtual dashboard and database where agencies and brands can detect and, in many cases, work with specific social network influencers. Some influencer advertising platforms are supply platforms, where they work the same way as outsourcing platforms like Upwork or Elance: a new submits an endeavor idea or product they want to market, and the influencers sign up with the platform's offering on the job and send ideas for how they can execute the effort. Others are search or discovery programs. FameBit, an influencer advertising platform, allows brands to outline specifications, spending budgets and other expectations for each campaign visible to YouTubers. Tubular gives producers insight into what influencers get by calculating the influencer score based on information from YouTube APIs, Twitter data, and other social network data. Similar to Tubular, OpenSlate calculates an influencer's subscription score using social network metrics. This step also allows brands to filter stations by class, geography, topic, and brand confidence to increase compatibility. Both Tubular and OpenSlate are discovery platforms. Best ways for agencies to use influencer marketing platforms: Influencer advertising platforms could help brands familiarize themselves with the various types of influencers available, see some previous examples of the types of campaigns influencers create, and become aware of the compensation they many influencers expect. Platforms can also be extremely useful for implementing one-off or even small campaigns that don't require rigorous controls on new messages, new consistency, or even require a high level of participation. Brands expecting significant returns from their influencer advertising campaigns, however, should be aware of the constraints of influencer advertising platforms. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The Limitations of Influencer Marketing Platforms - As Forbes recently noted, influencers are characterized more by their relationship with their followers than simply the number of followers they claim. While influencer marketing platforms can display influencer data and vanity metrics, they fail to quantify how an influencer connects with their followers and how this participation can translate into success for an influencer's advertising campaign of the manufacturer. For many platforms, there is no way to discern which influencers will best represent your brand, and as a TechCrunch post points out, they often don't.