Influencer marketing is the latest buzzword riding the wave of content marketing. With brands now targeting influencers in the relevant product and service categories to create engagement that will eventually lead to sales, this trend seems here to stay.
Keeping this in mind, the pioneers of an systemic Indian Blogging Network have recently launched a system to automatically cherry pick the relevant influencers for a brand's campaign. This system is called
IndiPR.com and is the brainchild of Indiblogger. Simply put, IndiPR acts as a content marketing platform for a brand's press releases.
Promising? Some reading and analysis of IndiPR's website and press release has made me highlight the salient features of this content marketing platform.
All it takes is one press release.
Since a press release is a bonafide public document stating clearly giving out all the information about the product or service, business or campaign to one and all, so one really cannot go wrong with it. It is a There are no 'relevant campaign information will be shared with shortlisted influencers' sort of declaration. It is all plain and simple and out there in the open. So bloggers will get to view and know what the campaign is all about and then apply for it if it is relevant to them.
Start with a free trial
At first you need not pay. You can use a one-time free trial to test the waters. A free trial allows you to get up to 5 blogposts. All you need to do is upload your press release after registering with IndiPR. And then after 72 hours, volia! Post 72 hours, relevant publishers/bloggers have utilized information from the press release, websites and other sources to create an article/ blogpost about the campaign. IndiPR estimates a 75% publishing rate on an average. Which means out of 10 at least 7 to 10 publishers/bloggers will publish the article on their blogs.
ETA: 72 hours
All the magic happens in just 72 hours. The 72 hour clock starts ticking the moment the press release is out in the public. A steam-lined process flow makes it simple for anyone to understand. Within 12 hours of the press release being published, it is open to all to apply for the project. In the next 12 hours, the AITE automatically shortlists bloggers/publishers according to certain parameters like the relevance of the project to the publisher's blog theme and more. The blogger is notified as soon as possible, and can choose to accept or reject the project. If accepted, the remaining time can be utilized by the blogger to compose and publish the article on their blog and submit the blog link.
- 1: Applied – In this stage, a request for publishing of a press release will be sent out as an email. You can apply to only one campaign at a time. So choose the one that best suits the content of your blog. The application process will be open for 12 hours from the time the project is posted on IndiPR.com.
- 2: Shortlisted - AITE will automatically shortlist the best candidates for the project and if selected, you will receive an email with the subject line “Shortlisted - ”.
- 3: Accept/Decline – In this stage, you have to accept or decline this project within 24 hours from the time the project is posted on IndiPR.com. If you reject this project, it will be passed on to the next publisher in the queue. Although a project could be passed on down the queue, the timelines will not change as the project has to be completed with 72 hours from the time the project is posted on IndiPR.com.
- 4: Completed – Once you have ‘Accepted the project’, it cannot be declined. You will have to submit the article within a total of 72 hours from the time the project is posted on IndiPR.com. Once your status shows “Completed”, you will be able to apply for other projects. Please note that Businesses will rate your IndiPR articles on a scale of 1 – 5 and that these ratings will be by AITE.
- 5: Paid – Payment will be made within 14 business days of the project being posted on IndiPR.com.
Fairness and Transparency
One thing that affiliate marketing and influencer marketing platforms lack is the transparency in the process of shortlisting. When there is manual shortlisting process involved, there are bound to be certain biases or certain errors in judgement. But with AITE in place one can be rest assured that an automated software make no judgement biases, no matter how many cookies you offer him.
And understanding the history of IndiBlogger, they have always maintain a fair stance and have more often than not been transparent about their processes. It is my belief, that they will continue to do so with IndiPR as well.
Brands can also rate a Blogger anonymously, using the following parameters (picked from:
https://www.indipr.com/faqs)
- 1 Star – Never Again - You will never see this publisher ever again
- 2 Star – Acceptable - This publisher will be given a very low priority for future campaigns created from your account and feedback will be sent to the publisher.
- 3 Star – Nice - This Publisher will be considered as an average individual and will only be given priority if the slots for your project haven’t been fulfilled.
- 4 Star – Highly Usable - This Publisher will be considered above average and will be given a higher probability of being accepted when you come up with a similar project.
- 5 Star – VIP - This publisher will be given top priority for your future campaigns with similar projects.
Win-win situation
The real potential of a serious blogger is now slowly being realized as brands tie up with them for paid assignments. However, there are many bloggers who also want to take up paid projects at their leisure and whim. This platform can cater to all since all projects are time intensive. If its a paid project, the blogger would be remunerated withing 14 working days from the publishing date of the press release. And of course, the brand gets their article published on the desired number of blogs, thereby attaining their content marketing goal.
Post the launch, Renie Ravin, the Founder and CEO of IndiBlogger, said, “We believe that this system will help Influencers with fresh and new content on their site every day. In a way, you could be writing about the next Google without even realising its immense potential.”
So what do you think of this brand new content marketing platform: Promising?
Yay or Nay?
