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TapInfluence Review: Influencer Marketing Platform For Creators, Brands, & Agencies

For brands, running influencer marketing campaigns is a big job. From deciding on target messaging and demographics to choosing influencers that are going to resonate with the target audience, there are a lot of variables to consider and juggle. It’s not necessarily a picnic for influencers, either. Finding work and getting paid fairly and promptly can be a challenge.

Frankly, that’s why agencies focused solely on influencer marketing exist. It’s also why platforms like TapInfluence exist, though their function is ultimately a little bit different.

TapInfluence is a platform that allows brands to find influencers, create, automate, and track campaigns, and pay creators in one place. The intention behind the platform is to give brands the tools that they need to manage influencer campaigns with a single set of tools.

There are clear pros and cons to using TapInfluence, and while it isn’t the influencer marketing solution for every goal or situation, there are ways to use TapInfluence properly.

Related Post: How Agencies Use Influencer Marketing Platforms

What To Know About Influencer Marketing

When it comes to reaching younger demographics, influencer marketing is one of the best ways to drive enthusiasm and engagement. As ad blocking and cord cutting change the way that audiences perceive ads, new methods of communicating with consumers that are more likely to interact with content on phones, tablets, and computers than on televisions are quickly becoming a necessity.

Brands are finding that partnering with social media influencers can be a great way to reach key demographics that are becoming increasingly difficult to reach through traditional methods because it presents a unique opportunity to present messaging to audiences directly through influencers. Through sponsorships, shout-outs, product placements, or special event coverage, brands and advertisers can leverage engaged followings to deliver a new kind of brand message — one that millennials and other key demographics find relevant and relatable.

Related Post: The Official 10-Step Roadmap For Influencer Marketing [Infographic]

TapInfluence Review: A Look At Its Tools & Services

TapInfluence exists because trying to craft an influencer marketing campaign out of thin air is next to impossible. There are a number of moving parts that determine the viability and success of a campaign, and managing those variables can quickly get out of hand. TapInfluence looks to streamline the process by making it easy for brands and agencies to search through a database of influencers who have opted into the service, track campaign milestones and assignments, measure and interpret analytics, and pay the influencers involved in the campaigns.

Of course, some of the unique challenges that come with influencer marketing campaigns remain, chief among them being the process of negotiating terms and rates, which changes from influencer to influencer and project to project.

Outside of negotiations, though, it’s helpful to think of TapInfluence as a kind of ecosystem. There’s the search function, giving brands and agencies the power to search through a massive database of influencers based on unique filters and criteria. Then there’s the campaign system, which is focused on automating the workflow that can become jammed and cumbersome in large influencer marketing campaigns.

TapInfluence eliminates dozens of email threads and guesswork that comes with trying to connect without a platform or central hub of communications like an agency. Brands and agencies can also use the TapInfluence platform to take care of payments and legal documents from a single place.

How Does TapInfluence Work?

TapInfluence can be used by several distinct groups: Influencers, brands, and agencies.

TapInfluence For Influencers:

Influencers are able to opt-in to the TapInfluence network, which makes them discoverable to some brands and agencies. From there, influencers may be able to find and complete work through TapInfluence. While certain influencers choose to register on these types of platforms, others (especially top tier, high-reach influencers and digital stars) opt to work directly with influencer marketing agencies, talent managers, MCNs, or remain independent.

TapInfluence For Brands & Agencies:

Brands are some of the primary users of the platforms. As we’ve covered, through TapInfluence, brands can find influencers, create campaigns, schedule, manage, and track deliverables, and monitor engagement analytics on the campaigns.

Agencies work a little bit differently. For agencies looking to expand into influencer marketing, using the TapInfluence platform may allow them to enter a new space. By streamlining certain parts of the campaign process, it allows agencies who understand influencer marketing to leverage the platform's automated tools. Agencies can find influencers on the platform, message interested influencers, and handle payments through the platform.

How TapInfluence Makes Money:

TapInfluence makes its money by charging brands and agencies for access to the platform, and that access comes in three tiers: Standard, Enterprise, and Agency.

Standard gives user access to the Influencer Marketplace, along with the basic services we’ve mentioned: Workflow automation, content scheduling, influencer activation, payments, analytics, and basic support. The Enterprise plan comes with limited personalized help as well as a private cloud. The Agency plan is a little different in that it gives agencies the ability to pitch and find clients, adding a layer to the platform.

Related Post: The Best Influencer Marketing Tools & Platforms

The Pros & Cons of Influencer Marketing Platforms

Like any platform, app, or software, there are benefits and drawbacks to using TapInfluence, and there are situations that are better suited for TapInfluence than others.

While TapInfluence's platform and software offer its users dedicated tools and amenities, there are plenty of instances in which working with an agency that works directly with influencers might be beneficial. With an agency that has extensive experience working with influencers comes a degree of institutional knowledge that’s impossible to replicate on a platform. With an influencer marketing agency, brands are working with experts in their field — professionals who know which influencers fit a advertisers’ budget and goals, which influencers are going to reach the right audience, and which influencers are going to inspire engagement.

There are also a few pitfalls when it comes to technicalities. In our experience, posting content for accurate tracking can be troublesome for influencers. To its credit, TapInfluence’s support is responsive and helpful, but it can also create a few hiccups in the workflow.

Pros:

Influencer Side:

• A way of finding and getting work
• One-stop payment system
• A possible discovery channel used by agencies and brands

Brand Side:

• Ability to search and find influencers on platform
• Likely cheaper if activating a large number of influencers
• Simplifies some aspects of campaign creation and management

Cons:

Influencer Side:

• Another profile to manage and keep up-to-date
• Some technical issues with uploading posts for accurate metrics

Brand Side:

• Though optimized, there’s still a lot of detailed, time-consuming work that goes into influencer campaigns
• No institutional knowledge that comes with working with an agency
• All campaign tailoring and results fall to brand

Also See Our Posts On:

Guide: How To Market With The Best Instagram Influencers

Does Cost Per Engagement Actually Work With Influencers?

Advertisers & Ad Blockers: What You Need To Know In 2017

The Top 10 Coachella Statistics Advertisers Must Know

The post Reviewing TapInfluence’s Influencer Marketing Platform appeared first on Mediakix | Influencer Marketing Agency.