Our community

15 000 Influencers

5000 Marketers

435 mil Total audience

190+ Countries

7 Media platforms

8000+ Pieces content created

Updated : 2016/11/08

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Our story

As told by the founders

"Like any great whodunit, two separate stories lead to the business which now operates as Webfluential.
In 2003, in the University of Pretoria hostel of Kollegetehuis, David and Murray first met.They were both studying engineering, became friends and shared a digs together. To earn extra money, they tutored school children and made calls on behalf of estate agents...."

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Leadership

Murray legg

Head of global strategy

Murray is involved in the strategic direction of the business and how the technology can be utilised in new geographies as well as commercial relationships with suppliers and clients.

Kirsty sharman

Head of global operations

Kirsty leads the sales, marketing and operational aspects of the business in the United Kingdom and South Africa, with the target to expand into new territories aggressively.

Our founders

Dave philip

Systems development and architecture

Davids experience in systems development started in 2005 with the building of Penguin Tutoring. 6 years experience at the Global Campaign for Education grew his skill set in multi-lingual platforms, optimised for high traffic. David is the chief architect behind Webfluential and oversees its development and scalability.



Murray legg

Business development and strategy

Murray is an entrepreneurial and commercial thinker with an ability to execute projects. Murray holds a PH.D in biomedical engineering, was included in the global list of Power30under30 in 2013 and Mail & Guardian's Top 200 Young South Africans in 2014. Murray leads strategic business thinking about the company, its services and growth trajectory.


Mike sharman

Content and public relations

Mike’s experience in marketing communications and the practical implementation of digital and guerilla marketing started in 2006 in South Africa, London and parts of Europe. Mike founded Retroviral in 2010 and was selected as a Mail Guardian Top 200 Young South Africans" in 2013. Mike continues to lead Retroviral while holding a seat on the Webfluential board.

Retromedia Founder

Kirsty Sharman - Operations and innovation

Kirsty is millennial marketer with a strong passion for technology. Self taught in the media landscape, she worked with top African brands to plan and execute their online media
strategies before merging with Webfluential. Having built a career around all things digital,
she was listed as one of the South African Women making it big in tech by Finweek. Together with Leigh Fowle, she also heads up one of the largest networking events for women in tech in Southern Africa, Girl Geek Dinners JHB. She was also part of the Mail & Guardian Top 200 Young South Africans selection in 2015. Kirsty leads the operational side of the business, and is always looking for ways to innovate and add value to the growing list of Webfluential clients.

Frequently asked questions

Influencer Marketing is the sourcing, selection and briefing of influencers applicable to a brand and its message, or a target audience with a particular interest in a topic, to disseminate content about a brand or product and then track and report on the results.
Webfluential is an online marketplace which provides a platform for brands (buyers) to connect, engage and transact with online influencers (sellers) for their digital marketing campaigns. The founders of Webfluential, recognised that marketers were struggling to source relevant influencers, manage multiple relationships and accurately report on influencer campaign results. Additionally, influencers battled with charging market related fees for their services and with aligning themselves to relevant campaigns for their audience niche.

Webfluential was founded to address these challenges and offer a solution which gives marketers the best tools to successfully add influencer marketing to their budgets and planning and provides influencers with the ultimate features to promote their audience to relevant marketers.

Webfluential gives marketers the tools to search for relevant online influencers, invite them to participate in digital campaigns and measure the results through detailed reporting. Additionally, online influencers have have the ability to link their blogs or social channels to the platform (showcasing their reach), list relevant interests (to assist with relevance), accept or decline briefs, receive payment and track their campaign results.

Registration and application

Marketers and influencers can sign up to the online platform from anywhere in the world. Once marketers have completed a short registration process, they are up-and-running immediately to search for influencers and run campaigns. However, influencers need to apply for access to the platform, as there is a minimum criteria of 1000+ Twitter followers required to be a Webfluential influencer. The approval process takes approximately 24 hours but once approved, it is easy for influencers to complete their profiles and link their social media channels and blogs.

Influencer search

Once marketers are registered on Webfluential they are able to search for relevant influencers that are aligned to their brand or product. Each influencer creates a profile which showcases their interests, the price they charge to share paid for content, as well as, the data and analytics related to the platforms on which they have built an audience. Influencers are free to change their interests and pricing whenever needed, but the data for their platforms updates according to the analytics pulled directly from the platforms themselves.

Campaign briefs

Once marketers have shortlisted the influencers they would like to include on a campaign, they compile a brief giving background to the campaign, content requirements, timelines and the number of posts per platform. A total costing is automatically generated for the campaign, which once marketer accepts, the brief is shared with all the included influencers. Each influencer then has the option to accept or decline the job.

Campaign management

Webfluential has a team of dedicated account and campaign managers that run all the logistics for campaigns. They ensure that all timelines are adhered to, content is provided, posts occur according to deadlines, as well as, management of any other logistics required in the brief.

Reporting

The intuitive reporting tool is an optional tracking functionality that is recommended to accurately measure the impact of any Influencer Marketing campaign run on the Webfluential platform. The tool measures reach, relevance, resonance, engagement and impressions of influencer content posted during the campaign. It is optional as it is an additional cost, but it is the most effective way to measure results. Reports are pulled 3-4 post the completion of a campaign to allow for engagement results to develop on the last content posted.
Influencer Marketing is an art and a science. The art involves a careful crafting of a brand message and a methodology for engaging an audience and keeping their attention all the way to a point of sale. The science is what Webfluential provides, by analysing every tweet, post or image shared by an influencer to better understand the audience’s typical engagement with it. It offers a full spectrum workflow to manage multinational, complex content campaigns and then report on the details, including every person who saw, engaged or shared the content.
Marketers and influencers can sign up to the online platform from anywhere in the world. Once marketers have completed a short registration process, they are up-and-running immediately to search for influencers and run campaigns. However, influencers need to apply for access to the platform, as there is a minimum criteria of 1000+ Twitter followers required to be a Webfluential influencer. The approval process takes approximately 24 hours but once approved, it is easy for influencers to complete their profiles and link their social media channels. How do the economics of Webfluential work?

Influencers use Webfluential for four main reasons:

  1. Promotion of their profile to relevant brands with the goal of receiving more paid for jobs - Influencers have the advantage of building their own personal profile on Webfluential which showcases their background, interests and available platforms for Influencer Marketing campaigns. This can result in more paid for job opportunities with relevant brands for their audience niche.

  2. Transparency with brands on what their rate is to participate in a campaign - When influencers link their platforms to Webfluential, a recommended market related rate is provided for what should be charged for a blog post or social sharing like a Facebook post etc. This is benchmarked against other influencer rates with a similar reach. Influencers are able to change the recommended pricing to whatever they prefer.

  3. All paperwork and admin is managed on their behalf - Webfluential acts a virtual agent for influencers and manages all paperwork, campaign logistics and payment on their behalf.

  4. Track the success of their campaigns - Influencers are able to track their own campaign results in detail when marketers select the reporting functionality. This is beneficial for their own personal insight into what works with their content creation, as well as, being a tool to help promote their own Influencer Marketing successes.

Marketers use Webfluential for four main reasons:

  1. To search and identify influencers Marketers are able to search for and identify influencers that are relevant to their brand. They are also able to gather accurate data, insights and analytics prior to contracting.

  2. To set a market related budget with transparent influencer pricing - It is far easier to budget for an Influencer Marketing campaign using Webfluential, as influencer pricing is transparent and readily available. Pricing is readily available to eliminate uncertainty around pricing expectations. Budgets can also easily be managed on the platform by adding or removing influencers to fit within the campaign budget.

  3. To manage campaign logistics all in one place - When utilising Webfluential, Marketers have the convenience of managing all logistics, briefing, payment, workflow and reporting is in one place. Webfluential also has dedicated account and campaign managers to guide and assist any marketers who require help.

  4. To report on campaign results - Webfluential has intuitive reporting tools to monitor results, provide insight and track the impact of campaigns.

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