Influencer Marketplace like Collabstr App Development

Influencer marketplaces have nowadays become the go-to solution for brands and enterprises for everything advertisement. Globally, the market is expected to grow to $17.4 Billion in 2023. That’s a whopping 14.47% increase from 2022. 

Such explosive growth can be attributed to several aspects, including the popularity of short-form video platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube, the impact of the pandemic on social media use, and the optimization of data collection for targeted advertising.

Key Trends and Stats Related to Influencer Marketing:

Collabstr is a prominent influencer marketplace where influencers showcase their content for brands to discover and collaborate. These marketplaces offer a convenient and effective way for brands to connect with influencers who are a good fit for their marketing goals and budget.

In this blog, we will review some of the top influencer marketplaces, explore how Collabster as an influencer marketplace works, go through the essential features, and mention the development steps for an influencer marketplace.

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Top influencer marketplaces (As of 2023)

1. GRIN

Grin is an influencer marketing platform that integrates with e-commerce platforms, offering additional features such as gifting products and tracking sales referrals.

Pros:

• Find new influencers easily from your registered customer base
• Integrate influencer-generated content library with your e-commerce platform
• Real-time tracking of sales/referrals allows for a better understanding of ROI

Cons:

• Lack of pricing transparency
• No automated payment tools

Pricing Information: 

Not available. Is priced as per individual requirements.

Key Features:

• Search and Discovery
• Content Amplification
• Influencer Relationship Management
• Influencer Lifecycle Management
• Content Library
• Content Review
• Campaign Reporting
• Campaign Management
• Influencer Analysis
• Audience Analysis
• Product and Gifting Tools
• E-commerce Tools
• Forms and Compliance

Channels:

TikTok, Twitter, Twitch, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube

Best for:

Influencers and businesses of all sizes

2. Upfluence

Upfluence is an influencer marketing platform that has evolved from a search and discovery tool to offer multiple ways to uncover new influencers and ambassadors, easy-to-use campaign tools, and a flexible social listening module.

Pros:

• Highly precise search tool with an extensive influencer database.
• Multiple passive recruiting tools can turn customers into ambassadors.
• User-friendly and clear workflows.

Cons:

• No audience analysis beyond basic demographics.
• Can be too complex and overwhelming for influencer marketing beginners.

Pricing Information:

Three levels of service – Growth, Scale, and Enterprise – with different fee categories (charged monthly).

Key Features:

• Relationship Management.
• Influencer Search and Discovery.
• Third-Party Analytics.
• Campaign Management.
• Influencer Lifecycle Management.
• Automated Recruiting.
• Content Review.
• Team Collaboration Tools.
• Audience Analysis.
• Campaign Reporting.
• Product and Gifting Tools
• E-commerce Tools
• Payment Processing.
• Social Listening.

Channels:

Twitch, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, and Blogs.

Best for:

Influencers and businesses of all sizes.

3. Creator.co

Creator.co is an influencer marketing platform that offers next-level data and analytics, assistance from campaign specialists, automated campaigns, and streamlined Giveaway tools, among other big-business features for small business marketing efforts.

Pros:

• More data and deeper analytics than many more expensive platforms.
• Automated campaign mode that combines Creator.co’s staff and algorithms.
• Facebook Ads integration to quickly repurpose content.

Cons:

• Campaign reporting is limited to basic metrics

Pricing Information:

Two different plans – 

Self-serve ($395 per month and lower as per increasing months of purchase)

Community Driven ($795 per month and lower as per increasing months of purchase)

Key Features:

• Search and Discovery.
• Content Amplification.
• Influencer Relationship Management.
• Influencer Lifecycle Management.
• Campaign Reporting.
• Campaign Management.
• Audience Analysis.
• Influencer Analysis
• Exportable Reports.

Channels:

YouTube, Instagram, TikTok.

Best for:

Small and medium businesses.

4. LTK Connect

LTK (formerly rewardStyle) is an influencer marketing platform that offers LTK Connect, an invite-only network of influencers with years of experience converting sales and the data to prove it.

Pros:

• Influencers have an established presence on the LTK shopping platform.
• Invite-only platform with thoroughly vetted and proven high-performing creators.
• Attention to minor details to yield better traction and results.

Cons:

• Users complain of poor mobile optimization.
• Limited audience data.

Key Features:

• Content Review.
• Campaign Management.
• Search and Discovery.
• Campaign Reporting.
• Product/Gifting Tools.
• Influencer Analysis.
• Audience Analysis.
• Forms and Compliance.
• Payment Processing.

Channels:

Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube,Twitter, Blogs, LTK App.

Best for:

Brands and influencers of all sizes.

5. Tribe Dynamics

Tribe Dynamics is not a platform for finding and engaging with influencers for marketing campaigns. Instead, it focuses on providing data and analytics to brands that already have a list of influencers and active campaigns. Its goal is to help these brands refine and improve their influencer marketing strategies while also monitoring their competitors in the market.

Pros:

• Provides accurate calculation of Earned Media Value, which was invented by the company.
• Includes Instagram Stories and TikTok in its Content Library.
• Offers a different approach to data and metrics by providing context along with numbers.

Cons:

• Uploading lists of influencers in bulk can be a cumbersome process.
• Automated tagging may not be completely accurate.

Pricing Information:

Three different packages (for brands) – Micro, Established, and Powerhouse. Additional customizations to plans can be done as per service preferences.

Key features:

• Influencer Relationship Management.
• Content Library.
• Campaign Reporting.
• Influencer Analysis.
• Audience Analysis.
• Social Listening.
• Competitor Research.

Channels: 

Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

Best for:

• Medium to large brands.
• Agencies looking for the best influencer campaign related data analytics.

How does Collabstr influencer marketplace work?

Collabstr follows a simple 3-step procedure:

i. Influencer Search

With Collabstr, you can search through thousands of vetted influencers on social media platforms. Collabstr verifies each influencer to ensure they are genuine and have an engaged following. You can use various filters like location, niche, and audience demographics to find the perfect influencer for your brand.

ii. Secured Purchase

Once you’ve found an influencer you want to work with, you can purchase their services securely through the Collabstr platform. You don’t need to worry about fraud or scams, as Collabstr holds your payment until the work is completed to your satisfaction.

iii. Receive Quality Content

You can receive high-quality content from influencers directly through the Collabstr platform. The platform allows for instant communication with influencers, so you can stay in touch throughout the entire transaction.

Additional Features:

• Separate Signup Procedure For Creators and Brands
• Influencer Price Calculator
• Instagram Engagement Rate Calculator
• Custom Campaign Planning and Management Service

Essential features to have in an influencer marketplace

1. Comprehensive influencer profiles: Influencer profiles should include information such as their niche, social media channels, followers, engagement rates, past collaborations, and pricing.
2. Search and filter options: The marketplace should have advanced search and filter options that allow brands to find influencers based on various criteria, such as location, niche, audience demographics, engagement rates, and budget.
3. Campaign management tools: The platform should have tools for brands to manage their campaigns, such as setting up objectives, creating briefs, communicating with influencers, and tracking campaign performance.
4. Payment and contract management: The marketplace should handle the payment and contract process, ensuring that all parties comply with legal and tax requirements.
5. Performance analytics: The platform should provide real-time data and analytics to help brands track and measure their campaign’s performance, including engagement rates, reach, and conversions.
6. Security and fraud prevention: The marketplace should have security measures in place to protect both brands and influencers, including fraud prevention and vetting of influencers to ensure that they meet specific quality standards.
7. Customer support: The marketplace should provide customer support to help brands and influencers navigate the platform, troubleshoot any issues, and ensure that all campaigns run smoothly.

Special Additional Features that can be added:

Fake account detection

With influencer marketing comes the worrisome possibilities of bot accounts and fake accounts. To prevent such kinds of fraudulence, the marketplace can use AI algorithms to scan influencer profiles for suspicious activity, such as sudden spikes in follower counts or unusual engagement rates, which could indicate the use of bots or fake followers. 

Additionally, marketplaces can ask influencers to provide verification documents, such as a government-issued ID or a social media account with a significant following, to ensure their authenticity.

Influencer incentivization

Influencer platforms can also offer various incentives to attract and retain high-quality names. 

For instance, it could offer higher payouts for exceptional campaign results, provide training programs to improve influencers’ skills, and offer a streamlined collaboration process to make it easy for influencers to find and apply for campaigns, communicate with brands, and track their performance.

This can help the marketplace foster long-term relationships between influencers and brands — leading to better marketplace name spread and profitability.

How to make an influencer marketplace like Collabstr?

Creating an influencer marketplace like Collabstr would require a well-defined and structured software development life cycle (SDLC). Here’s a critical overview of the same:

STEP 1. DEFINE YOUR PROJECT SCOPE, TEAM, AND PLAN

First, onboard a team with a project manager, a software architect, and business analysts. Collaborate with business stakeholders to create a project scope statement that defines the project scope and plan. We recommend you check out Collabstr’s official website for an overview of the platform. You can also checkout Upfluence, as they have a great android and iOS app.

STEP 2. DEFINE YOUR MVP AND METHODOLOGY

To launch the product in the market and subsequently enhance it based on user feedback, we suggest using an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) approach. 

Once the product scope is defined, select the development methodology for your project. Agile methodology is great for iterative enhancements. Choosing Agile can help you get more and more customer feedback to improve the product.

STEP 3. SELECT YOUR DEVELOPMENT PLATFORM

Work with the project manager and architect to determine the best development approach. We recommend using a PaaS platform for web development and an MBaaS platform for mobile app development. 

Native Android and iOS apps offer the best user experience, performance, and security, but if you want to reduce development costs, you can consider cross-platform mobile development.

STEP 4. DEFINE THE TEAM MEMBERS

To build the influencer marketing software, you need to hire the following roles: 

• UI designers 
• Front-end web developers with skills in JavaScript, HTML, CSS, Angular, React.js, etc.; 
• Back-end web developers with Node.js skills; 
• Android developers with Java expertise; 
• iOS developers with Swift skills, 
• Testers; and 
• DevOps engineers.

STEP 5. CHOOSE YOUR CLOUD SOLUTION

Use AWS as your managed cloud services platform. AWS Elastic Beanstalk is the PaaS platform that offers many advantages, such as managing the cloud infrastructure, networking, storage, operating system, middleware, and runtime environment. This lets you focus on web development rather than managing the IT infrastructure. 

AWS Amplify is the MBaaS platform that handles cloud infrastructure, persistent storage, and more, so you can concentrate on the front end. It makes it easy to integrate 3rd party APIs and scale your app, and you can easily implement features like user management, push notifications, and security.

STEP 6. FIND A PAYMENT GATEWAY API SOLUTION

To integrate a payment gateway, we recommend using Stripe’s API solution. 

Apart from Stripe, PayPal, Braintree, and Square are equally good payment solutions that provide exclusive services like mobile and web payments, recurring billing, and fraud protection.

STEP  7. GET A BULK SMS SOLUTION FOR PUSH NOTIFICATIONS

For the push notifications feature in your mobile app, you can use bulk SMS solutions like Twilio’s SMS service. 

Visit Twilio’s messaging services documentation to learn more, and check out their pricing plans on their pricing page.

STEP 8. CHOOSE A TEST AUTOMATION AID

To test your mobile app against a wide range of devices, sign up with Digital.ai. 

Digital.ai offers a mobile device and browser lab through the cloud, which allows you to test your app against different browsers and devices. You can also use Digital Test Analytics from Digital.ai, which consolidates your test results for mobile and web and provides valuable insights.

STEP 9. FIND A SUITABLE PM TOOL

To manage your Agile project using the Scrum framework, we recommend using Jira, a robust PM tool. Its features include customizable workflows, agile boards, and extensive reporting capabilities, which can help ensure that app development is completed on time and within budget.

STEP 10. UI DESIGN

Ensure that your web and mobile apps have user-friendly UIs by consulting appropriate guidelines. 

There are plenty of free UI/UX tools out in the market. Choose according to the scope and budget of your project.

STEP 11. CODING, TESTING, AND DEPLOYING THE WEB APP

Develop the web app by coding the front end using JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, or by using front-end web frameworks like Angular or React.js. 

Code the back end using Node.js and add databases to your app by following the relevant AWS Elastic Beanstalk instructions. Integrate APIs/SDKs for your selective Influencer platform API, Twilio, and Stripe. 

Test and deploy the web app using the AWS Elastic Beanstalk Node.js deployment instructions.

STEP 12. DEVELOPING THE ANDROID APP

Use Android Studio to code the Android app using Java, the established language for Android development. 

Integrate the 3rd party APIs and SDKs with your code and use Espresso and the Digital.ai mobile device lab to test the Android app. Publish your app on Google Play.

STEP 13. CODING, TESTING, AND PUBLISHING THE IOS APP

Develop the iOS app using Xcode and Swift, the modern language preferred by Apple. Integrate the SDKs/APIs for Upfluence, Stripe, and Twilio, and use XCTest and the Digital.ai mobile testing lab to test the app. Publish your app on the App Store.

That’s it!! Your Influencer platform/app is ready for business!

Wrapping Up

Technology is evolving at a breakneck pace. This the probably the best time to leverage it and generate profits. Influencer marketing is a highly lucrative business and with more and more digital proliferation, such is going to expand exponentially.

At Idea Usher, we have the right team and technology to assist with your influencer marketplace development. Be it a website platform or an app; we can help you create a robust and comprehensive marketplace.

Get in touch with us now!

Contact Idea Usher at [email protected]

Or reach out at: (+1)732 962 4560, (+91)859 140 7140

FAQs 

Q: What is Collabstr?

A: Collabstr is an influencer marketing platform that helps brands connect with influencers for their marketing campaigns. 

Q: What are the top influencer marketing platforms?

A: The top influencer marketing platforms include 

1. GRIN
2. Upfluence
3. Creator.co
4. LTK Connect
5. Tribe Dynamics

Q: How do you create an influencer marketing platform?

A: To create an influencer marketing platform, you need to:

• Identify your target audience, 
• Create a value proposition, 
• Define the features, 
• Design a user-friendly interface, 
• Integrate APIs/SDKs for payment and messaging, 
• Develop and launch the platform, and 
• Effectively market your services.

Q: Is influencer marketing profitable?

A: Yes, Influencer marketing can be profitable if done correctly, with the right influencer selection, campaign strategy, and ROI measurement.

Q: Can Idea Usher build me an influencer marketplace?

A: Yes, Idea Usher can help build you an influencer marketplace by providing end-to-end services, including platform design, development, testing, deployment, and maintenance, using modern technologies and project management methodologies.