5 Influencer Marketing Platforms to Jumpstart Your Social Media Career

Influencer marketing has become an integral part of many marketing strategies—and for good reason. As more people like you join social media networks and grow your channels, you become an invaluable part of a larger machine designed to help brands connect with consumers in much more authentic ways. The fact is, the average person is bombarded with ads on a daily basis; they see ads on television, on websites they visit, and on every major social media network. To cut through the clutter, brands are paying social media users with strong influence to help them spread the word about their offerings. That’s where you come in. 

Influencer marketing platforms help bridge the gap between brands and social media users. When social media users join an influencer marketing program, they’ll appear in search results when brands and agencies are looking to partner with influencers that align with their vision and brand goals. But with so many influencer marketing platforms to choose from, it can be difficult to know what to commit to. With that in mind, here’s a roundup of the top five influencer marketing programs right now: 

Scalefluence

Scalefluence is designed with a user-friendly interface. It caters to both influencers and brands equally, compared to other platforms whose features are more brand-focused. Once you sign up with Scalefluence, you’ll create a detailed profile that includes a summary of you and your page, the industry and niches you specialize in, and the custom price you set for your work. 

Setting the price upfront eliminates the negotiation phase of influencer marketing agreements; when a client reaches out to you with a proposal, it’s because they already agree with the price. Instead of “bidding” on the price of your content, your charges are clear for all potential brands. Once you accept a client proposal, the brand pays upfront and payment is held in escrow until the work is completed. This way, you don’t have to deal with invoices and hunt anyone down for timely payment. 

Grin

Grin is one of the most popular influencer marketing platforms on the market. Like some of the other big names on this list, while it offers powerful tools for companies—such as outreach, product fulfillment, and analytics—there aren’t very many influencer-focused features. However, as a leader in the industry, using the platform is extremely easy and managing relationships with brands is simple and user-friendly. 

Tapinfluence

Tapfluence is heavily content-focused and operates under the concept that all content should be a dynamic and appreciating asset. The platform caters to food, fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands specifically. Once you create a free profile, you’ll be able to see your estimated monthly earning potential and mark-up rates. After you feel comfortable with a strong profile, brands and agents will reach out to you with opportunities to bid on. The bidding strategy can be a double-edged sword. If you have a strong following, you can bid higher and earn more money, but bludgeoning influencers may feel pressured to undercut their value to score opportunities. 

Upfluencer

Upfluencer is a self-serve platform that works for brands of all sizes, from small businesses to larger clients like Paypal and Microsoft. With such a versatile selection of clients, this is a good option for micro and macro influencers, though competition may be strong. The company has two premier products; Facade and Publishr. Facade is a brand-focused search engine that helps companies find influencers like you based on various data points and filters. Publishr is its core influencer management system that doubles as a content marketplace. 

While the entire platform is robust, it is mostly geared towards businesses, as evidenced by its homepage, where it was difficult to find any resources dedicated to the benefits for content creators. However, if you care less about features designed for you and simply want to boost discoverability, it’s worth a try. 

Post for Rent

Post for Rent is an influencer platform that caters to businesses of all sizes, so it might be a good choice for influencers just starting out who want to connect with smaller and medium-sized brands. The brand’s Influencer app allows you to connect with other influencers on the platform and find brands whose products resonate with your channel. Post for Rent is also a YouTube Certified Partner that helps enable creators to maximize their YouTube capabilities through monetization support, brand deals, and technical support. Email the Post for Rent team for any of your YouTube needs and they’ll help you plan and implement a YouTube strategy that works for you.