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PANDEMIC AND THE RISE OF E-BUSINESS

PANDEMIC AND THE RISE OF E-BUSINESS 1280 720 Midhat hamid

It is not a surprise anymore that the current pandemic has changed our lives drastically. From hygiene to lifestyle, it has altered everything. And when the lifestyle of even a definite community changes, it leaves an impression on commerce

Pandemic

Source: me.me

According to  R Cancello, “More than a third of people were able to positively reorganize their lives during the forced home confinement. It is worth disseminating information to preserve a healthy lifestyle even when confined at home.” 

Source: PubMed.gov

But here, we are not talking about a group of people, but the whole globe. Since now, we have turned into a global village because the best and safest way to connect with everyone is online

Work from home

Source: Bu.edu

According to the International Labour Organization, “Organizations that were previously familiar with teleworking, as well as organizations that have not experimented with teleworking before, were sending their employees home, creating the conditions for the most extensive mass teleworking experiment in history.”

Source: International Labour Organization’s Practical Guide

There was an impact on the business industry. After consideration in a matter of weeks only, the traffic from brick and mortar shops has shifted to e-shops. Today, we will discover the influence of lockdown on the world of e-commerce.

THE TOILET ROLL DEFICIT 

As stated by Science Daily, “In economics, hoarding is often explored in the context of savings. When consumer confidence is down, spending drops, and households increase their savings if they can, because they expect bad times ahead,” explains Professor Baddeley.

Remember how people were so clueless about how they will be able to buy their necessities and started hoarding? Most people had to search besides their local stores. And this brought them to search for all of it online. They searched at different platforms, all of the ways they had avoided earlier in fear of fraud.

THE TOILET ROLL DEFICIT

Source: bintime.com

The complication is of the exhortations or regulations to work, one needs to have faith within our fellow citizens and in the government authorities that are equipping them. If people do not trust that the majority of others are going to play by these unorthodox and limited rules, they are unlikely to stick to them themselves.

A well-known example is the “tragedy of the commons,” firstly determined by shepherded animals overgrazing the lands. In certain conditions, those who run after their rational self-interest develop worse consequences for themselves than if they reacted on a basis of reciprocity, expecting the rest of the public to do the same.

Stonks

Source: me.me

RISE OF ENTREPRENEURS

In a pandemic, everything was closing without prior warning. Hence,  various industries got hit. Thus, it ended in a loss when the companies could no longer manage the equation; downsizing began. 

Pandemic made companies allow many potential and well-deserving employees to resign. And then, one person was presumed to cover for three. They covered for three as were blessed to be at least employed. 

Entrepreneur Pandemic

Source: memes.com

Laying off employees is difficult in normal times; but amidst the Covid-19 global health crisis, the task is “emotionally and cognitively overwhelming,” according to Joshua Margolis, a professor at Harvard Business School.

Source: hbr.org 

All this made most of us realize how temporary our jobs are and how unstable only one line of income can be. No job was secure until and unless you are taking up more than your assigned responsibilities, Most of the employees have to work for extended hours and had no margin for breaks. And due to the pandemic, Some had to give up their jobs as they had no such facility at home to work for their employers. For small chunks of money with more targets, Some were demoted and some had to work. 

Pandemic Jobless

Source: memes.com

Such uncertainties and job insecurities lend some people towards entrepreneurship. A good number of entrepreneurs emerged during the lockdown. Most of them as expected were employees that were let go by their organization. They looked for the potential market. And worked on their social circle to spread the word and help them to survive the pandemic. 

“Among everyone who is becoming entrepreneurs, most of them are ex-employees, thinking that most of them had learned so much from their ex-companies — taking knowledge and any useful pieces of information for their next business. These ex-employees adored entrepreneurs very much. After becoming slaves for some corporations, getting rid of your bosses and becoming a boss in your own company is like a golden ticket to heaven,” according to Kenny Rivaldi.

Source: medium.com

Walee Pandemic

WALEE

With free time, principal savings, and the help of a platform like Walee, a range of prospective entrepreneurs emerged. Walee plays an active role and supports entrepreneurs. It has introduced numerous and diverse marketing campaigns related to all kinds of enterprises. Walee has made entrepreneurs improve themselves and their living standards. An affiliate program was introduced which made all this was made possible.

ALI GUL PIR – AUGUST’S FEATURED INFLUENCER

ALI GUL PIR – AUGUST’S FEATURED INFLUENCER 1080 1080 Midhat hamid

From the fame of “Waderay ka beta” to “Karlay jo karna hai” Ali Gul Pir has become one of the most influential entertainers in Pakistan. Pir is an actor, comedian, content creator, influencer, rapper, and writer, or one can say a multi-talented personality who expresses society with creative content.

Ali Gul Pir portrays socially highlighted issues by his style of content creation and entertainment. The influencer has prosperously established himself from “Waderay Ka Beta” to “Ghareeban Ja Khwab” as one of the top recognized rappers of Pakistan. He endeavored into many fields correlated with the social media world.

Ali Gul Pir - Influencer

In 2012, Ali Gul Pir earned the “Innovation Hero” award from Google for his exceptional content and influencing skills. The international presses like Al Jazeera, BBC, Dawn, Masala, and Tribune have published articles about Pir’s work.  

Walee had an exciting interaction with Ali Gul Pir during Walee’s Influencer Training Program. We are honored to work with such an artistic personality. We talked to Pir about his influencer journey and experience with Walee. 

Let’s see how our conversation went.

How did your influencer journey start?

It was decided after A levels, I will not pursue a degree in maths because I was not good at it. My elder brother suggested that I should go to a film degree program. I went to university and registered for the degree and then four years went by. Then, I did theatre for a couple of years, and it felt like an actor emerged in me. I did improv theatre, an assistant job in a production house for a year, and many other gigs. After struggling for one year, came “Waderay ka beta.” And this was my solo first attempt at doing something of my own. 

Influencer - Ali Gul Pir

How do you plan and create your content?  

I don’t plan anything. I make videos based on how funny I find them. To make video content, I need to find it funny, and eventually, ideas strike for creativity. Wherever I travel, I carry my laptop, lights, and speakers to make my videos anywhere. 

Pir further added, There are still two to three videos in my vault that I found funny and want to create content later. I have saved them for the dry days like no viral videos, etc.” 

Do you get negative feedback or sentiments on your content?

Speaking of it, when I make political content, for instance, a parody of a political figure, the supporters get furious and dare me to make the content on the opposition leader. So when I do so, his supporters get upset. 

I did this song, “Tera Jism Meri Marzi” 90% of the men who followed my work hated it. And I got a lot of negative feedback from men who thought I was destroying family values. I just simply portrayed that it is her choice as it is her body. But I guess this is triggering for a lot of men. 

After “Waderay Ka Beta,” I would get emails and calls from the Sindh nationalist parties. That was the first time I experienced such calls and death threats. I thought acting will have no such cons.

Furthermore, for me, the key is not to care about what people think and do what makes you happy. If something is affecting you and you have to talk about it or make a song, do it. If it is coming from the heart, the feedback with, good or bad, does not matter.

How was your overall experience with Walee?

My experience was great. First of all, the platform, the setup was very high-tech. The website and the app were outstanding. The whole team was professional. For a content creator, the main thing is getting paid on time and, I did not have to call you for the payment as it was on time. 

While praising Walee, he added, “Around eight years back, after a couple of years in this industry, I hoped that one day, a platform would come up which would represent the digital influencers. When I started in 2012, and at that time being viral and getting a hundred thousand views on Youtube, that was the most viral one could get back then.”

Ali Gul Pir is an Influencer

He also added, “I remembered we worked with a brand, Unilever, for my song Taroo Maroo. We wanted integration and we argued for more than one month and convinced them for five hundred thousand for the video. It was a big deal then as people did not spend much on digital marketing. There are a lot of influencers now and they all do not know how to market themselves though they might know how to make content. In Pakistan, you have to do most of the work. But Walee is doing most of the job by signing people and taking care of the rest while the influencer stays focused on the content without worry.”

As content creators continue to evolve with more engaging content, we continue to provide them a platform where they can be noticed by brands and valued for their content.

Sign up on Walee today to connect your brand or business with the right influencers and make your brand reach the true audience.

Importance Of Entrepreneurship

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Look forward to establishing a business? Are you influenced to start a business? Or are you an entrepreneur? What is entrepreneurship? An influencer? Can you market brands? Could you run business ventures?

All this falls under the label of entrepreneurship. Difficult to understand as it is to pronounce? Entrepreneurship itself is a society. It is full of importance and opportunities in business and e-commerce.

Entrepreneurship?

Entrepreneurship is eagerness. It is the capability of an individual to run a new business. Entrepreneurship includes the design, plan, campaign, and execution of the business plan. Openness to risks and challenges for new business ventures is a vital quality.

Now, what does entrepreneurship do to the business? Well, entrepreneurship is about innovation. It is about productivity, taking over old inventions, new businesses, and new marketing campaigns.  It  brings the country economic benefit. Its startup can vary from small businesses to multinational companies.

Entrepreneur cum influencer

Rumsha Saad is based in Islamabad and is an influencer cum entrepreneur. She has fully utilized the advantages and concepts of entrepreneurship. Rumsha has gradually launched her business of pret attire and high heels. Her business is on e-commerce. She worked with Walee, the digital marketing platform in Pakistan.

Walee and Businesses

Walee is Pakistan’s first, largest, and fastest-growing marketing platform. It enables businesses to find, collaborate and pay influencers. The influencers market the brands and sell products, at scale. It has given a boost to new business and promoted numerous brands. Walee has made the phase of entrepreneurship easy by emerging various opportunities.

IMPORTANCE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

It is impossible to elaborate on all the features of entrepreneurship in a short blog. Anyhow, some of the significance of entrepreneurship are shared.

1. ENTREPRENEUR AND JOB OPPORTUNITES

Entrepreneurship generates job opportunities for unskilled individuals. A good number of hiring is done at the entry-level. The new business gives a platform to freshers to develop their skills and gain experience.

Opportunities are given to unskilled employees. It helps them, groom. And, after some experience, can get the opportunity from higher industries.

However, at Walee, new businesses get registered. Affiliates market the products and services. The more services and products sell, the more hiring opportunities will emerge.

2. STARTUP AND INNOVATION

Entrepreneurship possesses the potential to grow productivity and innovate. Entrepreneurs put pressure on current businesses, resulting in more productivity and efficiency. They can launch new market trends and knowledge. They will prevail in more and different platforms.

Entrepreneurship creates completely new industries by creating job opportunities, growth, and new customer options. And Walee is playing an active role. Walee supports entrepreneurship. It has introduced various and innovative marketing campaigns for all kinds of enterprises.

Multiracial contemporary business people working connected with technological devices like tablet and laptop

3. SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

When the employment base is broad and diversified, society will grow. It will bring social changes. And promote opportunities such as higher education costs, improved sanitation conditions, and higher employment rates.

For instance, we can look for small companies that have begun to change society. There are many online learning platforms, such as Digiskills. They have designed applications to help individuals attain skills at home. Such companies have begun to change their learning methods and the learning environment.

Walee is essentially among pioneers in adopting new technologies that will eventually change society. These changes are related to improvements in lifestyle. It is about advanced thinking, better ethics, and bigger financial opportunities.

4. INDUSTRIALISM AND QUALITY OF LIFE

Entrepreneurship supports the improvement of a person’s standard of living. The improved standard of living means more utilization of goods and services by a family. The living standard is a concept. It’s based on the increase in household consumption of goods and services.

Therefore, it depends on the availability of diverse products on the market. Due to its innovation, the company offers a wide range of products. It also increases the income of people who work in startups.

Walee has enabled people to improve themselves and their living standards. Walee made all this possible by introducing an affiliate program. And also the market campaign for products/businesses for the quality of results and sales.

5. CAPITALISM

Entrepreneurs influence the market economies. They play a principal role in the country’s economic growth. When an entrepreneur ventures the business, they take the loan for business infrastructure and setup.

By creating new products and services, they stimulate new jobs. It ultimately leads to an acceleration of economic development. They bring innovations to all areas of the company. It improves their production by using existing resources efficiently.

This allows the government to bring additional national welfare to citizens. Entrepreneurship helps generate wealth and national income. Walee has a positive impact on the country’s economy by supporting and promoting entrepreneurship.

Walee even supports existing businesses and social entrepreneurship. It increases the finding of innovative solutions to social challenges communities facing around the world.

6. BUSINESS SUPPORT AND R&D DEPARTMENT 

Before launching new products and services, they are researched and checked. An entrepreneur also funds research institutions and universities. It promotes research, the general structure, and economic growth.

Entrepreneurship cultivates ideas, brings them into a new form. It transforms them into a successful company. Entrepreneurs are persistently working to uncover new ideas and upgrade existing ones. They exchange ideas and inspiration, and exchange plans to start new industries.

Walee works on innovation. Therefore, innovative ideas are generated for goods and services for SMEs.

The above discussion lists the enormous contributions of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is the pioneering zeal that creates events in our civilization. And with Walee, entrepreneurs and influencers boost their businesses and contribute to the national economy.

Business and Walee

Walee has made it easy for new digital and business ventures. It helps them to reach their target audience for a good result. Walee provides the medium to influencers, entrepreneurs, and brands to connect.

If you are new to the world of entrepreneurship and have the best of the products? Join Walee to let the world know about your services.

And after all this read, you either want to be the affiliate or the influencer. At Walee, you can be both. Walee yet doesn’t limit one’s talent.

From a TikToker to a Transformation King of TikTok: Hassan Abid

From a TikToker to a Transformation King of TikTok: Hassan Abid 1080 1080 faizan

If you aspire to become a successful influencer on Instagram/TikTok or are already on the path of creating content but struggling, then this post is surely for you which will motivate you to keep going on.

Since we all know that influencer marketing is growing at an exponential rate, thanks to the influencers. Today, many people who want to become an influencer enter this field to collaborate with brands. But, collaboration with brands should not be the primary purpose of becoming an influencer.

 Many influencers you see with millions of followers today started with the purpose of sharing. Be it entertainment, expertise or any talent, they started with sharing that asset with people to relate with them and build trust. Brand collaborations come later.

Hassan Abid, Transformation king of TikTok

Walee brings you an inspiring story of the Transformation King of TikTok, Hassan Abid. Hassan is one of the most promising young influencers with a lot of fan pages. Initially, he started with TikTok and then moved towards other social media platforms like Instagram and Snack Video. Walee is proud to provide the first-ever paid campaign opportunity to Hassan. With his remarkable efforts, he recently hit the mark of 200k on Instagram. He believes in making decent yet fun content for his die-hard followers.

 Let’s find out how did he took off his journey:

Q: How did you discover TikTok?

I made some transition videos at the start to post on TikTok and got good feedback. My family was not that supportive at that time. However, I wanted to make positive and decent content that one can see while sitting with family. So, I kept doing it and now Alhumdulilah my family also supports me.

Q: When did you start your TikTok journey?

I started making basic-level videos back in March 2019. At that time I didn’t even have a phone for myself, I used to make these videos on my brother’s phone. Later on, I bought a phone for myself and made so many videos and received a lot of love from my followers. 

Q: Is your family happy with your work now?

Yes, Alhumdulilah. At first, they were a bit hesitant and concerned about it but now they are happy and support me because I made such content that would not bring any shame to my family. Whenever I make a new video I show it to my mother first and ask her for approval if the video is okay before uploading it. 

Q: What would you advise the young influencers/users? How should they make content for social media without compromising on their studies?

I would advise them to strike a good balance between the two because in the end, every parent wants their child to be good at the academic side and studies rather than the social media. No parent would want their child to be a model or an influencer, everyone wants to have a doctor or an engineer child, it’s how our culture is. 

So, I would suggest the young influencers prioritize their studies of course. And then in their free time, as a side hobby, they should make content for social media. I am a student of Computer Science, currently in my sophomore year in university. I take both things side by side, as both are very important to me.

Q: How much time does it take to make these transition videos that we all love?

Well, it’s not easy because whenever anyone does something for the first time, it takes him a lot of time to understand the whole process. Once we keep on doing it with consistency, we keep getting better at it, we find the easy way out for it. So at the start, it took me a lot of time and effort to make these videos. Now, it takes less time but the effort is the same or even more than it used to be at the start.

Q: How can one be approached by different brands for their campaigns?

One should have a good understanding of what the brand wants. Usually, the brands look for good dressing sense, good video quality and aesthetic sense, decent content and a good voice (so it could be used in voiceovers if needed). And the market is quite saturated as there are already a lot of people in the industry, and now the influx of influencers is quite high. So, one should always bring in new ideas and new unique trends that can attract the brands. 

Q: If you had to choose between Instagram and TikTok, which one would you choose?

I would pick Instagram because I think the audience and users of Instagram are more educated and decent. They know what’s appropriate and what’s not, TikTok is accessible by everyone and has all sorts of audiences. Other than that, Instagram is the most used social media platform and almost all of the brands approach influencers for marketing campaigns on Instagram rather than Tiktok. 

Q: Tell us about your first-ever marketing campaign?

So, my first ever marketing campaign was in fact with Walee. I was very excited and I didn’t even have a bank account at that time. So, I gave my father’s bank account instead. I took my family and friends out for a treat. My parents were very happy that I am earning and making an income of my own, so they started supporting me even more after my first paid campaign.

Final Word

Lastly, if you want to become an influencer and are looking for ways to start from, we suggest trusting your gut and be authentic. Identify a niche you think you’re best at and start creating valuable content.

You can also join Walee as an influencer to attend our Influencer Training Sessions so that you can receive learning and insights from the senior influencers of different niches.  

8 THINGS YOU MUST DO TO BECOME A LINKEDIN INFLUENCER

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LinkedIn – as we all know, is a platform for professional activities. Whether you connect or follow a LinkedIn influencer, like, share or discuss anything, they all are backed by a professional purpose.

With the recent updates and features, the platform has been able to bring engagement and more users to interact. According to LinkedIn, the number of globally registered users has now reached 756M+ (and still growing)

As more professionals become available on the platform, LinkedIn Influencers (also known as the opinion leaders) arise from the community. But, what does it take to be an influencer on a professionally populated platform? 

This is what this blog will answer. If you are thinking that only a good number of connections will do the job, check out our blog: Followers VS Engagement, which one you should be concerned about.

Let’s uncover the tips for becoming a LinkedIn influencer.

01. Engaging Content

Regardless of the platform, content is the single most vital thing for anyone becoming an influencer. However, the content can be categorized and created as per the platform’s protocols. For example, Facebook and Instagram can be used to share casual content whereas, on LinkedIn, you will find content related to the professional life of people, career growth, management of work, etc.

Instagram Content
LinkedIn Content

02. Incorporate Video to Present Your Ideas

Talking of content delivery, video is the number one choice of audience. It is the best way to share long-form content, stories, How To’s, and discussions. (Source: Animoto

LinkedIn’s algorithms also regard the video format. The platform has made some upgrades for video format such as it plays automatically while you scroll with it. Another innovation is the introduction of LinkedIn stories which helps people share instant news, countdowns, raw or behind the scenes moments of their efforts. 

So how can this format help you being a LinkedIn influencer?

LinkedIn Ad Sample
LinkedIn Ad Sample

Like mentioned earlier, people engage more with videos featuring a human element. You may share an interesting story or start a discussion or podcast with your peers or other industry experts. 

As you take leverage of video, don’t miss out on the ‘value’ part of your content strategy. Your content (either static, video, or any other format) must provide value to your followers.

You may come up with a professional series of videos discussing how manageable business can be while working from home? In which you share online meetings/interviews with other industry peers.

Breaking-the-ice question: Is it only us or have you seen that most of the LinkedIn ads you see in your feed are in video format?

03. Tell and Relate with a Story

You might have passed through many situations in your career from which you learned something. Whether it is rejection or promotion, or how you helped out someone in the workplace, leadership or people-handling skills of yours, such experiences help others relate and connect with you.

So try to share the stories through your LinkedIn profile and people who have or haven’t passed through such experiences, people who may or may not know you will notice you. Some of them will relate, some will discuss or ask, and some will share their guidance with you.

Nevertheless, all of this will be happening around your story. That’s what an influencer does, right? Share, engage, inspire, influence.

04. Accept Rejections

A number of people possess the desire to be an influencer, however, they don’t get on the ground with their own content. They stay quiet and keep checking (and interacting with) their feed. Remember, if you want to be an influencer, showing up with your own made content is important. 

Yes, it is possible that people on LinkedIn might disagree with your opinions, but that will end up as a healthy discussion. However, if you keep producing honest and authentic content, you will periodically grow as an opinion leader on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn influencer

05. Give what people want i.e. Value

Any content is worthy enough if it is valuable for its readers. Posting randomly will fill your profile with haphazard content. Plan out your content and the purpose it should serve. A well directional content strategy is vital especially if you are becoming an influencer.

Create and post what you think will bring value to your audience. Whether it is a poll, a factoid, info-graphic, statistics, or even a simple status update, it has to be valuable enough for your followers.

Video consumption on LinkedIn (Image source: MWP Digital Media)

Video consumption on LinkedIn

06. Bring people together

A good LinkedIn influencer profile is one that invites its followers to participate and share what they feel. This has become easier with the introduction of LinkedIn polls. But other than this feature, how can you bring people to participate in your content?

There are different ways through which you can produce such content. See the examples below:

LinkedIn Profile Post
LinkedIn Profile Post

07. Offer and ask for help

Offering help is good and common too, however, asking for help as an influencer might sound odd but it is actually not. Rather, it is a great way to increase engagement. For example, you might ask your audience to join you at a specific place to help you with shooting your next vlog or interview. 

That way, you will not only help your audience by sharing valuable content, tips, and consultation but also making them feel helpful by including them in your social media activities too.

08. Create challenges and giveaways

Challenges and giveaways are great ways to get people to land on your posts and even bring others. One might think that giveaways are part and parcel of Instagram or Facebook, but that’s not true. 

There are challenges and similar activities people do on LinkedIn while maintaining the platform protocols. 

Example of giveaway on LinkedIn
Example of giveaway on LinkedIn

So as long as you can keep it relevant and interesting, people will take part in those giveaways.

Let’s Rewind

Now you know what it takes to be a LinkedIn influencer, the stage is set! Move on and start creating content you are best at. Use these tips and learn more along the way.

If you are already on the way to becoming an influencer, how about signing up on Walee today and start collaborating with brands. 

Are you a business looking to push your brand through influencer marketing? Contact us now!

INSTAGRAM ENGAGEMENT RATE VS. FOLLOWER COUNT – WHAT MATTERS MORE?

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Have you come across Instagram accounts where the follower number is in the many thousands, but then posts have a relatively low number of engagements – likes, comments, saves, shares – on most posts, that number less than ten? Doesn’t the account’s follower count seem questionable?

As an influencer, do you have a follower trap?

Avoid the Follower Trap

Follower Trap” refers to social media accounts where a mismatch of high follower numbers with low engagement rates exists. This situation happens for many reasons, ranging from non-active followers to  “questionable” activities such as accounts buying fake followers in the thousands. 

Many believe the follower count metric makes an Instagram account look successful, but not so.  To understand its value, the follower count should be compared with an important sister metric that heavily takes into account Instagram’s algorithm –  the engagement rate, or ER.

But first, let’s get back to basics…

What’s an influencer’s main purpose?

Essentially, influencers build quality followers who can be “monetized.”  That means brands will hire influencers to promote and sell their products, services and image to their followers as they are potential customers.

Many industry studies say the best way to create a strong, loyal following is for influencers to create and curate content relatable to their unique fans and followers, even if it is paid, as long as it’s presented in a way they expect, enjoy and relate — such as live product reviews or sharing ideas on how the influencer would use the product.

If this content is likable, the post is likely to have a reasonable engagement amount and followers would likely amplify the content further, by reposting, sharing, or even inviting their friends and family to follow the influencer’s account, thereby increasing the fan base. These newbie followers are likely to interact with the content positively and also refer on… and the cycle continues – success!

Welcome to Instagram engagement metrics where the right numbers can determine the true value of influencers and their audiences.

Why should we keep talking about engagement rates?

Influencers are a bridge between brands and their target audiences, so an influencer’s brand relevance is important. Instagram’s ER measures how well content is performing and generates an indication of positive or negative perceptions by followers, say by the comments left or the emojis used.  ERs ultimately help price an influencer’s worth to the brand and their followers’ value uses engagement rates versus the number of follower accounts as an indication.

How do you measure Engagement Rates?

ERs can be calculated in two common ways, depending on who is measuring:

  • Brands’ Engagement rate by reach = (Likes + Comments)/Reach x 100
  • Influencers’ Engagement rate by audience = (Likes + Comments) / Followers x 100

Plenty of paid platforms that do the math for you quickly and accurately such as IQ Hashtags. 

An influencer’s engagement rate should be continuously improved. It might sound unfair, but for a brand, it may be far better to have a small engaged audience size versus a huge number of followers who will not view, or interact, thereby driving down ER, lower influencer’s value to brands and negatively impact future collaborations. Success benchmarks are also different for each platform –  Instagram is 23% more popular and engaging than Facebook – so different strategies should be tested and the better ones continue to be improved.

What is the average engagement rate?

  • Instagram’s average engagement rate is ~1.22%, (source: Dailypurpose.com) but varies by different factors like industry, product, brand popularity
  • A good engagement rate on Instagram ranges from 3% to 5% 
  • Referencing the graph, there is an inverse relationship between the number of followers and the engagement rate which means nano- and micro-influencers tend to be more effective than macro-influencers and celebrities

Why are accounts unfollowed?

Did you know that Instagram notifies accounts of new followers, but not for unfollows?  So, influencers have to carefully and frequently track changes to have a good understanding of how many followers they are losing daily, ideally the net of new and leaving should always be positive.

Often, unfollows are directly the result of poor quality followers. For example, many profiles who follow a new account in the hope that they will be followed back, and so if this does not happen, then they will eventually unfollow.  

Also, if influencers purchase followers, then these fake profiles and bots, eventually may get closed.  Instagram regularly reviews profiles to ensure they are valid and being used or will be closed – it’s not unheard of for thousands of followers to disappear overnight!

How to get followers hooked to your profile?

Two words –  AWESOME CONTENT.

We’ve concluded that a sizable follower base does not mean all new posts will automatically generate good engagement – this is simply not true! The key is to align content to audiences’ interests and avoid situations that result in low engagement. Below are the reasons which may be the root cause of unfollowing:

  • Followers are not interested or even ignoring the account due to poor and non-relevant content
  • Content is infrequently posted so followers lose interest
  • Audiences are not connecting with the visuals.

Influencers have many challenges – time, skills, creativity – to create great content and also maintain a quality follower base.  If done well, Instagram can also boost organic follower numbers by using its algorithms – referencing high engagement content, Instagram recommends the account to new audiences with similar profiles to their existing followers. Therefore, it is important to ensure the right type of audience and content is on your profile to stay relevant and meaningful.

You can search and read thousands of articles on how to create the right content on Instagram, focused on your niche.  So if you’re a travel blogger, content your audiences may like are the places visited and cover the entire journey, from planning to execution.  Here are the top five ways we feel you should master the art of creating engaging content, with added examples for a travel blogger.

  1. TEACH SKILLS – share topics about your niche, like how-tos, tutorials, tips and tricks. Examples: how to plan a trip to Peru, tricks to finding the best flight discounts, how to find hotel sponsors, etc.
  2. INTERACT FREQUENTLY – respond to as many followers as possible, including comments on posts, or even host live sessions, a popular trend. Examples: Answer questions on any videos posted, or places recently traveled or answer questions on recent trips.
  3. SHARE BTS – create frequent behind-the-scenes stories, which can be unedited and in a raw version, as no one will mind being on-the-go! Example: experience parts of the trip like viewing scenery while on a bus to another city
  4. GET FEEDBACK – run fun polls and questions to know about your audience. Example: where should they next travel, their preferred content type to their favorite country
  5. INCENTIVIZE ACTION – offer giveaways and lucky draws. Example: tag and then invite three friends to follow their page for a chance to win a giveaway, which could include food coupons, or a sponsored gift like a passport cover set by a leather company.

Engage with Walee!

High engagement rates will help influencers get selected by brands as social advocates for their niches. If you’re an influencer, or a business looking for influencers for your next marketing campaign, you’re in the right place. 

Download and sign up to Walee now and become a part of Pakistan’s fastest-growing influencer marketing ecosystem!

Download the app now: Google Playstore | Appstore

WHICH SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM IS RIGHT FOR INFLUENCER MARKETING?

WHICH SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM IS RIGHT FOR INFLUENCER MARKETING? 1200 675 faizan

With the ever-changing world of digital, social media platforms are becoming more powerful each day, thus opening new doors for influencer marketing.

We say this as we see an increase in the number of social media users worldwide. Last year, new users with an average of 1.3 million joined social media, bringing the global user count to nearly 4.2 billion by the beginning of 2021.

Deciding which social media platform can be fruitful for your business or influencer marketing program can be a choosy task.

Mostly, two social media platforms are known best for influencer marketing. One is Instagram and the other one is TikTok. So let’s dig into the details of both platforms to find out which one is best for you.

Instagram

Launched in 2010, the platform offers a mobile-focused environment to interact with. Broadly, Instagram has been seen as the best platform for influencer marketing. The platform has an audience base of Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen X.

Features

Instagram offers a variety of features for an influencer to create content either in terms of a static or a video. These options are available for content shareable on the feed. Social media content creators share professionally shot images and videos on the feed and maintain their grid as per their niche.

Moreover, Instagram has a ‘story’ feature which makes the content available for 24 hours. There, you have multiple options to interact with the audience including polls, open questions, and quizzes. Instagram stories are used to share instant and raw content as the audiences like to see the behind-the-curtain version of yours.

The interactive nature of Instagram stories has increased the time spent on the app to more than 28 minutes.

Instagram has also launched ‘Reels’ on stories which allow users to create 15 seconds multi-clip videos with audiovisual effects, and other creative tools. However, this feature is unavailable in certain geographic locations.

Audience

If your target audience lies from an age group of 25 to 34 years, your influencer marketing program should definitely include Instagram as this age group is the most abundant one on Instagram.

They follow celebrities or social media influencers/content creators. Not only that, people on Instagram love to share user-generated content which includes their own images, and stories of their creations as well.

Not to forget the mentioning part of Instagram where people mention each other in different content.

Instagram is a place where you can find a healthy and impactful community. Influencers and content creators interact with their audience, discuss, guide, and recommend.

Tracking and measurement

Instagram offers analytical tools to track and measure the performance of individual posts. This helps in understanding how the content of an influencer is performing, what the audiences like and interact with.

When is the best time to interact with the audience and to what extent the influencer’s content reached and brought new followers?

TikTok

The application is known for shooting and sharing short, musical, and hilarious videos. The app which began as a platform to make lip syncs and participate in dance trends has now become a full-time career of many social media content creators.

Features

TikTok has provided a great avenue for users to share user-generated content which includes everyday vibes, as well as tips and tricks, entertainment, and challenges.

In parallel, we have seen many influencers who became famous from the same platform for creatively converting the daily routine moments.

As the platform is video-based, it offers more features to shoot videos creatively thus enabling its users to make the most of their mobile phones.

TikTok favors original content and by following different best practices, your video can get a chance to appear on the ‘for you’ page of the app.

Audience

About 33 million users access the app to interact with the content. With the great potential the platform offers, many brands have accessed TikTok with influencers and have found great results. 

Regardless of the fact that TikTok is comparatively new in Pakistan, brands like Cadbury, Samsung, and Huawei have run their influencer marketing campaigns on TikTok.

Around 60% of TikTok users lie between the ages of 16 to 24, making it a primarily Gen Z platform. This gives the brands an opportunity to target their audience group which is kids or Gen Z. 

The platform is interactive in nature and requires its users to perform on camera while shooting a video. So if you are thinking to appear on TikTok, plan out some activity that entices the audience to participate.

Tracking and measurement

Like Instagram, TikTok also offers certain features to track and measure the performance of your content. The analytics are more or less similar to Instagram where one can find followers’ information as well as profile visits and video views.

TikTok or Instagram?

So having adequate knowledge of both the platforms, their audiences, and how they work, how should one decide which platform is best for their influencer marketing program?

The answer lies in the audience. Wherever your audience is active should be the targeted platform for influencer marketing campaigns.

Both platforms have their distinct genres. So the next big thing is which platform is aligned with your brand’s communication.

Sometimes, you may find that both platforms can work best for you as your target audience is available and active on both platforms.

On the contrary, there may occur some cases where both platforms might not work best for your business.

To find the best platform for your business and the top-performing influencers on those platforms, sign up on Walee and kick start your influencer marketing campaign. Moreover, you can create your online presence by creating your Walee shop.

To see how your campaigns and influencers are performing, Walee provides you a real-time dashboard that makes it easy for you to track, measure, and control your campaign along the way.

Interested in starting your first Influencer Marketing campaign? Contact us now!

Influencer Marketing for Small Businesses

Influencer Marketing for Small Businesses 2560 1707 Rija Shakeel

An influencer is basically someone who has an influence on other people’s buying habits and their lifestyle. Influencers are usually bloggers, vloggers or people with large followings on their social media channels. When they post about any product, their fans and followers are often interested in their recommendation that they may go on to buy the product for themselves. Many companies, including small businesses, have realized the power of influencers. People trust their recommendations, so influencers are a great way to market your products in a genuine, non-commercial way. Influencer marketing is mainly the interaction/collaboration between business and the influencer, and there are benefits for both. The influencer will receive free products or payment for creating content. And that specific product started advertising that will make more sales or awareness of that product. The organic following of that influencer may have similar interests. So any recommendations they make are likely to be very relevant to their followers.

The benefits of influencer marketing for small businesses

Just like any type of marketing activity, there are benefits and drawbacks to using influencer marketing for small businesses. Here is an overview of some benefits:

  • Original content – influencers will make genuine and original content that fascinates their audience. They probably know what their followers like, and can make creative content that fits their style, increasing the chances of sales conversions and awareness of the brand.
  • Non-commercial promotion – Influencers have more organic reach than a traditional media platforms because people look up to them and can relate to them on the same level. So instead of creating content that has a very commercial look and feel, or maybe a very forced product placement, Influencers will create a very simple yet powerful content for your brand that will engage your potential targeted audience organically and on a very personal level. And this is exactly what helps the brand in getting conversions that they need.
  • Trusted sources – as the majority of influencers are real people making real recommendations, and sharing experiences of their real life, their followers feel like they can trust them. Honest influencers will only recommend products and brands they truly like and have used the product themselves.
  • Cost-effective – influencer marketing can be a great way of promoting your small business in an effective budget.
  • High reach – just by working with one influencer, you’ll get access to thousands of relevant potential customers. Rather than having to do the hard work yourself and target these people individually, the influencer can instantly put you in front of the right people. Also, thousands of people will get to know about your product by just one influencer. Influencer can also make great awareness about your product among their audience.

The drawbacks of influencer marketing for small businesses

And here are the few drawbacks:

  • No guarantees – an influencer posts about your product, doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get lots of sales. Sometimes posts doesn’t get good response, or conversions. Also, sometimes influencer don’t commit any conversions.
  • Complete honesty – some influencers are known for being honest, which is a great thing most of the time. But if an influencer didn’t like your product and posts about the reasons why they would never recommend it, this can do a huge amount of damage. Brands have limited control over what influencer post.
  • Hard to track – influencer marketing for small businesses can be really hard to track. You don’t have access to the influencer’s stats in real time, so you can’t make decisions about how to change the strategy if something isn’t working.

How to make full use of influencer marketing for small businesses

There are a few checks to get started with Influencer Marketing and make full use of it.

  • Goals – What results do you expect, before you contact any influencers, have a think about why you want to use influencer marketing for your small business and how it could help. What will be the expected outcome an influencer can give you? What would be the main aim/goal you can achieve by using Influencer Marketing?
  • Research Potential Influencers – There’s no way of working with someone who has millions and thousands of followers if they’re not relevant to your small business. Research lots of different influencers who might suit your small business.
  • Design the Campaign – Come up with a powerful strategy to design your campaign considering the projected outcomes that your brand require. Plan the social media platforms where you have your targeted audience. Plan the tone, look and feel of content according to the platform it will be posted on.
  • Reach out to Influencers – Ask the influencer about the budget, let them know what you can offer and what you’d like them to do. Show some interest in the influencer’s work. Convince them that they are a great fit for your business.
  • Set Terms – set KPIs for the influencer in which you can make full use of influencer marketing within the decided budget. Discuss all payment details including when to pay, what will be the payment mode etc.
  • Track Results – Multiple tools can be used to track results automatically, you can also track manually by asking insights from the influencers.

Small Businesses of Pakistan that trusted Influencer Marketing

As businesses are following the current trends of Influencer Marketing in Pakistan, the small businesses are also giving it a shot. Here are some examples

 

 

Influencer Marketing: How to build your strategy

Influencer Marketing: How to build your strategy 1024 682 faizan

There was a time when Influencer Marketing was limited to celebrities and dedicated bloggers only. But now, since the rise of influencer marketing, it has opened new doors for businesses and brands to connect with their potential consumers and audiences.

A decade ago, direct selling and testimonials used to be seen as the only way of influencer marketing, with known and famous faces. Thus, making it an expensive mode of promoting a business.

 

influencer-marketing

However, in today’s millennial era, there’s been seen a shift in perception of people from those celebrities with the massive following to bloggers and micro-bloggers producing unique, genuine, user-generated content.

Today, we can see different people in different categories creating good content and maintaining a healthy community. So if you want to know whether influencer marketing can help your business in exploring new possibilities, keep reading on.

 


What is Influencer Marketing?

For a basic understanding, Influencer Marketing is a part of social media marketing in which influencers promote products/brands in their content through social media.

The main driver of influencer marketing is the trust these influencers have developed with their audience and their recommendations for something serve as social proof of their following power.

 

Influencer Marketing then vs. now!

Back in 2014, getting featured on Instagram was easier. If you were able to reach Instagram’s explore page or if your posts were so differentiating in terms of aesthetics, the chances of being an influencer were high. Many influencers have chosen this as their full-time career while working with different brands.

But like other areas of marketing, influencer marketing has also been changed. How?

We get influenced by what we are exposed to. Bright and properly cropped aesthetics are more common and typical now. So what’s the next unique thing when the unique becomes typical?

Authenticity is the next big thing in influencer marketing. Driven by the millennial, the younger generation has mastered photo capturing through their phone.

 

Is Influencer Marketing worth being invested for?

Many people think that influencer marketing is all about promoting through people on Instagram. However, there are influencers on different platforms like Snapchat, YouTube, and TikTok as well, having an ample amount of following. According to Website Builder, influencer marketing is going to reach $13.8 Bn worth in 2021.

A survey of marketers at the end of 2018 revealed insights that 89% of marketers say ROI from influencer marketing is enough to be compared with or better than other marketing channels. (Source: MediaKix)

So after knowing the value of this industry, let us guide you about how can you create an influencer marketing strategy.

 

Influencer Marketing Strategy

Like other marketing strategies and tactics, developing an influencer marketing strategy requires dedicated time and planning. From objective to execution and tracking, everything needs to be planned first.

 

1. Make your objectives clear

Before jumping into the horizon of influencer marketing, take out some time beforehand and make things clear regarding what actually are you trying to get out of influencer marketing. Does your brand really need an influencer marketing program? If so, how you can capitalize from this corner of marketing?

Having clear objectives will provide you with a concrete ground to build your influencer marketing strategy on.

Most businesses prefer influencer marketing either to create awareness about their business or generate sales. Having these broad objectives, it is important to further refine the objectives which align with your brand needs. Maybe you want to expand your customer base in a different demographic. Or you may want to introduce a new product to your existing customer base. Or you might want to increase social mentioning of your brand by igniting word-of-mouth activities.

Most influencers have a specific following and they can make your message reach a specific audience group. So with your broader goals, keep a note about how you will be converting your broader goals into small, specific, and effective actions.

 

2. Finding influencers

Once you have a clear understanding of what you want to take out from influencer marketing in terms of your objectives, it is time to look for those which can convey your message in the most relevant manner.

Just like other strategies, research is the first step. Start with one platform first then expand to other ones. Your brand should also have a presence on that platform.

If you are not sure which platform is best for you, use different social listening tools which can help you identify your potential platforms and the influential voices. Also, check out our detailed guide on How to Find the Right Influencers for Your Business.

While you research, keep the below things in mind:

 

  • The influencer should be relevant to your business or creating content that is relevant to your audience
  • The social media content creator has a good engagement rate with a significant number of followers
  • Some influencers are in the growing phases of their social career but have a good engagement rate. So, if you can compromise on the follower count, you can get an effective engagement rate with a very specific audience
  • The person should be authentic as well as their followers. Beware of fraudulent activities. Do check the comments and whether are they maintaining conversations with their followers.
  • Look for branded content they have shared. You will get an idea of what they are capable of and how you want them to work with you

To help you avoid all this hassle, you can simply register on Walee and connect with a community of influencers.

 

3. Budgeting and management of the campaign

While you search for the platforms and influencers, choose the type of influencers with which are you interested to work? Would you like social media celebrities with huge follower numbers? Or are you comfortable with micro-influencers having less than 2000 followers? You might like to work with someone having between 5K to 10K followers. Your selection of social media content creators will directly affect your budgets.

Once you lock the type of influencers you will be working with, start creating your budget. Also include the time for planning, developing, executing, and reviewing the entire plan.

Unlike an automated campaign, influencers are human and most of them don’t like to be controlled. They are creative people and constantly managing multiple partnerships too.

Some of them might miss your deadline to post at a specific time or alter the requested call to action in their communication. For that, you will need to invest your time in maintaining a fruitful relationship with them. Then you will be able to bring out their natural talent in the best interest of your brand.

 

4. Track and control your campaign

As you launch your influencer marketing campaign, keep it on track and making necessary changes is equally important. There are different ways to track your campaign such as speaking with influencers regularly or checking their profiles where they have posted about your business.

If you have run a sale-focused campaign, then you can track and monitor in real-time through Walee dashboard. It makes it easy for you to track every influencer working for you and how they are performing in terms of bringing sales for your business.

 

Final Word

An influencer can stay but the industry of influencer marketing and its operating procedures have changed completely in a short period, and this same industry may become entirely different from today. However, this article will help you to start drawing your campaigns on the canvas of influencer marketing. But like other marketing areas, influencer marketing is constantly evolving so be ready for change.

 

 

 

From Convincing To Converting: Measuring What Matters

From Convincing To Converting: Measuring What Matters 1280 720 Yusra Kaiser

I just made a new purchase – a wooden table. After setting it up, out of habit, I took a picture and posted on my Instagram with the caption, ‘unboxed and assembled’. Not so surprisingly, quite a few people ended up asking me where I purchased it from. Am I an ‘influencer’? Nah. Did I have the power to influence the people around me? Oh yeah!

Influencer marketing isn’t new

Word of mouth, has now become e-WOM (electronic word of mouth), but has been around for a long time. People have always influenced each other when it comes to buying decisions.

The underlying concept of influencer marketing, depending on someone’s credibility, remains the same. What actually changed is the medium, or channel.

What gets measured gets managed

A study from Mediakix shows that nearly 90% of all marketers find ROI from influencer marketing comparable to or better than other marketing channels!

Measuring the Return on Investment for Influencer Marketing is a challenge, but it is not impossible. Unlike other types of marketing efforts, this is not just money in, money out.

A few important things to remember before diving into influencer marketing’s ROI:

The results don’t end, even when the campaign has

Organic SEO and sites like Pinterest get businesses additional impressions, even after their influencer marketing efforts have ended.

The content can be reused

The content created by the influencers can be used and reused by the businesses, on their own social media channels.

Lower costs compared to traditional marketing

Generally, the cost associated with traditional marketing techniques are much higher than the cost associated with influencer marketing. The influencers take the responsibility of any creative costs, leading to lower overall cost, and a greater return.

A closer look at the Return on Influencer Marketing (ROI)

Simply put, return on investment, ROI, is the amount of the income that has been generated from the spending that has been done. It helps you determine whether the effort you’re putting in, the investment you’re making, is actually worth it or not.

This sounds easy to calculate but unfortunately gets a little more complicated when it comes to influencer marketing efforts. There’s no outright fixed cost, and neither is there an absolute value of benefit (like sales made) that you have, on top of it, the customer journey visibility is hard to track. However, once you’re clear about your campaign goal, you can track specific KPIs that help in calculating the ROI.

1. For Audience Building, track the subscriber or follower count

Every brand wants their presence to be seen by the maximum audience possible. It is recommended to track your subscriber count by covering how many email subscribers you have or even through simpler means like tracking your Instagram followers.

2. For Brand Awareness, track page views, impressions and mentions

A little similar to audience building, to make people more aware of your business, you need to have a greater presence around. Track page views, impressions and mentions. Using Google Analytics, you can see from where the traffic has been directed, and whether is it from your specific influencer or not. A very simple way to track your mentions, and the engagement that your brand is getting is through social listening tools. 

3. For Lead Generation, track the sign ups or email subscriptions

Of course all businesses are looking for leads, to eventually be converted to sales. This can simply be done either through utilizing CRM systems for tracking which lead landed on your website from where or making use of email marketing software.

4. For Engagement, track the engagement rate

Another great yet super simple metric to track is the engagement rate. All you need to do is keep a check on the likes, comments and shares you’re getting on your marketing efforts.  This is easy to track because of the built in analytics dashboard provided by all social media channels. When an influencer is posting about you though, the stats won’t be directly visible to you. Make sure that every time you have an agreement with them, they’re clear about sharing a detailed performance report with you.

5. For Sales, track the conversion rate, or the sales made

Ultimately, all businesses wants their leads to be converted to sales. All our marketing efforts should directly or indirectly contribute to greater sales. Sales can be tracked in Google Analytics if you’ve set up ecommerce tracking.

In short, if you’re looking for a good return on your influencer marketing efforts, you need to Track things that actually contribute to the sale, not only the final sales figures.

How can Walee help your brand

Now we’ve established that influencer marketing is a great marketing strategy, and measuring its return is actually possible, how can you gain access to all these influencers?

Walee has done all the heavy lifting for you, and has over 80,000 influencers on boarded! To help businesses track their efforts, Walee generates a unique custom tracking link for each influencer when they work on a campaign. This makes tracking influencer marketing efforts super easy, giving businesses the exact number of sales they’ve generated. In fact, the payments made to the influencers are through the same platform, making it easy to do a cost benefit analysis, using cost per click (CPC) and eventually calculate the ROI.

Pretty simple right? Send us a message on our social media channels or email us at support@walee.pk  to see how we can help you get the maximum benefit out of your influencer marketing efforts.

Share your thoughts in the comments below!







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