WHO WE ARE

Softway Solutions is an interactive marketing and technology company based out of Houston, Texas.

WHO WE ARE

Frank Danna – Co-Founder of Parabox Creative and Senior Director of Brand Strategy at Softway Solutions

Mike Metzler - Business Development Director at Softway Solutions

INFLUENCER MARKET ING

WHO WE ARE

We define influencer marketing as leveraging specific platform users that have broad reach over defined demographics. Social influencers are considered experts in their field, and know their audience intuitively.

I T ’S NOT ABOUT HAVING A LOT OF FOLLOWERS

WHO WE ARE

Influence is driven by expertise and credibility on subject matter and the relationship between the influencer and his or her followers.

WHO WE ARE

Influencer marketing experience

PARTNER WITH SOC IAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS

WHO WE ARE

Benefits• Helps you build your network quickly• Amplifies your reach, instant engagement• Solidifies your authenticity with your targeted

demographic. Millennials’ B.S. meters go off very quickly.

• Measure reach and sentiment (loops, likes, views, etc.)

• Cost effective

PARTNER WITH SOC IAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS

WHO WE ARE

Risks• Hard to identify concrete ROI• Unknowledgeable about subject matter you

are trying to promote• Unpredictable• Can be unprofessional, causing delays• Personal opinion/bias risk

F INDING THE R IGHT INFLUENCERS

WHO WE ARE

• Partner or seek advice from someone you trust who knows the platform

• Finding the right influencer is less about doing research and more about being in tune with the platform

• It’s easy to find people with lots of followers, it is much tougher to know if those are the type of people you want promoting your cause or brand

MIT IGAT ING R ISKS

WHO WE ARE

• Ask for a proposal, and create a contract. You can tell a lot about how professional someone is going to be by going through this process.

• Give yourself EXTRA time. • Partner with someone who is intimately involved

with the networks you are trying to leverage. They will know who to trust, who has a history, and who works with which brands.

Managing InfluencersHow to achieve a successful influencer relationship

GIVE CREAT IVE FREEDOM

WHO WE ARE

• The influencer knows their audience best• Let them interpret the brief in their own way• “Influence” is their business, if it seems “phony” and

inauthentic, it could hurt them and you• If you are worried that their style will clash with your

messaging, don’t use them. If their style doesn’t work, their audience probably won’t either.

TREAT INFLUENCERS AS PARTNERS

WHO WE ARE

• Treating your social media influencers as partners means giving them proper attention.

• Partnership yields a deeper commitment to the brand and overall message.

• Make sure you have the resources dedicated to answering influencer questions before and during your campaign, and following up with them after the program has finished.

KNOW WHAT YOU ARE ASKING

WHO WE ARE

Lay out all terms in the agreement clearly so it’s not misinterpreted: • Should they re-Vine the content? For how long? • Should they post the content from their account?

Will they keep it up forever?• Should they tell people to follow your account? How

will they do this? (Twitter, Snapchat, etc.) • How will the shout out be structured?

Case Studies

TARGET – ALL NATURAL TAG

WHO WE ARE• Objective: Increase Vine following and increase Brand

Awareness• Concept: Using the Red Target ball, tag and send the ball to

other Viners to create one long, interconnected story. • 1.8 Million loops across 25 Vine influencers

SAMSUNG – 12 DAYS OF V INEMAS

• Objective: Increase awareness for the Samsung Galaxy going into Christmas

• Concept: Have 12 stop motion Vine influencers recreate the 12 Days of Christmas using stop motion