“Your network is your net worth.†It’s probably one of the most popular phrases of the social media era. The concept, which spread like wildfire, and is even the title of a book by marketing expert Porter Gale, has over the years manifested into a number of Internet platforms like TweetReach, Klout, and other analytic tools that measure the potency of social media activity.
But not one of those tools has the potential to help everyday people monetize their social influence, like Fluencr, a user-facing, discovery-based platform that uses a point solution model to track, measure and reward action-based, brand-specific social influence across multiple social platforms.
“We created a unique marketplace that gives individuals the same access to their favorite brands and initiatives that athletes and celebrities have,†says Gerome Sapp, 32, founder and CEO of Fluencr. “We give individuals the ability to now connect with their favorite brands as social ambassadors, prove how socially influential they are to that brand, then get real recognition and rewards from that brand for their brand specific social influence.â€
As a former NFL athlete that played three years for the Baltimore Ravens, and two years for the Indianapolis Colts, Sapp was always inundated with endorsement deals from various brands.
“Brands…knew that the NFL gave me a platform that allowed me to amplify my influence,†says Sapp, who graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in finance, and also completed an executive education program at Harvard Business School while playing in the NFL. “I knew that the ‘average person’ who isn’t known to the world but often has influence within their social circles could prove to be influential to a brand or initiative if given the opportunity.â€
So, when Sapp launched the company with cofounders Benjamin Floyd, Benjamin Falk and Brad Potterbaum in March 2013 at SXSW, he first targeted a wide array of non-celebrities who had a niche following such as fashionistas, crossfit enthusiasts and sneaker heads (those who collect, trades or admires sneakers as a form of hobby).
In addition to the average person, brands, leagues, charities and political campaigns can now also invite existing ambassadors (i.e. professional athletes, celebrities, brand employees, etc.) into their campaign to be the voice and face of their campaign initiatives.
As such, this metrics-based tool provides brands, such as Fluencr’s newest client Under Armour, the ability to verify and validate the social return on investment (ROI) their existing compensated ambassadors generate for their social media marketing initiatives.
It also gives those same compensated ambassadors the ability to leverage their metrics-based influence score when negotiating their present and future value, says Sapp, who saved money from his NFL days to start Fluencr.com.
Fluencr is nationwide, but is currently in a private/invite-only stage right now, which means that brands have to invite individuals into a campaign. Fluencr will open the platform up for users to see and join their favorite brands campaign in about a month and a half.
Black Enterprise salutes Fluencr as Tech Startup of the Week for finding a tech-driven way to democratize the role of brand ambassador.
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Marcia Wade Talbert
Marcia is a multimedia content producer focusing on technology at Black Enterprise Magazine. In this capacity she writes and assigns stories to educate readers about social media; digital integration; gadgets, apps, and software for business and professional development; minority tech startups; and careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). In 2012, she received two Salute to Excellence Awards from the National Association of Black Journalists and was recognized by Blacks in Technology (BiT) as one of the Top 10 Black achievers in the tech arena for 2011 at SXSW in Austin, Texas. She has spoken about technology on panels for New York Social Media Week, at The 2012 Rainbow/PUSH Wall Street Summit, as well as at Black Enterprise’s Entrepreneurs Conference and Women of Power Summit. In 2011, SocialWayne.com chose her as one of 28 People of Color Impacting the Social Web, and through crowdsourcing she was listed as one of BlackWeb2.0's/HP's 50 Most Notable African American Tastemakers in Social Media and Technology for 2010. Since taking on the role of Tech editor in September 2010, she has conceived and produced five cover stories on Technology and/or STEM and countless articles, videos, and slideshows online. Before joining BlackEnterprise.com as an interactive general assignment reporter in 2008, she freelanced with Black Enterprise beginning in 2003 while working as the technical editor at Prepared Foods magazine. There she further honed her writing skills and became an authority on food ingredients, including ingredients used in food fortification and enrichment. Meanwhile, her freelancing with Black Enterprise and BlackEnterprise.com helped her stay current on issues pertaining to the financial and business welfare of African Americans. As a general reporter for Black Enterprise she attended and reported on the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, where she interviewed Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor and assistant to President Barack Obama and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Marcia has a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture with an emphasis in food science from the University of Minnesota, and a Master of Science degree in journalism from Roosevelt University in Chicago. En route to her secondary degree, she served as the editor-in-chief of the Roosevelt University Torch, a weekly, student-run newspaper. An avid photographer and videographer, Marcia is one of several employees at BLACK ENTERPRISE who interned for the publishing company as a college student. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, a food scientist; her seventeen-month-old daughter; and “The Catâ€, but still considers Chicago home.
