Calgary-based Ad tech company Embold has launched the latest version of its platform, an influencer marketing platform that connects brands with Canadian influencers. It focuses on connecting small businesses with micro influencers in the country.
The new version now provides advertisers with free access to a basic plan (which lets brands invite and view 50 influencers on the platform), allowing companies to quickly start a campaign.
“Our focus is really on micro and local influencers. So all of these influencers are typically between 5000 followers on the lower end and then almost 100,000 followers on the very high end,” said Nihad Kaddoura, chief of staff at Embold.
It can be very difficult for small businesses to break into the marketing space. According to the company, many marketing solutions, such as agencies, are too expensive and not reasonable options for smaller businesses with minimal marketing budgets. However, through Embold’s platform, brands will have access to influencer audience data, a suite of campaign management tools, campaign analytics, and simplified payouts. Currently, Embold only posts through Instagram, but the company has plans to launch on TikTok and YouTube soon.
Kaddoura added that Embold has a total of 7,000 influencers on its platform for brands to connect with.
Here’s how it works:
Once the brand has a set idea for its campaign, it is able to invite influencers to be a part of it. It can then communicate with the influencers directly from the platform. They submit their content onto the platform, and the brand then reviews it. Finally, once the content has been approved, it can be posted to Instagram.
Embold also offers advertisers audience data.
“If you want to run a really targeted campaign, because you only sell your product in Toronto, you can definitely do that using the platform, by just finding influencers who have an audience in Toronto. You get the gender split, the languages that their audience speaks, and also the interests of the audience,” Kaddoura said.
The platform is currently only based in Canada, focusing on highlighting Canadian businesses and influencers, however it is planning on a funding round in the next three to six months to allow it to further expand in the Canadian market, as well into as the United States.
Kaddoura added that Embold’s goal is to make marketing and access to influencers accessible for as many brands as possible.
“We’re trying to really help small businesses break into the market. If you look at other platforms, typically their pricing is a lot more enterprise focused, so there’s a very high barrier of entry. It’s very hard for a small 20 person company to break in and start implementing an influencer marketing strategy.”
