How Social Media Influencers Are Changing the Way Startups Do Business

Ryan Stern is the co-founder and CEO of Collectively, a startup that counts over 50 brand clients, and connects them to a network of more than 5,000 social media influencers (sometimes referred to as 'web celebrities') across such platforms as Instagram, Vine, Pinterest, Snapchat and YouTube. 

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Of course, by working with Collectively, a company is forced to hand over more creative control than it might be used to. "It scares some brands," Stern admits.

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Influencers can generally decide how they want to incorporate a product in a post, though they are required to include a tracking link, so Collectively can gauge how much traffic (thus, potential business) is coming through the platform. 

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Experticity umbrella  has a combined client list of more than 750 consumer brands, compared to Collectively's more than 50. Experticity, which is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, has raised $18.7 million in venture capital funding. InstaBrand, another influencer marketing startup based in Los Angeles, Calif., has raised $2.5 million in venture capital funding, and claims to have served more than 600 brands, including Unilever, Disney, and Amazon, since launching in 2011. 

http://www.inc.com/zoe-henry/rise-of-influencer-marketing-collectively-inc.html 

http://collectivelyinc.com/