HalaHi, the region’s first platform that allows people to get shout outs from their favorite celebrities has announced a new addition to their services – HalaHi for Brands. The new vertical aims to cut out the middlemen and provide an avenue for brands and influencers to communicate and partner directly. American based video-sharing website, Cameo operates along the same lines.
Communicate spoke with H.E. Sara Al Madani, CEO of HalaHi to learn how this new vertical will impact the influencer marketing landscape in the region.
What were the reasons for creating this new vertical in your service?
Social media collaborations have grown to become an essential part of various businesses’ marketing and PR strategies. Furthermore, it has become a fundamental revenue stream for celebrities and influencers who are now becoming brand advocates. As the industry has grown, so have the barriers between brand advocates and the actual brand. Barriers [come] in the form of middle-men, endless email threads, and phone-calls to close [even] a single social media collaboration between two stakeholders.
With HalaHi for Brands, companies are now able to choose their brand advocate, receive transparent analytical insights about the advocate’s social accounts, and send the brief directly to them via the app. Brand advocates (AKA celebrities/influencers) set their own fixed rates for their various promotional options for brands to choose from.
Why the need to cut the middlemen out of the equation?
Though middle-men serve often serve as an important role in any business collaboration or transaction, the social media landscape in specific has become oversaturated with them. [We’ve] often seen numerous individuals involved in a [single] transaction/collaboration, only to increase prices and take a [big] cut [for themselves.]
How will this impact the influencer marketing industry as a whole?
HalaHi for Brands provides a more equitable and transparent relationship between brands and brand advocates, while also delivering a higher ROI for both businesses and celebrities/influencers.
How has the business of influencer marketing been impacted during the recent pandemic? Could you shed some light on this?
It’s no secret that the influencer marketing industry has been negatively impacted by Covid-19. Celebrities and influencers who previously made their money through social media collaborations, concerts and other forms of partnerships are no longer receiving offers due to businesses’ fragile financial status. And thus, influencers are forced to innovate and find new ways of generating revenue and connecting with essential stakeholders.
