INTRODUCTION
With the growth of social media channels around the world, it has birthed a whole new market, and opportunities for individuals and organisations alike.
One thing that is now becoming a fixture in our everyday lives is the rise of influencers.
As its name implies, an influencer is one that is able to influence the decision making process of others, and by their actions, ensure that their users take actions that are favourable to the brand being advertised. Such influencers can be seen on Social Networking Sites (SNS), such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.
)Billions of users around the world make use of one or more social media platform everyday, and this power can be harnessed to create more awareness for brands, which is much more cheaper in the long-term, and could also be more effective, than endorsing regular celebrities.
WHAT IS PATRON?
PATRON is a service that hopes to harness the power of influencers, by having them in one central location, and businesses interested in making use of their services can easily identify influencers that suit their campaigns. It uses the sharing economy model that has been made popular by Uber an AirBnB.
It is also able to achieve this by tokenising actions on the platform, by making use of blockchain technology.
CORE FUNCTIONS OF PATRON
- Making use of an influencers delivery frame on the spot (Pay per use)
- Making use of an influencer for some months (Monthly plan)
- Long-term use of influencers to control the market and gain an advantage (Annual plan)
A sharing economy requires some level of trust between users, and PATRON ensures that this is implemented, by making use of Blockchain Technology/the use of Smart Contracts, seeing it does not require third parties to function effectively.
UNIQUENESS OF PATRON
- PATRON ranks every influencer by the value they have and also bring.
- Influencers are ranked according to their industries for every SNS, and search parameters can also be applied.
- PATRON offers more benefits asides PR and Marketing endeavours.
- PATRON ensures that millions of influencers around the world are coordinated and effectively managed via its platform.
PATRON hopes to solve the problem of ensuring users and companies get the best returns, by making use of influencers. How do they hope to achieve this?
DETERMINING AN INFLUENCERS WORTH
PATRON makes use of three metrics to achieve this.
- Number of followers an influencer has; how far does their influence go?
- Level of engagement between the influencer and his/her followers.
- Reputation score, related to the reviews of the influencers followers. Do their followers believe and trust them?
In this model, Influencers/micro influencers are the “Hosts”.
BENEFITS TO INFLUENCERS
Influencers are able to get into long or short-term contracts with Sponsors (refers to companies, needing to get their products or services across to those that follow influencers). Depending on the agreement, it could be a one off thing, a monthly or yearly tenure. Influencers are also able to put themselves out there, to ensure that they are more visible to Sponsors.
Influencers are also expected to promote only the client’s product/services during the contract period.
This model ensures that there is no longer a need to pay for referrer fees, which can be as high as 40% in some cases. This is important, because Sponsors and Guests can relate directly, and they can generate more revenue/value for themselve. Also, they have a much effective relationship and communication process.
When the communication chain is shorter, it reduces the margin for error, and also facilitates the speed at which communication occurs.
Asides from the financial benefit it brings, the audience will also benefit, because, they will get better services, and the message will be much clearer, which they can connect to much more easily.
Influencers are also afforded a means of a steady income, and they can also sign long-term contracts, which guarantees them income over a longer period of time. Also, they can put themselves out there, and get in touch with prospective clients.
PATRON also ensures that those interested in becoming Influencers also have a chance to become one, and bring in the revenue.
By making use of the messaging function, PATRON users can get in touch with Influencers to make enquiries about their services.
Information such as income rankings of influencers, sponsor information, and buyer information can be made known, in order for guests to make better informed decisions.
PATRON also ensures that collaboration is possible, and appearances can be made on live programs of influencers.
As an Influencer, I can also search for Buyers that best fit what I am looking for, considering factors such as demographics and spending power, and also gain Buyers anonymously.
Candidates can be recruited for buyers anonymously. However, to be able to benefit from this, such individuals or companies will need to pass PATRON’s screening.
PATRON makes it possible to deliver videos to more than 10 SNS at once, among which are popular websites, such as Facebook Live, Youtube Live and Periscope Live.
HOW BUSINESSES WILL BENEFIT FROM USING PATRON
Businesses benefit from using PATRON, because they can use demographics provided to hire influencers that will enable them hit their targets much more efficiently. Seeing PATRON has a number of search criteria according to industry and SNS, businesses will be getting much more benefit, at a fraction of the cost.
For instance, if a business decides to hire the services of an influencer having just a 100,000 followers that blogs or vlogs on a specific niche, it will turn out to be more profitable than getting a mainstream celebrity or influencer that has millions of followers, but have interests in a number of niches, and the businesses can’t be sure of the results they will get, while spending more in most cases.
PATRON ensures that money invested is well spent, by equipping businesses with tools that they can make use of, to ensure that the Influencer to be hired is the right fit for their business. For instance, they could check their history, value in financial terms, or see how highly they come rated by their fans.
PATRON enables demographic targeting via its search parameters built into its platform, and also via information it provides with regards to the profile of influencers, as mentioned earlier. Combining these factors ensures that businesses will get better returns, and good value for their money.
PATRON TOKEN (PAT)
As with all blockchain based businesses, a token is required to effect the exchange of value, which is known as PAT. PAT is an open source ERC20 token based on the Ethereum network.
- It will be used by influencers to reward their fans at the conclusion of promotional events and contests.
- Sponsors will also make use of PAT to pay for the services rendered by Influencers.
- This will be a means via which fans can show their satisfaction with Influencers, which will have a direct effect on their ratings and marketability.
- It can be used for co-starring events between hosts and guests.
- Used for Ambassador agreements.
240 million tokens out of a total of 400 million will be distributed during its ICO. The remainder will be reserved for development purposes on a long term basis.
PAT can be purchased via credit card and other cryptos.
USE CASES
Shanel is a cosmetic company that is looking to gain more customers in their teenage age to late twenties. They have been spending hundreds of thounsands of dollars and have been getting mixed results, from so called professsional advertising companies.
On the other hand, Miguel is an influencer that focuses solely on lipsticks, lip gloss, and makeup kits. He grew his followership organically and his engagement level on his YouTube channel is through the roof. However, unlike some other big names, he has just 200,000 followers on YouTube, and 65, 000 on Instagram, but his fans love him, and they idolise him and his work.
Shanel has come across a number of choices, but can see that Miguel focuses solely on all the products they manufacture, and his followership are in the age range they are looking to target. There are some other influencers that have much more followers, but Miguel’s rating by his followers, income ranking and followership is the perfect match for Shanel.
Thanks to PATRON, Shanel was able to get this sorted out easily, and they have signed a three months contract with Miguel to see how it goes. So far, the results have been outstanding, and they are extremely pleased they discovered Miguel via Shanel.
SUMMARY
PATRON is exploring uncharted waters, which is a very important segment of hitting sales targets, and acquiring new customers.
By making use of PATRON’s platform and the Influencers that abound within the ecosystem, businesses will be able to grow more rapidly and attract more revenue-which is one of the primary reasons of their existence.
I think that PATRON will catch on, because it solves a real problem for businesses, and also ensures that the influence of influencers grow, and they become a real fixture in our business dealings and everyday life.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
PATRON WEBSITE
PATRON WHITEPAPER
PATRON TELEGRAM
PATRON FACEBOOK
Patron LINKEDIN
PATRON BITCOINTALK
PATRON DEMO
Entry to orignalworks Patron contest here
Twitter link
patron2018
This post has been submitted for the @OriginalWorks Sponsored Writing Contest!
You can also follow @contestbot to be notified of future contests!