GRIN

Kommentare: When it comes to influencer marketing...the team over at Grin just gets it. The fundamental workflow of the platform was thoughtfully designed and built from both the brand and influencer side. They have been extremely attentive to our program's needs and requests, but all in all, they're just all-around good people.

Vorteile: I'm often asked by fellow marketers at DTC ecomm brands "what features or capabilities I like 'most' about Grin." The short answer: there is no "one" thing. I give the same answer every time. Influencer marketing (as a whole) demands the successful balance and execution of a wide set of responsibilities - more so than any other marketing channel I've managed. You're dealing with real people. Actual human-to-human relationships and conversations that a computer can not do. You're fulfilling a considerable amount orders to individuals PRIOR to any promotion taking place. You're campaign and influencer deliverables can vary significantly so exceptional attention to detail and process implementation is a necessity. You're working in an ecosystem with multiple environments (Instagram, YouTube, Twitch, etc.) - all of which have their own respective nuances that dictate how you manage influencers, structure campaigns, ensure media compliance and ultimately drive conversions. Not to mention, all of those sparkly engagement KPIs every one desires, well those are guarded behind the very core of what influencer marketing is built on: social media networks. Getting access to these metrics can be a hassle if you're not equipped with the proper tool set or knowledge of what to look for. So, my favorite part about Grin? The other short answer: It takes everything above and packages it into one refreshingly comprehensive toolset that streamlines influencer marketing.

Nachteile: Of course, nothing is ever perfect, and neither is Grin. There have been minor usability issues I have run into throughout my time using the platform - none of which have been anywhere close to 'mission critical.' The only aspect that could use an update is the reporting visualization component. All of your high-level data is there to see, but it could use a little bit more freedom with manipulation. However, a simple 'Export' of the raw data from Grin gives you everything you'd need to see - just fire up Excel and whip up some pivot tables and graphs.

Kommentare: Automating the creation of discount codes, affiliate links, shipping product, tracking posts and tracking sales is what makes Grin such a dream to work with. And, as I mentioned previously, the Grin Chrome extension was a total game changer -- it increased the speed at which our team could find, evaluate and add influencers into the database. The platform makes is really easy to manage and track thousands of prospective and active influencers, track email communication, and track all aspects by each in-house person that manages influencers (we have several people using the system). I am not a technical, database-savvy person, and I find Grin really easy to use. Very easy for any non-technical person to use.

Vorteile: Since Grin integrates so well with Shopify, Grin makes it exceptionally easy to create discount codes and affiliate links for influencers as well as shipping free product. Each of these is done with a simple click of a button and can be done en masse for multiple influencers. Grin is super intuitive and such an easy to use CRM platform. Also, the team at Grin is fantastic! They are really knowledgeable and helpful, and if there are features or tweaks that would make your life easier, they have been willing to put it on the product roadmap and deliver it in a fairly timely manner. And then there's the Grin Chrome extension! Makes it so easy to import potential influencers from Instagram directly into the platform. This extension provides stats (like engagement rate, avg likes and comments per post) so that you don't have to eyeball it or calculate.

Nachteile: The only area that could use a bit of improvement is in the reporting and report exports. The dashboards in the platform itself are good, but could be more flexible/robust. The exports contain a fair amount of information but still not flexible/robust enough to be able to slice and dice the data as much as we would like. However, they are really receptive to feedback and making improvements. They have already made a few tweaks that we requested.

Kommentare: Pleasure to work with and ask questions. Super transparent, which is great as we look forward to a long-term relationship with GRIN.

Vorteile: The customer support is amazing. They make an effort to accommodate feature requests and they give as much visibility into their roadmap as they can. Ask GRIN for a demo and see if it works for your company/program. They are constantly trying to improve the platform and it's made to fit program needs- whether that's for micro or for macro influencers.

Nachteile: Not entirely a con- but they do have a little bit of work to do when it comes to some of the things that streamline data exports as we have a number of team members that access GRIN daily.

Kommentare: Overall, my team and I love using Grin. We plan to use Grin into 2020 and hopefully, beyond!

Vorteile: I love the ease of use--we are able to set up campaigns easily with Grin and pay them easily. This software makes working with micro-influencers easy and efficient. I also love the search feature. I have found some great influencer partners by utilizing Grin's lookalike function and use this feature daily when sourcing new influencers.

Nachteile: I wish the application was a bit more intuitive for influencers--many have questions on how to link their PayPal as it is not very clear.

Kommentare: The people at GRIN are super helpful, and have been great to work with. The platform has changed the way I manage ambassadors for the best.

Vorteile: This platform is super great to use for my personal KPI's, and the impact that my ambassador team has on revenue for our business

Nachteile: The only thing that I don't like is at this time (although I think they are working on it) I would like to be able to organize my ambassador campaigns, hide old ones, and have them in an order that I choose