Nano-influencer platform to use $5 mln funding to strengthen operations in SEA, including PHL
Partipost, a nano-influencer marketing and commerce platform, received extended funding on their series A round, with investments totaling $5 million. The funds will be used to accelerate product and market expansion in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, where its app launched this month.
The Singapore-based startup’s oversubscribed round was led by venture capital firm Quest Ventures, with participation from existing investor SPH Ventures, and new investors iGlobe Partners and XA Network.
Jeffrey Seah, a partner from Quest Ventures, will join Partipost’s board as director. He was previously a board observer from Quest Ventures’ earlier investment in the platform.
“They [Partipost’s founders] have balanced the need to recruit brand-safe nano influencers that resonate with commercial partners, and simultaneously pitch to and onboard business partners looking for authentic direct-to-customer relationships… increasing contribution to sales,” Mr. Seah said in a press statement.
WORD-OF-MOUTH
Partipost matches brands to influencers with the highest brand affinity to drive word-of-mouth advertising. Data insights are collected through its in-app polls and user behavior.
Partiposters, as the platform’s users are called, view and participate in campaigns via the platform’s mobile app. Influencers are rewarded for both their media reach and message impact in their curated social media content, as determined by their followers’ responses.
According to Hillary Tam, Partipost’s head of marketing, the platform’s main difference is that it believes everyone can be an influencer.
“Even if you have 200 followers, you can be one,” she told BusinessWorld in an e-mail interview. “We want to create a new market [where] everybody can post on social media, write a review, or give some feedback and be paid for it. We want to empower everyone to monetize their own data and influence and not just allow the big tech companies to do so.”
Partipost saw a threefold increase year-on-year in the total number of influencers during the pandemic, as the crisis highlighted the need for businesses to build a strong presence online. In the Philippines, where its app was launched at the beginning of July, the platform has garnered more than 4,000 Partiposters.
“In terms of notable Filipino influencers, our niche is in nano influencers, the everyday people, so I wouldn’t say there’s a specific notable influencer,” Ms. Tam added.
Two new initiatives — the Nano Ambassador and Mass Campaign programs — have also been rolled out to help brands with brand awareness, sales, and scale. Some of Partipost’s client brands include Pepsi, Dettol, The Body Shop, Jinro, and Hong Kong Maxim.
Influencer Marketing Hub, in its The State of Influencer Marketing 2021 report, said that the influencer marketing industry is set to grow to approximately $13.8 billion this year. Seventy-five percent of brands also indicated in the report their intent to dedicate a budget to influencer marketing in 2021. — Patricia B. Mirasol
