3 Feb 2017DisruptorsWantfeed pays people to influence online shoppersDISRUPTORS: The ideas changing industries
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Wantfeed is a Pinterest-style website that everyday shoppers can personally monetise. Launched by Stefan Michalak, a former journalist and professional YouTuber, it harnesses the power of peer influence, proving the entrepreneurialism of the everyman can go beyond social media accounts.

Author
Isabel Pickard

Michalak is an expert when it comes to influencer marketing, boasting spots on the YouTube Top Creatives network and receiving more than 100,000 views per upload. This latest venture lets online shoppers create Pinterest-style wishlists. If someone – including the list creator – purchases something via the platform, revenues are split 50/50 between the user and Wantfeed, incentivising the use of the site.

More followers doesn’t always mean more influence

Since micro-influencers, with smaller followings tend to gain higher like rates on social posts, Wantfeed has tapped into the era of the side hustle, offering the small-time social media user with a good eye an opportunity to make money. After all, motivated Gen Yers and Zers have been looking beyond the nine-to-five for a while, so offering this group the opportunity to earn an extra dollar or two – for online shopping, no less – is a fitting business model.

Michalak’s success in the influencer space has created a free marketing platform for the brand and proves the power of affiliate revenue streams. More than 60,000 users have signed up and almost 500,000 products uploaded to the site. Its existence is indicative of a shift towards more low-level avenues of influence. “We’d have big celebs coming in and it wouldn’t do much for our audience,” says Michalak, referring to his past job presenting online videos for Heat. Nearly 35% of Gen Z and 29% of Gen Y want brands to communicate with them via social media, which is seven times more likely to be trusted than company-made ads. Could combining micro-influencers and social media stars offer new marketing platforms to businesses?

wantfeed.com

Isabel Pickard is a Psychology graduate currently based in Warwickshire. She has an avid interest in human behaviour and is curious to explore this in new and diverse cultures.