Interview with Maher Jaber, CEO and Co-Founder, BrandFIT

Tell us a little bit about your role at BrandFIT?

My role at BrandFIT is essentially the visionary and the driving force behind the organization. I saw a need for a business like ours a few years ago and believed it was the right time to jump into this space. That said, I wanted to develop a platform like no other, one that was unique, easy to use, cost-effective, and that would truly be valuable to brands, agencies and influencers. Now that the platform is in place, I oversee the strategic direction of the company but leave the day-to-day to the staff who I’ve entrusted to move the company forward.

What are the core tenets of BrandFIT’s Influencer Marketing platform?

The core tenets of the BrandFIT platform are neutrality, empowerment and trust, which are essential to influencer marketing.

How does BrandFIT enable personalized engagement for brands?

We have developed a unique online platform enabling brands to directly access and hire celebrities and influencers to endorse their products and services through multiple social media networks. Our platform also enables brands to have control over their message, giving them the power to further personalize the messaging and engagement. Our extensive post-campaign reporting also allows brands to measure campaign effectiveness and make the necessary modifications. All this is done in a safe and confidential environment.

What is the one piece of advice you have for B2B marketers in 2018?

Marketers need to focus on authentic storytelling rather than pragmatic marketing and advertising. Concentrate on a content strategy especially based on influencer marketing as it is not only cost-effective, but it creates better customer loyalty and trust. Consumers are seeking quality information versus someone trying to sell to them. Engage with your audience and they will keep you top of mind.

How do you see the B2B marketing landscape evolving, in the years to come?

Marketers need to create ads personalized for their business. Content marketing is replacing legacy marketing and advertising, as it creates value and provides consumers with concrete information. Thought leadership content is increasingly popular. It’s not enough to let a business know that you offer a certain product or service, it’s important to let them know why you (and subsequently your business) is an expert in that field.

Which sectors is BrandFIT looking to target to expand its reach in 2018?

We are looking to integrate more niche influencers into our roster and concentrate on custom content generation.

What startups are you watching/keen on right now?

Social media marketing has thrived in the last few years and has become a multi-million dollar industry, with many interesting startups. My interest is in digital marketing space and quite frankly, there are too many to name.

What does BrandFIT’s martech stack currently consist of?

Our stack currently consists of a digital marketplace. We offer detailed information on each of the influencers we work with, including their reach, engagement rates, audience interests, geographic location and areas of interest so we can best connect brands with influencers who will reach their target demographic on a global scale. We have also integrated a real-time messaging system that allows brands to directly message the influencer at any point during a campaign. Our digitally integrated platform also provides valuable data to measure the effectiveness of each campaign.

Can you tell us what makes a standout digital campaign?

A great campaign begins with authentic and relatable content, leading to true engagement and trust, and consequently to an excellent ROI.

How do you prepare for an AI-centric world as a business leader?

We are currently working with some of the greatest minds to integrate AI into our platform to better serve our clients and run successful campaigns.  With each campaign we run, our platform gams more data points to ensure campaigns are optimized.

As a business, we are always looking at emerging technology for internal use and to better serve our clients.

One word that best describes how you work.

Fair

What apps/software/tools can’t you live without?

I can’t live without the SMS on my iPhone.

What’s your smartest work-related shortcut or productivity hack?

Empower employees to reach their full potential and in turn, they will help your business become successful.

What are you currently reading?

Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior by Jonah Berger and The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

Monitor your activities and the results will take care of themselves

Something you do better than others – the secret of your success?

I truly care about the success of my employees and clients. When you take care of the human side of the business, you can’t fail. People to people is key.

Tag the one person, whose answers to these questions you would love to read:

Richard Branson. He’s innovative and always pushing the envelope.

Thank you, Maher! That was fun and hope to see you back on MarTech Series soon.