It’s a big day at Alfred HQ. For the past 9 months we’ve been working on a project called, InCrowd – which is an influencer search and selection tool that simplifies a process which used to take hours and hours of desk research and analysis. In a nutshell, InCrowd is The simplest way to search, find and connect with influencers large and small.

We’ve launched the platform as a free beta, and will be developing the product further as we take onboard user feedback and integrate wider services and platforms. The initial launch has focused on the video game sector and offers a unique in-depth search function that allows users to delve into sector relevant keywords to find the most relevant influencers.

If you want to connect with an audience that is between the age of 14 – 35, this is where they are, this is what they are consuming and this is their community. Traditional media numbers continue to slow, and social media stats and time spent continues to rise, especially driven by content creators (or influencers) on these digital platforms. These influencers, are the emerging media channels.

At Alfred we’ve been working on influencer campaigns since day one, and have come to develop our own best practice and ROI model, as well as now, our own tool to deliver activity for our clients that is tangible, measurable and has a commercial impact on their business.

The influencer engagement landscape is going through significant change and is moving towards maturity, along with guidance from the likes of the ASA, this is all lifting standards and creating rules on how marketers practice this discipline.

The launch of our product is just the first step in a line of initiatives around this sector, as we not only believe that the best is yet to come, we also believe that as a communications industry, we are best to lead in this field. We’ve all worked with journalists for years, and much of the best practice is applicable, however this does need to be combined with contemporary digital understanding to truly deliver on what’s possible with this discipline, enabling brands to maximise results and do things in the right way.

Sign-up for a beta account over at InCrowd here, get testing and we’d love to hear any thoughts or feedback. In the meantime, we’ll get cracking with version 2.0.