• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, May 5, 2017

engage:BDR, which has traditionally focused on IAB-formatted display and video advertising, has built a database to connect brands with influencers, CEO Ted Dhanik told Search Marketing Daily.

The self-serve programmatic platform, IconicReach, aims to solve inefficiency in influencer marketing. It supports brands looking to find influencers on Instagram who have between 10,000 followers and 250,000 followers and has been in private beta for the past month with companies like Urban Floors.

"We may open it up to other platforms like Facebook and YouTube, but for now we work with those on Instagram," Dhanik said.

The platform allows users to search by contract category, influencer name and price, along with the number of followers from high to low or low to high. The plan is to add additional search options in the next update.

"We're trying to build self-service standards," Dhanik said.

The brand approaches an influencer through the platform by sending a text message or email to participate in a campaign. The influencer signs with the brand, posts the content, and uploads the URL into the platform to validate the agreement by capturing a screenshot. About 24 hours later, engage:BDR confirms the post and marks it valid and payable. The platform tracks the time that advertisers pay, which fluctuates per influencer.

Dhanik, a former MySpace developer, said "one influencer might have a million followers and will sell a post for $100, and then you'll get someone like Andy Milonakis who sells posts for $6,000 based on having 350 followers."