Maher Jaber is co-founder and CEO of BrandFit, a company that he describes as “an online marketplace platform where businesses big and small can hire celebrities to promote their products as easily as booking a cab on Uber or a hotel on Expedia.”

Jaber views this unique social media branding as the next big thing in advertising. In an interview with the Investing News Network, Jaber discussed the future of this growing market and what’s next for BrandFIT as a company.

The next big thing: Social media branding

For Jaber, the benefits of social media branding are explicitly clear. He stated, “advertising on social media is 11 times more efficient and effective than traditional advertising. The message comes directly from a trusted source and is delivered at a fraction of the cost.” As for BrandFIt in particular, the company “offers an incredible amount of control over message delivery and also provides extensive post-campaign analytics and data.”

Part of the appeal of social media branding may also be the universality of social media itself. As Jaber put it, “5 billion people use social media worldwide, so there’s a platform for everyone.” It thus makes sense that companies and brands are turning to this grassroots method of getting their message across. Not only is it effective and far reaching, but it also has the data and analytics to back it up.

Despite these clear benefits, the industry is seeing some challenges due to its relative youth. Jaber explained, “this is the fastest-growing industry and it is relatively new. Therefore, brands have a challenging time navigating through the best platforms to use in order to run successful campaigns.”

However, he was also clear that brands had better get used to this new medium of social media branding because it is definitely the way of the future. “Social media is the future of advertising and works effectively with traditional media,” Jaber said.

Future market developments

According to Jaber, there is going to be significant growth in the social media branding sector over the next several years. He foresees more innovators entering the space as “more businesses use social media for branding over the next five years.” Jaber added, “I see at least a third of each company’s advertising budget going towards social media.”

As for BrandFIT, an IPO is in the company’s future. “I see BrandFIT as the incumbent leader in connecting brands to consumers using social media influencers, and an IPO is in the inevitable future of the organization,” said Jaber. Investors keen on social media branding should thus keep an eye on BrandFIT for exciting future developments.

Article Written By: Morag Mcgreevey