The word "authenticity" is losing its value.

And among marketers, producing authentic content is rare.

Marketers have been trained to prioritize their brand and product first, with features, benefits and pricing a close second. This training makes it uncomfortable for them to create authentic content. Instead, they end up making "branded content," which is just an ad in disguise.

True publishers, on the other hand, prioritize their audiences first, producing content that appeals to them for the sake of education, entertainment or inspiration. In this sense, publishers' content is authentic.(I'm speaking broadly, of course as there is plenty of "pay-to-play" content out there which is not authentic.)

We make the same distinction between 'influencers,' who have a following and are paid to say things, and creators, who have expertise and create content about their expertise - and maybe they also have a following.

Our POV is that creators are authentic.

One main distinction between Props and influencer platforms is our curation of authentic creators based on their credibility, talent, and expertise — rather than just their followers.

Props creators produce authentic stories (not ads), which are published on our clients’ websites and promoted with paid media through the creators’ social media handles.

In effect, social media platforms become the means to promote their stories, but not the place for audiences to consume them.

By hosting real stories on our clients website, brands can build a relationship with prospects, and build their brand (and first-party data), while still serving the reader.

And it’s no secret that authentic stories far outperform ads or branded content.
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Here’s how our software platform preserves authenticity and helps us avoid falling into the trap of features, benefits and price:
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1. CREATORS ARE EXPERTS

‍Creators are curated for their expertise in a field of endeavor: nutritionists pitch stories about nutrition, pilots about flying, and fashion designers about fashion, etc. Their real life intersects with the audiences we seek to reach.
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2. STORY IDEAS COME FROM CREATORS

‍Creators pitch story ideas directly to our clients through a unique section of our platform, a virtual editorial meeting, so to speak. After briefing creators on a certain topic, each curated creator proposes three to four story ideas and a description, giving the client an easy and simple interface to evaluate the creator and their story idea all in the context of each other.
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3. CREATORS HAVE FINAL CUT

‍If edits become too far from the creator’s original concept or area of expertise, the creator has the right not to approve the story. However, Props ensures our clients are satisfied by providing more aligned creators, a different story, or mediation.
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Props knows high-performing content drives up high lifetime-value customers. Working with expert creators to tell personal stories ensures authenticity at every level for our clients, audiences who consume content, and the creators themselves. And we’ve built a process and a platform to foster and preserve authenticity - not just for the sake of it - but because it works.