LoudCrowd is a software company specializing in influencer marketing and social commerce solutions. 

Led by CEO Gary Garofalo, the company is turning social media creators from mere content generators into powerful sales engines for brands like Boohoo. 

By integrating personalized storefronts into e-commerce platforms, LoudCrowd is bridging social media buzz and measurable revenue. This shift is not just about boosting sales but changing how brands view and value their relationships with influencers. 

Gary breaks down LoudCrowd’s recent partnership with Boohoo, the metrics driving their success, and his ambitious plans for the future of social commerce.

Creator Monetization in E-commerce

With a background in analytics and management consulting, Gary’s journey began with his first startup in higher education analytics.

He co-founded his second venture, LoudCrowd, six years ago with the idea that brands should invest heavily in influencers. 

The company’s initial vision was to provide brands with a comprehensive view of the value of their creator content. It has since shifted to monetizing creators more effectively, addressing a market gap.

LoudCrowd’s solution involves creating creator storefronts on a brand’s e-commerce platform, enabling a more social commerce-like experience that drives higher conversion rates.

The company’s approach has attracted major players in the fashion industry, including Boohoo.  Gary reveals that the early results of this collaboration have been promising.

Inside the LoudCrowd-boohoo Partnership

LoudCrowd’s partnership with Boohoo began with a focus on user-generated content (UGC) and has evolved into a revenue-driven model called the Boohoo Collective.

“The Boohoo collective, which launched recently, is 100% focused on how we drive as much revenue from all of our creators as possible,” Gary states. “That includes their influencers and all the ambassadors we’ve grown together with over the last few years.”

He explains the partnership’s progression: “Phase one of the partnership with Boohoo was all about how do we recruit thousands and thousands of Boohoo customers and get them to start creating more content.” 

This initial phase lasted about 18 months before transitioning to a revenue-focused approach.

The launch of the Boohoo Collective showcases the partnership’s approach. Boohoo U.S. started with a high-profile event in Los Angeles, while Boohoo UK opted for a press-heavy launch. Both strategies aimed to energize existing creators about the new initiative.

“They invited several influencers, and it was a great launching point to say, ‘Hey, we’re all excited about the brand’s future right now,’” Gary notes. “‘Let’s get you guys even more invested. Let’s give you some real estate on the website, and let’s drive as many sales as possible.’”

Central to the partnership’s success is LoudCrowd’s technology, which creates personalized storefronts for creators on boohoo.com. By maintaining the creator’s context, LoudCrowd addresses the traditionally low conversion rates of affiliate links.

Gary elaborates, “When you send somebody to the website, you are still shopping for that person. You see all of that person’s content automatically on their storefront.” 

The personalized shopping experience includes the creator’s bio, image, and shoppable content, effectively turning influencers into personal shoppers for their audience.

Performance Tracking and Incentive Systems

LoudCrowd’s dashboard gives creators and brands insights into their performance metrics, driving engagement and motivation.

“There are performance metrics in their dashboard that are exciting to them,” Gary explains. “We also include all of their social metrics, so they can see how many times they’ve created content for the brand.”

The dashboard tracks various metrics, including commissions, traffic, conversion rates, and content creation frequency. It allows brands like Boohoo to implement tiered incentive systems based on sales performance and content creation.

“If you create a certain amount of content, we’ll seed you with this product or send you a site credit,” Gary explains. “That’s been exciting for the teams there because they have many different incentives to get off the sidelines and support the brand.”

For brands, LoudCrowd’s platform offers detailed insights into program-wide and individual creator performance. “Brands can measure the revenue, the performance, and content. They also can see the conversion rates of all the pages,” Gary notes.

This level of granularity allows brands to identify high-performing creators and provide targeted support to those needing assistance optimizing their storefronts. Focusing on performance metrics has created a collaborative environment where brands and creators are incentivized to help each other succeed.

According to Gary, implementing storefronts has led to a “flywheel effect.” As creators see their revenue increase and engage with their personalized pages, they’re motivated to create more content, further driving the program’s success.

Setting New Standards

Gary reveals two key components of success: revenue generation and content creation.

“Now that we’re measuring a lot more revenue, we’re looking at influencers, like there are profit centers, and that’s a lot more exciting,” Gary explains.

The entrepreneur believes the partnership’s focus on social commerce will set new industry standards. “I think it’s important for brands to invest in social commerce,” he states. “We need to start attributing revenue to all the spending in the influencer marketing world.”

Gary stresses the importance of brands like Boohoo driving social commerce through their websites rather than third-party platforms. “If they want to protect their economics, they need to drive as much social commerce as possible from their site,” he asserts.

By doing so, Gary believes brands preserve the direct-to-consumer relationship and enhance their equity, allowing them to control the customer experience and maximize retention rates.

Social Commerce on Native E-commerce 

Gary outlines goals for LoudCrowd as the U.S. social commerce market expands. Following a “tremendous year,” the CEO aims to establish the company’s model of native e-commerce social commerce as an industry standard.

“Our goal is to make our social commerce model on the native e-commerce as mainstream as using a third-party creator storefront like LTK or TikTok Shop,” Gary states. He believes this approach offers the best solution for most existing brands.

LoudCrowd’s strategy involves educating brands about various social commerce avenues and encouraging comparisons to highlight the benefits of its native e-commerce model. Gary welcomes potential competition, seeing it as an opportunity for growth in the entire space.

The company’s roadmap includes significant product development, focusing on AI integration and enhancing creator-centric shopping experiences.

Gary hints at upcoming partnerships and expansions, including collaborations with more brands in the Boohoo portfolio and other major international brands. 

“I’m hopeful that this will continue to shift the landscape of social commerce and help people understand how they could leverage creators for social commerce in different ways,” Gary concludes.