Behind The Tool: Yash From SARAL
Can you tell us about your background and how you came to start SARAL?
Yash: My background is quite diverse. I am professionally trained as an engineer, although I never really called myself that because I wasn’t particularly interested in it. Like many others in my culture, it was expected to become a doctor or an engineer, so I kind of fell into it. However, I was always more of a sales, marketing, and business type of personality, even during college.
I practically dropped out of college halfway through my course and started working in sales and marketing roles at startups. This early start gave me the advantage of graduating with two years of work experience. After a few jobs, I transitioned into freelancing, which eventually turned into running an agency. Our agency experienced the ups and downs of Facebook ads, especially after the iOS 14.5 privacy updates in 2021, which forced us to find better, more efficient ways to drive traffic.
We noticed that some of our brands were getting good word of mouth through social media, leading us to focus on influencer marketing. However, managing these efforts manually was very time-consuming and complicated. Seeing a clear need for a better solution, we decided to build SARAL, a simple, affordable, and transparent software to help D2C brands work with influencers efficiently.
What is a common misconception about influencer marketing and how does SARAL address it?
Yash: A very broad misconception in influencer marketing is that you need a popular influencer to promote your brand. The truth is, you don’t really need a very popular influencer; what you do need is an influencer who has true influence. The root of the word influencer is influence. This means you need to find people who have built genuine trust and authenticity with their audience, and this isn’t always the most popular people.
At SARAL, we solve this problem with our system that helps brands find individuals who have real influence. We have a search engine that allows users to filter by criteria such as engagement rate and audience quality to ensure there are no bot followers. Additionally, another common mistake brands make is focusing on transactions rather than building long-term relationships with influencers. Influencers should not be treated as just a performance marketing channel.
To get the best results, you need to be obsessed with providing value to your influencer partners and focusing on building lasting relationships. SARAL supports this with our creator relationship management system, which helps brands manage and nurture their influencer community effectively.
What makes SARAL different from other influencer marketing tools available in the market?
Yash: What makes SARAL different from other influencer marketing tools in the market is how it integrates various functions into a single, user-friendly platform.
When we were running our agency, we managed influencer marketing with a mix of spreadsheets, Trello boards, and Zapier automations. This was very clunky, complicated, and hard to train the team on. We found that existing tools were complex and very expensive, so we saw a clear white space for a better solution.
SARAL was built to be simple, affordable, and transparently priced. It consolidates all the necessary functions into one platform, making influencer marketing more efficient and easier to manage. With SARAL, you can find influencers, manage relationships, generate affiliate links, and track all activities in one place. This integrated approach helps brands save time and focus on building effective influencer marketing campaigns.
Can you share examples of brands that have successfully used SARAL for their influencer marketing campaigns?
Yash: We have some of the best brands using SARAL for their influencer marketing campaigns, including Obvi, Legends, and Flow Health, which is the world’s most popular women’s wellness app.
Other notable brands are Tiege Hanley, Bio Optimizer, and Bubs Naturals. What these successful brands have in common is their focus on building long-term relationships with influencers and maintaining consistency in their campaigns. They have set up systems that allow them to be consistent, which is crucial. One of the worst things a brand can do is not have a dedicated person or enough time devoted to influencer marketing.
With a tool like SARAL, brands can minimize manual work and maintain a consistent presence, ensuring their influencer programs are effective and scalable. For example, some brands have even managed to involve big celebrities like Snoop Dogg as ambassadors, demonstrating the power of a well-managed influencer marketing strategy.
SARAL is a simple influencer marketing platform for DTC brands. You can find untapped influencers, automate reach outs, ship free products, generate tracking links/codes, and do everything else from tracking performance to payments. Their mission is to be the world’s first “InfluencerOS” i.e. the one-stop-shop for all kinds of influencer campaigns. As of today, brands are running campaigns ranging from seeding, gifting, UGC, traditional paid deals, and ambassador programs.
When do you recommend brands start incorporating influencer marketing into their strategy?
Yash: I recommend that brands start incorporating influencer marketing into their strategy either pre-launch or after reaching 1 to 3 million ARR. Doing it pre-launch can help build momentum and generate buzz for your product right from the start.
Alternatively, if you’re already established and have reached that 1 to 3 million ARR range, adding influencer marketing as your second channel can be highly effective. However, I advise against doing it in the early growth stages, when you’re just making your initial revenue.
At that point, you should focus on the acquisition channel that got you to that stage. Either start with influencers as your very first channel or add them later when your brand is more stable and has the resources to manage it effectively.
What is your vision for the future of influencer marketing and how do you see the space evolving?
Yash: My vision for the future of influencer marketing is that it will become essential for all consumer brands. Just like a B2B company can’t function without a sales department, any brand that wants to sell to consumers will need to work with influencers.
Trust in the market lies with influencers, and as consumers become more educated and discerning, brands can no longer rely on flashy marketing claims alone. They will need trustworthy influencers to endorse their products. I also see the focus expanding beyond just traditional influencers to include other sources of influence, such as podcasters, newsletter writers, and bloggers. For example, a fitness brand might partner with podcasters who discuss health optimization, reaching audiences in more diverse ways.
Additionally, brands will adopt a full-stack approach to influencer marketing, incorporating seeding, gifting, ambassador programs, and traditional paid deals into their strategy. This comprehensive approach will unlock true influence and drive better results. The era of siloed tactics is ending, and brands will need to integrate multiple channels to succeed in influencer marketing.
