Monday, October 15, 2012

Influenster Makeover

Many loyal readers may have noticed that I did quite a few reviews of products I received in my Naturals Voxbox from Influenster.  But some of my readers may not be aware of what Influenster actually is.

Influenster is a community of people with active online lives, using various forms of social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, G+, Instagram, YouTube, etc.), as well as active offline social lives, to talk about products and organizations of all kinds.  Once you become an active part of this community, you can qualify for perks and reward programs.  The most coveted program is the VoxBox program, where influential community members receive themed boxes of products, like my Naturals VoxBox.  Some of the other recent themed boxes have included boxes for moms, brides, and Latinas.  When you get a box, the idea is that you try the products out, review them, and interact with other members of the community to talk about what is good or bad about the products.  It is a really fun way to let your voice be heard, all while discovering great new products!

Recently, the Influenster site underwent a huge makeover.  At first, things were a little shaky.  It seemed like the new site launched before certain parts were finished, almost like a soft roll out, and there were a lot of bugs.  But, kudos to the Influenster team for patiently address all questions and concerns, many of which were posed by angry or frustrated members (myself included).  As the days passed, more and more of the parts of the site were up and running, with most of the bugs fixed.  I think the frustration of the members just goes to show how eager we all were to jump in with both feet, because we really do love Influenster!

Under the new revamp, you get an overall score, and the opportunity to unlock various badges based on your interests.  Some of those badges are "expert" badges, where you get subscores.  These scores are entirely based on the activities you do on the site, and help determine your eligibility for future programs.  Since this is a new part of the site, we are all still learning how it works, but trust me, it is exciting to see your scores go up!

The highest compliment to any site is that we invite our friends to try it out.  Each Influenster member is given 5 invitations to start.  All five of mine have already been sent.  Clearly, I love Influenster and want to share it with my friends.  If you have never heard of Influenster, you should try it out.

A word to the wise, though.  Do not go there just expecting to get free "stuff".  In order to qualify for programs, you have to be an active member of the community.  I was a member for many months before qualifying for the Naturals Voxbox.  But it really was worth it.  It was really fun trying new products and sharing my thoughts with other members.

I hope new programs on the site continue to roll out.  I also hope I get more invitations soon, as well as the ability to unlock more expert badges.  Clearly, you can tell I am hooked.  Try it, you might get hooked too!

Remember you can view photos of my Naturals Voxbox contents here, and I started a board for it on Pinterest as well!