Contxto – Content is king is one of the most ancient startup proverbs.

Well, not necessarily. But when it comes to the internet, blogging, e-commerce and startups, online content is crucial for any successful venture. There are plenty of incentives, particularly when it comes to conversion.

No, I’m not talking about transforming water into gas, but turning organic website visitors into paying users.

Under the premise that “everyone needs content,” PostedIn is one Latin American digital platform setting a new precedent for rapid content. Recently I interviewed one of the founders, Rodrigo Farcas Capetillo from Santiago, Chile.

By the end of our conversation, I can say with 100 percent certainly that PostedIn is spewing with clever ideas. Continue reading to learn more.

Snapshot

What is PostedIn

Description: PostedIn is a content marketplace connecting clients with qualified creators to produce on-demand material
Country: Chile
Industry: Internet marketing service
Founders: Aarón Farcas and Rodrigo Farcas Capetillo
Founding Date: 2015

What?

As a digital marketplace, PostedIn’s platform allows users to request on-demand content from a team of over 10,000 creators. Specialists go through a curation process. That’s to say, contributors are ranked and selected for assignments based on reputation and skills.

Whether your company is seeking articles, blog posts, social media publications, eBooks, infographics or videos – this Chilean startup has you covered. Original content is generated in a fast, agile yet scalable way.

One of the key difference between us and competitors is that we’re a one-stop marketplace for content. Everything’s set in place.

Rodrigo Farcas Capetillo.

PostedIn guarantees speed and efficiency since there’s integration on WordPress and HubSpot, as well as other CMS platforms in the works. Therefore, content can be directly published to the partner’s website.

How?

Part of PostedIn’s success revolves around its team of 10,000 content creators from across Latin America plus Spain. With clients in over 10 Spanish-speaking nations, oftentimes the company assigns projects to natives from the same country as the partners.

Since Spanish-speaking countries have different colloquial terms, this asset is particularly valuable if brands want content to reflect its country of origin. The ability to assign native writers to projects is an indisputable strength.

Here’s how it works. Within this B2B business arrangement, clients first complete their profile and list objectives with PostedIn. This way, the partner specifies the genre of content, the number of pieces needed, and target audience in mind.

Once accepted, the most qualified creator will generate content that will eventually be meticulously reviewed before final delivery. On PostedIn’s behalf, the goal is that clients always receive top-notch content.

Common areas of expertise for content creators range from fashion, sports, health, economy, marketing, among other categories. In terms of clients, customers include startups, SMEs, as well as other large companies.

Why?

Considering the influx of new technologies and overarching influence of social networks, the marketing industry has permanently changed, for better or worse. Nowadays, so much depends on your company’s virtual web presence to attract visitors, buyers, investors, etc.

Keeping this in mind, we can no longer view content marketing as a luxury but a barebone necessity. High-quality material is integral to showcasing a company’s brand and values, not to mention paramount in terms of boosting online presence, traffic, organic visits, etc.

“I think the content marketing industry is growing super fast,” said Farcas. “Every company with a webpage needs content, whether for reading, watching, listening, etc. Users are grossing every day, every hour, every minute. That’s why it’s nice to have PostedIn as a partner so companies can focus on strategy rather than content creation.”

On the other side of the equation is the incentive for businesses to outsource and hire freelancers. It’s a double-edged sword but markets can maintain lower fixed costs with a looser network of employees. This way, they can focus more on scalability instead.

Even more noticeable is the way content marketing has replaced traditional advertising. I agree with Farcas – consumers are exhausted with old school advertisements. Companies are finally realizing that content creation lures customers, so many are starting to implement this strategy more often.

Story

Before PostedIn appeared on the map, both Farcas and his business partner founded The Branding Brothers. Together, the objective was to create niche websites (also known as verticals) with the primary revenue source being advertising.

During this time, Farcas oversaw a network of journalists creating content for 13 web pages but operations were lackluster. To attract more organic visits to these verticals, original content was paramount.

Then one day, the entrepreneurial lightbulb went off. Both Farcas and his team of co-founders devised a platform where thousands of content creators could work in clusters based on reputation and specialization.

Upon distinguishing the “pain points” of the online advertising industry, Farcas and his partners developed a platform for The Branding Brothers to test out. Positive results soon followed.

When we saw that it actually worked, we started selling content to other companies – everything started to grow fast from there.

Rodrigo Farcas Capetillo

Eventually, the Chilean startup joined Chrysalis’ incubator portfolio followed by investments with Wayra, the VC fund belonging to Telefónica. Ultimately, the founders identified a great opportunity and developed a solid concept to create content at scale.

For example, if a company requires 50 to 5,000 articles per month, PostedIn can assign the writer with the best qualification to get the job done while also attracting new customers in the process.

Status

Today, PostedIn has clients in over 10 countries around Latin America, with a recent expansion to Mexico. Other countries of operation include Peru, Argentina, Colombia, and even Spain.

The PostedIn team recently attended eRetail Day in Mexico City. Networking took centerstage since many of PostedIn’s clients are retailers such as Home Depot, Mercado Libre or Movistar.

Other prominent partners include BBVA Bancomer and Oxxo.

Compared to other competitors, retailers realize the value of content marketing. For example, retail companies pair up with PostedIn to create super optimized content for search engines, such as using focus keywords or SEO terms to boost online circulation. After all, more visibility usually results in more sales.

Business Model

At PostedIn, specialists create authentic content inspired by a company’s brand and target audience. Moreover, editors review works to ensure the highest possible caliber, in addition to classifying areas of improvement in terms of web exposure.

Besides leaving feedback, clients rank the content once assignments are completed and delivered. This helps the specialists and editors improve over time, which is great for continual development. Meanwhile, customers can track the progress and status of projects on PostedIn’s online platform.

Another aspect of PostedIn’s business model is the Inbound Marketing strategy. What this entails is everything from identifying target audiences, guest posting, maximizing SEO results, email campaigns, etc.

Along those lines, PostedIn capitalized on producing specialized content to capture attention from others. Similarly, the group devoted many resources to developing its online platform with regular updates. In the end, reliability is guaranteed.

Venture Funding

According to Crunchbase, PostedIn raised an accumulative US$130 thousand from its first two seed rounds with investments from CORFO and Start-Up Chile where it received a lot of recognition.

Thanks to Start-Up Chile and its equity-free funds, the startup was able to start creating the platform as well as install offices in Mexico City.

At the moment, though, PostedIn is preparing a Series A funding round. We’ll know more in the upcoming months if all goes as planned. Although the amount hasn’t been specified, the founder will use the funds to improve the company’s technological capacity.

“We are a content marketing platform yet our focus has always been the technology behind it so clients can use it to request on-demand content at scale,” said Farcas.

Future

On top of the funding round, another goal of Farcas’ is to launch a “Software as a Service” version of PostedIn. Therefore, partners can adopt the company’s system to better manage international operations, workflows, etc. This is still in the pipeline but a major aspiration for the entrepreneur.

Right now, this endeavor is still in the beta stage, meaning it’s almost ready to go public. From my interview with Farcas, I discovered that his goal is for agencies and big companies to use the platform.

Under this B2B method, partners can streamline team communication, better organize content, and use the same tools that PostedIn uses to create content at scale. Someday down the road, PostedIn also plans to publish content in more languages other than Spanish and English.

Thoughts

I don’t know about you, but at this point in my time, I’m suspicious of companies without any content, social media accounts, a presentable web domain, etc. Cognizant of my own personal bias, strong online content certainly provides reassurance.

Since I’m a writer myself, everything about PostedIn resonates positively. Robust online content supports enterprises to establish trust among clients, so I’m happy to be part of that process. No company will earn any recognition if its online web presence is weak, vague or underdeveloped.

-JA