FEMO - Influencer Marketing Platform

Overview

FEMO is a comprehensive influencer marketing platform designed to bridge the gap between brands and content creators. The system facilitates seamless collaboration through job posting, bidding, social media integration, secure payment processing, and real-time communication.

I collaborated on the full project lifecycle, handling project planning, backend architecture, API development, and deployment. The platform includes both a mobile application (developed by a collaborator) and a web-based admin panel built with Filament that replicates mobile app functionality for administrative purposes.

The platform addresses key challenges in influencer marketing:

Discovery: Brands can easily discover influencers based on niche, engagement rates, and social media metrics
Collaboration: Streamlined job posting, bidding, and proposal submission process
Verification: Social media account integration for authentic profile verification
Payment Security: Integrated payment gateway ensuring secure transactions
Communication: Real-time messaging system for seamless brand-influencer communication

Features

User Management & Profiles

Dual User Types: Separate profile systems for Influencers and Brands with role-based access
Profile Completion: Comprehensive profile setup with validation and completion tracking
Social Media Integration: Connect TikTok and Instagram accounts for profile verification
Analytics Dashboard: Profile insights, engagement rates, and social media metrics tracking
Reviews & Ratings: Two-way review system for both brands and influencers

Job Management System

Job Posting: Brands can create detailed job posts with budgets, deadlines, and content requirements
Job Items: Break down jobs into multiple deliverables with individual budgets
Bidding System: Influencers can submit competitive bids for open jobs
Proposal System: Detailed proposal submission with AI-generated descriptions
Hire Management: Direct hiring and collaboration request system
Job Tracking: Complete activity logs, extensions, disputes, and status management
Private Jobs: Support for private collaboration requests between brands and influencers

TikTok OAuth: Secure authentication and account linking
Instagram OAuth: Facebook-based Instagram Business API integration
Video Syncing: Automated synchronization of TikTok and Instagram videos
Social Insights: Daily tracking of likes, comments, views, and engagement metrics
Analytics API: Real-time social media analytics for profile verification

Payment System

Chip Payment Gateway: Integrated payment processing for both brands and influencers
Chip Collect: Brands pay for jobs through multiple payment methods
Chip Send: Automated bank transfers to influencers upon job completion
Payment Tracking: Complete transaction history and payment status management
Platform Fees: Configurable platform fees with automatic calculation
Escrow System: Secure payment holding until job completion and approval

Communication & Messaging

Real-time Messaging: Firebase-powered messaging system between brands and influencers
File Attachments: Support for media and document sharing in conversations
Push Notifications: Firebase Cloud Messaging for instant notifications
Unread Counts: Message notification tracking and management
Contact Management: Suggested contacts and conversation history

AI-Powered Features

Bio Generation: OpenAI-powered bio generation with multiple style options
Job Description Generator: AI-assisted job description creation
Proposal Generator: Intelligent proposal description generation based on job requirements

Admin Panel (Filament)

User Management: Complete user administration with profile management
Job Oversight: Monitor all jobs, bids, proposals, and hires
Transaction Management: Track all payments and financial transactions
Content Management: Manage FAQs, help support, announcements, and settings
Report Management: Handle user reports and profile deletion requests
Analytics Dashboard: System-wide analytics and insights

Additional Features

Search & Discovery: Advanced filtering by niche, industry, location, and engagement metrics
Favorites System: Save favorite brands/influencers for quick access
Activity Logging: Comprehensive activity tracking for profiles and jobs
Scheduled Jobs: Automated tasks for video syncing, insights fetching, and payment releases
Document Templates: Reusable document templates for agreements and deliverables
Postcode Integration: Location-based services with postcode lookup

Tech Stack

Backend Framework

Laravel 11: Modern PHP framework providing robust architecture, ORM, and built-in features
PHP 8.2: Latest PHP version for optimal performance and modern language features

Admin Panel

Filament 3.2: Rapid admin panel development with beautiful UI components, reducing development time significantly while maintaining consistency with mobile app functionality

Authentication & Security

JWT Auth: Stateless authentication for mobile API using php-open-source-saver/jwt-auth
Laravel Socialite: OAuth integration for social media platforms
Apple Sign-In: Native Apple authentication support

Real-time & Messaging

Firebase Realtime Database: Real-time messaging infrastructure
Firebase Cloud Messaging: Push notification service for mobile apps
Laravel Reverb: WebSocket support for real-time features

Payment Processing

Chip Payment Gateway: Malaysian payment gateway supporting multiple payment methods (credit cards, e-wallets, bank transfers)
Chip Collect SDK: For receiving payments from brands
Chip Send API: For automated bank transfers to influencers

AI Integration

OpenAI API: GPT-powered content generation for bios, job descriptions, and proposals

TikTok Open API: User authentication, video listing, and analytics
Instagram Business API: Media management, insights, and content publishing

Storage & Infrastructure

Google Cloud Storage: Scalable file storage for media and documents
MySQL: Relational database for structured data
Laravel Queue: Background job processing for async operations

Frontend Technologies

Tailwind CSS: Utility-first CSS framework for Filament admin panel
Alpine.js: Lightweight JavaScript framework for interactive components
Vite: Modern build tool for asset compilation

Challenges & Solutions

Challenge 1: Complex Job Workflow Management

Problem: Managing the lifecycle of jobs with multiple items, bids, proposals, hires, and submissions required complex state management.

Solution: Implemented a comprehensive job system with separate models for each stage (Job, JobItem, JobBid, JobProposal, JobHire, JobItemSubmission) and used Laravel’s Eloquent relationships to maintain data integrity. Created activity logging system to track all job-related events.

Challenge 2: Real-time Messaging Across Platforms

Problem: Ensuring seamless messaging between mobile app and web admin panel while maintaining real-time capabilities.

Solution: Integrated Firebase Realtime Database for messaging infrastructure, allowing both mobile and web clients to access the same data. Implemented Laravel-based message storage for persistence and added Firebase Cloud Messaging for push notifications.

Problem: TikTok and Instagram APIs have strict rate limits and token expiration policies, requiring careful management.

Solution: Implemented background job queues for video syncing and insights fetching. Created token refresh mechanisms and stored access tokens securely. Added error handling and retry logic for API failures.

Challenge 4: Payment Flow Complexity

Problem: Managing two-way payment flows (brands paying platform, platform paying influencers) with different fee structures and approval workflows.

Solution: Integrated Chip Collect for incoming payments and Chip Send for outgoing transfers. Created a comprehensive payment tracking system with status management. Implemented automated payment release jobs with approval workflows.

Challenge 5: Admin Panel Feature Parity

Problem: Ensuring the Filament admin panel replicates all mobile app functionality for administrative purposes.

Solution: Built comprehensive Filament resources with relation managers for complex relationships. Created custom pages and widgets to match mobile app workflows. Implemented proper authorization and role-based access control.

Challenge 6: Scalability & Performance

Problem: Handling large datasets for user discovery, job listings, and analytics without performance degradation.

Solution: Implemented database indexing on frequently queried fields. Used Laravel’s query optimization techniques, eager loading to prevent N+1 queries, and caching for expensive operations like suggested contacts and trending lists.

Key Learnings

API Design: Learned to design RESTful APIs that serve both mobile and web clients efficiently, ensuring consistent data structures and error handling.
Third-party Integration: Gained extensive experience integrating multiple third-party services (payment gateways, social media APIs, Firebase, OpenAI) and handling their unique authentication and error handling requirements.
Real-time Systems: Deepened understanding of real-time messaging architectures using Firebase, balancing between real-time updates and data persistence.
Payment Processing: Acquired knowledge of payment gateway integration, escrow systems, fee calculations, and automated payment workflows.
Background Jobs: Mastered Laravel’s queue system for handling time-consuming tasks like video syncing, analytics fetching, and payment processing without blocking user requests.
Admin Panel Development: Learned to leverage Filament for rapid admin panel development while maintaining flexibility for custom requirements.
Project Planning: Gained experience in full project lifecycle management, from planning and architecture to deployment, collaborating with mobile developers to ensure seamless integration.
Security Best Practices: Implemented JWT authentication, OAuth flows, input validation, and secure file storage practices throughout the application.

Conclusion

FEMO represents a comprehensive solution to the challenges in influencer marketing, providing a complete ecosystem for brands and creators to connect, collaborate, and transact securely. The project showcased the power of modern Laravel development combined with strategic third-party integrations to build a scalable, feature-rich platform.

The dual-platform approach (mobile app + web admin) required careful API design and consistent data structures, while the integration of multiple external services (payment gateways, social media APIs, Firebase, OpenAI) demonstrated the importance of robust error handling and asynchronous processing.

Key achievements include:

Successfully deployed production-ready system handling real transactions
Seamless integration between mobile app and backend APIs
Comprehensive admin panel replicating mobile functionality
Secure payment processing with automated workflows
Real-time messaging and notification system
Social media integration with automated content syncing