Influencer marketing is quite the rave now. Brands around the world have harnessed the clout and publicity that influencers attract to their brands and they have raked in tons of money in sales. As attractive as it might sound, many businesses have lost considerable traction as a result of influencer marketing gone wrong.
When it comes to influencer marketing, one thing that must be understood is the fact that the hiring brand intends to ride on the positive influence of the hire. However, if the hiring process isn’t done right, brands might not reap the expected proceeds or even worse, the whole arrangement could hurt both parties negatively.
If you have experience with influencers, we’re sure you would agree that not everyone can and should be an influencer. So, in our bid to help you prevent denting your business’s credibility and reputation, here are 3 criteria to consider before signing your next influencer.
- Niche unalignment: Partnering with influencers who focus on your brand’s area of specialization is key for a successful campaign. If they are not, your business would have a difficult time increasing the brand’s following, increasing leads, increasing sales/conversions, or boosting brand awareness.
- Morality and lifestyle conflict: There’s more to influencers than the image they put out in public. Since they serve as a spokesperson for your business, they have the capacity to showcase your business in a good or bad light. An influencer who isn’t fully aligned to your business’s values would reflect badly on your business, cause a reputation crisis, and ultimately cause your business to lose lots – if not all – of money.
- The growing use of click farms. Most influencers purchase fake followers, engagement pods, and bot likes as a way of boosting their credibility. As fancy as this might look on the outside, this proliferation of fake followers can be more harmful to your business than you think. Apart from alienating your real customers, most social sites like Instagram can disable the influencer’s account if they notice the deception; causing you to lose both your invested time and resources.
Working out a strategy that helps you create, execute, and measure your influencer marketing structure can be a whole lot of work. Without having a well-rounded knowledge of the nitty-gritty of influencer marketing, you can end up with a loose cannon in your hands – just waiting to shoot you in the foot.
Brands that get it right at influencer marketing always do so by partnering with brands like us who have an understanding of the industry, a knack for brokering brand and influencer relationships and a tested and trusted brand-to-influencer matching formula that checks out 90% of the time.
Don’t wait until that influencer ruins your business before you reach out. Get in touch with our team of experts today.
