Today, we see the rise of social media influencers popping up here and there with thousands of followers. Logically, influencer marketing – a method of brand promotion through offering influencers your freebies in exchange for coverage – seems to be a real deal. However, in reality, it doesn’t work that simple, and many brands don’t get the desired. So what’s wrong with your influencer marketing? Here’s is what you need to fix to make it work for you.
Reason 1. Your influencer is a fake one
Influencers promise to promote your brand, but to whom actually? We live in a time when social media become more and more difficult to monetize. The more relevant the audience, the harder and more expensive to reach it. That is why “faking” (buying) follows, watches, and likes becomes a norm for many influencers. However, even if we assume that those 50k followers are real, how do you know that all of those 50k will be genuinely interested in the influencer’s promoted content (your product)? Sometimes people follow because they like just one part of the content, not everything the influencer posts. A tip: have business with influencers you’ve heard of before and check their comments to see if the follower base is holistic and the subscribers are genuinely interested.
Reason 2. The target audience is wrong
Make sure the influencer’s followers actually fit your target demographics. It often happens that only a small part does. If in doubt, ask the influencer to specify their follower base. If they want to learn how to get paid for website traffic (monetize), they must know their audience like the back of their hand. Also, ask them if they have already covered a similar brand and what the feedback was.
Reason 3. Your influencer’s audience is passive
Following doesn’t mean readiness to buy. Have you ever wondered why people follow? Some people do it because they just like (envy) the influencer’s lifestyle. It’s more like a herd behavior. Even if they are 50k, they aren’t likely to buy your products. They prefer just watching.
Other people follow because they connect their values and vision with the influencer (we’d better call them a thought leader). They respect and trust their leader because he or she helps them become better because he/she really cares. Your business will be better off with a thought leader with fewer (say, 5k) though more genuine and paying followers.
Reason 4. People spot and steer clear of promotional content
People aren’t stupid (mostly) and easily differentiate genuine content from a promotional one. They feel that “sponsored” content created in “collaboration with” a brand and its “sweet” tone of voice are somehow connected with the influencer’s personal gain (your free products or services), which kills the authenticity of such recommendation. This is actually the reason why real thought leaders refuse collabs: they value their autonomy and their audience and, therefore, pay for products on their own. A tip: try luck with a thought leader who will be able to incorporate your brand into their posts seamlessly, in a more natural way.
Reason 5. The price is wrong
Influencers promise to raise awareness of your brand, but what’s the price? While some influencers will be satisfied with freebies while others prefer getting real money. It’s not a good idea to pay an influencer based on the number of their subscribers or the number of installs. The number of views and the level of engagement are more reasonable criteria. Look at how an influencer interacts with viewers and elaborate your expectations and payment from this point.
Bottom line
A business should stay realistic about its collaboration with an influencer since the latter cannot prove their influence. You shouldn’t get overly obsessed with numbers but rather focus on the value your marketing creates for your community.
