Here’s the Simple Solution to Influencer Fraud

In the last four years, influencer marketing has quickly developed into a multi-billion-dollar industry. Businesses increasingly allocate their resources towards it for one specific reason; its unrivaled ROI that proves incomparable to any traditional forms of marketing. By tapping into preformulated audiences that consistently show interest in the opinions and recommendations of the influencers they follow, logically, brand exposure surges and sales increase.

This sounds too good to be true because it is.

The influencer market has seen very sudden expansion. Of course, every aspiring influencer wants to make money working with the companies they’ve dreamed of creating content for; but when the odds of recognition from brands are ordinarily slim, some influencers turn to less than honorable practices. Easily paying for followers, likes and comments to boost a well-constructed facade has inflated this method’s popularity, despite its fraudulent nature. It’s imperative for any brand’s success to not only understand the detrimental effects that these “fake” influencers can have but how to avoid engaging in collaborations with them in the first place.

A “fake” influencer can be defined as an account that artificially grows its following, whether they are a bot or a real person.

However, this is only the tip of the iceberg; unfortunately, the validity of these profiles no longer sticks out like a sore thumb. Due to a lack of regulation across social media platforms, fake accounts have taken advantage of the opportunity to do business by imitating the appearance of organic growth and a high following; and by the time a business sees that reflected in their lack of sales, it’s too late.

New software technology is continuously being developed for detecting fake influencers, but to determine influencer fraud can be difficult primarily for two reasons. First, to legitimately label an account as “fake,” it requires a long period of time tracking the accounts for follower growth, engagement and posting. Conversely, to determine an account has a fake following does not neglect their engagement with real followers; so, for brands to do business with and spend money on the right influencers, individual assessments must be made.

With AI and blockchain solutions, the three key questions to run during an influencer litmus test can be answered with the click of a button:

1. Does the influencer have a developed community? Do they network with other influencers?

a) Questions like these get to the core issue of authenticity. The more conversations and reviews left in the comments can attest to their legitimacy.

b) Similarly, if the influencer has networked and collaborated with other influencers, then their following can largely be a summation of exposure from external communities. You can pick up on their personal voice and message through their content beyond posting.

2. Do they have high rates of engagement?

a) If there is only one factor people working in the influencer marketing industry need to be concerned with, it’s engagement. The ratio of followers to engagement will tell how likely this influencer’s audience is to be genuinely exposed to a brand’s product. The lower the rate, the more harmful for the brand’s marketing strategy.

b) Be sure to check what followers are actually saying. Are the comments seemingly generic? Do they engage in personal conversation? If not, be wary that there is a higher likelihood of a paid following.

3. Do they speak to a specific niche?

a) Influencers with high followings (including celebrities), may not be your brand’s best marketing selection because of their tendency not to speak to any one specific niche. Consider also that a highly followed account rarely coincides with a high engagement rate.

b) Influencers with traces of fraudulent activity are more likely to remain open in choosing their “specialty” to attract a wider range of followers and business opportunities as well.

So, now that you understand fake influencers are hard to determine, running the risk of hurting business and wasting resources is not an option, you’re probably wondering what kinds of influencers you should be working with.

For a brand to effectively tap into the influencer marketing industry, it’s always best to start small. You do not need to blow your entire budget on expensive influencers. Use influencers with a following between 1,000–20,000 within your brand’s niche that have high engagement, get comfortable with the process and go from there.

Accounts with smaller followings are guaranteed to reach their audience in a more genuine way and are far less expensive to collaborate with. Many brands have found success in this corner of the market. As more influencers enter the industry, your brand can market its product through a handful of micro-influencer channels that will earn you more exposure and loyal customers than a single macro or mega influencer can. A brand that is just beginning to gain momentum should avoid sending products to any influencer with a following above 500k — the target engagement rate to aim for is anywhere between 3.5–10%.

influenc offers a unique approach to the vetting process that requires no guesswork on part of the brand. Our technology monitors our active influencers, their growth and KPIs, which helps to ensure that the followers seen on their profiles are not only genuine but frequently engaging with the content that is posted. We provide the tool that brands need in order to eliminate error and prevent influencer fraud.

Unfortunately, because of the beneficial social implications of a high following, your brand is more than likely to stumble across an account with a higher number of fake followers than legitimate. Those who truly treat their social media as a career can initiate and sustain positive impacts on a business, so, closely discerning those to work with is well worthwhile when done correctly. Strategic marketing based on influencer performance should always be the main concern of any brand.