Bagging a social media influencer is a risk to take because it can always make or break your business, especially that one that is on the cups of breaking out and just needs the last push from a recognized brand to make a difference. It is said that influencer marketing has generated a good amount for business which has made it be a good strategy to work with.
We find that nowadays social media has really grown and this is one of the places where audiences engage with influencers. Social media rankings on YouTube and Facebook have become the most popular and persuasive platforms that impact buying decisions. There has been some doubt that influencers with a large social media following and a recognizable brand name are in a position to generate the type of interest and persuasion necessary for increased website traffic conversions.
What is influencer fraud?
Influencer fraud occurs when an influencer manipulates their numbers and appears to have more followers or influence on purchase behavior than what they actually have. Nowadays, businesses often choose influencers and compensate them based on these numbers not knowing that this is a big deception that will damage the whole transaction.
Fake followers are accounts that do not have any reality behind them, so when a company pays an influencer based on false attribution or purchase then that money is going down to be drained and this brings a very negative impact to your business.
These influencers use their time and money to provide their audiences with relevant information in different entertaining ways that take advantage of their unique personalities. But over time influencers will gain followers that like their content.
Influencer fraud occurs when people decide to buy followers, or use bots to generate comments. What people who buy followers should know is that they are not always getting genuine motivated followers but instead you are just paying influencers that can’t be able to do anything to advance your marketing goals.
What are the types of influencer fraud?
Some of the influencer fraud include?
- Bot’s comment- These are one of the ways that influencers build their brand but they are non made by real people instead they are made with the services that sell automated likes and comments that will make your audience to believe that influencer is generating a positive reaction to the post.
- Pods- These are groups of people on social media that forms alliances to provide positive comments on each other’s post. Instagram being one of the famous platforms with pods.
- Bought followers- bought followers are people that are paid by the influencers to become followers on the social media accounts. These followers are not always genuine and most of them are always added gradually to help disguise the fact that they are not real.
How can one detect influencer Froud?
Below are some ways that will help you know the warning signs for you to avoid using a fraudulent influencer in any of your campaigns.
- Comments that do not align with the posts
With this, one can notice the comments on an influencers social media platform do not have anything to do with what the influencer posted, and all these mean that the comments are fraudulent.
- Sudden Spikes in followers
If you come across any sudden spikes in followers that are not explained by another factor like a major event then this is a sign that the influencer has bought new followers. The major events that could organically boost the number of followers include things like live-streaming among others.
- A unique ratio of likes or comments to number of followers
If an influencer has a relatively low number of followers and if you look at the likes or followers and see that they are high then the likes and comments might be auto-generated. This clearly shows that an influencer with a high number of followers with few likes may be buying followers and not wise enough to also buy the automated comment that maybe if one sees they can be convinced or that would prevent fraud detection.
What steps can you take to avoid influencer Fraud?
- Track Campaign Performance- One needs to analyze the influencers prior social media campaigns for you to be able to determine the quality of the content and the overall performance. And if you notice the influencer has no history of social media campaigns for any other brand then its probably the right time to move on to someone more professional.
- Track the influencers history- Confirm and know how long the influencer has been active and also check the number of followers and comments, know the tone of the influencer posts and if it has remained consistent with the influencers brand.
In a Nutshell
One needs to be more careful of the influencers even if the influencer marketing can still help benefit your business. It is very important for you to vet your target influencers before you use your money for the campaigns.