Faux Followers in Influencer Marketing: How to Combat Them | Shray Bhardwaj Shraybee
The digital marketing landscape today is one in which influencers have helped brands make money by leveraging mass social media followings. The rise in influencer marketing has made it a crucial part of brand growth and sales. However, there have been some bad practices from influencers who profit from the new digital landscape by buying fake followers.
This signifies that brands establish business relationships with influencers but not with their followers.
Some companies are aware of the problems in the digital world and are willing to work with them to fix them. Unilever (Samsung, eBay, Diageo) are just four examples of companies dedicated to providing positive experiences and meaningful products for their customers. This means being open about their partners and refusing to work with influencers that engage in fraudulent activities such as buying followers.
The three companies publicly committed to fighting influencers who bought fake followers and promised to partner with consumers who could give them a voice.
Unilever believes that influencers are a helpful way to reach consumers and grow our brands. They are powerful because they have a direct, genuine, and personal connection with people. However, certain practices such as buying followers can quickly destroy these relationships,” Keith Weed (chief marketing officer at Unilever) said at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Diageo, Samsung, and eBay echoed this sentiment during a panel session at the Festival.
“I want to give sellers a voice rather than influencers who are willing to write posts and have a following. They should come from genuine and authentic people. Godert van de Dedem, vice-president and chief market officer for eBay EMEA, stated that he would shift influencer spending to this class of influencers. Their stories will be helpful for buyers and are specific to eBay.
Marc Mathieu (chief marketing officer at Samsung Electronics America) stated that Samsung wants to tell a story of creators. Diageo has an unusual approach to focusing on influencers, but only in exceptional cases.
Influencer marketing is evolving. It is no longer about signing influential people and using them as a platform to promote or sell a product. The focus of influencer marketing has shifted to a relationship-building approach that works with people who care about brands and their customers. It’s about finding influencers with common interests who resonate with people more than just buying products.
Brands want to partner with authentic influencers that have an engaged audience. This means that influencers must have an engaged audience. Influencers who buy followers to increase their following are not engaging with their audience.
Brands and consumers are beginning to recognize the differences between genuine influencers and those just out to make a buck. Many brands now partner with authentic influencers while keeping a distance from fake influencers looking to gain followers.
According to reports, 48 million active Twitter accounts (or 15%) are fake accounts that pretend to be real people. Facebook also stated that 60 million accounts are affected, and Instagram revealed that it had 24 million fake accounts in 2015. These numbers are pretty staggering.
Brands need to reconsider their influencer marketing strategies due to the increasing number of bot accounts on social media platforms. They should also be establishing meaningful relationships with consumers to increase their reach.
Edward Kitchingman, author of Influencer Marketing: A Journey, suggests that brands change how they partner with influencers. Kitchingman means that brands start by focusing on the community and its engagement rather than the influencer’s followers. Kitchingman suggests that brands should not focus on the influencer’s creative contribution to a brand but instead on long-term growth and relationships.
