Influencer marketing has become one of the most popular marketing trends over the past few years. And for good reasons: In 2018, 81% of marketers reported that using influencers to bolster their marketing plans is an effective strategy.

Given that many marketers are already working with influencers, or are reviewing them, it’s worth exploring some of the brand influencer partnership pitfalls. We’ve put together a list of six risks when working with influencers to share the precautions in addressing these issues.

1. Influencer engagement on Instagram is approaching an all-time low

Social media immediately oversaturated from influencers as it allows more people to attain fame and status of influence. It is impossible to follow all content of influence that viewers follow (especially sponsored content). It is also noteworthy that the kind formed by fame, especially on social media, is the moment. An influence grabbing the viewer’s attention today may not hold the same attention for tomorrow.

If your customers on social media are plagued with sponsored content in their feeds, they are unlikely to engage with both influencers and brands. This is reflected in a recent survey that revealed an overall decline in Instagram engagement. “Sponsored article participation dropped from 4% three years ago to 2.4% in the first quarter of 2019, and non-sponsored article participation dropped from 4.5% to 1.9% in a similar period,” said a mobile marketer. It has declined.

So, how can marketers avoid this industry-wide problem? More interaction of “Nano influencer” with viewers than cooperating with influencer, which has many followers, can form a closer community and induce higher participation.

According to an article by a mobile marketer, “Instagram Influencers with at least 10,000 followers has a stable participation rate of about 3.6% worldwide. Influencers with 5000-10,000 followers. Participation rate is 6.3%, and the participation rate of Influencers, which has 1,000 to 5,000 followers, is the highest at 8.8%. “Working together is more involved than name recognition when choosing influencers. Focus on it.

2. False Partnerships and Content

We all know that influencers has not always been given to use (or like) the products and services it guarantees on social media. Many brands don’t seem to care that the warranty comes from true authenticity (which can be difficult to measure), but if the audience can interpret the influencers warranty as false or misleading. It will lose the trust of all brands and interpretations.

According to a Bazaarvoice study, 47% of customers are tired of influencer content that doesn’t seem to be the truest case, and 62% of customers think that influencer recommendations use an inspiring audience for their advantage.

The recommended best practice is to partner with your favorite influential person using your product or service before signing a warranty agreement, but at least marketers should work with your brand and partner with influential people who are truly relevant. Beauty brands, for example, need to find influences where people seek beauty advice. Does it make sense?

It is also important for marketers to give influencers autonomy to make copies of sponsored content and images / videos. Marketers tend to try to tighten restraints, but influencers knows the audience best.

A good example of the brand and influencer partnership is the Instagram partnership between Jonathan Van Ness and Lipton. JVN is known for his very savvy personality, and seeing articles on his Instagram that don’t reflect the usual quirks and adorable flares can be very embarrassing to viewers.
Influencer usually curate content without a sponsor, and as a result can curate recommended copies that reflect their voice and personal brand, creating the kind of content viewers want to see.

3. As per FTC Rule

Marketers need to be aware of the sanctions they may face if their sponsored content is misinterpreted. In April 2017, the FTC sent more than 90 letters to influencers in the material, stating that “if you are promoting or recommending a product on social media, you need to clearly and conspicuously disclose your relationship with the brand.”

For the most part, this means using the right hashtags like #spon #ad #partner, etc. Many social media platforms now include tools to mark posts as paid, but many influencers are not passionate about the rules. A 2018 Impact survey conducted by eMarketer found that 41% of respondents label FTC mandatory hashtag approval only when explicitly asked, while 7% do not label content at all.

Brands and influencers may be hesitant to use hashtags and other labeling tools to avoid turning their attention to pay for content, but it would be a good idea to bite the bullet and follow the guidelines set by the FTC. Rather than being swept away by the FTC’s citations, the focus is on curating content in a way that appeals to viewers despite hashtags and labels.

4. Moral Conflict

The name Logan Paul holds great weight to marketers today as many remember his infamous Suicide Forest video, which scrambled the brand to break free from influencer approval deals.

Every other day, it feels like the new influencer is controversial and kills its brand partners for years. to come and damage their reputation. An influencer is a human being, and mistakes marketers should be aware that even if the influencer has an attractive fan base, certain influencers themselves maybe a dangerous investment.

Marketers are free to break their relationship with influencers, which has problems with all contracts with influencers, including moral clauses, so if an influencer acts contrary to its brand value, it can easily break the relationship. But marketers should know how much they are investing in.

YouTube users who want to work with them may have a complete target outlook, but are renowned for their violent behavior and intermittent prison life. After all, check your homework before signing a contract and understand that the infamous wild influence probably continues to do the same.

5. Follower Farm

Social media marketers should also be wary of influencers with a high percentage of bots that either buy followers or make up their follower count. An impact survey conducted by Hit Search found that “98% of respondents admitted that they found an individual’s Instagram follower count using a bot to indicate whether they were growing rapidly, buying in bulk, growing in anomalous ways or in a short period of time.

It is repeated, but marketers need to focus on quality of engagement rather than number of followers. The more followers your influencer has, the more chances you have of fake followers. If you’re worried about a particular influencer, you can take advantage of follower analysis tools like Hype Auditor or IG Audit to search for bots from their followers.

6. Ethical Meaning

The ethical meaning of influencer labor may be the last thing marketers think of when partnering with influencer. But that’s the problem. It means that influencers treats more as a product than human beings. Marketers need to be interested in maintaining a balance between making money and not appearing to sell out, so marketers create contracts in their favor with FTC compliance, moral restrictions and the exclusive contract can be applied to influencers.

Finally, while influencers chose this profession and assume the duties and risks that come with it, marketers must be aware of the errors influencers will make and avoid making the most of them. One of the best ways for marketers is to simplify the task of influencers (improving the quality of sponsored content) is to give influencers a creative license for content creation. Let influencers do what they know best: create social media content. They will be lesser worried about upsetting your customers and the content established will look more real.

Influencer marketing is a very useful tool for marketers, but it is important to note the areas where influencer marketing can go wrong. When working with influencers, you need to be aware of these risks and take precautions to protect your brand in dire circumstances.