9 mistakes that companies make when turning to influencers

To start, I would like to clarify the term “influencer”. What does it really mean?

An influencer is a person whose opinion can change the vision, values, and perceptions of others. This can be a blogger, actor, singer, musician, or social media influencer. Since influencers can also affect the purchasing decisions of their followers, many companies collaborate with influencers to increase their company’s sales.

Choosing the appropriate influencer is not easy. It requires some research, analysis, creativity, and strategic thinking. Besides, neglecting the reputation of an influencer and counting on the audience of influencers with millions of users is a path to failure.


1. A belief that a popular influencer = quick result

Many people think that influencers with more followers are prioritized when companies choose an influencer to promote a product. As a result, marketers spend a lot of money on millionaire influencers and get a lot of likes and comments, but not sales.

What to do

Influencers with millions of users have low audience engagement. Advertising is expensive, and the content space is already oversaturated with advertising. Regular followers are used to this, so they ignore the advertising. Advertising from popular influencers improves the brand image of companies, but does not convert to sales.

It is cheaper and more effective to order advertising from 10-15 small influencers (up to 50 thousand followers). They have higher audience engagement, prices are fair, and audience trust isn’t compromised. Such opinion leaders are more willing to communicate with small and medium-sized businesses.

 

2. Too much trust

Some influencer marketing managers decide that it is not necessary to control the influencer. The managers provide the influencer with a brief and let him work independently. But problems may arise if the post greatly distorts the message and an error creeps in. In this case, the managers have to ask the influencer to redo the post, which can be a waste of time. 

What to do

Influencers don’t like it when advertisers control their every move. However, the brand has the right to agree on the final post before publication. An influencer may not know the nuances of the new product; his task is different – to get the message to his followers.

To avoid this, discuss the content approval workflow with the influencer in advance. Some influencers do not approve extensive edits. In this case, you can and should suspend their work.

 

3. Audience misjudgment

After a tedious debate, a company decides to promote family furniture through Insta-moms, who run blogs about kids and motherhood. After all, such accounts are viewed by other young parents, who are interested in buying safe and comfortable furniture.

Though advertising by a few Insta-moms may hit the target, this is not enough. For effective promotion, you need to cooperate with at least 10-15 influencers. This way, the audience learns about the product from several sources that they trust.

What to do

This idea works only if the audience of a particular Insta-mom matches the audience of the company. It is much more effective to advertise with influencers with a suitable community. When choosing a suitable influencer, you should focus more on their target audience, rather than the content.

 

4. The belief “The one who pays, is right”

Many companies lose patience. Working with influencers requires time, attention, and a well-thought-out strategy. The work is arranged in a new way: the company pays, and the influencer follows passively.

What to do

Imposing strict guidelines on influencers is not a good idea. An influencer is primarily a creative person, not a subordinate. He knows his audience better. If the influencer believes that something may not work for his target audience, you should listen. If you want a challenge, it is better to find an influencer who has already done something similar and whose audience is familiar with your proposed format.

 

5. Ignoring the influencer’s reputation and other advertising integrations

A brand may order a promotion from an influencer that advertises everything. However, it is important to study what the influencer has promoted before. Advertising with doubtful influencers does not bring results.

What to do

It is wrong to conclude the quality of a blog solely based on the number of followers. An influencer’s account is also about reputation and content, not just numbers. In addition, the influencer’s reputation becomes associated with the promoted brand. 

To avoid reputational costs, it is useful to spend 10 minutes to study other advertising the influencer has done. It is also useful to do a background check of the influencer on Google. What if some unpleasant scandals come out?

 

6. Bribing opinion leaders against competitors

Some companies think that it is acceptable to smear the brand image of competitors. After all, some pay for negativity, so why be shy?

As a result, a brand may request influencers to write negative comments about competitors. Now the unpleasant post appears in search results when potential buyers search for information about the company.

What to do

Forget about paying for the negative comments about competitors. First, it is unethical. Second, the company’s brand image will be damaged significantly if the smear campaign is revealed.

 

7. A belief that a bright review will save a failed product

Some brand managers believe in the packaging effect. If products are presented well, no one will notice problems with the assembly. However, influencers may refuse to work with a product they don’t believe in. 

What to do

Advertising with influencers is effective, but not omnipotent. Deception will inevitably cause negativity. Prioritise having a product that benefits customers. Everything else will come later.

 

8. The fear of experimentations in promotion collabs

Some brands are afraid to act differently, because of losing their clients. But, if you don’t do something different and don’t stand out, clients won’t be interested anymore. It is always possible to present the best qualities of the product to customers creatively.

What to do

Unusual ads are remembered better and have a good chance of going viral. It was courage and creativity that made Coca-Cola advertisements such a hit. Be bold. If you are bored with advertising, then why should the target audience be interested?

 

9. Underestimating the fake followers

A brand manager decided to work with influencers whom he found on Instagram and who were advised by colleagues. However, he later found out that 12 out of 15 influencers paid for fake followers, views, and activity in their profile.

What to do

It is difficult to determine fake followers in an influencer’s profile. As a rule of thumb, the live profile of a real influencer should have a lot of meaningful comments and discussions, and active participation from the audience. To make sure, it is better to check the influencer’s account using the applications like Hypeauditor, Minter.io, Grin, or others.

These mistakes are mostly committed by inexperienced marketers and students who do marketing as a side job. Influencer marketing, in fact, can bring fast results if done right. To do so, many brands use the influencer marketing platform StarNgage, which allows brand managers to set up campaigns suitable for their marketing goals and budgets. StarNgage also analyses influencers’ social media profiles to make sure that the collaboration will bring the desired results. 

Check out StarNgage if you want to attract new customers with influencer marketing.


The author’s bio: Alicia Burmeister is a passionate influencer marketing manager at EssaysWritingHelp. She is also an essay writer, and content creator, who loves creative solutions.

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