To prevent yourself from falling prey to fraudsters, consider the following when collaborating with influencers of any scale:
Scrutinise your target creators’ profiles
Is there a sudden surge in these influencers’ followers? What is the quality of their comment sections over time? Are the sections dominated by bot-like comments using random emojis or irrelevant texts? Are the influencers using original or stock photos?
These questions will help you identify whether your target profiles are authentic. If ‘yes’ answers one or more of those questions, you must exercise caution and examine other metrics thoroughly. Otherwise, to play safe, omit seemingly fraudulent profiles from your list.
Examine influencers’ audience bases
The ultimate aim of any influencer marketing campaign is to create brand awareness and affinity among desired audience segments, so vetting follower profiles is also of great importance.
In addition to ensuring that you are reaching the right audience, you can figure out whether an influencer is relying on engagement pods by assessing their usernames, how active they are, what kind of posts they usually upload or whether any content is shared at all.
Employ a third-party data service provider
Such external software as GroupHigh can assist you in searching for the right influencers and verifying their influence and legitimacy level. By using third-party programmes, you gain access to concrete data that validify your initial assessment of influencers’ profiles and support your choices, thus ensuring the ROI of your upcoming marketing campaign.
With the ever-increasing growth of celebrities and the creator economy, along with associated frauds, it might be daunting for many companies to feel safe about their choices of brand ambassadors or endorsers.
At Midas PR, we are experts in identifying and matching brands with their fitting industry key opinion leaders. If you want an end-to-end influencer campaign that generates lasting impacts on your marketing with the best-suited and authentic voices, contact us for a consultation through email or www.midas-pr.com