Today, influencers have helped brands make money online through mass social media followers. With influencer marketing becoming a major part of brand sales and growth, the digital space has also seen the rise of bad practices by influencers who take advantage of the new digital landscape by purchasing fake followers.
This means that many brands are building business relationships with influencers who are not actually creating authentic relationships with their followers.
Fortunately, there are companies out there who are aware of the bad practices going on in the digital landscape, and they are determined to combat them. Unilever and Samsung are just four examples of companies that are keen to create positive and meaningful experiences for people who purchase their products. This includes being transparent about who they partner with while refusing to partner with influencers who participate in bad practices and fraudulent activity such as purchasing followers.
All three companies have publicly made a commitment to combat influencers who purchase fake followers, promising to work with partners who give consumers a voice.
“At Unilever, we believe influencers are an important way to reach consumers and grow our brands. Their power comes from a deep, authentic and direct connection with people, but certain practices like buying followers can easily undermine these relationships,” Keith Weed, chief marketing officer at Unilever, said at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
eBay, Samsung, and Diageo reflected this sentiment during a panel session at the festival.
“What I want to do is give our sellers a voice, rather than influencers who have a following and are willing to write a post. You should only allow genuine and authentic people to post. Marc Mathieu (chief marketing officer at Samsung Electronics America) stated that Samsung is interested in telling a story about creators. Diageo also has a unique approach, which is to focus on influencers – but only selectively.
Influencer marketing is changing. The goal of influencer marketing is not about signing influential people and using them as a sales or endorsement agent for a product. It is now about building relationships with customers and working with influencers that truly care about the brand. It’s about partnering with influencers who share common interests that resonate with people on a deeper level than just purchasing a product.
Brands are now determined to work with influencers who are authentic and have an engaging audience. It’s important to work with people who are authentic and have a large following. Influencers who purchase followers just to increase their following don’t have this type of engagement – and it’s obvious.
Consumers and brands alike are starting to be able to tell the difference between authentic influencers and influencers who are in it for the money. Brands are starting to partner with authentic influencers, while keeping a distance from fake accounts that pretend to be real. This accounts account number 48 million. These numbers are quite staggering. In 2015, Instagram revealed that it had 24 million fake accounts. These numbers are pretty staggering.
With the rising number of bot accounts appearing on various social media platforms, it is becoming more and more important for brands to rethink their influencer marketing strategies by starting to develop meaningful connections with consumers.
Edward Kitchingman, author of Influencer Marketing, a Journey, suggests changing the way brands partner with their influencers. Kitchingman suggests that brands start by focusing on the impact of the influencers’ following and not the number. Instead, they should look at how the community is growing. He also suggests focusing on how an influencer can creatively contribute to a brand while focusing on long-term growth and relationships.