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Check their follower count and growth rate
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Look at their engagement rate and quality
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Assess their content and niche
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Research their reputation and reviews
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Ask for their media kit and analytics
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Here’s what else to consider
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Influencer marketing is a powerful way to reach your target audience, build trust, and generate conversions. But not all influencers are created equal. Some may have fake followers, low engagement, or shady practices that can damage your brand reputation and waste your budget. How can you tell if an influencer is legit? Here are some tips to help you spot the real from the fake.
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- Nycole Hampton Brand Marketer and Storyteller | Social Media and Creator Economy Expert | Speaker
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- Akshay Bansal AI Strategist | Helping Businesses Unlock Exponential Growth through Custom AI Solutions.
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1 Check their follower count and growth rate
One of the easiest ways to spot a fake influencer is to look at their follower count and growth rate. A legit influencer will have a consistent and organic growth of followers over time, while a fake one may have sudden spikes or drops that indicate buying or losing followers. You can use tools like Social Blade or Hype Auditor to analyze the influencer's follower history and see if there are any red flags.
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- Akshay Bansal AI Strategist | Helping Businesses Unlock Exponential Growth through Custom AI Solutions.
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Selecting the right influencer is the first step of influencer marketing, you can consider the following points: - Engagement: Genuine influencers have active, real engagement (likes, comments) from followers.- Niche Consistency: Legit influencers stick to a specific niche.- Transparency: Authentic influencers disclose paid promotions, following advertising rules.- Reputation: Check online reviews, history, and absence of scams or controversies.- Consistency: Regular posting with steady engagement indicates authenticity.- Verified Profiles: Look for verified badges.- Endorsem*nts: Reputable brand partnerships or endorsem*nts signal legitimacy.- Personal Interaction: Genuine influencers engage with their audience.
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Assessing the legitimacy and potential impact of influencer is crucial before signing up an influencer campaign. Consistent and gradual growth rate indicates a credible profile and their ability to connect meaningfully with audience. Tools like Social Blade and Influencer Marketing Hub are insightful in this regard
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- Maureen Egbuna CEO at Mimee's Group
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Also, the Influencer's products have to be well known, receive good feedbacks and recommendations as well as lots of likes on social media.The Influencers write ups on the products and their companies are convincing and prove their efficacy.
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2 Look at their engagement rate and quality
Another way to measure the influencer's credibility is to look at their engagement rate and quality. The engagement rate is the percentage of followers who like, comment, or share the influencer's content. A legit influencer will have a high and consistent engagement rate, while a fake one may have a low or fluctuating rate that shows lack of interest or authenticity. The quality of the engagement is also important. A legit influencer will have genuine and relevant comments from their followers, while a fake one may have spammy or generic comments from bots or paid accounts.
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- Nycole Hampton Brand Marketer and Storyteller | Social Media and Creator Economy Expert | Speaker
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Engagement quality is so much more important than rate. Engagement is down for all so rate isn't a sure fire way to know anything. Look at their comments. - Are they filled with emojis or comments that aren't relevant to the content? - Are the same people commenting on every single post... POD ALERT!! - Is it all spam that they aren't deleting? Might be trying to fluff engagement so in quick scans in the feed it looks like they have moreAnother thing to look at - who likes the content and follows them.- Do the accounts look real?- Are there a ton of accounts without photos?
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I’ve noticed meaningful interactions such as thoughtful comments and shares, demonstrating that influencer is connected with her audience beyond mere likes. This shows genuine interest of audience. Hootsuite and Socialbakers are tools to provide insights with depth of connection between influencer and their followers.
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3 Assess their content and niche
A legit influencer will have high-quality and original content that showcases their expertise and personality. They will also have a clear and focused niche that matches your brand's goals and values. A fake influencer may have low-quality or plagiarized content that lacks creativity and value. They may also have a vague or broad niche that does not align with your brand's identity or audience.
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Creator with focused niche suitable for your brand > Creator with multiple interests to get more followers.This result will also be shown in campaigns. Unless otherwise when the campaign goal is to experiment with new audience.
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4 Research their reputation and reviews
A legit influencer will have a good reputation and positive reviews from their previous collaborations and clients. They will also have a professional and transparent communication style that shows their trustworthiness and reliability. You can check their testimonials, case studies, media mentions, or social proof to verify their credibility and results. A fake influencer may have a bad reputation or no reviews at all. They may also have a shady or dishonest communication style that shows their lack of professionalism and ethics.
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I’ve had some amazing and some of my worst experiences with creators. Highlighting some positives that you must look up before the campaign:- Good behavioural etiquettes, Respectful to you and your brand (even difference in views are regarded)- Focus on objective and deriving common goal and value for both parties- Clear communication (written), clear payment terms, clear deliverable These are some preliminary pre-campaign signals.
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5 Ask for their media kit and analytics
A legit influencer will have a media kit and analytics that provide detailed information about their audience, reach, performance, and rates. They will also be willing to share their insights and metrics with you to prove their effectiveness and ROI. You can use their data to evaluate their suitability and potential for your campaign. A fake influencer may not have a media kit or analytics at all. They may also be reluctant or unable to share their data with you, or provide inaccurate or inflated numbers.
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Analytics of influencer campaign are important just like an ad campaign. Reporting and measuring is crucial component to understand the influencer’s potential and suitability for your brand.
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6 Here’s what else to consider
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