Busting the six most common myths of influencer marketing

By Ana Thorsdottir, head of business development and partnerships EMEA, Tagger

In the introduction we said that we haven’t reached ‘peak infuencer.’ However, that phrase is doing the rounds thanks to a number of myths about the infuencer marketing industry. Here, Tagger’s Ana Thorsdottir busts six common ones.

Myth 1

“Bots and fraud cannot be avoided, and influencers can not be trusted.” As more industry consultants and experts emerge, influencer marketing becomes less misunderstood. Unfortunately, this myth still seems to exist, with a few fraudulent individuals casting doubt on creators who work hard to build their content performance, their business, and genuine ROI on brand collaborations.

The truth here is that by using tools like Tagger, fraud is easily detect-ed and avoided. Whether you use the fraud analysis tool as a guide-line, check the creator’s account behaviour, or simply their demo-graphics info, it now only takes a few minutes to see a red flag.

It’s never been easier to detect suspicious behaviour, and with the creator giving users access to their profiles’ backend for measurement, there is no need to rely on screen grabs either.

Myth 2

“Influencers just pose for selfies and are a non-legitimate marketing method.”

Some marketers are still not considering influencer marketing as part oftheir spend for a lot of reasons – lack of understanding, fear of losing money, or lack of knowledge about how best to spend in the space.

Content creators are sometimes written off and mocked as ‘Instagram models’ or ‘selfie-obsessed posers’, but a brand could be missing out on one ofthe best ROI in advertising.

Relevance is vital and being well prepared is paramount. If an influ-encer’s audience is not aligned with your brand’s message, your budget will definitely be wasted.

This is entirely avoidable with a good strategy and research. Choose your infuencer collaborations wisely and reap the benefts so many brands already undeniably have.

Myth 3

“Unsexy brands and B2B brands cannot beneft from Infuencer Marketing.”

Some readers of this guide will work for b2b companies such as suppliers to the aviation industry or engine manufacturers.

The fact of the matter is, everyone can beneft from infuencer marketing just like they can from word-of-mouth.

Infuencer marketing is not confned to Instagram, YouTube or Twitter. It’s everywhere else, too – on your local street, on Pinterest, LinkedIn, in closed Facebook groups, and at in-person events that may never be marketed on social media.

The key operative word here is ‘infuence’; who is doing the infuencing, where, and how. Some of the most effective and clever campaigns can come out of simple, small-scale B2B ideas.

Infuencer marketing lets brands tell their stories in a human way. All brands can beneft from infuencers as long as they collaborate with the right ones to help them create content that connects with the right audiences.

Myth 4

“Infuencer Marketing is too expensive.”

Some people think content creators ‘charge too much’. Let’s not forget these individuals are the copywriters, stylists, photographers, creatives, strategists, models, and editors all in one, giving you not only great content but results with ‘no extra charge’.

If you look at it that way and compare it to traditional advertising techniques, infuencers are actually the cheapest content creators in the world.

Dependent on the infuencers you choose and the size of your campaign, it can cost as little as £100 to start your frst campaign!

Yes, it’s true it can be a challenge as there is no set pricing for any individual, their talent, persona, or what they create, but there are ways to know if you are negotiating well.

Data is your power, and both brands and talent agents can utilise the information they see on software like Tagger to their advantage in the negotiation process. It then becomes very transparent, clear and risk proof.

Myth 5

“Influencer Marketing and influencer advertising are the same.”

There is no ‘one size fts all’ when it comes to infuencer marketing. One burning topic this year was “micro” vs “macro”, which in turn placed an argument on the differences between infuencer marketing and infuencer advertising. The two are very different and should be used in different ways.

‘Infuencer advertising’ tends to be effective for events, new product launches or quick and effective message promotion in the form of what we call ‘one hit wonders’ that get you lots of attention.

Whereas infuencer marketing will typically encompass a 360 integrated marketing approach, longer partnership, multiple posts on different channels, and a more complex and involved collaboration with exclusivity clauses or even a new product. Infuencer marketing will go as far as a billboard and TV screens, whereas infuencer advertising is an effective tool in a moment in time.

Myth 6

“Infuencer Marketing is so time-consuming.”

If we’re talking about man hours and how time-consuming it is, then yes, it is.

It’s a no brainer that tech like Tagger will help you improve your team’s proftability and productivity, even double it.

Discovering infuencers from around the globe, analysing their content performance, running campaigns and letting tech do ALL the reporting work for you is really the bees’ knees.

Why would you spend hours trawling through Instagram, when it only takes minutes to discover infuencers all over the world with ultra-relevant content? And think twice before sending your clients the same list of infuencers over and over again, because there is just no ‘one size fts all’ for individuals either.

With an 83% YoY growth in Infuencer Marketing spend, and with 82% of the next generation skipping ads, it’s evident that predictions of the demise of this medium are premature.

The majority of marketers are still running campaigns, measuring ROI more effectively than ever before, and planning to increase their spend into 2020. The more fun question now is…who’s going to take it up a notch?