I have a rather provocative question for you to consider if you're in influencer marketing - Do fake followers even matter?
A recent study suggests that the industry lost $200 million by paying influencers based on their follower count with a proportion of followers that are estimated to be fake. To me, this is only true if you're paying your influencers based on their follower count. So my theory is, the less sophisticated your influencer marketing, the more fake followers matter.
Now hear me out! The best programs are measured in this sort of order.
What we're trying to reiterate is if you're just paying out based on followers, you're really not at the point where you're driving to real business objectives. We also recommend at the end of every campaign, you need to stack rank your influencers based on their performance, including their efficiency. So look at how much they charge you relative to the true results they drove compared to every other influencer in the program, and stop using influencers who aren't driving those business results.
So, that's what I think, but I want to know what you think. Are fake followers really that big a deal in influencer marketing? I think it's an issue, but not the issue. Send me a note with your thoughts on the matter.