Working with influencers can be super helpful for getting your brand out there and beginning to drive business results with this trusted method. But sometimes influencers do stuff that makes their brand partners look bad. Just in the last few weeks, we've seen an influencer cause a riot in Times Square and another influencer sue a brand after they terminated her. She lost. 

We asked key members of the Carusele to discuss this phenomenon in this engaging conversation. Take a look: 

How to Protect Brands Doing Influencer Marketing

If you're more of a skimmer, here are 7 tips to help brands avoid influencer drama:

1. - Check out influencers before you work with them. See what they post about and how they talk to their followers. Avoid anyone who seems controversial.
2. - Have a solid influencer contract. Make sure you can quit working with them if they start drama that hurts your reputation.  
3. - Watch what influencers do closely. Use tools to see what folks are saying about your brand. If there's an issue, get the facts fast.
4. - If something bad happens, be real with people. Admit if your brand messed up. Explain how you'll fix it. Maybe don't respond if it's not a big deal.
5. - Keep watching after you respond via social media monitoring. See if you need to do more or if what you did was enough.
6. - Later, look back at what went wrong. Figure out how to avoid the problem next time.
7. - Remember influencers are people too. Cut them some slack if they have personal issues. But protect your brand from anyone at risk of doing real damage.

The bottom line? Do your homework on influencers, have a plan if things go south, and handle problems fast and honestly.  

This will help you use influencers to grow your brand while avoiding major drama. Want more details? Check out a complete summary of what to do when influencers are behaving badly on our sister company Ignite Social Media's website.