The biggest risks fashion brands face when using influencer marketing

Although there are a number of benefits to using marketing influencers and Instagram as previously discovered here, brands should be wary as if done incorrectly it can also seriously damage brands (SmartInsights, 2017).

Influencers only in it for the paycheck?

Dholakiya (2017) expresses that, although not all, some influencers may sadly only be in it for the paycheck. Brands need to understand that they are paying individuals to promote their products and the individual may not necessarily be a fan of their products. For an example, Helena Bonham Carter’s deal with Yardley Cosmetics. Helena was the face of the brand however in an interview she ranted about how she never wore makeup and did not understand why other people did (Faubert, 2015).

This could also be displayed in a result of a lack of care for the brand’s campaign or carelessness of checking what they are posting to their social media – an example can be shown with Scott Disick’s Instagram post in collaboration with Bootea Protein Shakes, where he simply copy and pasted a pre-written caption and included the instructions of use in his post. Due to Disick’s mistake, although the mistake provided a lot of publicity for the brand, individuals on social media were perceiving the brand as a joke, damaging its reputation.

You can’t control your influencers

Ultimately, influencers are using their own social media platforms, they can and will post what they like outside of the sponsored campaign without needing permission from brands (Hausman, 2017). Sometimes this can have serious consequences and cause a detrimental backlash on the brand, damaging reputations.

One of the biggest examples of this would be with one of digital media’s biggest celebrity, PewDiePie. With the most subscribed YouTube channel reigning in at just over 61 million subscribers, PewDiePie’s sponsors such as Disney and Google distanced themselves after controversial videos with anti-Semitic messages were posted (Berg, 2017). This was the biggest wake-up call for brands as it was the first major influencer slip-up (Main, 2017). The controversy showed brands how influencers can be dangerous and expresses how they need to have a close relationship with their influencers and be clear from the outset but still prepare for any issues which may occur (Armstrong, 2017). Another example, brands stopped using Tiger Woods to endorse their brands after reports of his infidelities hit the press (Hausman, 2017).

Think: Future

Things could be going well between the brand and the influencer and both parties could be happy with the arrangement. However, if a relationship between the brand and the influencer is not maintained well, the relationship may deteriorate and come to an end. If the influencer feels mistreated or has a negative experience with the brand, after the contractual agreement ends they may voice their negative experience(s) which they encountered to their audience. An influencer has the ability to speak poorly of a brand acting as a repellent for the brand as much as they have the ability to speak highly and represent brands (Patel, 2015). It’s important throughout the whole relationship, even when coming to an end, to ensure both parties are benefiting from the campaign and there is a mutual respect and goal to deliver a message. In order to prevent this from happening, brands could lay out a clear set of goals at the start of the campaign with certain time-frames and keep frequent communication with the influencer in order to ensure that both parties are on the same wavelength.

Difficulty of progress tracking

It is vitally important that brands are ensuring that they are tracking their campaigns properly (Simpson, 2017). Effective strategies and initiatives inform your target market of your brand and products. Monitoring campaigns allows brands to see how things are actually performing on a daily basis and ensure budgets are not being misspent (Kelsey, 2018).

Influencer marketing requires a different type of tracking in comparison to traditional marketing and other forms of social media marketing. A recent survey by GroupHigh showed that 28% of surveyed marketers said it was challenging to gather the data with 13% saying they do not know which metrics to track at all (Overmyer, 2016).

If you are providing influencers with products to endorse, it’s best to take a step back and not intervene too much in order for the communication with their audience to seem more genuine (Onalytica, 2017). Therefore there is less access to advanced tracking technology and there will only be a vague impression of how posts were received by looking at post engagement, making it hard to truly understand website traffic gained and the campaign’s ROI (Fryrear, 2015).


REFERENCES:

Armstrong, P. (2017). Forbes Welcome. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/paularmstrongtech/2017/02/14/pewdiepie-just-showed-every-brand-why-influencers-are-dangerous/ [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

Dholakiya, P. (2017). 4 influencer marketing risks to be wary of | Smart Insights. [online] Smart Insights. Available at: https://www.smartinsights.com/online-pr/influencer-marketing/4-influencer-marketing-risks-wary/ [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

Faubert, J. (2015). 3 Risks of Influencer Marketing – Chief Marketer. [online] Chief Marketer. Available at: http://www.chiefmarketer.com/3-risks-influencer-marketing/ [Accessed 24 Feb. 2018].

Fryrear, A (2015). The Pros and Cons of Influencer Marketing – IdealPath. [online] Available at: http://www.idealpath.com/marketing-automation-blog/content-marketing/pros-and-cons-of-influencer-marketing/ [Accessed 23 Feb. 2018].

Hausman, A. (2017). Hidden Dangers in Influencer Marketing: Digital’s Shiny New Toy. [online] MKT Maven. Available at: http://www.hausmanmarketingletter.com/hidden-dangers-influencer-marketing/ [Accessed 24 Feb. 2018].

Kelsey, T. (2018). SEO and your digital marketing strategy | Pronto Marketing. [online] Pronto Marketing. Available at: https://www.prontomarketing.com/2018/01/seo-and-your-digital-marketing-strategy/ [Accessed 23 Feb. 2018].

Main, S. (2017). PewDiePie and the Potential Dangers of Social Influencer Marketing for Brands. [online] Adweek.com. Available at: http://www.adweek.com/digital/pewdiepies-downfall-shows-the-potential-dangers-of-social-influencer-marketing-for-brands/ [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

Onalytica (2017). Influencer Marketing: How To Nail Your Influencer Engagement Strategy. [online] Oyalytica. Available at: http://www.onalytica.com/blog/posts/influencer-marketing-engagement/ [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

Simpson, J. (2017). Forbes Welcome. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/10/06/tracking-your-marketing-efforts-why-its-important-and-how-to-start/ [Accessed 24 Feb. 2018].


 

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