Influencer marketing has established itself as one of the most successful marketing techniques. This marketing marvel has given brands and businesses excellent ROI. The number of social media influencers and campaigns is increasing day by day. The increased screen time and users on social media platforms have further contributed to the rise in influencer marketing campaigns.
It can be rightly said that the prolonged implementation of influencer campaigns has further led to the saturation of the effectiveness of this strategy. This has given rise to various challenges!
The spending on influencer campaigns has increased tenfold but the returns have decreased! There are various reasons as to why this trend is falling apart when it comes to getting the desired results.
One of the reasons behind this is that audiences are now more than aware of how an influencer marketing strategy works. This is why brand marketers now have to try different ways of marketing to promote their products and services on social media. Sure, there is no thumb rule as to what kind of influencer strategy works the best, but there are cases wherein brands have benefitted from similar marketing strategies.
The traditional method of advertising has lost its charm and therefore, most marketers now rely on influencer marketing. Influencer marketing was a cakewalk for most brands when it started but now this marketing strategy is far from easy.
In this blog, we will help you understand the challenges of influencer marketing.
Challenges of Influencer Marketing Brands Must Know About
1. Fake influencers are a major concern
The biggest concern for brands is fake influencers on social media platforms. Influencer selection plays a very important role in influencer marketing because the performance of your campaigns depends on it. The high number of fake influencers on social media platforms not only troubles the brands but also takes users for a ride. In many cases, influencers have fake followers which further takes the campaign down the drain. Moreover, the users start doubting the brand in question which impacts the organization negatively. It is important to evaluate the influencers thoroughly before selecting to avoid any mishaps in the campaign.
2. Poor campaign implementation by content curators/influencers
Not all influencers are up to the mark when it comes to content creation and implementation of influencer campaigns. This poses a big risk for brands on social media who are investing in influencer marketing. At times, influencers are not able to create content that is relevant to their target audience and they often fail to present the content appropriately. This not only affects the brand image but also impacts the crucial engagement metrics. In many cases, influencers fail to abide by the brand guidelines and this leads to a low response rate in the campaigns.
Brands must conduct brand safety for their campaigns to ensure the influencers they have selected are apt for the campaigns.
3. Unsure of the target audience for the campaigns
The purpose of every influencer marketing campaign is to communicate the idea of the brand’s products and services to the audience. Choosing the target audience is where most marketers go wrong. Simply directing the campaign to a large audience does not work. It is necessary to select the target audience mindfully by taking into consideration audience demographics, audience interest, and other such factors. Check what kind of audience would be interested in your product/service, which locations you want to target, and other such factors to choose a relevant target audience. This research will help you get the most out of your influencer marketing campaign.
4. More followers do not translate to more influence
Influencing the audience into buying your products is not as easy as it seems. Brand managers often think more followers lead to more sales because of the high level of influence. But this formula no longer stands true. The bridge between influencers and audiences is widening because audiences are now aware of what they want to engage with on social media platforms. This means striking a chord with the users on social media is more difficult than ever. In many cases, influencers with thousands and lakhs of followers fail to generate even a few hundred likes. This can be a trouble for brands relying on influencer marketing!
5. Lack of clarity on influencers’ performance and ROI
Accountability is still an unclear aspect when it comes to influencer marketing. Unlike other business strategies and plans, there are no set processes to measure the success of an influencer marketing campaign. Sure, the engagement rate of a post can tell you how the users have interacted with the content and whether your sales have increased or decreased after the content implementation, it is not a sure figure that can determine the exact ROI. Managers usually compare their sales figures after implementing a campaign but this only gives you an approximate number since there are many different factors that influence the sale of a product.
6. Finding relevant influencers that do justice to your campaigns
Though there are several influencer databases available in the market, managers still find it difficult to find relevant influencers. Most influencer marketing campaigns fail only because the choice of influencers is wrong and is not relevant to the audience and brand value. This can be avoided by using the right influencer tracking tools like Unbox Social. The Unbox Social tool allows you to track influencers from different tiers and industries. The tool gives you data on important metrics that reflect the performance of the influencer.
7. Decreased engagement in sponsored posts
Social media influencers who are rising on the success ladder might not always do justice to the campaigns. In many cases, the influencers’ sponsored content fails to generate the desired engagement rate because it does not convey the brand message properly. Another reason for this is that users are all the more skeptical about sponsored posts which further creates a problem for brands and influencers.
With the right research and usage of influencer marketing tools, it is possible to overcome the challenges of influencer marketing. Make sure you plan your campaigns by taking into consideration crucial metrics and external factors such as competition and user behaviour. This will help you get the most out of influencer campaigns. Check out the blogs below to know more about influencer marketing.
