INFLUENCERS v INFLUENZAS
It seems like everyone is an influencer these days – and the bar is often immeasurably lowwwww (which is why we coin the worst, ‘influenzers’). With the rise of ‘everyone is an influencer’, the social media audience has equally responded by becoming much more discerning and cynical in this space.
If it feels like the rein of the influencer is coming to a brutal and necessary end, you’re right. But do they still have their place? Yes and no. Gone are the days where your stint on MAFS meant you could flog any type of lip gloss, house cleaner or boutique gin brand successfully, and easily to your newly acquired 50,000 followers. The ACCC has tightened regulations around what ‘influencers’ can and can’t promote and have made sure they are completely transparent so we, as an audience, know when something is an #ad.
That said, there is still a very real place for influencers and content creators if you are a brand looking to make a mutually beneficial arrangement. You just need to know how to sort the good from the bad…
How to choose the right influencer for your brand 🫶
You wouldn’t partner with a sobriety coach to promote your new Rosé. That’s like asking a cat to do your taxes – it just doesn’t make sense. You need to make sure you do your due diligence and make sure everything your brand stands for and aligns with, matches the influencer. So that’s going to require some digging to make sure they are a match to your company and brand. (ps. If you are a brand that sells Rosé – the Dark Horsies are very on brand… just saying).
Authentic vs gimme the money 💰
The influencer economy can be totally off it’s chops – and with any industry, there are sharks and charlatans everywhere. It can be tough to spot who’s authentic and will deliver epic content versus who’s just in it for the dollary-doos, delivering the bare minimum – or worse, nothing at all. There can also be no rhyme or reason in how much an influencer or content creator can charge for a collaboration.
Our tip? READ THEIR COMMENTS! Get involved in the tea, stay up-to-date, see the type of audience and partnerships they attract and how they interact with their followers and deliver for their brand deals. The devil’s in the detail. So get down and dirty and put your detective hat on.
It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog 🐶
Gone are the days where brands are only looking at influencers with big follower numbers. Sure, big numbers can help but we’ve had incredible success helping our clients partner with micro influencers that are a great fit with under 10,000 followers. We look at two key factors:
Audience suitability: Does the influencer’s audience closely match the ideal target market for your brand? For example, we might look to partner a protein shake brand with a fitness influencer – who’s audience is exactly our target market and aligns with the values of the brand.
Engagement: More important than followers – is engagement. A highly engaged audience are much more likely to listen and believe the influencer as they have built trust through authenticity – so if they want to partner with YOU it’s because they like your product.
Red flags to look for
❌ Won’t show you their analytics
❌ Crawl in ya DMs and ask for free things
❌ Copy and pasted captions
❌ Align themselves with contravening or competing brands
❌ Won’t provide references from recent paid/gifted collabs – IMMEDIATELY BYE
❌ Communication lags
The easy win…
As a brand looking to partner with influencers, don’t make an easy job hard. You may already have a raving, aligned advocate (influencer) in your own backyard. Check your followers – if they already love what you do and have bought your product/service and follow you – that’s already a PERFECT MATCH!!
Run Forrest Run
If someone slides into your DMs asking for freebies in exchange for their support or ‘exposure’ – run – immediately. This slimy practice is almost exclusively the domain of the illegitimate ‘influenzer’. The same can be said for brands asking influencers and content creators to do things for free… if you want access to their unique and bespoke audience of perfect customers – be prepared to pay for it.
Need help with digital strategy or mentoring? Call in the big guns (that’s us… obviously). Contact us or shoot us an email at hello@darkhorseagency.com.au and let us guide you through the world of digital marketing!
