Is Influencer Marketing Worth It?
Updated: Mar 31, 2020
In response to TODAY’s queries, Mr Alex Frolov, HypeAuditor’s chief executive officer, said that 47 per cent of influencers in Singapore artificially increase their Instagram statistics using various means — sometimes using more than one technique.
These days, it's extremely common (or even "fashionable") to see businesses engaging influencers/KOLs to shout-out about their brand. You get to have your products/services featured on someone good looking (which also serves as content that you can subsequently post up) and reach their audience (which may or may not be your target audience).
10k, 20k, 30k and the list goes on. There are numerous influencers on IG today with such numbers, and like the article suggests - the number looks better than it actually is. Buying followers/likes/comments, comment pods (on whatsapp/telegram), IG bots (that are now less effective due to Instagram latest efforts to clamp down on such apps) are just one of the few ways for one to inflate their numbers.
An influencer's follower count often dictates the pricing of their posts, since said influencer is supposedly able to reach a proportion of their followers (on average). This means that not only are you potentially overpaying for an influencer's post, the realised reach of your post will likely be smaller than expected (after factoring inauthentic followers and reach).
That said, there are still synergies that can be derived from engaging influencers. For example if you own a fashion label, your target audience is likely to influenced by them to make a purchase after seeing how amazing they look in your outfit. There are also certain influencers who are more than "just a pretty face", and are able to portray the brand's product/service better, and ultimately drive conversions.
Influencer marketing does not guarantee conversions...
At the end of the day, business owners should note that influencer marketing does not guarantee conversions. The Earned Media Value of their posts may also underperform the results from a paid FB/IG ad.
Hence, in our opinion, influencer marketing should never be used as a business' sole form of social media marketing, but rather as part of a multi-pronged approach.
Tired of paying hefty fees for influencers to market your brand with little or no returns whatsoever? Speak to us today to find out more about our paid Facebook & Instagram advertising and social media management services!