Cooperatize Journal

Influencer marketing is a relatively recent development. Because it is so new, marketers and influencers are struggling to come to fair ground on compensation. Just a few years ago, being an influencer meant you were either a celebrity or journalist, but today there are thousands of influencers taking over social media.

There’s also a power struggle between marketers and influencers. Who has the final say in deciding costs? Everyone wants to work with the big names, but in reality the internet is filled to the brim with influencers. If your first-pick isn’t in your price range, or unavailable, there are probably 20 more that are similar and affordable.

When it comes down to choosing which influencers to collaborate with, don’t be starstruck by big numbers. Having huge numbers is not directly correlated with having good engagement levels.

The problem is, there are a lot of brands out there that are willing to shell out serious cash for big, shiny follower counts. Why is this a bad thing? Because now that there is a demand for followings, many influencers (not all, by any means) have realized these numbers can be easily manipulated.

You can buy 5,000 followers on the website Fiverr for just FIVE DOLLARS.

How can we assess the quality and relevance of these followers? You can’t, and the likelihood is they aren’t relevant to your brand, and they are probably not interested in buying your product.

The solution to this problem is understanding that the greatest return that can come from influencer marketing is credibility and the emotional engagement their customers acknowledge when seeing a relevant sponsored post. It doesn’t matter if a million people see your post if they aren’t the right million.

Brands need to be wary when deciding which influencers to work with. When making this kind of decision, your focus should be their engagement ratio, their creative skills, and their relevance to your brand!