“I’m sorry but you don’t have the reach…”
If I had a dollar for every time I heard that, I would have about a gazillion dollars. And to a point, I get it. You’re investing your money into a form of advertising and you want to get a good return on that investment. I can completely understand and support that.
However…
Influencers have clued on to the fact that reaching 10k (or so) followers is being used as a measure of success and unfortunately it’s led to many people using whatever means they can to get to this number. Did you know that with Instagram you can buy followers and likes? Yeah, that’s a thing. There are also bots used to follow and unfollow accounts in order to raise their follow numbers. It’s a sad situation but if that’s all you are going to measure the influencers worth on, then people will meet that number in whatever means possible in order to get work.
Have you heard of comment pods? These are group messages where users will share their latest post for others to comment on in exchange for reciprocated engagement. When Instagram first changed their algorithm from chronological order it meant that if a post didn’t get engagement soon after posting then it would be lost in the sea of artsy coffee photos and look away selfies. The comment pods seemed necessary for influencers to have their content seen. I even got into them myself at one point. But I quickly learned that these comment pods were a way that users were creating fraudulent engagement and deceiving brands they worked with. I was a member of one group with a number of ‘successful’ bloggers who boasted between 50 and 250k followers, but still used comment pods for each post. Even sharing with messages of ‘this post is sponsored please show some extra love’. If you worked with influencers like this based solely on the amount of followers they had then sure, it looks like a great partnership. Especially when they send you the numbers on how many comments they average per post. But, who are you actually reaching?
These are problems that come from focusing solely on the numbers. It promotes dishonesty and forces influencers into a corner where they put their integrity aside in order to be able to move ahead. Meanwhile, honest bloggers are overlooked simply because they haven't reached this point yet.
It’s safe to say that focusing on a magic 10k number will not necessarily equal a successful partnership - in my opinion it’s akin to people thinking they will find happiness once the scales lower to a certain number. There’s no need to divorce yourself from influencer marketing though. Instead, let’s focus on what is important.
Making sure the influencer is a good match for your brand is key. Who is your audience? Is the audience of the influencer similar? It’s better to reach a smaller number of your target audience, people with a high chance of being interested in your brand, as opposed to a larger number of fake accounts or people that will simply scroll past the message. My blog focuses on unique travel experiences around the world - extraordinary travel for ordinary people. Let’s take accommodation for example, if I wrote a review of a backpackers hostel it wouldn't be a good match for my audience, however, boutique hotels or quaint AirBnb’s are a much more perfect fit.
What are people going to the influencer for recommendations on? This seems very obvious but I’ve seen some very mismatched partnerships. If I am reading a food blog, I want to know what recipes to cook, what brands of ingredients to use and recommendations for products like kitchen appliances. I don’t go to the food blogger for recommendations on make up or hotel recommendations. Again, it’s all about matching the influencer to the brand which will result in a far more successful partnership than focusing on reaching a certain number.
Now, you might think I’m just a little salty because I get a lot of these rejection emails, and you’re probably right. I work hard on my blog and social media and, when I get these rejections, I too wonder if it would be worth buying followers just to meet that number count need. I haven't followed through yet because the idealist in me hopes that being dishonest isn't the only way to create opportunities. I’m certainly not the only one though and I hope that brands remember that there are plenty of bloggers or influencers out there who are passionate about the work they do and willing to work hard in partnership with you to promote your brand. A blog with lower social media numbers might actually be a sign of an honest blogger who shouldn’t necessarily be overlooked.
Let’s give some of these honest blogs a chance.