Every dropshipper knows that partnering with influencers can be the best thing that can happen to their business. However, the malice of influencer fraud is on the rise again, even after several past actions to scrape them off. Many influencers buy followers and showcase fake influencer engagement just to secure a partnership with brands.
Influencer fraud has cost losses in millions of dollars to marketers and companies all over the globe. It’s a pity that even casinos operating slots like Book of Ra have also had their share of such frauds. The influencers can go to the extent of using bolts to increase the number of followers behind them.
When your business lands on these kinds of influencers, then you’re doomed. Before you realize that you’re paying too much for inflated followers, your business would have lost a lot. And the worst part about it is that you cannot do anything about it if you fall into these fraudsters’ traps. But there are several ways you can recognize the warning signs and stay away from these influencers taking advantage of the power of numbers.
Here is how you can protect your eCommerce store from influencer fraud.
Consider Fewer Followers
These fraudsters have trapped most brands because of the set mentality of the power of numbers. Seeing a mega-influencer with so many followers is not a guarantee that your marketing message is going to get out there. You have high chances of getting into the hands of fraudulent influencers if you go for those with over a million followers and ignore those with fewer.
You should consider, instead, building relationships with accounts that have fewer followers as they turn out to be the most authentic. What we’re looking for here is the authenticity of the viewer and not just a mass that can be difficult to impress. A small audience equates more connectivity and quality data, and that’s all your dropshipping store needs to sell.
Don’t ignore those micro-influencers that are not celebrities and have less than 10k followers. These influencers are more authentic than those you see with over a million followers. They have been able to command certain trust factors and work hard to gain the high influencer engagement rates they get from their audience.
Technology can Protect you from Influencer Fraud
With the current marketing trends and influencer marketing growth, any eCommerce store that has not updated its technology might not survive the competition. Take a look at how casinos, for instance, have uplifted their games with technologically generated offers such as free 10 euro, all meant to market their very own brand. There are several technologies that brands can use to measure the authenticity of their ideal influencers as well, for the sake of successful marketing. The technologies will also help them identify if the comments and the likes are indeed authentic.
The new technologies in the market not only measure the authenticity of the influencer’s followers but also do deeper work on analyzing key metrics. The techs come with some tools that can flag out inauthentic profiles. They do this by analyzing factors such as suspicious growth of followers, or comments and likes that are not coming from followers, but instead look as if they are generated robotically.
Watch out for the Red Flags
Masking those fraudulent influencers is no longer something you need expert help for. There are several signs that show an influencer that is only using the power of numbers to lure you with no valuable content. Marketers can watch out for signs, such as a suspicious hike in the number of followers, which only means that the influencer is purchasing them.
Another pointer to fraud is comments that are similar in different posts, which is a clear indicator that they’re coming from pods. Sometimes you might even notice the same audience commenting in exact order on different posts. This is a sign that they are using some bot that’s rotating the fake accounts and leaving comments. It’s also hard to find the audience from different places as those comments seem to come from the same location. Other signs of fake engagement include some followers but with very many likes and comments, which is a clear sign that they’re auto-generated.
Don’t Ignore the Vetting Process
To become a successful marketer for your store, you must not be lazy when it comes to choosing the people you work with. You must take your ideal influencers through strict vetting and verification processes, which include going through the influencer’s social media platform. Check the influencer’s history, see if their audience is aligned with what your private label stands for, and understand their story.
Use marketing platforms to understand your influencer. The platforms can help you understand where the influencers come from and how many followers they have. Don’t forget to check the number of followers they’ve gained or lost recently. And finally, check how they engage with their followers and how successful they are in their influence.
Conclusion
Influencer marketing continues to transform e-commerce marketing and raise brands to high levels. However, this might not be the case with your very own brand if you constantly fall on the trap of fraudsters with fake followers and bot-generated comments. Start using data-driven research methods if you want to reap more successful influencer marketing campaigns.
But the story does not end here, because aside from influencer fraud, you also have to be careful of the dropshipping suppliers you choose to fulfill your orders. Especially if you have decided to invest in the development of your very own Private Label Brand.
Many Chinese suppliers, AliExpress sellers especially, can let you down and, for example the products that you sold to your client would look entirely different in real-life, be of a different colour or even be shipped with the slowest shipping method available, even if you paid for the fastest.
You have to choose a supplier that will be able to give you peace of mind, someone who can easily arrange for you private label packaging and even to get your logo printed on the products you sell. Someone who will get in touch with you right away should there be problems with your products or with your shipping.
If you want a supplier who can do this and much more for you, your answer is Yakkyofy.
We can provide you an all-in-one solution that can automate your dropshipping business, from the sourcing of your products from the best Chinese producers on the market up to the fulfillment of your orders and shipping to your clients’ doorstep.
So what are you waiting for?
AUTHOR’S BIOGRAPHY:
Thomas Glare is a writer who is interested in writing for small businesses, websites, and online publications. He has been writing on a freelance basis for many years and runs a website on blockchain news.