It’s not hard to see that fake influencers exist and appear more often than people think. Did you also know that 63% of marketers and brands have been victims of influencer fraud?
Infamilator fraud fell for a time after Instagram removed the feature that showed how many people like a particular post. But, engagement is one of the most important success indicators for influencer marketer marketing. Fake social media influencers have discovered ways around this knowing that marketers will use software to detect account engagement.
Engagement rates are an important aspect of the influencer hunt. But, it’s crucial that we look at all aspects of any social media profile to eliminate fraudulent influencers.
Types and methods of influencer scam
There are many behaviors that could be involved in influencer fraud. There are those accounts that stick out like sore thumbs. Many accounts will have strange content. You may see comments in multiple languages, comments not related to the posted post, or comments with different likes and comments. These accounts are best avoided.
The tricky part is when influencers create genuine high-quality content that brands can trust and seem legitimate. These influencers may believe that the number of followers is the most important. It is possible to buy followers to increase their reach and make them a micro-influencer. These influencers can be sneaky. They know of ways to buy followers and likes.
How to spot fake influencers
If you want to spot fake influencers and identify them quickly, I suggest using artificial intelligence technology tools. These tools can detect the behaviour of bots or suspicious accounts. It is understandable, however, that not all brands have the resources to do this. There are a few things you can do to make sure that you don’t forget when searching for Instagram influencers.
1. Check their posts.
This is easy to understand. You will naturally be looking to find high-quality content. You should also look at the dates. Are they posting enough times to reach the followers they appear to have? Can they go for extended periods without posting?
2. Look at their comments.
As we mentioned, comments can be a strong indicator of influencer scam. If you notice unusual comments, strange account names or languages purchased by someone who has commented on your posts, it is possible that they have bots commenting on your posts. It is always worthwhile to examine the accounts of commenters.
3. You can assess their likes.
Instagram now prohibits you from accessing the likes of some posts. You can access this information with many tools, but there are usually free plans. It is important to determine whether their likes are excessively high in relation to their number and followers. Is there a wide range of their likes between posts or not?
How influencer marketing platforms can help
Although we might be biased when it comes to fraud and influencers , we always recommend using an influencer marketing tool to find genuine influencers . Heepsy allows you to search and filter for influencers that are relevant to your needs. Additionally, it provides insight into influencers, such as audience authenticity metrics.
It is important to examine more than just audience authenticity metrics when analysing the profile of an influencer. While this is a great start, it’s not the only thing you should be looking at. A percentage of suspicious followers can be seen. These are determined based on behaviors that are common to bots, or purchased fans. But, this is not an exact number. You should look at other metrics. It can be easier to evaluate Instagram influencers metrics alone, but when it comes to TikTok creators of YouTube influencers, an influencer marketing platform will be essential.
1. Engagement rates
Heepsy will provide an indicator of influencer engagement rate without having to go through hundreds of posts to see comments and likes. This is the average for all influencers in that category. This is a critical element to examine, as it will show the quality and number of followers. It allows you to see how interaction took place between the influencer and their followers. It also shows if they are genuinely interested in their content. An unusually high engagement rate could indicate that there were purchased likes and comments.
2. Follower growth rate.
Influencer marketing platforms can help you evaluate your follower growth over time. You should look for a steady increase in follower numbers. If you notice sudden rises or falls in followers, you can be sure that there is something going on. In an influencer’s world, 1000 followers can be purchased in one day. This could show an unexpected rise.
3. Comment/likes ratio.
Similar to identifying abnormal comments on posts or likes, this metric will do all the work. Many influencers only will purchase one of these metrics. This would be evident in their ratio. If an influencer has a large number of likes but few comments, it will show in their ratio. This ratio is helpful in identifying fake influences, since it gives a score based on an average of the influencers.
Heepsy has many more insights that can assist in detecting fake influences, but these are only some of the most important. The profile’s “overall quality score” is an indicator that can be very accurate. This will include all metrics. However, it is always a good idea for people to look deeper.
Conclusion
Although influencer fraud might seem quite off-putting, do not be discouraged from trying to influencer market campaigns. The industry is expected to grow to $13.8billion. This is great news for all brands. If you take the time to carefully plan your campaign, and make use of the features available on an influencer platform, authentic influencers can be selected for your campaign. Remember, no influencer is immune to fraud, even your favourite Instagram KOL could be at fault.
