How to manage your reputation when you work with influencers

This does not happen often, but still, it is better to be prepared for such a development of events in advance. Human factors primarily cause problems of influencer marketing. Influencers love to attract attention and sometimes resort to scandalous methods, which can harm the brand’s reputation.

To avoid this and minimize risks, remember these important recommendations:

• Before starting a campaign, analyze which brands the influencer has previously worked with.

• Carefully study the latest posts of the influencer and comments from their audience.

• Avoid connecting to only one influencer. It is much safer for the brand to have long-term cooperation with a team of bloggers who share your company’s values​​.

A few practical tips in case of negative publicity and problems caused by influencers:

• Maximize the openness of the campaign.
• Publicly voice brand values.
• Create an anti-crisis plan for a fast response.
• Early scoring of new brand products or other technological innovations can “switch” attention from the problem.
• Apologize if you think it will help the brand.
• For serious conflicts, statements must be made by the company’s management.
• Consider early termination with the influencer.
• It will be meaningful if the blogger apologizes to the followers.

Other considerations while making long-term plans with an influencer include:

Notice if the impact of an influencer begins to decline and accordingly adversely affect the brand. To avoid future problems, try to analyze the bloggers’ statistics regularly and if the audience’s confidence in the influencer decreases, think about whether cooperation needs to continue.

Do not try to fool the audience. Advertising should remain advertising. It is much better to have an open and honest attitude than to be accused of manipulation.

Remember that micro-influencers have a niche effect that helps promote a product in specific market segments. In the event of a reputational crisis, micro-influencers can do much less harm than high-coverage influencers. Therefore, if you do not have much experience in conducting influenza campaigns, perhaps a collaboration with micro-influencers is the right solution for the first experience.

Despite all the factors above, you should not think that influencing marketing is extremely risky. Unsuccessful advertising campaigns can also occur in traditional marketing. For example, look at the series of Benetton scandals. On the other hand, due to the shocking nature of the brand, it was possible to be in the spotlight and promote its values.

The most important advice we can give to successfully overcome the crisis is to listen to your audience’s opinion, and remember that the influencer’s crowd is your potential audience, but the blogger’s audience first. The company should first listen to the opinion of its supporters then the opinion of people who share the brand’s values.

Lastly, if you are faced with a crisis or need more detailed advice to avoid mistakes in influencing marketing, feel free to contact us. We will be happy to help you.