Fake influencers are costing brands more than $1 billion USD a year

According to a new report from Business of Fashion, influencer fraud is costing brands more than $1 billion USD a year. The study, which was conducted by cybersecurity company Cheq and the University of Baltimore, states that influences who pay for fake followers or engagement will cost advertisers $1.3 billion USD this year alone. This number is also projected to grow to $1.5 billion USD by 2020.

The reason behind the staggering amount of lost dollars is due to ‘influencers’ purchasing fake followers and engagements (including likes and comments), which then in turn makes brands believe they are worth collaborating with. Marketers then spend big bucks to provide free trips, gifts and more for these ‘influences’, but don’t gain anything in return. According to Mediakix, this year marketers will spend $8.5 billion on influencers alone.

Celebrities like Kim Kardashian with a following of tens of millions can earn up to $300,000 USD a post, while other top fashion influencers are said to earn around $12,000 USD per post. For those looking to expand their social presence, influencers only need to spend $16 USD for 1000 followers on Instagram.

There are significant further indirect costs – notably erosion of trust and potential brand impact.

Roberto Cavazos

Roberto Cavazos, a University of Baltimore professor and economist in the BoF report, also conducted a study and found that 25 percent of followers of 10,000 influencers were fake, while another study stated that out of 800 brands and marketing agencies, two-thirds found out they had worked with influencers with fake followers.

Following the research, Cavazos believes 50 percent of engagement on sponsored content is fake. Aside from buying engagement, Cavazos noted that some influencers post fake sponsored content “to dupe brands into believing they have a proven track record – and in order to get hired for a future engagement”.

Head over to Business of Fashion to read the full report.

The age of the influencer might be coming to an end

Influencer marketing has boomed in popularity because it leverages the dedicated following of social media influencers to reach targeted audiences. Advertisers are estimated to spend $2.3 billion in Instagram influencer marketing in 2020.

Instagram is almost single-handedly responsible for the rise of the influencer, and yet it is now reportedly considering changing the platform in a way that would seriously impact the influencer industry.

According to TechCrunch, the social media giant is testing hiding likes from public view. That’s right – you may no longer be able to see how many likes a picture has received which would put a serious dent in the business model of influencers who use those metrics as leverage to sell posts.

Instagram confirmed the news saying it is testing the feature because it wants “your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get”.

We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get. During this test, only the person who shares a post will see the total number of likes it gets.

Instagram

That’s how Instagram describes a seemingly small design change test with massive potential impact on users’ well-being.

Narcissism, envy spiraling and low self-image can all stem from staring at Like counts. They’re a constant reminder of the status hierarchies that have emerged from social networks. For many users, at some point it stopped being fun and started to feel more like working in the heart mines.

If it goes ahead, likes will still be visible to the person who owns the account though the public will only be able to see a handful of handles that have liked the image. It is believed that the move is in response to growing concerns over the impact the app has on mental health. When asked about the change, Instagram told TechCrunch, “exploring ways to reduce pressure on Instagram is something we’re always thinking about”.

If Instagram rolls out the feature, it could put the emphasis back on sharing art and self-expression, not trying to win some popularity contest. Does this mean the age of the influencer is finally coming to an end? We’re certainly entering unchartered (and very interesting) waters. Watch this space.

 

 

 

 

Instagram is going to start banning fake followers and paid-for likes

Instagram is littered with accounts whose followers are made up of paid-for bots and fake comments, but not for much longer. In the wake of similar crackdowns on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, Instagram has announced that it will begin banning paid-for likes and followers in the coming weeks.

Recently, we’ve seen accounts use third-party apps to artificially grow their audience. Every day people come to Instagram to have real experiences, including genuine interactions. It is our responsibility to ensure these experiences aren’t disrupted by inauthentic activity.

Instagram

In a post on its website overnight, Instagram has announced that it will begin to crack down on inauthentic activity. The social media platform has been taking down fake accounts since at least 2014, but this is the first time it’s publicly discussed removing fake likes from posts. To help combat this, the company says it has ‘built machine learning tools to help identify accounts’ that buy followers and likes.

Recently, we’ve seen accounts use third-party apps to artificially grow their audience. People come to Instagram to have real experiences, including genuine interactions. It is our responsibility to ensure these experiences aren’t disrupted by inauthentic activity.

Instagram

Taking a number of steps to limit this kind of unwelcome behavior, accounts that will be identified using these services will receive an in-app message alerting them that they have removed the inauthentic likes, follows and comments given by their account to others. Older posts won’t be affected however for those who have purchased any of the above, the newer posts will show a significantly lessened number of likes and comments making it fairly obvious they’ve previously dabbled in paid-for engagement. They will also be asked the to secure their account by changing their password. People who use these types of apps share their username and password, and their accounts are sometimes used by third-party apps for inauthentic likes, follows and comments.

Anyone willing to pay for fake followers doesn’t deserve your attention, and Instagram should not hold back from terminating their accounts if they don’t stop.

With social media being this generation’s great source of revenue-earning, being ethical and authentic in how you use it, especially as an ‘influencer’ has never been more important. Still thinking of buying followers? We advise you don’t!!

Looks like it’s going to be a very interesting few weeks ahead!