The Pros and Cons of Influencer Marketing

The not-so-secret power of influencers has impacted every crevice of the online marketing realm. Their contribution to social media campaigns has fuelled brand success all over the world and shows no signs of slowing down. 

But as we are led to believe, there is no such thing as perfection; so what are the disadvantages of using influencer marketing and do they actually outweigh the positives?

In this blog we will explore what the pros and cons of influencer marketing are. Buckle up, because some of what you might discover just might be a deal maker or breaker for you.

What is influencer marketing

We’ll start with the basics.

SendPulse define influencer marketing as the following:

Influencer marketing is a type of marketing that uses influencers to promote a brand to a larger market. Influencers are opinion leaders with a social following base. They appear as experts or trustworthy sources of information.

Influencers are your not-so-secret weapons and can change the trajectory of your marketing strategy. Due to their influential standing within their niche, they allow you to reach audiences you can’t attain through traditional advertising. 

Two thirds of consumers admit to having some form of ad block enabled, but the same people will gladly take advice from an influencer when it comes to recommending anything from hair care to restaurants to financial advice. This is the power of the influencer. 

The best part? Influencer marketing can be tailored right down to the tiniest detail to suit the needs and goals of each and every brand. It really is for everyone. 

Know what you’re letting yourself in for

Just as with everything in life, there are the pros and cons of influencer marketing that will inevitably influence your decision to leverage it or not.

The pros

It helps you reach a relevant audience:

As we briefly touched upon before, pairing with influencers whose values, image and niche align with your brands is going to put you in front of audiences who are genuinely interested in what you have to say and sell. 

For this, you must get your influencer scouting abilities down to a fine art. 

If you are new to influencer marketing, or simply find the influencer search too time consuming, consider working with an influencer marketing agency. Aside from being professional influencer hunters, they can also assist with your social media marketing strategization and execution. 

It can boost your credibility and trust:

Trust has become an integral part of modern day marketing efforts. Audiences are no longer fooled by fake celebrity endorsements and want to democratise the way they interact with brands online. 

People trust the influencers they choose to follow, therefore, if that influencer talks highly about your brand, it is likely their audience will trust you too. 

Regarding the pros and cons of influencer marketing, we believe trust and credibility to be up there with the best of the pros. 

The post below is an example of how influencers get their audience to trust a brand through positive endorsements.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Shannon ? #shaaanxo (@shaaanxo)

It broadens your brand’s reach: 

Aside from helping you reach relevant audiences, influencer marketing can simply put you in front of thousands, potentially millions, of new faces; interested or not. Just having your brand out there and recognised is better than not being visible at all. 

It is comparatively less expensive:

Exploring the pros and cons of influencer marketing inevitably leads to a discussion on finance, however, when it comes to collaborating with micro influencers, you’re in luck. You don’t have to break the bank!

Targeting micro influencers for collaborations doesn’t require a huge budget. In fact, they are extremely economical in comparison to partnering with mega/celebrity influencers. Sometimes, influencers who are new to the industry will even review your product for free so as to get their name out there. 

It can save you time and resources:

The role of an influencer is a creative one. Influencers know how to create compelling content and how to tailor it to a brand’s values and image. 

Instead of attempting to plan and produce all of the content on your own, hand the reins over to your influencers(s). Your content will be in good hands and deliver impactful results.

Below is an example of influencer-led content that appeals to the image of the brand they’re working with.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Louise Thompson (@louise.thompson)

The cons

Choosing the wrong influencers can do more harm than good:

The reputation of your brand can be instantly ruined if you do not partner with the right influencers. 

According to a MediaKix survey, 61% of marketers admit to finding it difficult to identify the right influencers for their campaign. 

Fake influencers can be difficult to spot, so how do you avoid them

1. Work with an influencer marketing agency
2. Look for unusual follower to engagement ratio
3. Analyse engagement quality
4. Be wary of sudden spikes in follower count

Influencer fatigue:

Over the past few years consumers have been bombarded with a stream of sponsored content. Platforms such as Instagram and Facebook have become so saturated with paid content that consumers are finding it hard to know who to trust. 

The bottom line is that the average person just wants to use social media for fun, not to be inundated with advertisements. 

Taking into consideration the pros and cons of influencer marketing, we are certain that this disadvantage is among the most noteworthy. 

High costs: 

We’ve discussed finances in this blog already, however, they also, sadly, fall under disadvantages. If you aren’t running a campaign with micro influencers, you should be expected to pay anywhere from $250k per post from a celebrity influencer. 

As a start up, this obviously is not ideal. 

As well as this, blowing your budget on one celebrity influencer who isn’t guaranteed the engagement that you’re hoping for can completely sink your business. An example of this being the infamous Fyre Festival incident. 

FAQ’s

What are the pros and cons of influencer marketing?

Pros:

1. Reaches a relevant audience
2. Boosts trust and credibility
3. Broadens your reach 
4. Micro influencers are inexpensive
5. Can save you time and resources

Cons:

1. Fake influencers can do more harm than good
2. Influencer fatigue is real
3. Celebrity/mega influencers are expensive to work with

Our Influencer marketing agency and Social agency are located worldwide, with our agency network based in the USA, UK, UAE and China.

If you want to receive our industry insights, visit our Influencer Marketing & Social Media blog.

@ Socially Powerful

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