Why your influence campaign might be your next crisis!

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New York’s attorney general is investigating a company that sells fake followers on social media’ was a headline that caught our eye in the technology and media network, The Verge, on January 29th.

On behalf of In Case of Crisis users who are trying to build robust crisis plans, we are always alert to new risks that are emerging from the confluence of culture, social, economic and political forces and the increasing widespread use of social media and digital technologies such as smartphones.

Far from being another threat, influencer management is supposed to be one of the huge benefits of these changing times in which we live.

The theory is that brands, largely ones that sell to consumers, seek advocacy for their products from cool individuals (who may also be celebrities from movies, TV or sports) who have built up large followings on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and other social media platforms, talking about anything from food and fashion to parenting and house repairs.

You and I are very proud of our 350 Facebook friends – but these online influencers have literally millions of ‘friends’.

The brand signs a contract with the individual influencer who then commits to featuring the product in their social media content, apparently personally endorsing it to their loyal followers by mentioning the brand because they discovered it and love it.

What could go wrong?

Plenty, actually!

Sadly, it has become a topic for your risk and issues management preparedness plan:

  • False Followers:

The Verge article that caught my eye was about an industry that has sprung up that provides ‘followers’ on social media to people who want to bulk up, get past that magic million mark and then sell their services as an influencer to consumer brands.

According to the report, New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman is looking closely at one company which, it is alleged, is selling fake followers using the names and personal details of other (unknowing) real users of social media.

As a relevant aside, last year CNN research suggested there are more than 80 million false Facebook accounts.

  • Falling foul of the Rules

So that’s one problem – trying to work out how real are the friends, followers and fans claimed by the influencers.

Another challenge is that there are actually rules about the transparency of the arrangement between the brand and the influencer.  But you would not always know it because they seem to get forgotten in so many cases.

In 2017 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) strongly reminded celebrity influencers that they must disclose the financial connection with the brands that they are promoting.

The FTC followed-up that directive with a reminder that promoting stocks and other investment products is unlawful without all the safeguards usually offered to potential buyers of investment products.

  • Influencers gone Bad

Another huge concern is the many examples of professional influencers who turn out to have bad characters or questionable judgment and suddenly their influence on your brand reputation turns dangerously negative.

An Irish blogger Terrie McEvoy now admits that two competitions she ran for her 116,000 Instagram followers in 2016 on behalf of a jewelry chain were won by her best friend and her brother’s girlfriend.

I have no wish to pick on my wife’s place of birth, but Ireland does appear to have become a center for influencer controversy.

Just this January, a Britisher influencer Elle Darby, with 96,000 YouTube subscribers and 88,000 Instagram followers, reached out to a Dublin hotel with a request for a free four-night stay in return for content on her sites.

The outraged hotel published her email and a scathing commentary accusing the influencer of being ‘entitled’.

The ensuing debate, among those supportive and accusatory of the role of influencers, rages to the point of writing this blog.

The lesson of all this is NOT don’t get involved with social media or don’t engage with influencers online. It’s an important marketing channel.

But it’s not without its risks.

Learn from others.

Have your crisis plan cover the eventuality of your influencer partnerships going awry.

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