And with the rise of microinfluencers, marketers now have to increase their number of partnerships in order to reach scale.
“While the increase has definitely led to more available influencers to work with, brands need to be careful,” said Jessica Dooley, US social practice lead at Mindshare. “The emergence of influencer marketing into a scalable channel has increased a brand’s liability to fraud and potential controversy. Now more than ever, it is paramount that any influencer activation is rooted in a more rigorous evaluation process.”
Is automation an option?
The influencer space is teeming with platforms that help brands detect, manage and measure the performance of influencers. But, according to a 2019 Talkwalker survey, 62.7% of marketing and PR professionals worldwide do not currently use these tools.
“The very nature of this tactic is the human element,” said Tyler Farnsworth, founder and managing director at August United. Farnsworth uses influencer management platforms, but warns against excessive automation. “People and relationships are at the core here—we're talking about people, not ad units you can buy from Google.”