In this blogpost, we want to take the time to debunk some stubborn myths about influencers, and rather focus on all the benefits they can bring to your brand. For starters, they can increase brand awareness, help you grow your social following, directly impact sales and so on.

A small group of people can give an entire community a bad rep, and the same goes for the influencers. There’s a reason why the word alone has gotten a bit of a negative connotation. Of course there are some bad apples (aren’t there always?), but that shouldn’t scare you out of working with influencers altogether.

Let’s dive in and debunk some myths about influencers.

“It’s all too fake”

In the beginning of ‘influencing’, everything was possible. Buying followers and using bots to increase your following was a common occurrence. In this new industry, there were no rules, no regulations, everything went. And so a lot of people used these tactics to get to the top.

Nowadays, there are so many tools out there to help spot fake accounts, it’s simply not possible to get away with all that anymore. Plus, rules have been put in place to ensure maximum transparency. Influencers can’t use tricks and lies anymore, so the ‘fake’ ones are weeded out real quick. They basically get two choices: be real, or leave.

But we do understand the effect all of it has had on the credibility of the influencer. You can trust us though: for every one that has cheated, there are literally thousands that are doing the hard work. We helped you debunk one of the myths about influencers. But we can help you find them as well, thanks to this handy guide on how to find the right influencer for your brand. In fact, we’re pretty sure you’ll find multiple amazing profiles through it.

“Influencers only think of themselves”

Another big prejudice is that influencers are only in it for free stuff or quick money, in return for little to no work. Wrong. Similar to what we wrote above: while that might’ve been the case in the past, you can’t get away with inauthenticity like that anymore.

Today, we want authenticity, realness, relatability… Stories. And that’s exactly what we get because there’s a plethora of influencers who have led the way and been raw and honest online. Most of today’s influencers started their online profile with a cause in mind, to connect with similar people or because of a true passion. Partly because of them, anyone can now look for and find a like-minded community on the internet.

In the end, it’s all about this sense of community. We want to relate to each other.

That’s why, rather than calling them influencers, we often like to refer to them as creators. That word better encompasses what they do: create content, instead of simply ‘influencing by promoting’. The fact that they’re able to make money and sometimes even earn their full-time living from it, is – of course – amazing. But more often than not they gradually rolled into it, and they show an incredible gratitude and appreciation for it. 

Today’s influencers are not here to trick you or to deceive you. They’re here to tell their story.

If you do still feel some trust issues when you’re working with them for the first time: know that you can truly be as involved as you’d like. But after they prove their worth, try to let go. Give them your briefing and clear guidelines, and then let them do their job. They’re good at it, it’s what they do. Plus, they know their followers – and how to reach them – best.

“Influencers are too expensive”

There are many kinds of influencers, and not all of them are expensive. Sure, macro-influencers are, but it’s only logical: you’re paying for access to their huge following. That’s an enormous benefit, because you can reach a huge amount of people at once.

Micro-influencers, on the other hand, are a more budget-friendly option. But don’t mistake this for the lesser option. Yes, they are known for their smaller audience, but it’s also a more engaged one. Because they have less followers, they can connect more, meaning they truly know what their followers want and like, and will share this info with you. This in turn can prove to be very educational for your brand.

In the end, it’s all about what you and your brand desire from your influencer marketing efforts. But know that there are options for every budget, big or small.

“It’s difficult to set up”

One of the biggest myths about working with influencers is that it’s difficult to set up. While it might seem confusing or intimidating to a complete novice, let us assure you: it’s actually pretty accessible and easy to get started. In fact, we recently gave a webinar on how to build a successful strategy, which might be helpful to go through. You can watch it here.

On top of that, at Influo, we offer you a platform to set up and manage all of your influencer relations: our app is a one-stop service that supports the entire process of finding, managing, measuring and evaluating influencer marketing activities. Getting started is truly as easy as clicking on this link.If you’d like to learn more and explore your options further, we’d like to invite you to read up on our Hub. We update it weekly with educational and informative content. And finally, our influencer marketing experts are always available for an introductory meeting to see if we can help you.