3 Challenges Facing Influencer Marketing Today and How to Overcome Them

With the rise of social media, influencer marketing has become a dominant force in recent years, offering an effective way to boost results and mitigate risks associated with other marketing channels. However, while its benefits are widely acknowledged, influencer marketing’s limitations are also sparking debate.

Let’s explore three major challenges facing the influencer marketing industry today.

1. Not Selecting the Right Influencers

Modern influencer marketing isn’t simply about throwing money at popular figures with massive followings on Facebook or Instagram. It’s a nuanced art. Success in influencer marketing hinges on finding the right fit between brands and influencers.

The explosive growth of influencer marketing has led to new developments in the advertising industry, with services ranging from celebrity management agencies to influencer networks. Agencies often offer a limited roster of KOLs, focusing on maximizing their fees rather than prioritizing brand partnerships. Influencer networks, on the other hand, provide marketers with access to thousands of influencers. However, challenges remain. Brands need to avoid overusing the same KOLs, which can dilute brand identity.

Identifying the right influencers can be tricky without sufficient knowledge and tools. Should marketers focus on categorizing influencers or analyzing their most-used hashtags? While these approaches seem logical, they may not be the most effective.

Influencers wield influence across various domains and post about diverse topics. More often than not, they don’t rely heavily on hashtags. An influencer might be a photographer, but also a food-loving parent. Should they be categorized as lifestyle, photography, or parenting influencers? There’s no one-size-fits-all solution.

2. Overlooking Contextual Engagement

The issue of fake likes and followers among influencers has become a hot topic this year. As the industry matures, marketers are becoming more discerning, recognizing that follower count alone is insufficient. Increasing engagement is crucial. But how many companies prioritize contextual engagement when selecting influencers for their campaigns? Not many.

So why is contextual engagement important in influencer selection?

While some influencers may appear to have average engagement rates, a deeper analysis might reveal varying engagement levels based on specific topics they post about. Identifying these key topics is crucial for campaign success.

For instance, consider a brand collaborating with fitness trainer Hana Giang Anh. As a leading fitness KOL, she enjoys high engagement when discussing workouts and nutrition. However, other topics often generate limited interest. The optimal approach is to integrate the brand into fitness-related content rather than forcing unrelated themes.

3. Lack of Experience or Data

With roughly 2 billion internet users active on social media, identifying those relevant to your business or industry is crucial.

Ineffective influencer marketing campaigns sometimes stem not from the unsuitability of the approach itself, but from poor KOL selection or misguided advice from influencer networks.

A major challenge for businesses is the inability to predict campaign outcomes with different influencers. This makes it impossible to determine alternative approaches for better results. Even influencer networks struggle to provide accurate recommendations, lacking the expertise to match influencers with specific brand needs and product offerings.

This lack of initial data analysis contributes to current influencer marketing challenges. In reality, few marketers possess the experience to make informed decisions about KOL selection and utilization.

Despite the hype and occasional pitfalls, influencer marketing is still in its early stages, offering much to learn. Those who understand the rules of the game are poised to reap significant returns from their investments.

Source: InfluencerHub.com