There's been a lot of talk in our industry about CGI influencers, also known as virtual influencers, over the last couple weeks. If you've not kept up, these influencers are "social media celebrities" created from computer graphics, meaning they aren't real. CGI Influencers are Not the...
The winds are changing again for the influencer marketing industry as Unilever, Samsung, eBay, and other household brands announce that they’re taking a stand against influencers that purchase fake followers and falsify their engagements. While brands should have been doing this all along, this increased attention should compel...
An effective influencer marketing campaign can do many things for your brand. After seeing success with campaigns that drive engagements, conversions, and sales, 39% of marketers planned to increase their influencer marketing budgets this year. However, as the industry has grown over the last 10+ years,...
Virtual Influencers Are Getting a lot of Buzz right now, but is it worth it? If you haven't seen or heard of virtual influencers powered by artificial intelligence, they're getting a lot of press right now. In fact, one company just got 6 million in funding...
Curious if you should start investing in influencer live streams? This past week on The Spin, Erin Ledbetter took some time to discuss the risks and rewards brands take when letting influencers go live with content that hasn't been approved by the brand. The Risks of...
"How many influencers do you need to run an effective influencer campaign?" It's a question that many marketers across the industry continue to ask us time and time again. The answer, however, is not that simple. Unfortunately, it Depends. It depends on a lot of different things. The...
This article originally appears on Forbes.com, on April 27, 2018 While the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has made clear for several years now that all paid endorsements must be clear and conspicuous, more and more research shows that influencers today either don't understand the regulations or don't...
It's essential that brands make a reasonable effort to ensure influencers are following FTC guidelines. Previously on an episode of The Spin, we discussed the brand's requirement to follow FTC guidelines for influencer content. Now, we're diving into the steps marketers need to take if an...
Identifying fake followers and fake engagements within influencer content becomes a priority for many marketers. Recently many articles have surfaced concerning fake followers and fake engagements that influencers are paying to have on their posts. While some think they can develop an artificial intelligence tool to...
Have you thought about what influencers want to tell you, but don't? This article originally appears on Forbes.com, on February 13, 2018. If you want to know how someone feels, ask them. The unique nature of influencer marketing is such that influencers' enthusiasm (or lack thereof) can...
