The Client’s Playbook: Strategies for minimising risk in influencer engagements

Authored by Yulia Aslamova, Head of Asia, DRIM Global.

We live in an era where trust and authenticity are of great importance. Thanks to the growing popularity of social media, brands have turned to influencer marketing as a means of connecting with their target audience in a more relatable and authentic way. This is where influencer marketing has become a powerful tool and has been skyrocketing since then. According to GroupM INCA’s India Influencer Marketing Report, Indian influencer marketing is expected to reach Rs. 2,200 crores at a CAGR of 25% by 2025.

With millions of followers and persuasive storytelling abilities, influencers hold immense power to shape consumer opinions and drive brand success. However, with great power comes great responsibility, and managing the risks associated with influencer engagements is crucial for brands seeking to maximize their ROI. As a result, in a bid to minimize the risks, brands need to develop a comprehensive playbook that includes strategies for vetting influencers, setting clear expectations, and monitoring campaign performance. Additionally, establishing strong contractual agreements and implementing proper disclosure practices are also crucial steps in mitigating risk.

Strategies to Avoid Pitfalls

Choose the Right Influencer: Choosing the right influencer who aligns with the brand's values and messaging is critical. And if not, then that misalignment can lead to backlash and damage the brand's reputation. Thus, to prevent any pitfalls, brands should conduct due diligence on potential influencers, which involves researching their content, values, and past collaborations. In India, where cultural sensitivities play a significant role, understanding an influencer's content thoroughly is essential to avoid cultural missteps.

Set goal expectations: Gone are the days of publishing an advertisement and hoping the correct audience witnessed it. Today, brands require a well-defined plan to help them achieve the desired results given the time, effort, and resources they put into their marketing. As a result, in order to reduce any regulatory risks, brands should create clear parameters for influencer relationships. It is also critical to keep up with changing rules, and contracts should specifically state that paid partnerships must be disclosed and that advertising guidelines must be followed.

Leverage ROI as a Guide: It is not an overstatement to say that influencer marketing methods that are carefully designed typically have a higher return on investment than haphazard ones. After all, creators have unequaled narrative abilities, engaging audiences and increasing discussion rates. However, measuring the return on investment (ROI) of influencer campaigns can be challenging. As a result, before engaging with influencers, organizations should develop key performance indicators (KPIs) like engagement rates, website traffic, and sales conversions that are relevant to their goals, allowing for more precise ROI measurement.

Audience analysis: It is undeniably true that the higher an influencer’s engagement rate is, the better. But brands cannot expect a celebrity influencer with 1 million followers to have as high an engagement rate as a micro-influencer with a few thousand followers. In this context, one of the primary risks in influencer marketing is the presence of inauthentic followers and engagement. Thus, to mitigate this risk, brands should also conduct thorough audience analysis to mitigate the risk of inauthentic followers and engagement. Focusing on micro and nano-influencers can reduce the risk of falling for inflated numbers.

Navigating the Influencer Landscape

Without a doubt, when establishing an influencer marketing campaign, all firms should aim for engagement. Since active interaction is a solid sign of a captivated audience, which is exactly what every company requires to generate excitement about a product or service and eventually drive sales. While influencer marketing in India provides enormous opportunities for firms to interact with a large and diverse audience, it also presents distinct problems and perils that must be carefully considered and planned for. By using techniques such as audience analysis, due diligence, clear guidelines, and specified KPIs, brands can navigate the Indian influencer ecosystem more effectively and optimize the benefits of influencer collaborations.