MAINTAINING A BRAND-SAFE INFLUENCER CAMPAIGN

INTRO PewDiePie, Fyre Festival, Logan Paul. What do they have in common? Rogue influencer behaviour. Despite the vast majority of influencers having a strict policy of what kind of content is permitted on their channels, a few of the internet’s most famous creators have recently acted out inappropriately.

Marketers are left questioning how influencers’ unsavoury behaviour will impact their brand-safety. Fear not marketers, ensure that your influencer campaigns are brand-safe by following our six tips.

MAINTAINING A BRAND-SAFE INFLUENCER CAMPAIGN

Crisis Plan

Monitor

Research

Contracts

Specialists

References

Brand-Safe Campaigns

Know your influencers before the contract is signed. Partnering with an influencer is a big commitment, so it’s crucial that you take the time to get know who will be representing your brand.

When researching potential influencers, deep dive into their channels to get a better understanding of their character. Visit their profiles, both professional and personal if available, and red flag any potentially offensive content. Questionable behaviour in the past could hint at future misdemeanours.

Research

Don’t be afraid to ask for references.

Chances are, your influencer candidates have worked with other brands in the past. If you have cold feet, reach out to an old partner or two to get an honest review.

If a brand has had a negative experience with an influencer, you’ll quickly find out.

REFERENCES

Keep your contracts tight. The more comprehensive a contact, the safer a brand.

What should you include in your contract? Provide specific requirements on elements such as; disclosure, key messaging, approval processes, and conflicts of interest.

It may be time consuming, but detailed contacts solidifies a safer partnership.

CONTRACTS

Keep one eye on your influencers’ channels.

Whether you are currently operating a campaign with a creator, or collaborated in the past, it’s important to monitor their content.

By overseeing your influencers’ profiles, it provides brands the opportunity to get in front of any problematic content. Whether it’s asking for an edit, deletion or dissociation, it grants marketers the time for damage control.

MONITORING

Always have a back-up plan.

Ensure your team has a crisis communications strategy to fall back on if a dilemma strikes.

Elements to outline in your crisis communications plan include; on call team, a definition of a crisis, assigned spokesperson, identified communications channels, and key messaging to name a few.

CRISIS PLAN

Partnering with an organization that specializes in influencer marketing can help your brand vet influencer candidates and manage potential problems.

Whether it be a product, like Influicity, or service, like an agency, they are tapped into the influencer space. They know influencers’ reputations working with brands, clear signs of rogue behaviour and how to maintain brand-safety during campaigns.

SPECIALISTS

Although the bulk of influencers behave with the utmost respect online, with all partnerships comes with some risk.

Marketers can rest assured that their influencer campaign maintains brand-safety by following our six tips:

1. Research 2. References 3. Contracts

MAINTAIN YOUR BRAND-SAFETY

4. Monitoring 5. Crisis Plan 6. Partner