Influencer fraud is said to have costed the industry billions according to CNBC. We often hear that influencer marketing doesn't work but it is mostly because the influencers they have worked with previously to form this opinion do not have real or engaged followers.
Most people know you can buy followers, likes, views and even comments. Although comments are the hardest thing to effectively buy, it is possible. However, most are unaware of engagement pods in which someone in the group will post in the group and everyone else in the group will have to like and comment on the picture.
So how can you spot this?
It's not always easy but some tricks can help.
The obvious one is if they have 'bot' account followers. These accounts are typically private, with few or no posts and have typically no profile picture. However, sometimes people do create instagram accounts for themselves to stay connected to people without wanting to post anything of themselves so be aware of this. Some fake accounts are harder to detect, but if a British blogger has a suspiciously high percentage of followers from another country it is like they're brought. I saw one 'influencer' who the vast majority of her followers were Russian accounts but she was British. Although this isn't impossible, it is also highly unlikely.
When we vet influencers accounts for our clients, we normally ignore comments from other bloggers. Even in they are not in an engagement pod, they are probably just engaging with another blogger for engagement back. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's not organic engagement and won't translate into sales.
Are the likes coming to quickly. One minute someone can have 15 likes on a post and then the next minute it jumps to over 1 thousand likes, suspicious right? Additionally, compare the likes to the comments and see who the comments are from.
Most of all, does it look too good to be true? Would you follow this person? Do you think people would like their profile and their content? If no, then you are probably right and their 'fame' is fabricated. Although some could be public figures you've never heard of, a lot of people pay to fabricate or boost their profile.
There are many platforms that can help you spot a fake, one I would definitely recommend https://socialblade.com/
You can check their account's engagement history on here. Check how many followers they're gaining regularly, any high spikes are likely to be instances of buying followers. Additionally, it is a great tool to check the influencers engagement rate and compare influencers to see who you'd want to work with.
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