#Instafraud #Influenzas -Buying, Bots & Bullshit!
When I was invited to speak at MediaSocial on any topic in our industry, there was only one I wanted to have a friendly rant about. It seems the entire world has been taking over by influencers, so I prefer the term influenzas. It’s like a virus that has seeped through every facet of our lives and our industry – and like anything unregulated, the rampant buying of followers is obscene and frankly, depressing.
Just as a disclaimer, I am not anti-influencer. I’m just anti-fraud, and pro-authenticity. I’ve never taken a selfie but I’ve worked with clients for 20 years and helped them direct their marketing budgets. Now that so much of the kitty is going towards influencers, an estimate of $570m last year, $1b this year - and when people with 100k followers can earn $800 per post and the Kardashians up to half a million - surely we all want to make sure it’s being spent wisely?
