Protecting Your Brand from Influencer Fraud, AI + the Future of Creating, Pedro Pascal Goes to the Beach, and More

Influencer marketing has become a cornerstone of modern brand strategies, but concerns continue to grow about a dark underbelly. Fake followers, fraudulent engagement, and misleading metrics are casting a shadow over the industry, leaving brands vulnerable to wasted budgets and damaged reputations.

HypeAuditor’s Trends & Benchmarks of Influencer Marketing in 2024 revealed 43% of Instagram influencers have some number of fake followers. Bots and inactive accounts artificially inflate follower counts, creating an illusion of influence that can lure unsuspecting brands into partnerships.

Cybersecurity firm Cheq reported in 2019 that influencer marketing fraud costs brands a staggering $1.3 billion annually. Such fraud encompasses not just fake followers but manipulated engagement metrics such as likes, comments, and shares. These tactics can create a false sense of campaign success, masking the fact that genuine consumers are not being reached.

The lesson of investing heavily in influencer campaigns only to later discover a significant portion of their engagement was fabricated can be costly. Brand marketers can protect themselves with vigilance:

• Thoroughly vet potential influencers: Look beyond follower count and delve into engagement quality. Analyze comments for authenticity, check for sudden spikes in followers, and review the influencer's posting history for consistency.

• Use third-party auditing tools: Several platforms specialize in detecting fake followers and engagement manipulation. These tools can provide valuable insights into an influencer's audience authenticity.

• Prioritize engagement quality over quantity: Focus on metrics like meaningful comments, shares, and click-through rates, which indicate genuine interest from followers.

• Demand transparency: Require influencers to disclose any sponsored content clearly and conspicuously. Such disclosure promotes ethical practices and protects consumers from misleading information.

• Hold influencers accountable: Include clauses in contracts that address fraudulent activity and outline consequences for non-compliance. This can deter influencers from engaging in deceptive practices.

Be proactive and don't let influencer fraud drain your marketing budget.

AI and the Future of Creating: A Special 7-Part Report

From ethical concerns to the future of the industry, our 7-part series has everything you need to know about the ways AI is shaping the present and the future of how we create.

• How does generative AI work?

• AI can’t replace artists–but here’s how artists can use AI

• What protections do creatives have against AI?

• Is AI going to take work away from creators?

• How AI is entering voiceover

• What AI could look like for actors

• AI and its effects on 9 major creative arts sectors

Check out the full series.

How Brand Marketers Are Reinventing Content Creation

Today’s ad producers must be data driven, results oriented, agile, and able to handle creating a steady supply of fresh, top-notch content at scale for consumers demanding authenticity.

Check out how these brand marketers worked with Backstage to:

• Increase the speed at which they create content

• Transform how they cast talent

• Create a new strategy for UGC creator success

Have a Backstage story to share? Contact us!

What Else You Should Know

• Knowing when your brand should go dark on social media [Future Social] 

• What the data says about ad companions to touchy news topics [Marketing Dive]

• Sonic’s new “Live Free Eat Sonic” brand platform and campaign [Marketing Dive]

• For inspiration: Ads of the Week, featuring Pedro Pascal [The Drum]

Unlock Your Brand's Potential with Backstage

Looking for a one-stop shop to find all the talent you need to crush your next branded project? With tens of thousands of talent profiles, Backstage’s vast talent marketplace has all the successful actors, models, creators, and more you’re looking for. And thoughtful workflow tools mean you can easily find right-fit candidates in a fraction of the time. Find out how Backstage empowers you to create better content faster and tell your brand story.