(Disclaimer: Before you start reading please keep in mind that this blog series Influencers Guide to Collaborations is based on MY experience as an Influencer Marketing Manager. I will be brutally honest and it may discourage you put please take my advice and don’t give up! I’m always here to help new bloggers and influencers when I can.)

Now for the good stuff….

As an influencer marketing pro, I’m part of a handful of Facebook groups. I joined not only to stay on top of influencer trends from influencers themselves but also to scout for potential campaign opportunities, and product reviews, answer any questions etc. 

One of the biggest topics I’ve come across is people asking exactly how to work with brands. This goes for paid and unpaid work.

In an effort to help those within the groups, I recently asked if anyone wanted to be part of my influencer roster as I love giving new and up-and-coming talent opportunities, however, I was greatly disappointed. 

Here’s the thing, first impressions mean EVERYTHING and not everyone is cut out to be an influencer. Sorry account with a shit ton of flowers, cat pictures and blurry family images. 

Let’s be real, just because you have a blog or a large following DOES NOT mean you have influence. 

So this got me thinking, why not give you all the answers you need in a series of detailed blog posts filled with insider information that can help you become a great influencer!

Today, we’ll start with first impressions and the initial Instagram audit I do before I decide whether an account is good for a brand or not. 

What is an Influencer

What’s an influencer anyways? What does it take to become one? 

According to Influencer Marketing Hub an influencer is 2 things: 

1. an individual who has the power to affect the purchase decisions of others because of his/her authority, knowledge, position or relationship with his/her audience.
2. an individual who has a following in a particular niche, in which they actively engage with. 

See, just because you blog, belong to a few Facebook groups or have an Instagram account doesn’t necessarily mean you can affect purchase decisions.

As I went through the list of people wanting to be on my influencer roster, I quickly came to the realization that people either really don’t understand the influencer space and what it takes to be an influencer. That, or people are extremely delusional and think because 2 friends bought a product they recommended, they have influence. 

How do I know when someone isn’t a GOOD influencer? Easy. Their motive is clear, there is consistency in posts, they usually have a theme, selfies are minimal, and above all, THERE IS THOUGHT PUT INTO THE FEED.  

When it comes to looking at accounts for collaborations, here are 9 signs that the account I’m looking at isn’t an actual influencer.

Signs You’re Not an Influencer

1. Bio Doesn’t Clearly State the Purpose 

Unless you are highly recognized in your industry, a seasoned influencer or a celebrity, YOU NEED to state your purpose! Why should people follow you? What are your credentials? WHO ARE YOU? 

Are you a content creator? Blogger? Good! State that in your bio! 

You’d be surprised how many people take amazing photos but don’t do sponsored posts. On the flip side, you’d be surprised how many accounts do sponsored posts that aren’t your typical influencer accounts.

With that being said, help brands out by letting them know if you’re a content creator right off the bat. 

Chances are that if it’s hard to find information about the influencer (i.e blog link, credentials) they are a fake influencer. 

2. Selfies on Selfies (beauty/make-up accounts excluded)

Selfies are cool and all but how many campaigns have you seen with a selfie? None right. 

Here’s where I am with selfies, unless you’re a makeup influencer, you should avoid posting multiple selfies on your feed. 

Posting them once in a while is good, but as a consumer I find them to not be inspiring and as a brand I find them to lack creativity. 

To top it off, selfies usually don’t get as much engagement compared to creative content. 

3. No Clear Niche 

“What’s your niche” is something you hear a lot in the influencer-sphere. 

When it comes to looking for influencers that fit a brand’s needs I don’t want to spend time trying to figure out what their niche is. 

Whether you’re a mom blogger, millennial lifestyle blogger, skincare, fashion whatever your niche, make sure it resonates in your feed.  

If you don’t have a niche, setting a theme helps your content look organized and brand-worthy. 

4. No Organic Brand Mentions 

This one always gets me, people who aspire to be influencers rarely have any organic brand mentions. 

If you don’t have organic brand mentions how do you expect to build a relationship with a brand? 

Organic brand mentions help in two ways. 

• Encourage you to get creative with content
• Shows brands that you can create an ad to promote a brand or product 

5. Follow to Follower  Ratio is Off 

High follower count with equal following is usually a tall tale sign that there’s something fishy about the account. 

We’re all well aware of follow all Facebook group threads, follow/ unfollow, bot followers and other methods to help Instagram growth. 

Though it’s hard to gain traction on Instagram, established influencers have a large follower count with a MINIMAL follow list. So when I see accounts that have 5K+ followers and a 4K following that apply for campaigns I’m immediately turned off. 

For one, this tells me they partake in follow groups or bought their following and two, the engagement on these accounts is usually so low that it’s not worth a paid campaign. 

To top it off, accounts like these don’t typically have the “influencer” factor that persuades people to make purchases and the content on these accounts is not eye-catching or something brands want to pay for. 

6. Low or Odd Engagement 

This goes hand in hand with follow ratio. When it comes to sponsored content, engagement is what brands care about. 

Engagement is important because it let’s a brand know whether an influencer is right for a campaign. It also lets brands predict the success of said campaign. 

Hands down, atypical engagement rates can make or break an influencer’s page. 

If engagement is too low, this shows that followers don’t care about the content being posted. If engagement is too high for the amount of following, it can insinuate that an influencer is manipulating the rate via bought likes, engagement groups etc. 

7. No Comments or Comments Come From Pods or other influencers

Generic comments are a brand’s biggest pet peeve. 

I typically run across this with micro-influencers and yes, they typically have a fee and want to get paid to post. 

I respect the hustle but you wouldn’t pay for something if it was sketchy right? So why would a brand want to pay you for inauthentic engagement? 

An influencers job is to INFLUENCE, if only other influencers and bots are commenting who are you influencing? 

8. Less Than 100 Posts

With the exception of new accounts, accounts with less than 100 posts are most likely not influencers. 

If the “influencer” doesn’t care to actively post I’m almost certain the page is fake. Also, if they have a low amount of images, this tells me that they archive a lot and the brands I work with like permanent posts. 

9. Private Account

Influencers don’t typically have their accounts set to private so when a private account applies for a campaign I tend to ignore it and move on. 

Here’s the thing, how do you plan on influencing if people can’t even see your posts? The goal is to have as many people as possible see your content so why have a page set to private? 

If you’re guilty of any of these and are aspiring to become an influencer, it’s not too late. Simply fix the issues. 

Organic engagement is your best friend when it comes to being an influencer.  Ditch those comments and follow pods! Your engagement may take a dip but at the very least you will be able to tell a brand your engagement is 100% organic and that’s worth more! 

Did any of these surprise you? Let me know in the comments below! I’d love to know what you thought of this!

Next, up in my Influencers Guide to Collaborations series is the Instagram audit I usually do before I reach out to an influencer or decide to work with one. 

Until next time!