A great way to humanize your brand is by bloggers and vloggers. Consumers see influencers as authority figures and see them as experts in their field. Unilever also used these social media stars till they figured out they buy fake followers. Last Monday they announced to “increase integrity and transparency in the influencer space.”
Unilver says it wants to create a better experiences for consumers and improve its ability to measure impact. Digital influencers will still promote their products, but it has to become more transparant.They will no longer work with influencers who buy followers and will focus on partners that help to banish bad practices.
Last January the New York Times published and article about the crazy industry around the sale of fake followers to influencers, commentators and celebrities. The accounts of a famous actor, billionare and film critic were filled with bots. “We need to address this through responsible content, responsible platforms and responsible infrastructure,” said Unilever chief marketing officer Keith Weed. “At Unilever, we believe influencers are an important way to reach consumers and grow our brands. Their power comes from a deep, authentic and direct connection with people, but certain practices like buying followers can easily undermine these relationships”.
“Today we are announcing clear commitments to support and maintain the authenticity and trust of influencer marketing. The key to improving the situation is three-fold: cleaning up the influencer ecosystem by removing misleading engagement; making brands and influencers more aware of the use of dishonest practices; and improving transparency from social platforms to help brands measure impact. We need to take urgent action now to rebuild trust before it’s gone forever.” In February Keith Weed already said they would not work with any platforms that incite hate or spread division. Now they will only work with social media companies to cut down on the potential for fraud.
A study of the University of Southern California and Indiana University showed up to 15 percent of Twitter accounts could be bots, that’s 48 million. There are a handful of websites that offer fake followers for social media platforms, with some sites costing under $10. Do you know if your influencers followers are real?
Are you more interested in a transparant way of humanizing your brand or get support for your social media management? Please don’t hesitate to contact us by mail or phone +31(0)10 22989 50.
Source: Newsweek