What are the risks of relying too much on a single influencer for your marketing?

Other than concentration risk of putting all your eggs in one basket, the other biggest risk for relying on a single influencer is audience saturation. This is the reason we generally discourage brands from relying too much on single brand ambassadors. Generally we've found after the 3 month mark, engagement and effectiveness of the marketing campaigns using a single influencer falls quite dramatically because of audience and content fatigue.

Employing influencers with different backgrounds is no longer enough. Nearly nine in 10 Millennials say it’s crucial for brands they support to be aligned with their values, and two thirds of all consumers have taken an action after seeing an ad or marketing message they believed to be diverse or inclusive. Although some brands have found success emphasizing exclusivity, even while diversifying their models, creating a culture of inclusivity is what allows your target audience to connect with your brand. - Build a diverse team - Develop and promote people from marginalized communities - Solicit contributions from underrepresented populations - Prioritize intimacy, authenticity, transparency, and accessibility - Focus on tone of voice

Using a single influencer is not going to be an accurate reflection on your entire addressable audience. You want to cast diverse influencer campaigns and programs so that your target audience can see themselves within those who are promoting the brand.

Another risk, which I, as a marketer, consider significant, is reputational. An influencer is human. Humans make mistakes. They can say something that goes against certain social norms or do something that may not be well-received by the audience. If your brand is closely associated with the influencer and their lifestyle, this may become a problem. Just remember the case of Logan Paul and his 'suicide forest' video. Think twice before linking your brand to a single influencer.

If content is too repetitive, audiences can get bored. I've found that brands sponsoring podcast episodes tend to see viewer fatigue. Using data can be helpful in understanding when viewers leave or skip content.

One influencer is like one medium, like one resource of communication or revenue—it's not serious, reliable, and, more importantly, it's not fun. All great brands around the world use more than one influencer, even if you are working with Ronaldo or Shakira. And the main reason is that the influencer is a person; he or she gets tired, depressed, bored, or compromised sometimes. We need diversity, different content, and most importantly, more than one audience for our messages.