45 of the Biggest Influencer Marketing Challenges [Expert Roundup]

Influencers have been put on a pedestal for the past few years. Everyone from top global brands to small startups have used influencer marketing to promote themselves. But if you’re keeping your distance from this marketing channel, it’s likely because you’re afraid of the challenges you might have to face.

Like every other marketing channel, influencer marketing also has a few unique challenges that could get in the way of success for a brand. But understanding these challenges can equip you with the knowledge to overcome them. And that’s exactly why we’ve spoken with some of the top experts in influencer marketing to see what kind of challenges they experience.

By knowing which challenges you could possibly face, you can prepare to face those challenges. Here are some of the biggest influencer marketing challenges, according to 45 experts so you can plan your next campaign better.

#1. Jeff Bullas –  JeffBullas.com

Influencer marketing has moved from fad to a trend. The growing noise of a crowded web and ad blockers has made it a marketing tactic that gets cut through.

The biggest challenge is measuring its effectiveness. That spectrum ranges from the old traditional metrics of impressions right through to the ROI of leads and sales.

Brands need to make sure that they are able to measure the results with data for the outcome they are looking for.

#2. Lee Odden – TopRank Marketing 

Letting go is one of the biggest challenges brands face in influencer marketing. The value of the influencer and their network comes from the influencer’s point of view and approach. Brands that don’t let go and trust the influencer (with guidance) to do what’s best to engage the audience, miss out on the influencer’s intimate knowledge of what the audience actually wants.

In a B2B context, brands have had a tough time letting go of traditional approaches to content creation and often rely on influencers solely to add flavor after a content project has already been created.

Involving credible third party voices to a project from the start will inspire more active engagement and promotion. B2B brands that let go of the idea that only marketing can create content are able to develop relationships with a VIP group of influencers that can provide a significant boost in brand content quantity, quality and reach.

#3. Ted Rubin – TedRubin.com 

The biggest mistake brands make when trying to engage influencers is not first trying to understand who they are and what they stand for. They think it is all about the money, and simply the number and reach. I write a lot about Looking People in the Eye Digitally… so for me the most important influencer marketing tool is building relationships.

Influencer marketing, when used to its best effect, is about building a network of business relationships that will yield results over time. You’ll get as much out of the program as you put into it. So if your goal is to find a platform, and make this like programmatic advertising, and do whatever you can to automate the process… you will be throwing the majority of your budget down the drain.

A Network Gives You Reach… But A Community Gives You Power! Relationships are like muscle tissue… the more they are engaged, the stronger and more valuable they become. So if you are only focused on the Money… You risk completely overlooking the People.

#4. Shane Barker – ShaneBarker.com

It definitely has to be measuring the effectiveness of the campaign. When you launch a campaign with different influencers on multiple platforms, it can be challenging to keep track of what the influencers are up to. And it’s a huge challenge to keep track of the results each of these influencers has generated for your campaign.influencers are up to. And it’s a huge challenge to keep track of the results each of these influencers has generated for your campaign.

The challenge is also mainly due to the limitations in influencer marketing tools. Most tools can help you find influencers and connect with them. Not a lot of tools give you the ability to keep track of the campaign performance and activity. That’s why I like tools like Assembly, which helps you keep track of what your influencers are doing and what kind of results they’re driving in real time. 

With the right tools, marketers will find it easier to overcome common influencer marketing challenges, such as finding the right influencers, reaching out to them, and analyzing campaign performance.

#5. Mark W. Schaefer – BusinessesGrow.com

The biggest problem, by far, is that people “pitch” them. instead of Influencer marketing depends on long-term, trusting, mutually-beneficial relationships and a new corporate mindset to make that work. It’s not an ad, it’s a person. instead of influencers instead of influencers

I just authored this research paper on B2B influence best practices that may be helpful as well.

#6. Ian Cleary – RazorSocial

The biggest challenge for brands is figuring out who is actually an influencer. They get impressed with lots of followers but are they relevant, is there sufficient engagement and will there be an ROI working with the influencers. Brands need to understand how to put a value on working with influencers and how to maximize the return they get from the influencers.

#7. Steve Rayson – BuzzSumo

I think it is valuable to identify influencers that are under the radar but which have engaged audiences and reach.

For example, the number of followers someone has is not a good indicator of engagement. Look at retweet rates i.e. how often their tweets are retweeted on average.

Look for people with just say a few thousands of followers but a high level of engagement in your niche. Often it is easier to build relationships with these individuals.

Also when it comes to reach don’t neglect new journalists. I have found that building relationships with junior journalists, and even interns, can be very beneficial. Start as always with how you can help them, for example what data, case studies and insights can you share that will be valuable to them.

#8. Marsha Collier – Cool eBay Tools

There are many challenges for brands in Influencer marketing, but I am not a marketer (nor an influencer agency).

I am a writer. I write books and content, but I don’t sell myself as an influencer. I’ve built a long and profitable career by selling close to 2 million books and more recently branding myself on social media.

I’m not proclaimed, I became an influencer because I did the work.influencer because I did the work.

#9. Erik Qualman – EQualman.com

The last few years, as the result of the success of my books and performances on stage, I have a new challenge when it comes to influencer market and it’s a nice problem to have! So many brands have reached out to us and we happily said yes to most. The issue, that we realized later, was that I only had so much bandwidth.

To ensure I over-delivered on my commitments I nearly ground myself into a nervous breakdown. I learned a tremendous amount from this experience. Today, I find myself saying “no” more often then I say “yes.” The beauty of this is that allows me to really develop deep long term relationships with incredible brands and partners – friends really. Both sides benefit! By saying no more it allows me to say yes more to the best future fits.

#10. Sam Hurley – OPTIM-EYEZ

When receiving for influencer marketing, the most common challenge I witness is this: Misaligned expectations.influencer marketing, the most common challenge I witness is this: Misaligned expectations.

I’ll break it down into 3 pitfalls…

#1: Lack of research — Brands reaching out to marketing influencers to promote travel services, for example.

Follower counts attract attention, but for conversions..? Relevancy matters infinitely more than potential reach!

The right influencer for travel services would be an influencer heavily involved in the travel industry (or one of similar relevance).

#2: Lack of time — Brands not allowing space for adequate planning; contacting influencers with the intention of promotions going live tomorrow…

This isn’t conducive to best results.

#3: One shot ‘campaigns’ — Optimal ROI is achieved when real, long-term relationships are formed between influencers and brands.

A single tweet may work wonders for some… But often, this isn’t ideal.

When relationships and promotions are built over time, audiences and customers begin to identify these human connections; they take notice and gradually merge the authority of influencers with the brands they promote — establishing great trust and recognition.

This perception enhances brand reputation. And solid reputation attracts custom.....

Read the full post on Shane Barker's Influencer Marketing blog.