7 things to consider when thinking about influencer brand?safety

Brand safety needs to be at the top of everyone’s list when it comes to influencers. That said, it’s not just about which people are making Santa’s naughty or nice list. Of course this plays a role, but ultimately marketers have to do more due diligence when thinking about whether someone is fit to work with their brand.

Here’s our top 7 things you need to think about when it comes to influencer brand safety.

1. What’s the press saying about them?

Take the time to Google PewDiePie or Logan Paul and you’ll find 100,000+ plus articles about them. Almost 50% of those in the last 12 months don’t read so well for either party. That’s because when influencers do wrong, it never happens quietly and the world very quickly knows about it. First and foremost you need to be on top of what is going on around them. This doesn’t just mean the last few weeks. You need to do your research and track back over the years. (That’s why at Peg, we’ve made this easy to do with our ‘Brand Safety’ tool.)

Attaching yourself too soon to an influencer who’s been in the naughty corner could very quickly tarnish your brand. The same applies when your campaign goes live and in the months after. Staying on top of what they’re doing is imperative. If something goes wrong, you need to make it clear that you’re cutting all ties with them.

2. What are their values?

In 2017 Contiki Travel set up Contiki Cares. It was a campaign designed to raise awareness of the ocean plastic and saw nine influencers gather together to make a change. Those nine weren’t picked because of their following, but because they’d all made it clear before that they were passionate about making a change. This is why brand safety isn’t just about knowing if they’re in the news for negative reasons. The positive stories may bring to light some of their values and welcome partnership opportunities for good causes. With a bit of effort, you can also find this by simply watching some of their content. The benefit of knowing this information is priceless. It can help shape the content you produce. It can represent and reaffirm why you’ve picked them. More importantly, a partnership with someone who is spreading positivity is going to help bring some of that magic to your brand.

3. What’s their tone of voice and language?

Imagine spending all of your money building your dream home and inviting a friend around who subsequently burns it to the ground. You’d be pretty angry. This is no different with influencers. Brands spend millions fine-tuning how they communicate with their audience so it’s imperative the brand image is treated with respect. Look at how they talk to their audience and the language they use. Make sure it’s fit for brand. Context is important here too. They may have spoken about a taboo subject in the past, but if the context isn’t on the dark side, it may not be an issue.

4. What type of content do they create?

Influencer content can generate 3x more engagement and clicks than brand content. On the one hand that’s because they have an audience that trusts their opinion. On the other, they know how to produce content that gets a response. The action taken by the audience is due to the fact that they not only like the content they see because it means something, but also because it’s created and served in a way they understand. As a brand you need to respect that. Of course you can take risks and even bring an influencer onto your brand channel(s). But if you want to do it on the influencer’s space, your idea of ‘creative’ may be the audience’s worst nightmare. Don’t be that brand.

5. Which brands have they previously partnered with?

It’s rare to find an influencer these days who hasn’t worked with brands. In fact, even if they’re not directly working with them, they’re constantly talking about them. The image here, taken from Zoella’s brand page on the Peg platform, clearly demonstrates this point.

Zoella’s Peg profile brand page

When you have access to this data, there are three main things to consider:

1. Are any of these brands competitors?

2. What did the previous partnerships with brands look like?

3. Do any of the brands go against the values and beliefs of your brand?

The key here is to identify anything that may conflict with your brand, as well as ensuring that you keep your integrity. Take the time to see what has gone on before, how they have spoken about other brands and why they would have partnered with them. The last thing you need is to be working with someone who brings nothing but negativity and lack of respect to their previous work. Authenticity and purpose are the reasons you’re here, so don’t lose that.

6. What do their audience want?

According to the Edelman Trust Barometer 2018 — UK Findings report, trust in social media is at an all time low. Less than a quarter of social media users trust those channels. On the flip side 70% of teenage YouTube users trust influencers and their recommendations. This means influencers are incredibly precious about their audience, and rightly so. Unlike many brands, they have curated and grown with them. Brands should feel privileged when working with influencers who are willing to let you in to their world. That means you need to appreciate that influencers know what works, yet find a creative balance together and ensure that you don’t impose a style of content that they don’t want. Like any campaign, audience insight should be at the heart of what you do, so be sure your brand/product is actually relevant for them. The second is not to be the brand that disrupts the content they’re used to. On occasion, if the influencer is willing and wanting, it’s OK to do something slightly different, but only if the influencer believes the audience will like it. You don’t want to be the brand that kills the trust these influencers have earned.

7. How can you make it a collaboration?

Communication is key. Speak in person with the influencer you’re working with. This is a mutual partnership and everyone needs to understand what is happening. The last thing your brand needs is content that reflects badly on you. Take the time to create something together and in doing so you’ll significantly reduce the chance of negativity hanging over you.

To get hold of a free list of the top 20 influencers mentioning your brand, click here.