Reign of Social Influencers, The Real and Fake Ones

Today, everyone you know is on social media, even those who say they are not. You are either an elitist who is only on Twitter, an introvert with extroverted tendencies who is stuck with Facebook for the love of family, or an ambitious career climber busy building networks on LinkedIn.?

Still, there are those who are trying way too hard to impress on Instagram and YouTube, but a majority will be safe with WhatsApp. Have you noted the influx of WhatsApp groups in Kenya lately? Not the usual provisional funeral groups but some with a semblance of permanence – for investments, self-help, etc. You simply cannot keep up.

Of all its features, the one that seems to grow uncontrollably is that of individuals competing to profit from the social media craze. In all that noise and torrid milieu, the result is an information overload and the rise of influencer generation. The addictive TokTok reels have taken this to a whole new level.

Who is an influencer you might ask? Frankly speaking, I cannot think of a direct answer to that question. Firstly, unlike other straitjacket professions, this one has zero requirements on neither education nor any tangible professional experience. Heck, even a referee is treated casually and absolutely not necessary.

To be an influencer, you need to be famous or popular. You can be popular for doing something good (rarely), something bad (mostly), or nothing at all. It really does not matter. In many cases, influencers work their way to the zenith of social media marketing by doing some of the most awkward things like eating rats, dancing naked, or stealing from people in the streets while somebody is shooting the gig. Clout.

For some fame came to them while they slept, only to wake up in the morning to heightened activity on their page with messages of RIP after rumours about their alleged date with the maker. You then wonder why people would send friend requests and follow and like a dead man’s social media account!

There you have it. Among the long list of flamboyant influencers you will have to pick from, one of them is the modern-day biblical Lazarus who was ‘killed’ by keyboard warriors, only to rise again to a whole new world with 250,000 fans. What would you say is the specialty of this influencer?

When all is said and done, when it comes to selecting influencers to work with, your core values, corporate identity, cultural beliefs, traditions, or all those virtues your company stands for will have to come secondary. You will work with certain influencers, not because you like them or they are experts in their fields, but because they are the only vehicle on hand to carry your messages to your target audience.

Now with this scenario, put yourself in the shoes of a Brand Manager who has to pick influencers for a campaign. How do you go about it? How do you tell a good influencer from a bad one?

The other day, I had an interesting discussion on this topic with one of the leaders here at KenGen. He was struggling to justify the trend of brands using certain characters in their campaigns and thought as a PR expert, I definitely would have an answer.

“Is there something wrong if we gave our branded merchandise to people then they go wearing them when having a good time drinking and smoking in bars?” he asked.

“That depends on many things, including the type of campaign you are running. Some of your target audience might be in the bars, so you may find yourself following them there, even officially,” I responded. But that did not stop the many questions from him, each time drawing scenarios to justify his counter-arguments.

There are many reasons that will lead you to use influencers. Firstly, the nature of audiences today is as bifurcated as has always been. Societies exist in clusters and classes and rarely do we have people mingling with a different group, lest they brand you a social climber.

The debate about the upper class, middle class, and lower class may seem current now, not just in Kenya, but across the world but it is not new. That is how societies have existed from pre-historic days.

The advent of digital media did not do much to stop this trend, if not to emphasize it. As illustrated in my opening para, the various digital media platforms provide separate tastes and gratification, further widening the class divides.

Two people can?be on Facebook or Instagram but end up viewing completely different content on their timelines. Unlike traditional media like TV, Newspaper, and Radio, which serve the same content to all audiences, digital media algorithms have made it possible for each user’s timeline to customize the content they want to see, based on their geographical location, online footprint, and the people they are connected with.?

This is why your Facebook page and that of your domestic manager will look like two different books altogether.

So, to run a successful campaign on Facebook, you may need more than one influencer for each stakeholder segment because digital media is like a superhighway with multiple lanes.

However, unlike on the road, here we do not have indicators that allow you to cross from one lane to another. You stick to your lane or get killed.

The other reason that will force you to tolerate a wannabe comedian-turned-influencer is that they use a language that resonates with their followers, who happen to be your target audience. Take, for instance, a Singaporean investor trying to make an entry into the Kenyan market. Writing in Mandarin will not work. He or she will have to learn Sheng, or at least, Swahili.

Now that we have understood that lanes exist on social media, it will be foolhardy to assume that you can use your corporate handle to reach everyone. Here is where this adage is best applicable on social media: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

Moreover, influencers have over time learned to specialize in specific platforms as opposed to trying to do it all. A brand ambassador who will serve you successfully on Instagram is likely to struggle on LinkedIn and the same applies to those on Twitter and Facebook.?

You, therefore, need to be able to read beyond the fake followers and ‘bought likes’ otherwise a fast-talking quack will con you out of your money faster than the time it takes for a tweet to be posted.

To be safe, follow the data and then go beyond to understand the who, where, and whys of the followers. For example, we have celebrity influencers who have a huge following but will not help your brand in any way should you choose to work with them.

First, Mega influencers are seldom marketing or advertising experts. They are simply individuals who stumbled on fame out of a leaked sex tape or booging to the latest dance moves. They will, therefore, not be able to wrap their heads around your brand or campaign concept and end up weighing you down at your cost.

Also, such influencers have a global following, out of which only 2% would be the people you are targeting. So why stick with them when you can get a nano influencer to reach that same 2% and more at far much less the cost?

Nano and micro-influencers like your boutique Advertising Agency will give you value for money. More importantly, they will be present to discuss the campaign and internalize it before they hit the superhighway to engage their followers in a way only they can. You will see results almost instantly.

This category of influencers brings something else to the table – knowledge, skill, and passion. Many of them are expert communicators or marketers, with a full professional background and experience to back it up, unlike the haughty celebrity wonders, who promise you the world but fail to deliver a village.

One thing that remains true to this very day is that the basic principles of communication have not changed and are likely not to, no matter how evolved the technology will be in the future. The only thing changing is the channel, but its use will remain the same.

A good influencer, therefore, is one who understands human communication and wields the ability to use storytelling as a tool for propagating his or her messages.

This does not, however, limit their work to drama and theatre, which seems to be the norm, but should go beyond the mediocre nuances of performing arts and use skills like marketing and persuasion to win an audience over.

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