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I work in the space and the real trouble is that it's so easy to build a 'fake' profile (including on platform engagement and follower ratios etc) that sure, yo

I work in the space and the real trouble is that it's so easy to build a 'fake' profile (including on platform engagement and follower ratios etc) that sure, you might only be paying $20 per post, but only 10% of posts will deliver anything approaching value for money. The good news is you can then build up a relationship with the 'good' influencers over time, but it's still a lot of work. And once an influencer reaches a certain level of fame, they are basically bought out by the big brands with contracts and serious money to throw around. Another big problem is that it's still really hard (impossible) to track 'the good kind' of word of mouth advertising - where it seems organic and there's no transactional gift voucher or discount code shared with the influencer's audience. We actually got so fed up of this that we decided to turn it on its head and are working on [a tool](https://postperk.com https://postperk.com) to help brands turn their customers into Instagram influencers instead. It's pretty early days, but I'd be happy to throw out a free month or so to any HN readers who are interested in trying it out.

gowld 8y ago
Is your comment 'the good kind' of word of mouth advertising - where it seems organic and there's no transactional gift voucher or discount code shared with the influencer's audience ? > I'd be happy to throw out a free month Oh, guess not.
- louisswiss 8y ago
  > Is your comment 'the good kind' of word of mouth advertising - where it seems organic and there's no transactional gift voucher or discount code shared with the influencer's audience ? Hey, it's just a free month (we don't offer that anywhere else) - we're currently going through the advisor track of YC Startup School and if we can help anyone out there (for free) in return for some feedback, we're happy to do so. I should probably have made it clear that I meant 'the good kind' from the brand's point of view. Sorry.
BadassFractal 8y ago
Yep, it's not a very well known fact to the public, but most of the influencers with 5-10M+ followers you see are easily 90% fake accounts, especially if these people have no real fan-base to draw upon outside of IG. If you're Drake or Justin Bieber, you have real clout, people follow you around platforms because you actually are a legitimate celebrity. If you don't exist outside of IG, let's say you're just a hot model that appeared out of nowhere, then I would be very suspicious as a brand, about to pay him/her for posts. In fact, that's what brands have discovered. They'll pay a 10M followers influencer for a sponsored post, maybe give them a coupon, and see barely any sales, the ROI is not there. They go: "Huh, that's odd, this person is SUPER popular", but it turns out it's all fake numbers, thus the influencers start getting paid progressively less and less. Those people selling hair gummies and laxative tea are not living lavishly through that, no matter how hard they try to create that impression.
sambull 8y ago
That seems to completely ignore market segment and organic trust, which many of the 'influencers' actually garner. That is if your a car youtuber, or paramotor youtuber or makeup instagrammer your audience is highly focused and the influencer not seen as compromised by big sponsorship appear more genuine, "if x wrenched on that tool that hard and it works for him it does for me". Maybe it doesn't matter how 'powerful' they are but where they wield their power... in that moment.
- louisswiss 8y ago
  That's true - there are definitely verticals where what you're describing is really advantageous.

gowld 8y ago

Is your comment 'the good kind' of word of mouth advertising - where it seems organic and there's no transactional gift voucher or discount code shared with the influencer's audience ? > I'd be happy to throw out a free month Oh, guess not.

louisswiss 8y ago
> Is your comment 'the good kind' of word of mouth advertising - where it seems organic and there's no transactional gift voucher or discount code shared with the influencer's audience ? Hey, it's just a free month (we don't offer that anywhere else) - we're currently going through the advisor track of YC Startup School and if we can help anyone out there (for free) in return for some feedback, we're happy to do so. I should probably have made it clear that I meant 'the good kind' from the brand's point of view. Sorry.

BadassFractal 8y ago

Yep, it's not a very well known fact to the public, but most of the influencers with 5-10M+ followers you see are easily 90% fake accounts, especially if these people have no real fan-base to draw upon outside of IG. If you're Drake or Justin Bieber, you have real clout, people follow you around platforms because you actually are a legitimate celebrity. If you don't exist outside of IG, let's say you're just a hot model that appeared out of nowhere, then I would be very suspicious as a brand, about to pay him/her for posts. In fact, that's what brands have discovered. They'll pay a 10M followers influencer for a sponsored post, maybe give them a coupon, and see barely any sales, the ROI is not there. They go: "Huh, that's odd, this person is SUPER popular", but it turns out it's all fake numbers, thus the influencers start getting paid progressively less and less. Those people selling hair gummies and laxative tea are not living lavishly through that, no matter how hard they try to create that impression.

sambull 8y ago

That seems to completely ignore market segment and organic trust, which many of the 'influencers' actually garner. That is if your a car youtuber, or paramotor youtuber or makeup instagrammer your audience is highly focused and the influencer not seen as compromised by big sponsorship appear more genuine, "if x wrenched on that tool that hard and it works for him it does for me". Maybe it doesn't matter how 'powerful' they are but where they wield their power... in that moment.

louisswiss 8y ago
That's true - there are definitely verticals where what you're describing is really advantageous.