Just because an IG has a high number of followers doesn't mean anything. I'm not an IG marketer, but there are metrics that you can check like engagement rates

Just because an IG has a high number of followers doesn't mean anything. I'm not an IG marketer, but there are metrics that you can check like engagement rates and even those can be faked. I only specialize in Amazon marketing but if my process is applicable to Adwords/Facebook, the startup method would be small tests with tiny budgets. If the article writer had made a video ad or just used one of these unboxing videos and tested it on Facebook, he would have gotten immediate actionable data. He should have a Facebook pixel installed on his website and should have collected data on traffic as well as information on those who converted. Turn the data that you have to work for you. In Facebook ads, you can create custom audiences based on value. In marketing, there are ideas of superconsumers or customer segmentation. Who are your best customers? Why? You don't have to reinvent the wheel if you already have data. Just look at the data that you have. You can put the data you have to work on Facebook. If you don't understand your customer market but have existing customers, lucky for you, Facebook can tell you and help you find more of them via lookalike audiences. If you don't have any existing data and you are starting from scratch, then you can create audiences on Facebook ads and test them. Or better, ID your competitors and analyze or target their customers. I'm not a pro at Fb ads so this might be outdated but the idea I'm familiar with is testing $5/day ads. $5 day ad will give you a lot of data on impressions, CTRs, CPC or impression, conversion, engagement, etc. So you can easily test multiple audiences or ads and get data and numbers. Once you crack the magical formula where your ad is successful and all the numbers add up (customer acquisition cost), you light the ad on fire by boosting the budget and scaling it. The explosive growth part. That's what I do for my Amazon clients. I ID the best strategy to success, find the magic formula by making sure all the numbers add up to their goal, and then when I find it, I pour gasoline on it and dance around the flames as the money rolls in. That's the basic idea for Amazon ads and maybe Facebook ads. But I know Facebook ads are amazing because there are so many tips, tricks, tools, strategies you can implement. For example starting with a video, getting engagement first, then creating a new audience based on those who watched the video the longest, etc. I have also heard that Google Adwords has way more bells and whistles than Amazon ads too. Other people mentioned some of his mistakes, another mistake he made was not having a brief and agreement. Influencer marketing is a lot more complicated than here's my product, please make a post or video about it. Most people include a brief for what exactly needs to be in their post or video. A special format with guidelines on style. Key points that need to be made, time line, etc.