How Do Influencers Maintain Authenticity?
How Do Influencers Maintain Authenticity?
Influencer authenticity is one of the most important factors brands look into when they’re considering a partnership with a creator. It’s what sets them apart from dozens of others in their niche. So, how do influencers maintain authenticity in their work? This is a crucial question for any brand wanting to tap into the influencer marketing industry and make the most of their collaborations.
Staying True to Their Brand and Voice
Being authentic is easy when you’re a nano-influencer who has plenty of time to communicate with your audience. You can create honest content that doesn’t have to fulfil any brand’s expectations. But as the follower count grows, it becomes harder to stay the same as you used to be at the beginning of your social media journey. Your personal brand is at risk of change, and it’s not always for the better.
It takes a lot of effort to keep letting your real personality shine through when the follower count increases drastically, but those creators who are able to do it are those to watch out for. They stay true to themselves, which earns them the respect of their followers. This translates to better engagement and successful influencer brand partnerships.
Partnering with Brands That Align with Their Values and Personality
Brands research potential candidates when they’re looking to collaborate with influencers – they choose the right content creators based on their personalities, values, beliefs, and overall reputations. After all, partnering with an unsuitable influencer can be a huge influencer marketing mistake, potentially damaging the brand’s reputation.
However, this principle goes the other way around as well. What do we mean by that? Simply that influencers also carefully consider the brands they might partner with. It’s a huge part of staying authentic. If a creator is seen collaborating with too many brands that have nothing to do with their niche or style, followers perceive this as insincere. Not only will campaigns like that end up being unsuccessful, but the creator’s reputation can be severely damaged as a result.
Of course, micro-, macro-, and mega-influencers have the luxury of choosing who they want to collaborate with. Smaller creators, such as nano-influencers, might not have such a wide range of options when it comes to brand partnerships. Still, those who are able to maintain their voice and stand behind brands with shared values will do better in the long run.
Tapping Into Unexplored Topics in Their Niche
Once something becomes a trend on social media, everyone is quick to jump in and offer their version of the trending content. This can be good for engagement, but it’s far from enough if a creator wishes to maintain authenticity and show their creativity.
The solution? It’s exploring topics that not many are talking about – of course, keeping them related to the influencer’s niche. The audience will appreciate fresh, original content. The engagement will increase, and the influencer will affirm their reputation as an expert in their industry.
Showing Imperfections in Their Content
In the early days of social media, imperfect content was considered a failure. Now, it might as well be a requirement for a successful influencer. Audiences don’t want to see perfection anymore – they want genuine, relatable content that shows things as they really are. In other words, having imperfections in content is a provenly efficient way to maintain authenticity.
Emphasizing Integrity, Especially in Influencer Partnerships
Followers want to see accountability and integrity from the content creators they choose to follow. How do creators live up to these expectations? Staying honest when it comes to partnerships is the key. For example, failing to disclose a brand collaboration on a post can alienate a lot of followers.
The same goes for lying about the quality of a product or the efficiency of a service. It takes a lot of time to recover after a misstep like that. Experienced creators know that no amount of money is worth the loss of integrity – it will cost them a lot in the long run.
Fighting the Pressure and Requirements From Brands
Influencer marketing helps brands – they know it, and they always want to make the most out of their marketing budgets. It’s not uncommon for brands to keep their lists of requirements for influencers long. This often leads to limiting influencers’ creative freedom, resulting in inauthentic content. Fighting the pressure from brands as a creator can be difficult, especially when it comes to small creators. Still, it’s necessary for maintaining genuineness.
Find Authentic Saudi Content Creators with Catchers Agency
Authentic influencer marketing is not always an easy sphere to navigate as a brand, but Catchers Agency is here to help. Our team of influencer marketing specialists is ready to assist your brand and connect you with authentic creators whose style and values match your own. Contact us, and let’s work together to create a successful influencer marketing strategy.