Fake Sponsored Content is Changing the Landscape of Influencer Marketing

We have all become accustomed to seeing sponsored posts from influencers littered all over our social media. What you may have not considered before is how someone becomes an influencer. The Atlantic ran an article which discussed how influencers are posting fake sponsored content on Instagram in order to kickstart their influencer career.

When a brand is selecting an influencer to promote their message, they are looking for someone who has sufficient reach but also has track record of success. Similar to how a page with many inbound links form reputable sites looks attractive to Google’s search algorithms, an influencer who already has many sponsorships is more desirable for brands. Essentially an influencer gains more credibility with each additional sponsor they add. Given this dynamic, the first deal for an influencer it is often the hardest to land. As a result, what aspiring influencers are creating fake posts to give the appearance that they are already have sponsorship deals.

These fake posts are intended to mimic a sponsored post in everyway except that the influencer has no relationship or is being paid by the brand. To the average person it would be difficult to tell the difference, if they even cared to stare long enough at the post to scrutinize them. Given all this free publicity, it would seem that brands would stand to benefit from this trend; however, it is a bit of a mixed bag for them as well. When an aspiring influencer creates a fake post, the brand has no control over the content and it runs the risk that these posts can be off-message. Brands are caught in an interesting position where they want to continue to benefit from the free publicity, but they also want to ensure consistency in the brand message.

How quickly influencers have increased their digital presence makes you wonder if the influencer marketing is here for the long-term or if we as a society will be all “influenced” out in a few years. Me personally, I’ve already become numb to these ads and sponsored posts (or at least I think I have) and with fake posts on the rise it could accelerate the whole process. With brands getting free posts from these fake influencers, could this saturate the market and undermine the whole influencer marketing society?