The Problems With Influencer Marketing
Consider the situation with PewDiePie (and many other influencers), an influential YouTube microcelebrity with a massive following. After posting some stupid comments, he embarrassed sponsors who quickly moved to disassociate themselves from his brand. But, the damage was done to the brands in question. Just the fact they were linked to these people, caused a lot of headaches when all that they ever wanted was a bit of promotion.
Also, consider a situation where the influencer doesn’t care for your brand or, worse, actually dislikes your brand. Your outreach efforts might set off a tirade to their followers on social media that does more damage than any good that might have come from reaching out.
So does influencer marketing work? Maybe a little. The key is to husband your time and money (new companies are making a fortune on your efforts to engage in influencer marketing) for tactics with the highest return for your investment.