PRESS RELEASE: Influencer Scammers in Australia are Increasing

Fake Influencer accounts are up 20% since 2020. Brands rushing to hire social media influencers to promote their products are falling victim to a new wave of social media charlatans.

Influencer Marketing is hot right now – 75% of Australians use social media daily, according to new research from Statista, and more people are trusting what the stars of social media are saying about products and brands than ever before.

Building thousands of followers on social media is becoming increasingly lucrative – ‘influencers’ can make many thousands of dollars for a single post promoting a brand. They’re in hot demand, and there’s a shortage of good ones in Australia.

But along with the surge in demand for social media talent has come a remarkable increase in scammers keen to cash in.

“Since the lockdowns things have gotten really quite bad” said Dr Brent Coker, spokesperson for influencer marketing agency Wear Cape. “Our software gives us good intel about the legitimacy of people’s social media accounts, but I’m surprised at how sophisticated the ‘fake influencer’ accounts are getting since pre-Covid days, and we’re seeing a lot more of them.”

According to Wear Cape, an influencer marketing and technology company in Melbourne, the best way to tell if an influencer’s account is authentic is do follower profiling and comments analysis.

“It’s easy to buy followers nowadays – but bought followers are never going to be your customers. I’ve seen some accounts with as many as 95% of their followers in countries like Afghanistan and Bangladesh – a common sign that the influencer isn’t who you think they are” said Coker.

According to Wear Cape it’s also easy to fake post engagement. So called ‘engagement pods’ and bots are becoming increasingly common ways to artificially inflate post views and likes. High post engagement is one of the things brands look for when choosing an influencer, and a common way they get dupped into thinking an influencer is more popular than they actually are.

“If you don’t have special software to detect fakery, the best way to determine authenticity is to manually check the comments on their (influencers) old posts. Fake comments from bots or engagement pods tend to be overly superficial and vague, like ‘great post’ or ‘Love it’ rather than specific to the actual content.”

The more followers an influencer has, the more they get paid. An influencer with 100,000 followers on Instagram could earn as much as $4-5000 per post. There’s a strong temptation for many influencers to buy more followers to boost their attractiveness and how much they charge.

According to Coker, most influencers in Australia have at least some percentage of overseas followers. But it’s when it gets over 30% that brands should be concerned.

“People in other countries are curious about how we live in Australia – so it’s normal that many influencers have at least some overseas followers. But red flags start showing if we detect more than 30%” said Coker.

“To a budding marketing professional new to influencer marketing, it’s easy to understand how they can get dupped – and I’m seeing it more often. Everyone wants to be a social media star nowadays, but because it’s still new, it’s a bit like the Wild West.”

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Wear Cape is an influencer agency headquartered in Melbourne Australia.

Contact Information:
Wear Cape (Australia)
Brent Coker
[email protected]
0421764085