Are Your Social Media Influencers Banned? - Embark Marketing
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Are Your Social Media Influencers Banned?

The days of traditional public relations are long gone. Public Relations has evolved from radio, television, and newspapers to now include social media influencers and bloggers. Many businesses are now choosing to take advantage of this reach because social media influencers have proved to have a strong impact on purchasing decisions.

Social media influencers do not come cheap. Many bloggers and social media influencers now charge for services such as, posts on their accounts, stories and blogs. These posts can cost upwards of $100-$150 per post. Luckily, there are ways for you to guarantee you are getting what you paid for.

Media Kit
If you interested in using a social media influencer. One of the first things you should do is ask to be provided with a media kit. A media kit is a public relations tool that informs you of their network, audience, and reach. In any traditional form of advertising, such as a major publication or network this is a standard, so we feel it should translate to bloggers and influencers.

If your influencer does not have a media kit, ask them to get FOHR certified. FOHR provides a complimentary service that will accurately determine if your social media influencers are maintaining an ethical use of their social media platforms. FOHR will scan all of the accounts and deliver a detailed health report for each social media account. This assures companies they are getting their full monies worth from a social media influencer.

Social Media Algorithms
As social media platforms evolve and implement new algorithms, it is important that social media influencers follow the new terms and conditions of each platform. Many of these new terms prohibit users from using bots. Bots are algorithm applications that automatically interact with other users. Instagram blocks the use of buying, exchanging, and automatic interaction with followers.

How do you know if your social media influencer uses a bot? There are a few things that will indicate your influencer has bought followers or uses a bot. First look at the followers to engagement ratio. If the user has a lot of followers, but the posts get very few likes in comparison, it may be a fake account. You can look at the followers themselves too. Are they real accounts? Another clear indicator is if the account’s posts have lots of spammy comments.

Shadow Banning
Instagram specifically, has updated their algorithms to now take into consideration various aspects of a post. The newest update with Instagram includes the implementation of shadow banning aka stealth banning. This is when a post is not visible to any users who are not directly following you. Shadow banning can affect each post separately or a full account.

Currently, Instagram is filtering and sorting post based on the quality of the content. Social media platforms are looking to see if the use of banned hashtags are being used. Instagram also looks at the placement of hashtags. Any shadow banned post will enable your account to be found organically. Shadow banning causes a user to be unable to gain new followers, decreasing organic engagement, and reach. Curious if your influencers posts or account is shadow banned? There are ways to check. One of the tools we have found useful is the Instagram Shadowban Tester.

There are several things social media influencers can do to prevent shadow banning. We recommend they switch up their hashtags from time to time. Also, they should include them in the description, rather than in the comment section. These are just a few of many things the influencers you use should be aware of.

Working With Social Media Influencers
At the end of the day, social media platforms are focusing on quality of content and organic reach. Those influencers that do not provide this, will inevitable be hidden from the platforms themselves. As a business owner, looking to partner with social media influencers, it is important to consider the influencers followers and engagement. 

Need help navigating the social media influencer world? We can help! We are experts in leveraging social media influencers to better our client’s business. Contact us today!