I often discuss how businesses here in Phuket can benefit the most from content marketing. However, another effective way to promote your business is through influencers.

An influencer is a person who has amassed a large number of followers on one or more online platforms, such as an actor, TV personality or just passionate people that post/blog about a specific topic and have generated several thousands of people following them on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or a blog.

Usually they are great “storytellers” and develop content around niche topics, such as travel, food, fashion or sports, garnering the trust of others to deliver expert advice. Influencers with a large amount of followers are now getting paid to do sponsor posts for brands.

The price can be anything from a free meal or accommodation in a hotel, to a few thousand or hundred thousand baht. For example, Amanda Lee has become a big personality in the fitness industry on Instagram and now receives 5,000USD for a single post – note that she has more than 4 million followers on her Instagram account.

However, the downside of using influencers is, just as with any other social media marketing campaign, that it is very difficult to track the return of investment (ROI) for a sponsor post. Nonetheless, it is worth trying to find the right personality that could become an ambassador for your business and continually post about your brand.

However, don’t be fooled. Just because a profile has hundreds or thousands of followers, doesn’t mean that they are the real deal. People can purchase followers on these platforms or create fake profiles under an influencer’s name.

And though fake followers will increase the number of fans, it also means that if your brand is posted about, there is a big chance that no one will really care, or perhaps even see the post.

To avoid paying or offering these “fake celebrities” sponsored posts, try to check out what is happening on their profile.

Here are some telltale questions to ask yourself:

Are people commenting on the post?

Are they performing well on only one platform?

Who is engaging with their audience?

Do they have a blog?

Do they have references from previous venues that they have visited before?