The following is a guest contributed post from Steve Ellis, CEO of WHOSAY.

Recently, Dove was caught up in an issue that happens far too often in influencer marketing. The firm it was working with was anxious to sign up talent for an upcoming Father’s Day promotion. But like many in today’s influencer marketing game, it was all about the “spray and pray model.”

A brand and the firms it partners with are simply reaching out to any and all potential influencers, without examining the impact of a potential partnership (or even simple contact with the third-party).

Who are they? Where are they from? Do they have any pre-existing conflicts that could harm the brand? Are their public opinions reflective of values your brand would like to be associated with?

In Dove’s case, its firm’s search came upon Coltrane Curtis, who is an “influential” dad… that also runs his own influencer marketing firm. Understandably, Curtis had some issues with the repeated, tone-deaf overtures, and through Digiday, he discussed the underlying issues this interaction exposed

The largest issue of all? The transactional nature of the brand-influencer model that’s set in around the industry. Brands are being sold on the idea of influencers as an bullhorn for their message; a paid placement that lacks the sort of personal relationship needed to form a working partnership. As Curtis said himself: “Influencers are real people, but many look at them as media outlets. They are bigger than their followers.”

That quote lies at the core of influencer marketing’s potential, but not its current state. Embracing that sort of approach can allow the industry to rise above the ugly, “spray and pray” tactics Curtis fell victim to. And then, influencer marketing can realize its $5 billion potential.

It starts with building a casting process that’s centered around professionalism and respect for talent — and the people behind those public faces. Avoid desperation tactics just like you would in a normal person-to-person interaction. Whether you’re looking for a first date or a first interview, begging rarely works. So why would it set the stage for a successful brand-influencer relationship?

Talent outreach should be in the best interest of both the agency and brand, with influencers thoughtfully (and fully) vetted and approved before engaging the market. Conflicts of interest are the baseline for what to avoid. But the best influencers for a brand aren’t just the ones with the largest follower account. They’re the influencers with the best followers for the brand or campaign, and the one that’s going to generate the most meaningful engagement.

For the burgeoning trend of working with micro-influencers, this can be even more challenging to reach them and start an organic relationship. However, the process of research and respectful outreach should never be compromised.

One social influencer may have 40,000 followers, but in the micro-influencing game, every one of those are their own important ecosystem of valuable interaction and feedback. Erring from the influencer’s typical sharing practices or a brand appearing disingenuous could have catastrophic results for all involved, even on that supposedly smaller scale.

That trust is sacred for followers, and it’s something that must be carried over for every part of the influencer marketing industry. From the brand to the agency to the talent to the audience, respect builds trust and trust builds high-quality engagement.

It’s unlikely Dove’s situation is the last of its kind. But as an industry, we can progress to making these occurrences few and far between. The only thing stopping influencer marketing’s growth is itself. With the roadmap already in place to move beyond the old, flawed mistakes, it’s time to grow up.

The post Trolling for a Match isn’t the Way to Generate Influence appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

Now, data from RhythmOne (formerly Burst Media), shows that influencer effectiveness has continued to rise in 2015.

“The analysis found that the average earned media value (EMV) from U.S. influencer marketing programs was 1.4 times higher in H1 2015 than the overall average in full-year 2014, at $9.60 for every $1 spent, vs. $6.85 last year,” according to eMarketer. “Average EMV was highest in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) food industry, at $14.29, followed by tourist destinations and travel ($12.54) and bath, body, skin and beauty ($12.21).”

In fact, just about every industry saw large leaps in average EMV during the first half of this year vs. full-year 2014. That does, however, exclude retailers and apparel, where the EMV dropped from $10.48 to $4.50.

Instagram had a stronger social amplification rate — user actions out of the total reach on the channel — than any other social network, at 1.77 percent. In fact, this left its competition in the dust. Facebook had an average social amplification of 0.21 percent, Google+ saw a rate of 0.15 percent, and Twitter and Pinterest had respective averages of 0.13 percent and 0.11 percent.

It makes some sense, too, that social amplification rates were highest in the electronics category (0.66 percent) where people think they need more counsel.

The post Need An Influencer? Because It Can Generate Impressive Results, Especially on Instagram, Says New Data appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

That’s not exactly a new revelation. But recent analysis does show that it’s still working — even in the digital age — and quite well, as a matter of fact.

“Teva, ShopStyle, and Dr. Pepper are recent examples of brands and companies leveraging influencers to drive engagement and awareness, and usage isn’t slowing,” notes eMarketer in a new report.

Evidence is available via the May, 2015 study by Schlesinger Associates for Augure showing that 84 percent of marketing and communications professionals worldwide expected to launch at least one campaign involving an influencer in the next 12 months.

What about those who have already done so? A whopping 81 percent said influencer engagement was effective.

“Content was a driving force of influencer campaigns,” reports eMarketer. “More than two-thirds of marketing and communications professionals cited content promotion as a tactic for which they engaged with influencers—the No. 1 response—and nearly six in 10 said the same about content creation. This put content creation in second place alongside product launches, which fell from the No. 1 spot they grabbed in 2014.”

The biggest challenge, apparently, is in identifying the right influencers. About 75 percent of marketers cited this issue.

And how do those influencers — usually bloggers or celebrities — feel about the current situation?

“Responses indicated that brands weren’t necessarily reaching out to bloggers the way they wanted them to,” explains eMarketer. “Agencies representing brands were the most likely to contact bloggers, followed by third-party networks and then brands. However, bloggers overwhelmingly wanted to be contacted by the brands themselves, cited by 79 percent of respondents. In comparison, just 26 percent wanted to hear from agencies and 4 percent from third parties.”

Measurement is mostly gauged by page views, which ranked as the most-used data point, cited by 85 percent of respondents.

The post Can You Buy Influence? Yes, Say Marketers Who Pair Up with People for Content creation, Promotion appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.