Collaborating with influencers can be highly profitable. But if a crisis happened at the hands of an influencer you work with, would you be ready to handle it? Whether a content creator uses hate speech, shares something inappropriate on social, or offends a crowd, brands must manage the fallout. Here are some tips to handle an influencer-related crisis:
Have a team in place
Every company, no matter its size, will likely deal with a crisis or two in its lifecycle. Whether it’s an influencer crisis, a product recall, or another problem, you need a team in place before a crisis happens.
Working with IZEA’s Managed Services team on campaigns, for example, can give you support in dealing with any challenges.
Talk to legal
In most cases, apologizing and being transparent is the right way to handle a crisis. However, there are some instances where an apology could be seen as an admission of guilt and may lead to more legal issues.
Before you go public, make sure the crisis team consults with the company’s attorney or legal team.
Address the influencer-related crisis
Most of the time, you need to address the problem in a quick but thoughtful manner.
As a brand, you need to gather the facts, examine its impact and make a well-thought-out statement.
While every situation is different, your succinct statement should:
- Apologize for the situation.
- Take responsibility for the issue, without laying any blame or pointing fingers.
- Explain how you’ll prevent the mistake from happening again.
Pause your ads
During a crisis, you don’t want to seem like you’re solely focused on sales. Your brand should consider temporarily suspending online and social ads.
Ads that appear on Pinterest, YouTube and Google might be able to run if they appear only as a response to a search, but Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn ads that interrupt a person’s feed should be suspended.
Check your scheduled social posts, too. Your everyday content might not be appropriate in the face of a scandal.
Review your influencer contracts and add a morals clause
You can’t control an influencer’s actions, but you can explicitly explain the conduct you expect from an influencer and express the types of behaviors that will terminate your relationship.
More specifically, your influencer contract should have a morals clause. This clause gives your brand the right to fire an influencer for things like participating in illegal activity, becoming embroiled in a scandal, or making decisions that reflect poorly on your brand.
Choose your influencers with care
After the turmoil clears, take some time to review your current influencers and your influencer recruiting and vetting process. Whether you find creators through an influencer marketplace, on your own using IZEA Flex, or with the help of our team, each one must be vetted.
Aside from checking an influencer’s target audience, engagement rates and post frequency, you should:
- Google the influencer’s name to see what comes up.
- If possible, search for the person’s name on your local news website or online newspaper.
- Ask for references of previous clients and call those clients.
- Go over the morals clause in your influencer contract to make sure the creator is aware of the conduct you expect and what can result in termination.
As with any marketing move, influencer marketing comes with a certain level of risk. As you build collaborations, vet each influencer, have a sound contract in place, and make sure there’s an influencer-related crisis plan ready when needed.
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