How To Prevent Influencer Crisis

Influencer Marketing in Vietnam is experiencing explosive growth. According to the latest report by Statista, spending on this activity is projected to reach $87.02 million in 2024 and continue to grow strongly at a rate of 11.07% annually, reaching $147.10 million by 2029. This indicates that Vietnamese businesses increasingly recognize the importance of collaborating with influencers to reach their target audience, especially the youth.

The successful collaboration between Aquafina and supermodel Thanh Hang over the past 10 years is a testament to the power of influencer marketing and the importance of selecting the right brand ambassador. Thanh Hang’s elegant and modern image has helped Aquafina build a strong brand, increasing both brand awareness and sales. Long-term partnerships with influencers create a consistent brand image. Consumers easily recognize and remember Aquafina through Thanh Hang’s image, which strengthens customer loyalty and fosters a community of loyal consumers.

However, despite its significant benefits, influencer marketing also poses certain risks, making it a double-edged sword that businesses must carefully consider before implementation.

So, how can businesses prevent influencer crises and protect themselves from unexpected storms arising from this promising form of communication?

What Is Influencer Crisis?

Influencer crisis management involves a set of strategies and actions designed to prevent, minimize, and respond to negative events or situations involving influencers, such as public relations crises or reputational damage.

Prevent Influencer Crisis

1. Choosing The Right Influencers

To minimize the risk of influencer crises, businesses should carefully select influencers who are a good fit for their brand. Not all famous individuals will align with your brand’s values and goals.

Look for influencers who share your brand’s values, have a strong reputation in their field, and whose audience aligns with your target market. Conduct thorough background checks on potential influencers, including their online and offline activities, to identify any potential red flags.

Thoroughly review their past and present content on social media, to identify any potential red flags that could negatively impact the brand.

Utilize social media listening tools to research potential influencers and make informed decisions.

Buzzsumo is a useful tool for finding popular content on social media and identifying influential people. You can search for the most shared posts and videos and see who created them.
Kred provides a deeper look into the quality and engagement of influencers. It goes beyond follower count to measure mentions, replies, and shares.
Phlanx is a great tool for in-depth analysis of public Instagram accounts, especially engagement rates, and for comparing and evaluating multiple accounts.
Buzzstream helps you find, manage, and grow relationships with influencers. It automatically stores emails, and tweets, and sets reminders to track engagement progress.
Traackr is a powerful tool for searching and filtering influencers based on various criteria. In particular, Traackr provides two important metrics: Reach and Resonance, to help you accurately assess the influence of each individual.
Google Analytics URL Builder will help you track the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. You can accurately measure the number of people who are interested in and click on links from the celebrity’s social media posts.

2. Clear Guidelines And Contracts

To prevent influencer crises, it is crucial to set clear expectations and guidelines for collaboration. Businesses should clearly communicate their goals, messages, and dos and don’ts regarding the influencer’s content and behavior during the partnership.

A contract outlining the rights and responsibilities of both parties, along with the consequences of breaching the agreement, should be established. Additionally, regular monitoring of the influencer’s performance and providing feedback are essential to offer support and guidance when needed.

Let’s take a look at a well-known case study of a contract dispute between a brand and an influencer, as reported by PR Consulting Inc.On October 30, 2018, the company filed a lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court against actor and influencer Luka Sabbat. The lawsuit alleged that Sabbat had failed to fulfill his contractual obligations to promote Snapchat’s Snap Spectacles, despite receiving a significant upfront payment. According to the complaint, the company claimed that Sabbat had breached the contract by only posting a single, unapproved static post on Instagram and had received a $45,000 advance payment. This case marked a significant turning point in the industry and highlighted the need for more clearly defined contracts and guidelines for influencers to protect both parties.

3. Building Trust And Relationships

Even with the most thorough influencer screening, crises can still happen, as influencers are human and mistakes can occur. Don’t treat influencers as one-time transactions; view them as partners and collaborators who share the same vision and values as your brand.

If an unfortunate incident occurs, but it doesn’t directly impact the target audience or damage the product image, brands often tend to remain silent and continue the partnership.

The case of Sơn Tùng MTP and Vinfast is a clear example of this.In early 2021, rumors surfaced that Sơn Tùng MTP and Thiều Bảo Trâm had broken up due to the involvement of a third party, Hải Tú. Despite facing intense criticism, the male singer chose to remain silent, as he often does when dealing with previous scandals. At that time, the electric vehicle brand Vinfast continued to use the images of Sơn Tùng and actress Hải Tú until now. The brands he is collaborating with and representing also have not taken any action regarding this matter. Partly because although this stirred up the fan community, attracting a lot of negative criticism about Sơn Tùng’s evasive attitude, his silence can still be considered an effective way because it was a private matter, a relationship issue, not too serious, and Sơn Tùng has a strong attraction to keep fans, steer the scandal, and make the rumor gradually subside without causing too much impact, causing the target audience to turn their backs on the brand.

Building trust and relationships with influencers can not only enhance brand reputation and customer loyalty but also the support of influential people.

Be prepared and train influencers for potential crises. Provide them with the necessary resources, tools, and information to effectively implement a crisis management plan. Educate them about the risks and response strategies, and train them in the skills and techniques to communicate and handle crises.

4. Proactive Monitoring And Engagement

The final step to prevent influencer crises is to stay updated and prepared for potential issues or opportunities. Monitor the latest trends, news, and events in the industry, your business sector, and the interests of your target audience.

Along with that, observe the activities, content, and feedback of influencers. Ensure that you are always up-to-date with any changes that could affect your influencer campaign. Interact with their audience to address any concerns or questions if needed.

At the same time, develop a response strategy to outline how different types of crises will be handled, so as not to be caught off guard if something goes wrong.

This includes the brand’s goals and objectives for handling a public relations crisis, the key messages to be conveyed, the channels and platforms to be used, the frequency and timing of information delivery, the stakeholders and audiences to be informed, and the actions and solutions to be implemented to resolve the crisis.

The response strategy must be flexible, and suitable for specific situations and contexts. Moreover, potential scenarios and outcomes from the brand’s response should be considered, as well as how to measure and evaluate its effectiveness.

Prevention is key when it comes to influencer crises. By proactively addressing potential issues and maintaining effective communication with influencers, brands can minimize the impact of crises and protect their reputation.

This article was written by Le Nguyen, PR & Communications Intern at EloQ Communications. During her internship, Le is participating in various communication campaigns, accumulating a lot of practical experience. With the desire to pursue the PR industry, Le is especially interested in studying the relationship between media and society, and believes that PR can play an important role in creating positive changes for businesses and society.