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Branding · Published October 15, 2018

Ronn Torossian
Founder & Chairman, 5W

Five Ways to Spot a Flaky Influencer

influencer marketing strategy and execution for brands
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The rise of the Influencer cannot be overstated, and Influencer Marketing can be your firm’s best secret weapon. Still, as with any industry, the world of influencers is not immune to fraudsters. Here’s five ways to tell if your future Influencer is really more of a follower.

Engagement rate

Commit this formula to memory: -Post 1 + Post 2 + Post 3 divided by 3 = average number of engagements. -Average number of engagements divided by number of followers. This is how you calculate the engagement rate of any user on social media, and an easy tell-all if your influencer is genuinely that- influential. If an influencer has a low engagement rate (less than 1 per cent), then it is more than likely that some of their followers are fake users. Their audience is not one that cares about the user’s content, and isn’t worth your investment as a brand.

Follower growth

This metric is similarly easy to spot. Influencer accounts with organic- that is, genuine- growth, there is typically a consistent upward trend of follower growth. For accounts that have done the dodgy and purchased followers, however, growth in the account’s follower account typically spikes inconsistently- from day to day, or week to week.

Engagement type

This metric is a little harder to determine, but still worth the effort. Engagement type refers to the type of people that are engaging with the content posted by the Influencer: are they coming from outside the account’s follower list? If so, they are probably signed up to an engagement app or engagement pod in exchange for cash. Without genuine engagement, the reach of the Influencer you have in mind is stunted- and not worth your money.

Follower location

Again, this metric is a tricky one, but nonetheless vital to determining if your Influencer has fake followers- or, if genuine, what portion of the followers are likely to be interested in your brand should you partner with the account holder. If, for example, a New York City-based fitness blogger has a significant number of followers based in Asia or the Middle East, they might indeed be genuine, but you’d want to flag the issue. Similarly, an Australia-based adventure blogger with a large proportion of followers outside the country might not actually serve your brand the way you expect. Ask yourself the following questions: do you only ship your product to certain countries? Are you a physical retailer with a dependence on customers in your proximity? If your Influencer’s followers are spread thin worldwide, they might not be the engagement match for you.

Comments

If you’re pressed for time, reading an influencer’s comments can be a quick tell-all, though keep in mind this is a subjective process! Fake engagement is typically led by social media bots, capable of mustering little more than generic support in the form of “love it”, “haha” or emoji-based replies. Truly engaged followers, however, take their time to craft a specific response- these are the kinds of followers you want to target.
Ronn Torossian

Written by

Ronn Torossian

Ronn Torossian is Founder and Chairman of 5W , the AI Communications Firm. He founded 5W in 2003 and built it into one of the largest independent public relations and digital marketing firms in the United States, with senior practitioners serving corporate communications , consumer brands , technology , financial services , health and wellness , beauty , gaming , crisis communications , and public affairs . Under his leadership, 5W defined AI Communications, building brand authority across ChatGPT , Claude , Perplexity , Gemini , and Google AI Overviews, alongside earned media, digital, GEO, and influencer channels. Industry Recognition 5W has been recognized as a top U.S. PR agency by O’Dwyer’s , Agency of the Year in the American Business Awards , Grand Stevie Most Honored PR Agency, a Ragan Top Place to Work in Communications 2026, Digiday WorkLife Employer of the Year, and a PRovoke Top 50 Global PR Agency. Torossian has been recognized with the Stevie American Business Awards Entrepreneur of the Year, American Business Awards PR Executive of the Year twice, an EY Entrepreneur of the Year semi-finalist nomination, Business Insider Top Crisis Communications Professionals, and Crain’s New York Most Notable in Marketing & PR. Research Franchise 5W’s research franchise has become an industry reference for measuring brand visibility inside AI-generated answers, including the AI Visibility Index Series , The GEO Reckoning , The Missing Rung Report, and the 5W AI Power User Study , which identified a 99-point AI favorability gap. Crisis Communications Torossian is one of the world’s foremost crisis communications experts. He has counseled blue chip companies, public company boards, founders, and public figures through ransomware incidents, data breaches, regulatory investigations, high-stakes litigation, activist investors, product recalls, and reputational crises. He has taught crisis communications at Harvard University . Media & Commentary Torossian appears on CNN and CNBC . He is a contributing columnist for Forbes and the New York Observer , his writing on AI communications and brand reputation is published on his personal site, and his commentary has appeared in the Wall Street Journal , Entrepreneur , Adweek , PRWeek , and O’Dwyer’s . Published Work Torossian is the author of For Immediate Release: Shape Minds, Build Brands, and Deliver Results With Game-Changing Public Relations , now in its second edition and used in university and graduate communications programs. He continues that commentary on his own publishing platform , where he writes about reputation, crisis, and AI-mediated discovery. Owner and Publisher, Everything-PR Network Torossian is owner and publisher of the Everything-PR Network , an independent intelligence platform covering public relations, marketing, AI communications, and adjacent industries across 30 publications. Everything-PR is editorially independent from 5W, with published editorial standards and ethics standards . The network is one of the most-cited sources inside ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini for PR and marketing queries. He is also an active investor and advisor, a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) , and serves on nonprofit boards.

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Tags

  • communications
  • social Media
  • marketing
  • branding
  • Public Relations
  • strategy
  • influencer marketing

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