Influencer fraud becomes a serious problem in the development of digital marketing. Sway Ops found that a single day of #sponsored and #ad tagged contents contains more than 50% fake engagement, and more than 15% of influencers who are assigned to publish sponsored post never actually create a post. Such fraud causes a catastrophe for both their reputation and financial aspects of brands.

These risks are very well-recognized by the brands. L’Oreal Active Cosmetics is one of the brands which seriously take preventive measure . This French skin care brand invests 90% of the marketing budget for Instagram which includes influencer marketing. With such a large budget, of course, L’Oreal needs to ensure that marketing effort will run effectively with the lowest exposure of risk to its brand. Therefore, it conducts a background check on potential influencers before signing a contract.

In vetting its influencer, L’Oreal takes three steps, one of which is background check. First, its social media division screens potential influencers by using the keyword ‘Active Cosmetics’. Once they have the list of users who mention the keyword, they weed out those who show signs of red flags (such as, numerous followers without any post, high engagement but consistently off-topic comments) which hint that they are fake influencers.

The second step is to filter the potentials based on a guide book in each of the social media division. The book is designed to help the social media division choose a potential influencer that meets the needs of each brand.
The third is the last step. L’Oreal asks professional and trusted third parties to conduct the check on potential influencers.

Through background check, the social media division can find out about the content history of the potential influencer not only on Instagram, but also on other social media platforms. Good history means a minimum risk of influencer fraud.

Read More:Influencer Fraud: The Lurking Risk Behind Influencers’ Marketing

Influencers are not the only people who may jeopardize a brand’s reputation or a company’s financial condition. Employees and vendors or business partners may also carry potential risks.

In general, a background check can help an employer to be well-informed about background information related to a candidate (such as educational background, criminal record, credit record, etc.). This way, an employer can prevent any possible risk emerging out of an uncertain partnership.

Should your company need more detailed information about pre-employment background screening such as background check, you can contact Integrity. For more than seventeen years, Integrity has been trusted by its clients as a mitigation solution provider, including background check services.

Read More:The Role of Digital Influencers in Distributing Counterfeit Products