Don’t forget to research Influencer Marketing Agencies

Last updated on July 5th, 2024 at 11:54 am

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Being contacted by influencer marketing agencies isn’t something new for me. But I had a recent DM for a new company I hadn’t heard of before.

Being that the DM was from a third-party account. It got me thinking. When it comes to Social Media marketing agencies or Influencer agencies we need to do our research before signing up.

The DM

The direct message was sent to me via Instagram. Again nothing new. I’ve had several over the years. Most are from third-party profiles directing me to join X agency or to check out their profile.

This DM wasn’t any different. The sender asked if I was interested in growing my engagement and my IG audience. The basic spiel. They then suggested I check out Runwayinfluence.

Here’s where the research begins

I always view the DM sender’s profile along with the info about the brand they are promoting. Well, the sender had a private account that always raises red flags for me.

🚩1. Why do these agencies use thrid party recruitment?

I always find it odd when these types of agencies use these types of tactics. If they are working with thousands of influencers why don’t they have a marketing budget or a marketing team?
Why do they rely on third-party accounts to promote them?

🚩2. The promoter account is private

This always makes me suspicious. It should also make you suspicious too. Why does this random person DM others to promote a marketing agency in the first place? Are they earning a commission for sing-ups or is it an automated account?

Somethings I noticed about their Instagram feed

I checked out their Instagram feed as part of my research. It looks like their feed has evloved over the years.

From what I could tell back in 2016 they shared a lot of travel photos or they were a travel photo resharing profile. Then in 2019, the feed shifted to their runway influence branded content.

The IG feed hasn’t been updated since July of 2021 so I don’t know what that says about their agency.

However, I did find one red flag that caught my eye. In their bio info, they stated that their services offer guaranteed IG verification.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Instagram offers free verification. I don’t know if joining an influencer agency will make a difference if they verify you or not. You can be verified from your account settings and follow the prompts on how to submit the information they request.

You can read all about the IG verification rules here.

Other things I learned about this agency

I spent a few mins checking out the runway influence website. It’s pretty straightforward and basic for an influence agency. They offer a contact form at the bottom of the page along with their contact info.

They also included a phone number. So I headed on over to Google and did a quick search. Not surprisingly the phone number is also associated with their partner company runway waiters. The address also matches one of the runway influence agency as well. So I guess they must run both businesses out of the same office or office space.

As I was scrolling the runway influence website I noticed that they share a number of photos of influencers they work with. This isn’t anything new but I did find it odd that they used a few photos that were stock photos that were found online from Getty images they included the watermark. Others that looked like magazine cover photos. Some even looked like they were red carpet photos as well.

Another thing I noticed was that they offer a variety of services such as modeling, brand ambassador, and general influencer services. That’s the norm of these agencies but I also found it interesting that they don’t have a price list or any fees that may be required for services. You have to contact them for further information.

is it scam?

I can’t say the company is a scam but it may be spam. All I can say is that the companies have been around for a few years. You’ll have to do more research about it before agreeing to any terms of joining the agency. Also, I found it odd that there weren’t too many reviews about this agency online. There were a few news reports praising how much it’s taken off due to the Pandemic but nothing too concrete to say it’s shady or a scam.

Final thoughts

All I can say is always do your own research about influencer agencies when you are contacted via social media. At least if you do your research you can protect yourself from being scammed or conned. Also, ask you about these types of agencies via any groups you are in or among your online friends. Maybe someone can shed more light on it.

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