In an ‘industry first’, influencer marketing platform Takumi has stopped using follower numbers to measure campaign impact and cost. Instead, it will focus on the number of ‘guaranteed impressions’ generated by the content, ensuring brands are paying for measurable results and getting better value for money. This will also make it more difficult for influencers trying to secure brand partnerships with fake followers. Takumi provides businesses access to creative talent and communities on Instagram. It described the company’s move away from using followers as a measurement as a “significant first for the industry”.

Legitimate impressions

Traditionally, the influencer marketing sector has used an account’s follower number as the primary basis for cost per mille (CPM) metrics, especially when selling campaigns to brands and identifying creators. Although, it’s estimated that only 25% of an account’s following will actually see the post on average, resulting in marketers and brands paying for reach they won’t get. Takumi is helping solve the issue around ensuring brands only pay for legitimate impressions rather than fake followers; it will do this by requiring influencers to share analytics directly with brands, meaning bots and influencers with low engagement will be easily identifiable, allowing companies to make more informed choices about who to work with. Solberg Audunsson, CEO and co-founder of Takumi said “this transparency is key, and with our new model fraud will not just be filtered out, but influencers with more accurate demographic targeting will be prioritised and priced according to campaign specifications. “This means activations can be tailored to be as relevant as possible, giving brands a new level of assurance. There’s no mystery surrounding who they’ve reached, and it’s much more closely aligned with traditional media and the metrics marketers rely on,” he continued. Audunsson said they have been considering the move for some time and “by focusing on the impressions an influencer can deliver instead of just their follower number, we should be able to massively increase brand trust in influencer marketing.”The major shift in how it evaluates influencers for brands and campaigns was announced at Takumi’s seminar at AdWeek New York. The shift will support the platform’s current tools that analyse influencer authenticity, including a two-stage, 10-step vetting process and an AI-based analysis of each account powered by Instagram analytics provider HypeAuditor.

Catch Takumi’s session on influencer fraud at the Influencer Marketing Show next week!

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