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WHAT TO DO WHEN A KOL FAILS? GUIDE TO EVALUATE POPULARITY AND MANAGE RISKS BEFORE COLLABORATING WITH INFLUENCERS

 

In the era where social media marketing dominates, collaborating with KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) has become a popular way for brands to reach consumers. However, in recent years, a series of "KOL failures" have made brands pay the price—ranging from controversial remarks and personal misconduct to data falsification. Any of these controversies could lead to a crisis of trust for the brand.

Take the example of the clothing brand Pazzo collaborating with influencer Lioumonn, whose image had been damaged and who had been inactive for a year, which led to intense backlash from some netizens. Similarly, the YouTube couple channel Crowd1111 faced frequent controversies over emotional and stock disputes, resulting in a large loss of fans and numerous brands halting their collaborations. These cases remind us that "buzz" does not equal "value." What brands should truly focus on is the KOL's "likability" and "risk management."

This article will take you deep into the definition and value of KOL likability, the tangible impact of failed collaborations on brands, and provide specific risk assessment methods and AI tool applications to help brands "choose the right influencers and avoid pitfalls."

 

1. Why Is "KOL Likability" More Important Than "Buzz"?

     (1) What Is KOL Likability

KOL likability refers to the trust, professionalism, and positive image an influencer holds in the minds of their followers and the public, rather than just being measured by follower count or exposure. The evaluation includes aspects such as past behavior and statements, interaction style, involvement in controversies, and the emotional response of the community.

     (2) Positive Benefits Of High Likability

Collaborating with KOLs who have high likability not only strengthens brand trust but also makes it easier to drive consumer conversion, enhance brand loyalty, and build positive word-of-mouth.

     (3) The Risk Of Failure Makes It Hard For Brands To Escape Unscathed

On the other hand, once a KOL's image collapses due to controversy, even if the brand has no direct responsibility, it may still become a collateral victim. Netizens may label the brand as "having poor judgment" or "careless in choosing influencers," leading to a loss of brand trust, and potentially triggering boycotts or a wave of returns.

     (4) Trust Is Replacing Buzz as the New Metric

According to the Nielsen Consumer Trust Report, 83% of consumers trust recommendations from family and friends, while 66% rely on online reviews. This shows that "trust" is increasingly becoming the key factor influencing consumer behavior. As a result, when selecting collaboration partners, likability and risk management have now replaced the strategy of simply chasing buzz, becoming the new norm in brand marketing.

 

2. Analyzing Risks From Failures: How KOL Image Collapses Can Drag Down Brands

     1) Common Types Of Failure Risks

1. Offensive or inappropriate remarks: Involving issues such as racial discrimination, gender bias, or political controversies, such as making disrespectful comments about minority groups.
2. Negative exposure of personal life: Personal moral controversies like infidelity, domestic violence, or drunk driving, which are common among celebrities and YouTube KOLs.
3. Fake traffic issues: KOLs buying followers, purchasing interactions, faking product endorsements, or fabricating sales results—these are all issues of integrity risk.
4. Involvement in criminal or major social controversies: Such as drug abuse, sexual harassment, fraud, etc., directly impacting their social image and legal risks.

 

     2) The Four Major Losses A Brand Can Face From Influencer Controversies

 

     3) Recent Failure Case Review

1. Pazzo clothing brand and Lioumonn collaboration incident: Influencer Lioumonn was embroiled in a personal misconduct controversy and image collapse in 2023. Even though the incident happened over a year ago, the collaboration between the clothing brand Pazzo and Lioumonn is still facing strong backlash from many netizens.
2. Crowd1111's Jia Ning incident: After Jia Ning of the YouTube channel Crowd1111 broke up with Andy, issues regarding company equity and emotional disputes surfaced. This led to a decline in the YouTube channel's popularity and a massive loss of fans. Previous brand partners also distanced themselves from her.
3. The Lins' Kids's inappropriate remarks and behavior: The Lins' Kids's controversial actions, such as hiking during her pregnancy, resulted in Department of Social Welfare imposing a 12-hour parenting education penalty on both parents, and the Department of Health fining her 60,000 NTD. She also mocked special education students during a live-streamed promotional event, prompting brands to swiftly sever ties and terminate collaborations.

 

3. How Can Brands Avoid Pitfalls? A Pre-Collaboration KOL Risk Assessment Checklist

In today's world, where social media is the primary battleground for brand exposure, collaborating with KOLs has become the mainstream marketing strategy. However, as KOL influence continues to grow, a single controversial statement or image failure could drag a brand into a crisis, even damaging years of reputation. Rather than dealing with the aftermath, prevention is key. Brands must establish a comprehensive KOL risk assessment mechanism to ensure the "credibility" and "stability" of their collaboration partners.

     1) Step 1: Establish Risk Assessment Indicators

When selecting collaboration partners, brands should consider the following risk assessment indicators to avoid partnering with potentially controversial figures.

1. Past statements and background check: Review whether the KOL has been involved in controversial events, such as extreme political views, gender or racial discrimination, plagiarism, or false advertising. This can be done by searching through old posts, keyword news reviews, and conducting basic investigations.
2. Authenticity of fan interactions: Observe whether likes and comments seem natural or if there are "zombie followers" or repeated machine-generated responses. Avoid partnering with influencers who have inflated numbers but lack actual conversion power.
3. Content involvement with sensitive topics or extreme views: If the KOL frequently posts controversial statements, it may lead to division among their audience and put the brand at risk of being "hijacked" by their personal stance.
4. Stable and honest collaboration history: Observe whether the KOL has a track record of "ghosting" or failing to honor collaboration agreements, or engaging in behaviors such as failing to disclose ads or maliciously attacking competitors.
5. Social media volume and sentiment analysis: Analyze the KOL’s overall social media sentiment and the ratio of positive to negative feedback. Look at whether negative reviews are concentrated around specific events, as this can help predict potential risks.

 

     2) Step 2: Leverage Data Tools For Assisted Analysis

For the above KOL evaluation indicators, brands can use third-party data tools to assist with analysis:

       1. Social Media Sentiment Analysis Platforms (e.g., Social Listening Tools)

Tools like AsiaKOL, i-Buzz, QuickseeK, etc., can provide real-time monitoring of an influencer's reputation changes and the level of online discussions surrounding them.

       2. AI Reputation Assessment Tools

AI tools like SpotKOL can automatically detect past controversy records, news keywords, and sentiment in netizen comments, quickly generating a "brand likability score."

 

     3) Step 3: Clearly Define Risk Clauses In The Contract

Risk management should not end before the collaboration begins; the cooperation contract should also include "contingency clauses" to protect the brand’s interests.

        1. Reputation Clause / Image Maintenance Agreement

If any controversy arises during the collaboration that impacts the brand's image, the brand has the right to terminate the partnership early, and the KOL must assist in clarifying and mitigating the situation.

        2. Clear Terms For Terminating The Collaboration

This includes details about the refund ratio after the collaboration is terminated, the process and deadline for removing published content, and how the situation will be handled.

        3. Crisis Response Mechanism And Payment Flow Protection

collaboration, the contract should specify how both parties will handle public relations, provide a unified information outlet, and include a mechanism to pause refund/payment processes.

 

4. AsiaKOL AI Tool Launch: Use "Influencer Version Of ChatGPT" For Precise Partner Selection And Risk Avoidance

Recently, AsiaKOL launched "SpotKOL," the "Influencer Version Of ChatGPT." This AI tool is an innovative application that combines AsiaKOL's AIE Influencer Database with large language models. It can instantly analyze a KOL's public content, social media interaction history, media reports, and forum discussion volume.

SpotKOL uses AI to identify whether a KOL has been involved in controversies or has a biased image. The system can also automatically recommend collaboration candidates with high compatibility, low risk, high likability, and strong conversion potential based on specific industries and product attributes. It is not only a screening tool but also a predictor of potential brand reputation risks.

     1) Practical Assistance Brands Can Get: From "Avoiding Pitfalls" To "Precise Partner Selection"

The value that AsiaKOL's AI tool provides to brands is mainly reflected in the following points:

1. Predicting collaboration risks, stepping away from controversial KOLs: Through sentiment analysis and topic tracking, the AI can quickly identify whether a KOL has been involved in controversies or negative events. It also helps aggregate both positive and negative topic content, allowing brands to clearly understand the factors that influence a KOL's likability or controversy. This helps brands avoid potential risks before collaboration begins.
2. Helping you choose the right partner with "likability score": The AI tool automatically generates a "likability score" for influencers based on consumer interaction behaviors, public forums, and media discussions. This provides data-backed insights, allowing brands to narrow down the best candidates from a large list of KOLs.
3. Increasing conversion and trust: Collaborating with KOLs whose image aligns with the brand, is controversy-free, and matches the audience can not only reduce the risk of failure but also strengthen consumer trust in the brand. This ultimately improves marketing ROI (Return on Ad Spend or ROAS).

     

     2) Target Audience And Collaboration Scenarios: A Marketing Ally For Startups And SMEs

The SpotKOL tool is not only suitable for small and medium-sized brands with limited marketing resources, but it is also an ideal entry-level tool for startups or teams trying KOL collaboration for the first time. Applicable scenarios include:

1. Brands collaborating with KOLs for the first time, lacking professional evaluation capability: SpotKOL can quickly provide assessment results and recommend suitable KOLs.
2. Small and medium enterprises seeking high ROI and low-risk collaborations: SpotKOL helps identify KOLs who offer both exposure and image value, ensuring cost-effective and low-risk partnerships.
3. Saving time and labor costs: When needing to quickly filter through multiple KOLs, the AI tool accelerates the decision-making process and enhances efficiency.

 

Building A Brand Marketing Safety Net: Likability × Risk Management Are Both Essential

In this era of "rapid rise to fame and sudden image collapse," KOLs are not just exposure tools but extensions of brand values. Choosing the wrong influencer is not only a waste of budget, but it could also cause years of brand trust to crumble. Therefore, brands must establish a comprehensive KOL risk assessment mechanism and make use of AI tools for proactive screening. Tools like SpotKOL, launched by AsiaKOL, combine big data and semantic analysis to not only help predict risks but also recommend high-likability, low-risk, and high-conversion KOLs based on industry attributes. It serves as an intelligent gatekeeper for brands in social media marketing.

 

⭐️ Want to avoid pitfalls in KOL marketing? Try the SpotKOL AI Assessment Tool now!

⭐️ Have collaboration plans to discuss? Feel free to contact the official AsiaKOL team.