Every business and every industry has what we call a new-man tax. It is largely unavoidable. If you manage to dodge it in one area, you will almost certainly pay for it in another. Influencer marketing has become the latest form of that tax. Hopefully, after reading this, you will pay it only when it makes sense.
If you look closely at influencer campaigns in Cameroon, you will notice a clear pattern: most businesses do not use the same influencer twice. They learn the lesson very quickly. This is because, when it is all posted and done, they do not see the financial value.
When repeat collaborations occur, they are almost always undertaken by large conglomerates with deep marketing budgets. Their objective is brand visibility, saturation, and long-term positioning, not immediate sales conversions. Most have the financial bandwidth to play that game. Small businesses do not.
Most businesses sell low-margin products. They rely on cash flow, not quarterly brand lift reports. When a small business pays an influencer, it is usually a bet that must pay off quickly.
Think of influencers as broadcasters, not sales machines.
When small business owners reach out to me seeking to market on this platform or to help them source influencers, I usually advise them that the most sensible option is to train themselves or an employee to create and distribute their own content.
Electronics manufacturers sit in the sweet spot of influencer marketing. They give influencers products that are valuable enough to justify a review request. The influencer either already uses a competing product or needs something similar anyway, so the exchange feels natural.
Most small businesses, especially in our context, are not that fortunate. Many do not sell high-value products, and even when they do, they often resell imports with no real value addition. If you sell cakes, sending an influencer a cake and asking for a free, honest review will more likely earn you an insult than a post.
Nonetheless, influencers can be beneficial if your objective is to find investors. We all see how well they perform in the giveaway and sympathizer economy.
Paying an influencer also makes sense when the objective is clear and limited. It is useful when you are testing a message or borrowing short-term attention to validate interest. It is not a substitute for a sales strategy, and it should never be treated as a standalone growth engine.
Otherwise, for a small business, it is better to use influencers as distribution partners. Large corporations also use this model, even though it rarely works well, because the content is almost always not native to the influencer’s profile. To manage risk, brands insist on strict creative control and accept low engagement rather than allow influencers to speak naturally.
For the same reason, I will repeat a piece of advice I shared in a 2023 article about digital marketing courses. Do not take a digital marketing course if you do not have a business to run or a job where those skills immediately improve your value and productivity.
If you ever wanted to know why Akumba Music decided to create its own influencers and why that is genius, this is it.