In a world where ad blockers are more popular (and more hated) than ever, the only effective advertising left is personal, targeted, and in the form of a recommendation from a trusted source.
Influencer marketing is just that, which is why 86% of marketers are now incorporating it into their strategies.
But how can we be sure that we’re getting our money’s worth out of influencer campaigns and that they’re truly driving ROI? The first step is to measure it.
1. Impressions
This is a top-of-funnel metric that determines how many times an influencer’s content is displayed on a user’s screen. This number is determined by the influencer’s follower count.
Impressions are a good indicator of how many people are exposed to your brand through an influencer campaign. However, it doesn’t take into account how many of those people actually engaged with the content.
2. Click-Through Rate
The click-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of people who click on a link to your website or landing page after seeing an influencer’s post.
The CTR is calculated by dividing the number of clicks by the number of impressions, and then multiplying by 100 to get the percentage.
A high CTR means that the influencer’s audience is highly engaged and interested in your brand, which can lead to more conversions and sales.
3. Engagement Rate
Engagement rate is a metric that measures the level of engagement an influencer gets on their content. It’s calculated by taking the total number of likes, comments, shares and retweets an influencer gets on their content and dividing that number by the total number of followers the influencer has.
Engagement rate is a great metric to use when determining the ROI of an influencer campaign because it shows how much an influencer’s audience is interacting with their content. If an influencer has a high engagement rate, it means that their content is resonating with their audience and is more likely to drive results for your brand.
Similarly, using employee engagement survey tools can help organizations measure how effectively internal teams connect with brand campaigns, ensuring both employees and influencers align with overall engagement goals.
4. Follower Growth
If an influencer’s campaign is successful, you should see a spike in the growth of their followers. This is due to the fact that the influencer is sharing your content with their audience, and their audience is engaging with it.
This is a great way to measure the success of an influencer campaign, and it can also help you to determine the value of the influencer’s audience.
5. Social Shares
Social shares are the number of times an influencer’s content gets shared on social media. This is an important metric because it shows the reach of an influencer’s content beyond their own audience.
The more shares an influencer’s content gets, the more people will see it and the more potential customers you’ll be able to reach.
6. Mentions
This metric is pretty simple: how many times was your brand mentioned in the influencer’s content? The more mentions, the better.
Mentions are a great way to increase brand awareness and drive traffic to your website. When an influencer mentions your brand in their content, their followers are more likely to check out your website and social media profiles.
7. Content Quality
Influencer content quality is one of the most important aspects of a successful influencer marketing campaign. The quality of an influencer’s content can help determine the success of your campaign.
When it comes to measuring content quality, you’ll want to look at things like the design of the content, the quality of the images and videos, and the overall creativity of the content. You’ll also want to consider how well the content fits with the influencer’s brand and audience.
To measure content quality, you can use a variety of different metrics, including engagement, reach, and more. You can also look at things like the number of likes, comments, and shares on the content, as well as the overall sentiment of the comments.
8. Traffic
Traffic is a broad term that can be used to describe any of the following:
• The number of people who click on an influencer’s content and go to your website.
• The number of people who click on an influencer’s content and go to your social media profile.
• The number of people who click on an influencer’s content and go to a landing page.
When you’re working with an influencer, you’ll want to make sure that you have a way to track the traffic that they’re driving to your site. You can do this by creating a unique URL for the influencer to share, or by using UTM parameters to track the traffic that they’re driving.
If you’re running a brand awareness campaign, you might not have a specific goal in mind for the traffic that the influencer is driving. But, if you’re running a campaign that’s focused on driving traffic and conversions, then you’ll want to track the traffic that the influencer is driving and make sure that it’s helping you meet your goals.
9. Conversions
A conversion is when a consumer completes a desired action, such as making a purchase, after seeing an influencer’s post. This is another metric that requires the influencer to use a trackable link or promo code in their content.
Conversions are the most direct way to measure how well an influencer’s content is converting their followers into customers. If you’re using an influencer marketing platform, you can easily track conversions and sales from an influencer’s content using their unique link or code. This makes influencer marketing especially valuable for brands in emerging sectors like dark store retail, where speed and visibility directly affect conversions.
10. Customer Acquisition Cost
Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is a metric that measures how much a business spends on average to acquire a new customer.
To determine CAC, divide the total amount spent on influencer marketing by the number of new customers acquired.
11. Return on Ad Spend
Return on ad spend (ROAS) is a similar metric to ROI but is specifically used to measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. The formula for ROAS is the same as the formula for ROI, except revenue is divided by the cost of the campaign, not subtracted.
In the example below, we’ll calculate the ROAS of an influencer marketing campaign that generated $10,000 in revenue and cost $2,000:
The ROAS of this campaign is 5. This means that for every $1 spent on the campaign, the company earned $5 in revenue.
Influencer Campaigns: It’s All About the Metrics
How do you know if your influencer marketing efforts are working? As with any marketing campaign, you need to track your results. But how do you measure return on investment (ROI) with influencer marketing?
The answer is: it depends. The right metrics for your influencer marketing campaign will depend on your goals. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at 11 different influencer marketing metrics you can use to determine your ROI.
Before we dive in, let’s take a look at the most common influencer marketing goals:
• Increase brand awareness
• Drive traffic to your website or landing page
• Generate leads
• Increase sales
• Improve audience engagement
• Increase social media followers and engagement
• Drive app installs
• Increase event attendance
• Increase customer loyalty and retention
Conclusion
Influencer campaigns are a great way to increase brand awareness, reach new audiences, and convert more customers. Use these metrics to determine the ROI of your influencer marketing strategy and learn how to improve it in the future.