Influencer marketing has grown rapidly, with 97% of marketers now using influencer campaigns. However, only 30% feel they have an accurate view of influencer ROI. By setting clear goals, tracking performance, calculating profitability, and optimizing based on data, you can accurately measure influencer marketing returns.
But, the first step to influencer marketing success is partnering with the right influencers. Here’s how you do that.
Choose the Right Influencers
It is important to thoroughly vet potential influencers. Look for influencers who authentically match your brand personality and content style. Their content should be high-quality and engaging. Their followers should have high engagement rates on posts.
Big influencers with millions of followers can expand your reach. However, smaller nano and micro-influencers often drive more engagement and conversions. Their smaller audiences are highly targeted and relevant. Match different influencers to your campaign goals.
Avoid influencers who use fake followers or bots. Their audiences won’t be real. Work with authentic influencers who are proven to influence their niche. Or you can enlist agencies like PromotionalPact which specializes in nano and micro-influencer marketing and can ensure a better ROI for your investments.
10 Ways to Measure Your Influencer Marketing ROI
So, here are 10 ways how you can get started with measuring your influencer marketing ROI.
- Set Specific Goals and KPIs
Clearly define overarching awareness, traffic, and conversion goals for each campaign. Then identify 2-3 key performance indicators (KPIs) aligned to those goals to track progress, such as reach for awareness or sales for conversions. Setting goals and KPIs is vital for measuring impact.
“The first step to measuring ROI is setting tangible goals and defining 2-3 key performance indicators to track for each campaign.” -Ryan Detert, CEO of Influential
- Track Engagement Metrics
Look beyond simplistic views or like counts to drill into meaningful engagement metrics. Analyze comments, shares, click-through rates, watch times for videos, engagement rates, and sentiment. Strong engagement signals content is resonating and influencing the audience.
“Don’t just look at vanity metrics. Analyze comments, shares, click-through rates, and sentiment to understand true engagement and impact.” – Jenn Herman, Influence Expert
- Implement Codes and Links
Provide each influencer with unique promo codes and affiliate links to track conversions driven by their audience. Using codes and links directly ties sales, sign-ups, and other actions back to influencers.
“Using unique codes and links for each influencer enables you to directly attribute conversions and sales to the right influencer partnerships.” – peekay R., Founder of Raylor Marketing
- Calculate Earned Media Value
Assess the monetary value of exposure gained from influencer content across social platforms. Consider impressions, reach, shares, and engagement for each post and assign dollar values based on typical ad or sponsored post rates to quantify awareness lift and engagement driven.
“Assign dollar values to the impressions, reach, and engagement driven by influencers to quantify the awareness and exposure gained.” – Irma Rastegara, CMO at Uberall
- Monitor Website and Sales Analytics
Review traffic, conversion, sales, and other website analytics for trends and spikes during and after influencer campaigns. Marketing platforms like Google Analytics provide data on traffic sources, actions taken, and conversions from influencer content and links.
“Marketing analytics provide hard data on the traffic and sales driven specifically by your influencer content and links.” – Ryan Foland, Influencer Coach
- Conduct Surveys and Interviews
Survey customers or conduct interviews to determine if they recall seeing or engaging with influencer content and whether it had an impact on their brand perceptions, loyalty, or purchase decisions. Surveys help connect influencer awareness and engagement back to downstream sales and loyalty impacts.
“Surveys and interviews help connect the dots between influencer content and downstream impacts on awareness, consideration, and purchases.” – Ana Gotter, Marketing Consultant
- Analyze Social Media and Web Data
Look for trends in website traffic, conversions, and social engagement that correlate to the timing of influencer content distribution. If spikes occur shortly after influencer posts, it signals their impact in driving actions. Timing data helps quantify the impact.
“Strong correlations between influencer posts and spikes in your website traffic and social engagement indicate their content is driving significant impact.” – Daniel Schotland, COO at Linqia
- Calculate Overall Campaign ROI
Use your selected KPIs, costs, revenue, earned media value, and other data points to calculate campaign return on investment. An ROI formula like (Revenue – Costs) / Costs sums up the profit generated. Factor in both direct sales and indirect value gained.
For example, if your campaign costs were $5,000 in influencer fees, you generated $15,000 in promo code revenue and had $10,000 in additional earned media value, the ROI would be:
($15,000 + $10,000 – $5,000) / $5,000 = $20,000 / $5,000 = 4.0
This shows an ROI of 400%, meaning the campaign generated $4 for every $1 spent.
“Crunching the numbers to determine overall profitability and ROI provides the real proof point on campaign effectiveness.” – Amisha Gandhi, CMO at SimpliSafe
- Optimize Campaigns Based on Results
Analyze results to identify the highest-performing influencers, content approaches, calls to action, and more. Refine your influencer strategy based on performance data to optimize future initiatives.
“Analyze data to double down on what’s working and refine your strategy to improve performance.” – Jenn Herman, Influence Expert
- Report Results Internally
Compile results into reports highlighting ROI, reach, conversions, and anecdotes to clearly showcase the value delivered by influencers. Communicate results internally to gain executive support for ongoing influencer marketing investment.
“Reporting hard ROI metrics gains executive support for ongoing influencer marketing investment.” – Amisha Gandhi, CMO at SimpliSafe
Questions Frequently You Asked
What are the best metrics for determining influencer marketing ROI?
Top metrics include sales, website traffic, engagement rates, awareness lift, earned media value, clicks, impressions, conversions, and more. Track metrics aligned to campaign goals.
How do I pick the right influencers for my brand?
Vet influencers thoroughly to ensure an authentic tone, engaged following, and content style fit. Prioritize relevance over reach alone. Review engagement rates, audience feedback, and content quality.
What tools can I use to track influencer performance?
Use affiliate links, promo codes, UTM campaign tags, website analytics, social listening, surveys, and influencer platforms to monitor different metrics.
How long does it take to achieve positive influencer marketing ROI?
If goals are aligned, it is common to see positive returns within the first 1-2 campaigns. But also analyze performance over longer time frames to account for indirect value.
Final Thoughts
Measuring influencer marketing ROI requires identifying goals, monitoring the right metrics across direct and indirect value, calculating profitability, and optimizing based on data-driven insights. With this comprehensive approach, brands can accurately demonstrate the multifaceted worth and long-term ROI of influencer campaigns.
