Posted on
16/5/2023

How to measure the Success of your Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is one of the most powerful tools to promote your brand or product. But how do you know if your campaigns are successful? In this Kolsquare guide, we'll explain what's important about influencer marketing, how to set KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), measure your ROI (Return of Investment), and ultimately optimize your processes.

Quatre personnes autour d'une table de travail dont deux femmes qui se tapent dans les mains
Quatre personnes autour d'une table de travail dont deux femmes qui se tapent dans les mains

Key Takeaways

  • The definition of measuring influencer marketing is the process of evaluating the success of an influencer marketing campaign.
  • To measure success in influencer marketing, there are different factors you should consider: Reach, visibility and engagement, website traffic, sales figures, conversion rate, and brand awareness.
  • Methods and tools that can be used to measure the success of an influencer marketing campaign are social media analytics tools, website analytics tools, and CRM (Customer Relation Management) software.

The success of an influencer marketing campaign can be measured in general terms by comparing the performance of the campaign against specific, pre-determined goals and objectives. Measuring the impact of influencer marketing can help brands understand the effectiveness of their campaigns, identify areas for improvement, and optimize future campaigns to achieve better results. In short, measuring influencer marketing is the process of evaluating the success of an influencer marketing campaign. This then includes, as a  second step, measuring the impact of influencer marketing on various metrics such as brand awareness, engagement, sales, and customer loyalty.

Measuring the success of campaigns with influencers

Measuring the success of an influencer marketing campaign is important because it helps brands determine if their marketing efforts are effective and if they are achieving the desired results. In doing so, you get to collect, evaluate, and ultimately interpret a lot of data. This is, of course, part of the daily business of marketers, but it can often be a tedious and time-consuming task. That’s why Kolsquare offers you a complete technology-based solution that will help you organize your campaign from the very beginning. We invite you to a free demo of our services, so book an appointment with our experts today.

Also, take advantage of the free resources on our influencer marketing blog:

There are several methods and tools that can be used to measure the success of an influencer marketing campaign. These include social media analytics tools, website analytics tools, and customer relationship management (CRM) software. These tools can be used to track metrics such as engagement rates, conversion rates, click-through rates, referral traffic, and revenue.

Which social media KPIs are important for successful influencer marketing?

So first, let’s look at the key influencer marketing measurement benchmarks that brands should consider when evaluating the effectiveness of their influencer marketing campaigns.

1. Metrics for reach and engagement

Reach, visibility, and engagement metrics are important indicators of the success of an influencer marketing campaign. Reach measures the number of people who have been exposed to a brand’s message through influencer content. Engagement measures the level of interaction between the audience and the influencers’ content, for example likes, shares, comments, and clicks. To measure reach (and therefore visibility) as well as engagement, brands can use tools such as analytics platforms or the social networks’ built-in analytics tools to track the number of influencers’ followers, the number of impressions of their content, and the level of engagement for each piece of content.

2. Conversion rate (CR, Conversions rate)

Conversion rate is an important, if not one of the most important, metric for brands to index the success of their influencer marketing campaigns. The CR measures the percentage of people who took a desired action, such as “make a purchase” or “sign up for a newsletter,” after seeing your campaign’s influencer content.

That sounds tricky? But it’s not and can be easily translated into concrete numbers and results. To measure conversion rates, brands can use tools like Google Analytics to track traffic to their website or landing page and the number of conversions generated by influencer marketing campaigns.

3. Return on Investment (ROI)

ROI is a metric that measures the financial return on a brand’s investment using influencer marketing. It’s a simple equation to begin with, as the cost of the influencer campaign and the revenue generated by the campaign are netted.

To calculate ROI, brands can use tools like ROI calculators that take into account the cost of the campaign, the number of conversions generated, and the revenue generated by those conversions. Also, while we will revisit this later in this article, also read the post on how to uncover hidden costs to make your influencer marketing more successful.

4. Brand awareness

Brand awareness measures the extent to which a brand is recognized by its target audience. Influencer marketing can be an effective way to increase brand awareness and reach new audiences. To determine the level of brand awareness among your  target audience before and after the influencer campaign, you can use tools like surveys or social listening tools.

Still wondering what strategies you can use to expand your brand awareness this year? Then read the guide to growing brand awareness in 2023 on the Kolsquare Influencer Marketing Blog.

5. Audience demographics

Influencer audience demographics can help brands better target marketing efforts. Especially in relation to your target definition, it is important to know and compare the age, gender, location, and interests of your brand’s target audience and the influencers with whom you are seeking to collaborate. Do you want to expand your audience and/or know exactly who you want to target with a specific campaign? By analyzing demographic data, brands can determine which influencers are most effective in reaching their target audience and optimize their future campaigns accordingly.

We find that measuring the success of influencer marketing campaigns is essential for brands looking to maximize ROI and improve the effectiveness of their marketing efforts. By tracking these top benchmarks for measuring their influencer marketing, brands can gain valuable insights about their audience, optimize their campaigns, and achieve better results.

What is involved in Influencer Marketing?

Influencer marketing is a form of marketing that involves working with creatives who have a large following on social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok. It’s also a powerful strategy that allows brands to reach their target audience through partnerships with these same creators. These individuals, known as “influencers,” have built a loyal and engaged audience that trusts their opinions and recommendations.

The goal of influencer marketing, in general, is to use the reach and influence of influencers to promote a brand’s products or services to their audience. This can be done through various types of content, including sponsored posts, product reviews, and recommendations.

Influencer marketing can be an extremely effective marketing strategy for brands for several reasons. First, unlike traditional billboard or cinema advertising, brands can reach a targeted and engaged audience. Influencers tend to have a specific niche or demographic that follows them, and partnering with the right influencers can help a brand reach its ideal audience.

Second, influencer marketing can help build trust and credibility for a brand. Because influencers have built a relationship with their audience based on trust, their endorsement of a product or service can carry great weight with their followers.

Finally, influencer marketing can drive sales and increase brand awareness. When influencers promote a product or service, followers are more likely to take action and make a purchase than with traditional advertising.

Overall, influencer marketing is about using the reach and influence of social media personalities to promote a brand’s products or services and build trust and credibility with their audience. When done right, influencer marketing can be a powerful tool for brands looking to reach their target audience and increase revenue (ROI).

What is the ROI of influencer marketing?

Cue revenue: measuring the return on investment of influencer marketing can be challenging for brands. That’s why we break down the term in a short FAQ on return on investment and explain step-by-step what ROI means in influencer marketing.

What is ROI?

Return of Investment (ROI) measures the financial return on an investment, taking into account the cost of the investment and the revenue generated by the investment. A positive ROI means that the investment generated more revenue than it cost, while a negative ROI means that the investment cost more than it generated in revenue.

How do you measure the ROI of influencer marketing?

There are several metrics brands can use to measure the ROI of influencer marketing, including:

  • Cost per Engagement (CPE): cost per engagement measures the cost of generating a certain type of engagement, such as a like or comment, through an influencer’s content. Brands can use CPE to compare the cost of engagement generated by influencer marketing to other forms of marketing, such as paid social media advertising. To calculate CPE, divide the total cost of the influencer campaign by the number of engagements generated.
  • Cost per Acquisition (CPA): cost per acquisition measures the cost of acquiring a new customer or client as a result of an influencer marketing campaign. CPA takes into account the total cost of the influencer campaign and the number of conversions generated by the campaign. To calculate CPA, divide the total cost of the influencer campaign by the number of conversions generated.
  • Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): Return on ad spend measures the revenue generated by an influencer marketing campaign relative to the cost of the campaign. ROAS takes into account both the cost of the campaign and the revenue generated by the campaign. To calculate ROAS, divide the revenue generated by the campaign by the total cost of the campaign.
  • Lifetime Value (LTV): Lifetime value measures the total revenue generated by a customer or client over the course of their lifetime. Influencer marketing can help increase customers’ lifetime value by introducing new customers to a brand and encouraging repeat purchases. To calculate LTV, multiply the average purchase value by the average number of purchases per customer per year and the average lifetime value of the customer.

Without a doubt, measuring the ROI of influencer marketing is important for brands to evaluate the effectiveness of their campaigns and make data-driven decisions. By using metrics like CPE, CPA, ROAS, and LTV, brands can gain valuable insights into the financial impact of their influencer marketing campaigns and optimize their future campaigns for better results.

How can influencer marketing activities be tracked?

Your influencer marketing activities can be tracked using various metrics and tools to measure the effectiveness of the campaigns. Here are some ways to track activity triggered by influencers:

  • Track URLs and promo codes: One of the easiest ways to track the performance of an influencer marketing campaign is to use unique URLs or promo codes. This method provides influencers with a unique URL or promo code that they can include in their campaign-specific content. By tracking the traffic or sales generated by these unique URLs or promo codes, brands can measure the performance of their influencer marketing campaigns.
  • Track social media metrics: Social media platforms offer several metrics that can be used to track the performance of influencer marketing campaigns. These include likes, comments, shares, and saves. Brands can use these metrics to measure the engagement generated by influencer content and track the growth of their social media following. Conveniently, the networks provide this data automatically and for free.
  • Use analytics tools: This brings us right to the fact that there are different tools that track campaign performance. These tools can track the traffic and conversions generated by the campaign and offer insights into the demographics and behavior of the target audience. Some of the most popular analytics tools for influencer marketing include Google Analytics, Hootsuite Insights, and Sprout Social.
  • Monitor brand mentions: Monitoring brand mentions on platforms can help brands track the reach and impact of their influencer marketing campaigns. This includes monitoring social media channels for mentions of the brand or specific campaign hashtags and analyzing sentiment around mentions.
  • Conduct surveys and feedback forms: Probably the most classic way to get feedback is through surveys and forms, which you can play out to your audience in a variety of ways. Why not send out an NPS survey in your newsletter and use built-in features of the networks to ask followers for their opinions? Surveys and feedback forms can provide insight into the effectiveness of the influencer marketing campaign and highlight areas for improvement.

Overall, tracking IM activity is essential for measuring campaign performance and effectiveness. By using the above methods, brands can gain valuable insights into the impact of their influencer marketing efforts and optimize future campaigns for better results.

About Kolsquare

Kolsquare is Europe’s leading Influencer Marketing platform, a data-driven solution that allows brands to scale their KOL Marketing strategies and implement authentic partnerships with KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders). Kolsquare’s technology enables marketing professionals to easily identify the best Content Creators profiles by filtering their content and audience, and to build and manage their campaigns from A to Z, including measuring results and benchmarking performance against competitors. Kolsquare has built the largest community of influencer marketing experts in the world, and offers hundreds of customers (Coca-Cola, Netflix, Sony Music, Publicis, Sézane, Sephora, El Corte Inglés, Lacoste, …) the latest Big Data, AI and Machine Learning technologies to drive inspiring partnerships, tapping into an exhaustive network covering 100% of  KOLs with more than 5,000 followers in 180 countries on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. As a Benefit Company, Kolsquare has been pioneering Responsible Influence by championing transparency, ethical practices, and meaningful collaborations to inspire change.

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