Tracking links to understand campaign ROI

How to generate a tracking link or URL for your influencer marketing campaigns?

To create tracking links, you can use online tools. Here are some of the platforms most commonly used by marketers.

Google Analytics: Campaign UTM builder

Google Analytics offers a tool that allows users to create tracking links. If you want to use this platform, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Google Analytics Campaign URL builder here.
2. Fill in the requested fields as follows:

• Website URL: The URL of the landing page you want to direct users to.
• Campaign ID: The campaign ID.
• Campaign Source: The origin of your traffic, such as the search engine, the newsletter name or the specific social network.
• Campaign Medium: The marketing channel of your campaign.
• Campaign Name: The specific name of your campaign to help you track it in Google Analytics.
• Campaign Term and Campaign Content: Both are optional and can be useful for keyword tracking and ad targeting, respectively.
• When you fill in the data, the website will generate your tracking link automatically.

Bitly: Online URL shortener

Bitly is a platform that allows you to shorten links, making it easy for you to track user interactions with them. By shortening a URL with Bitly, you can track how many people click on the link, from which geographic locations, and the devices they use to connect.

To create tracking links in Bitly, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your Bitly account.
2. Click “Create” in the upper right corner.
3. Paste the long URL you want to shorten and track.
4. Click “Create”. Bitly will automatically generate a short URL that you can share.
5. To track interactions with your link, simply click on the shortened URL in your Bitly dashboard, and you will be able to see all the stats related to it.

UTM.io: UTM generation and parameter builder

UTM.io is a very useful URL tracking and UTM generation tool that allows marketing teams to create, share and sync UTM tags for their campaigns. This tool allows you to create standardised UTM parameters, which makes data analysis easier. Like Bitly, UTM.io features a URL shortener to make your links more user-friendly. It also offers templates to save time when creating multiple URLs with similar parameters. One of UTM.io’s strengths is its ability to integrate with other tools, such as Google Analytics.

To generate tracking links in UTM.io follow these steps:

1. Create an account on UTM.io.
2. Log in and select “Create new UTM”.
3. Fill in the required fields as follows:

Website URL: The URL of the page you want to direct traffic to.

• Campaign Source: The place where your traffic comes from (Google, newsletter, etc).
• Campaign Medium: The general delivery method.
• Campaign Name: The name of your specific campaign.
• When you fill in the data, the website will generate your tracking link. Your tracking link will be ready to share on various digital platforms.

HubSpot: Multifunctional platform for direct and tracking links online

HubSpot is a multifunctional platform for marketing and sales that also includes URL tracking tools. HubSpot allows you to monitor how many people click on your links and how they interact with your website.

To create your own link in HubSpot, you must follow these steos:

• Log in to your HubSpot account and navigate to “Marketing” > “Email”.
• Click “More Tools” at the top right and select “URL Tracking”.
• Click “Create Tracking URL”.
• Fill in the requested details of the tracking URL, such as the campaign URL, campaign source, medium and name.
• Click on “Generate tracking URL” to create your link

Why are tracking links so important for an influencer marketing strategy?

Tracking links are crucial for measuring performance metrics in influencer strategies. They allow brands to quantify and create reports on the impact of each influencer’s actions. This includes tracking how many people have clicked on a link and, of these people, how many have taken a specific action, such as making a purchase or subscribing to a newsletter.

What you learn from tracking links makes it easier to extend campaigns with the right influencer and create better future strategies.

You might be interested in: Influencer marketing and sales: How to convert followers into customers?

These links also support affiliate campaigns. It enables you to accurately track the conversions made by each influencer you work with.

What can you measure with tracking links?

With tracking links, you can measure several performance metrics for your influencer strategy.

Below are the data points to watch. 

Traffic origin (social networks, email, blog, etc)

With a URL, it is possible to know where visitors come from to your digital platforms. In the case of campaigns with influencers, you will be able to know how much traffic the sponsored content of this particular content creator generated. We recommend reading Kolsquare’s blog: Everything you need to know about sponsored posts.

Return on investment (ROI)

ROI is one of the most crucial aspects of any strategy, so by tracking conversions and associating them with specific campaigns, you can accurately calculate the ROI of your marketing efforts.

Number of clicks

This metric provides insight into the level of interest and engagement your audience exhibits towards your communications or advertisements. In influencer marketing, it provides the opportunity to gauge the level of attention the sponsored content created and shared by the influencer has attracted.

User preferences

Tracking links helps you understand what kind of actions your target audience takes from each communication: Do followers buy from an advertisement? Do they sign up for a newsletter? Do they download collateral such as eBooks? With all this information, you can adjust your advertising strategy and offer valuable content.

Conversions

A tracking link enables you to determine whether users who click on your link take the desired actions, such as purchasing a product, signing up for a service, or registering for a specific event.

Find influencers and track links: What influencer marketing platforms can do

When it comes to influencer campaigns, smart decisions start with solid data. Finding the right influencers is only the first step. Campaign tracking allows you to make reports that tell you what’s actually delivering results. Thankfully, several influencer marketing platforms now offer influencer discovery and powerful analytics to help you monitor links, posts, and performance in real-time.

Here’s how some of the top influencer analytics tools can help you stay on top of campaign management and align with your broader business objectives.

Kolsquare - Influencer data, kpi tracking, and search

Kolsquare is a go-to platform for influencer strategy, offering rich influencer data, KPI tracking, and advanced search functionality. It allows brands to find the right influencers, track performance, and generate influencer marketing reports across a wide range of creator profiles.

From engagement rates to audience breakdowns, Kolsquare provides you with the tools to directly tie influencer activity to tangible business impact.

Traackr - Influencer database

Traackr provides access to a vast influencer database, along with deep analysis of creator activity. Its built-in tracking feature lets marketers track every link, mention, and social media post in one place. It’s particularly strong for managing multiple influencer collaborations at scale.

Their brand leaderboard helps you benchmark against competitors, supporting Shopify integration and growing brand awareness.

Upfluence - Influencer management platform 

Like Grin and Awario, Upfluence is a full-service influencer management platform. It enables businesses to manage campaigns, track link performance, and access robust analytics.

You can sort creators by location, interests, or follower count, and integrate directly with eCommerce platforms.

How to track an influencer marketing campaign?

Whatever your campaign goals, there are some key metrics to track.

Here are six essential KPIs to focus on:

1. Engagement rate: This metric measures the level of interaction your audience has with your posts, as indicated by likes, shares, and comments. The engagement rate is a good indicator of whether a campaign has connected with the audience. 
2. Reach and impressions: These metrics tell you how many people saw your content. They are perfect for measuring visibility and reach.
3. Click-through rate (CTR): This conversion metric tells you how many people clicked on a link in a post. It's important for understanding ROI and direct performance. 
4. Conversion events: Whether it’s a sign-up or a sale, track the actions that align with your campaign objectives.
5. Follower count growth: A longer-term metric that helps gauge whether your influencer content is growing your audience.
6. Brand mentions and sentiment: Use a social listening tool to find out how often (and how positively) your brand is being discussed.

Brands in any niche, from beauty to fitness, will want to track at least some of these metrics to understand the effectiveness of their campaigns. 

Start your best influencer campaign tracking

If you’re serious about hitting your campaign goals, you need more than surface-level metrics. You need smart, scalable tools that provide clarity and control to make good decisions.

An influencer marketing platform and social listening tool like Kolsquare brings everything into one place by offering:

• Advanced campaign tracking
• Real-time performance metrics
• Data-backed influencer discovery
• Manage influencer relationships on a single dashboard
• Tools to measure engagement, reach, conversions, and more

Whether your focus is brand awareness, managing a global influencer programme, or meeting specific business objectives, Kolsquare helps you track what matters and scale what works.