How do you measure ROI of your influencer marketing campaigns?

In my opinion the advent of influencer marketing has put a new spin on the traditional ROI formulaic concept. Calculating ROI on influencer marketing is better looked at over a longer period of time. Intensity of the engagement boost of a singular post vs consistent influencer engagement over time yields a varied picture. Consistency + intensity

As a creator, brands often base my "effectiveness" on a set of KPIs that they determine for the campaign. Typically, they focus on link clicks, sign-ups/purchases, or views on the content. Depending on their target demographic, they have a certain CPM that they use to calculate how much my audience is worth and how much they're going to pay me based on that. Other ways of tracking ROI include using what I like to call "CPIs" (community performance indicators). This measures audience sentiment on a video or post. This may include data from comment section or looking at the view-to-like ratio on a video. This is more important when a company is looking to build brand and not as caught up in trying to numerically quantify the "ROI".

One key point to make sure you not only define your metrics, but also take the time to identify them within Google Analytics. Set up Goals that align with your business KPI so that GA not only understands what conversions are for you, but assign the value as well. That will empower your reporting to show true ROI from your influencer marketing engagement. If you ensure that every link shared has tracking UTM parameters, you will be able to see exactly what the results, and revenue, were for every campaign and influencer.

First and foremost, prioritize what you're looking to achieve. Do you want web traffic, sales, downloads, etc. Once you have your priority goal, determine all the cascading metrics that you have available, that can ladder into your goal. You don't want to choose just one metric to tell an entire story, look at all the other metrics that may help tell a story based on the behavior of those who experienced the content. Did they passively or actively engage? Where on the funnel were people getting stuck - did they comment, save and click but few purchased? You need both quantitative and qualitatively goals and analysis to truly understand the success of your campaign and the potential ripple effect it may have long term.

One of the easiest ways to track the success of an influencer campaign is to assign a unique promo code or URL to each influencer. Promo codes can be entered when someone checks out on your site and tracked by your e-commerce platform. Unique URLs can be set up using Google UTM codes or other third party service. Either method will allow you to determine how well your influencers are performing and how much they should be compensated for their work. Set this process up BEFORE reaching out to influencers!

In my experience, it's key to remember that most people are not happy to see an ad on social media since it interrupts their feed. Not everyone is looking for a product or service in the moment they see an ad on social media and if the ad doesn't offer any entertainment either there is no reason for a user to engage with it. So, shares and comments on a branded/sponsored post are what I would consider most important for measuring how well received the sponsored content or ad was. If the comments are positive and users have shared the post then that shows if they ever are seeking that product or service your brand is top of mind due to already having a positive connection with that user.

In my experience, the best influencers to engage with are ones who already have a niche in your market. It helps to have your team members as established followers. That’s what we did recently with hosting a travel influencer who had never went on a warship. The first time doing so was with our organization, setting a trend for what we hope will be more inclusive engagements with influencers to come.

Don't overlook the really small influencers. After running hundreds of Influencer campaigns, we have found that the smaller, nano-influencers with smaller audiences result in higher engagement rates and, more importantly, higher conversion rates. These creators tend to be hyper connected and engaged with their followers, so their Know, Like and Trust factor is through the roof when compared to those who have a lot of followers but don't necessarily speak to them.

Let the influencer create it - they know their audience and have amassed them for a reason. Fit in, don’t stand out. You don’t want their audience to think they only like you because you’re paying them.

As an advertising photographer who has branched into "content creation" I always like to bring an element of elevation to any "influencer content" I produce. I'm not talking ad level polished (I find that often doesn't always play out as well in terms of audience reception, depending on the platform), but it helps to have a certain story and eye for detail, even if subtle, executed in a creative way to connect the content creator with the ethos of the brand.

As a social media strategist, I completely agree that measuring the long-term impact of influencer marketing campaigns is crucial. By tracking metrics such as brand awareness, brand affinity, customer retention, customer lifetime value, and organic growth, you can determine the effectiveness of your campaign and make informed decisions to improve future campaigns. By building and nurturing a community around your brand is crucial for long-term success in influencer marketing. Engage with your audience regularly and encourage conversations and user-generated content. This will not only increase brand loyalty and customer retention but also attract more followers and potential customers to your brand.

Often the ROI you need to measure is defined by WHY you want to measure ROI. Is it to ensure you are reaching the right brands? Or is it more personal in that you are trying to reach the right people, like people that hold specific titles or roles?