How Brands Should Measure Investments in Influencer Programs

Influencer marketing has grown up. Marketers now think of influencers not just as messengers or even content creators but almost as advertisers in themselves, capable of moving products and integral to ecommerce. As influencer marketing commands more of marketing budgets, marketers increasingly need to measure the channel, figuring out which influencers are driving which business objectives. Here are three strategies for marketers to better measure influencer marketing that drives sales—not just likes, follows and "influence." Business goals, not follower counts When the average person thinks of influencer marketing, they think of the Kardashians of the world: celebrities with massive followings. But for most brands, influencers with giant followings are not an option. Access to their millions of followers comes with a hefty price tag, and broadcasting your message to millions is not tantamount to reaching the people potentially interested in your brand. Rather than focusing on follower counts or overall reach, consider brand fit, identify the metrics that will indicate an influencer campaign is driving your business objectives and put systems in place to measure KPIs. For example, are you looking to generate leads? Brand searches? Start conversations and drive engagements? Drive sales? Not only can you measure all of these outcomes, but you can and should account for them in your strategic plan. Additionally, throughout any campaign, you should continuously review the performance of each influencer and all content against the KPIs you've set. This will allow you to understand which content is performing and infer why, as well as inform future influencer sourcing and content creation. What Influencers Look for in Brand Deals Optimizing content for sales Once you’ve identified your objectives and KPIs, you’ll need to find an influencer well positioned to meet those objectives and take steps to help them succeed. First, set standards for the influencer. In influencer marketing, it is unfortunately still standard to employ influencers without communicating clearly about big picture business goals and optimal content features. Make sure, in addition to talking with the influencer about the goals of your collaboration, to share a brief for them to understand what is needed from their videos or posts. Is the video quality high? Is the product featured prominently? Is the influencer discussing the aspects of the product you think are key to driving sales? You’re the expert on your product and your business, as they are experts at motivating their audience to take action; find the balance of sharing your own wisdom about what works and doesn’t in selling your product while the influencer builds it authentically into their content. In addition, work with the influencer to optimize their content to drive sales. Brands have learned to minimize friction on their own sites to drive purchases; the same applies to content on Instagram and TikTok. Is there a strong call to action? Is there a link or button the viewer can click to research or purchase the product? This is all a part of setting the influencer up to succeed. Repeat, replicate and test campaigns Lastly, review all of your content as you would in other testing scenarios by asking: Are certain influencers driving more sales because they are talking about the cost-benefits? Are other influencers not performing as well because they are talking about product features? This data can really inform future creative briefs and campaigns. For example, let’s say you’ve worked with an influencer who has only 1,000 followers but sold a large number of products with a high basket value, which helped move the needle on some of your key objectives. Great! Your work is only halfway done. Take those insights and figure out which similar products the influencer can help you sell throughout the coming year. In addition, evaluate whether there are influencers with similar styles, profiles and audiences who can replicate the first influencer’s success, driving higher overall ROI. If you've identified business objectives, put systems in place to measure them and set standards with influencers to help them meet campaign goals, you’re on your way to moving beyond individual cases of success and crafting a holistic influencer marketing strategy. The next step is to leverage measurements to repeat effective campaigns, replicate them across similar products or verticals and implement long-term plans to maximize the returns of successful relationships. This is what it means to move beyond a single relationship or campaign and optimize for the lifecycle of influencer marketing. How Agencies Are Confronting the Influencer Pay Gap