Measuring the Effectiveness of Influencer Campaigns

COVID was supposed to change everything and make influencer marketing a thing of the past. However, that did not happen. People started spending more and more time online, and as a result, they began to closely follow the accounts of their favorite influencers. Against this backdrop, influencer marketing emerges as one of the fastest-growing forms of digital marketing. This is evidenced by statistics showing the continuous growth of the global market value in this field.

An influencer is an entity that conducts effective activities online, resulting in becoming increasingly popular and influential. Influencers can include bloggers, vloggers, Instagrammers, or gamers (streamers). Influencers often, though not exclusively, gain recognition and a wide reach thanks to their extensive knowledge on a given topic or specialization in a specific field.

Influencers have a tremendous impact on the opinions, decisions, and attitudes of their audience. Their reputation as 'experts' in the area in which they operate adds to their credibility, and their statements are perceived as true and backed by experience.

One might ask whether it is worth investing in influencer marketing. What does collaboration with influencers look like? In which types of media are they most active? How do you find the right person to collaborate with, and what are the available methods for measuring the effectiveness of their campaigns? The answers to the above questions can be found in this article. Before these answers are provided, it is worth noting the extent of the space that has been developed for influencers' activities online. Statistics contained in the report "The State of Influencer Marketing 2023: Benchmark Report" show that:

- the value of influencer marketing increased to $16.4 billion in 2022;

- companies achieve a return on investment of $5.20 for every $1 spent on influencer marketing;

- since 2016, the number of searches for the phrase 'influencer marketing' on Google has increased by 465%;

- 90% of respondents believe that influencer marketing is an effective form of marketing;

- 67% of brands use Instagram for influencer marketing;

- in the last five years alone, 1,360 platforms and agencies focused on influencer marketing have entered the market.

What is collaboration with influencers? A current overview.

Each passing year sees new figures appearing in the influencer market. The situation is similar for social platforms where they can carry out their active activities.

Collaboration with influencers can take various forms, from subtle product placement to creative, long-term cooperation. To succeed in influencer marketing, activities must be unique. We are currently observing a new market reality where influencer marketing is expanding, and influencers are being utilized in many promotional activities.

In recent times, the division of influencers has changed. It used to be that influencers were rarely used in campaigns (they were more of an added value). Nowadays, the influencer environment is divided into 'top' influencers, who are celebrities, and those in the 'lower league,' who generate smaller reach.

One of the conventional classifications ranks individuals operating online as follows:

- nanoinfluencer: from one thousand to 5 thousand followers

- microinfluencer: from 5 to 10 thousand followers

- mid-tier influencer: from several thousand to tens of thousands of followers Influencer: from tens of thousands to half a million followers

- macroinfluencer: from half a million to one million followers

- star/celebrity: over one million followers.

The selection of a specific category of influencer depends on the needs and tasks that the influencer is to fulfill for the brand. It's about matching the person to the concept adopted by the brand. When selecting an influencer, research is conducted (influencer mapping) to estimate the potential effectiveness of a given person. It often happens that a company imposes a specific person with whom they want to collaborate. There are also cases when, during the search for an influencer, companies indicate whom to completely avoid when creating a list of potential candidates for cooperation. However, before any collaboration is undertaken, preliminary assumptions must be made, and a creative advertising campaign must be prepared.

Using dedicated tools, specialists select individuals whose task is to maximize actions and enable reaching a specific target group. Often, the choice of influencers is made based on trial and error. It happens that people working in teams responsible for selecting influencers have a so-called 'gut feeling.' At first glance, it may seem like a simple job, but such research is time-consuming. It is important to remember that starting a collaboration should not be dictated by ad hoc decisions.

At the beginning of the search, it is crucial to define goals, metrics, and budget. After setting the selection criteria, the best proposals are analyzed. During this stage, tools like Newspoint can be used, where one of the functionalities is researching influencers in relation to a defined industry, product, or topic.

When collaborating with influencers, it is essential to clearly define goals. However, the way of communication is often left to the person publishing the content. This is because influencers care about their perception, who they are, and the values they represent. The chosen way of advertising a product represents not only the influencer (as a credible person) but also the brand they promote. Therefore, the advertised product must align with the influencer's lifestyle (the communication must not be detached from reality). For example, a company selling meat products cannot choose an influencer who does not consume meat regularly.

Another criterion for selecting an influencer is the scale of the campaign being conducted. Large names are often used for large campaigns. However, an important element is the target group the company wants to reach. Companies often aim to reach a specific age group. In such a situation, the strategy-building perspective changes, and consequently, a different selection criterion for opinion leaders is used. It is impossible to definitively answer whether it is better to have one well-known name or several smaller ones in a campaign. Sometimes a 'big' name may have little impact on sales. Stars are often used in image-building activities. It happens that a less known person (with smaller reach) may have a greater impact on sales than someone with a massive social media following. Another issue is that big names are no longer willing to accept all the proposals offered to them.

'Smaller' influencers often inspire more trust. However, celebrities do not always have to be associated with being 'detached from reality' - therefore, they can be used to take a step towards the consumer. An example of this could be Iga Świątek, who is successful and media-savvy, but through her way of being, can persuade her fans to engage with the advertised product. The topic can also be approached differently. By collaborating with Robert Lewandowski, the company 4F made it possible for his fans to identify with him by wearing their products, as most people can afford to buy the brand's assortment. It is important to remember that the above examples are fluid, and the situation can vary in each case.

The question then arises: when to start working with influencers? The key moment is when the brand has developed marketing self-awareness. It's not about the company having a love brand, but about the company's awareness that there are studies and tools through which they can check their readiness to act in this area. These activities should then focus on selecting the right people who, through their activity, will represent the DNA of the promoted company. Among large companies, there is still a common resistance to starting cooperation with influencers. This is due to the fear that the expenditure on this type of campaign will be 'wasted,' and the product will not be sold. This kind of risk always exists. However, if the company has marketing awareness and shows a willingness to stand out from the competition, it is worth hiring an influencer. This situation applies to entities of all sizes. The goal of these activities is to reach more people.

Where do influencers operate?

Influencer marketing is an effective way to reach contemporary consumers who value authenticity and trust. Collaborating with influencers allows for building relationships with audiences, increasing reach and conversions, and utilizing content created by professional creators. To find influencers for cooperation, it is worth using analytical and monitoring tools that help choose the most suitable ones in terms of industry, goals, and budget.

Influencers most commonly use several social media platforms. In Poland, the most significant are Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, their own blogs, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and, with some delay but gradually gaining popularity, Quora. From these platforms, we can choose the ones that best fit our strategy and expectations.

Marketers are increasingly seeking small and medium-sized influencers (nano and micro) who have high engagement and loyalty among their fans. According to the Influencer Marketing Hub 2023 report, nano (1-10k followers) and micro (10-100k followers) influencers have an average engagement rate of 7% and 3% on Instagram, while macro (100-500k followers) and mega (over 500k followers) influencers have only 1% and 0.5%. Moreover, working with smaller influencers is often cheaper and easier to execute.

According to the Influencer Marketing Hub 2023 report, the most chosen platform for influencer collaborations is TikTok, which has surpassed Instagram and Facebook. TikTok is used by 51.4% of brands to run influencer campaigns, while Instagram is used by 50.8%, and Facebook by 42.1%. What makes TikTok so attractive for influencer marketing?

TikTok is a platform that allows users to create and share short videos with music, effects, and filters. It is an ideal medium for influencers who want to showcase their creativity, personality, and passions. TikTok has over 1 billion active users worldwide, most of whom are young people aged 16-24. This means that TikTok allows reaching a large and engaged target group that is difficult to reach through other channels.

TikTok also has several advantages compared to other social media platforms. First, it has a very simple and intuitive user interface that encourages viewing and creating content. Second, it has the For You Page (FYP) algorithm, which personalizes content recommendations for each user based on their interests and behaviors. This makes the content more relevant and interesting for the audience. Third, it has social features such as duets, reactions, and voice comments, which enable interaction and relationship-building between influencers and fans.

However, TikTok is not the only platform worth considering in influencer marketing. Other platforms also have their strengths and specific target groups. For example, YouTube is still the leader in long-form and educational video content. Instagram is ideal for visual and lifestyle content. Facebook has the largest number of users worldwide and offers various content formats. LinkedIn is indispensable for business and professional content. Twitter is suitable for current and opinion-based content. Pinterest is great for inspirational and creative content.

The choice of platform for collaborating with influencers depends on the campaign's goal, budget, and target audience. There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. However, it is important to follow trends and market changes and adapt to them. In 2023, we can expect an even greater role of TikTok in influencer marketing, but also the emergence of new platforms and opportunities.

How to measure the effectiveness of influencer activities (metrics and indicators)

Success in marketing requires constant measurement and analysis of the achieved results. This principle also applies to influencer marketing. There are quite a few metrics to choose from. The selection depends on the campaign's goals and the platform where the campaign is conducted.  

However, such an assessment is not simple. It is often difficult to determine which elements of influencer marketing led to increased sales. Difficult does not mean impossible. Specialized tools show whether the investment in promotion brought the expected return.

Marketers focus on engagement, traffic quality, and reaching a specific target group. Before measuring, tools are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of planned actions. Without defining KPIs (key performance indicators), it is difficult to answer whether the campaign ultimately succeeded.

According to Deep Patel (recognized by Forbes as a TOP25 marketing influencer), all set goals should be easily and accurately measurable and achievable. If it is not clear whether a goal is easily measurable, the SMART method (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-based) should be used. This helps to examine whether the goal is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based. According to Patel, the following values should be considered:

- data from website traffic statistics over a specific period,

- the number of referrals (referrals from the influencer's site),

- reach measurement on a specific social media platform,

- sales increase by specific numerical values,

- the number of consumer interactions with the published material.

Influencer marketing is used in many strategies. Many campaigns are aimed at increasing brand awareness rather than encouraging sales. Some customers are more lucrative for business than others—they buy high-margin products and add-ons. In some cases, influencer marketing can attract new customers, and additional expenses may be lower than campaign costs.

In the Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report 2021, respondents express an overall optimistic attitude towards the value of influencer marketing. Most agree that influencer marketing attracts high-quality customers. 72% believe that the quality of customers from influencer promotions is better than from other types of marketing campaigns.

67% of respondents indicate ROI as the metric they use to evaluate the results of their influencer campaigns. Surprisingly, 33% of surveyed companies do not use this metric to verify their activities. One would think that every company would want to know how effectively the funds allocated for marketing purposes were used. It would be interesting to know what percentage of companies that do not measure ROI only offer influencers discounts on products or specific products instead of paying them directly for the campaigns they run.

Another statistic shows that 38.5% believe that campaigns should be evaluated based on conversions and sales. 32.5% of respondents consider engagement or clicks. Meanwhile, 29% point to the use of measurements such as views, reach, and activity.

The Earned Media Value (EMV) metric shows how much an equivalent advertising campaign would cost to achieve the same effect. EMV calculates the value a company receives from the content shared by the influencer. The majority, 80% of respondents, indicate EMV as a good measure of the return on investment from influencer marketing campaigns.

Campaign Effectiveness Metrics

The metrics that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of a campaign depend on the goals established during the project planning stage and the method of their implementation. It should be noted that some general objectives, such as 'increasing brand awareness,' can be difficult or very costly to measure. Verifying the effectiveness of campaigns with such goals may be impossible. Therefore, it is recommended that campaigns involving influencers set relatively easy-to-measure objectives, such as increasing website traffic, boosting sales, reaching a specific number of users, increasing the number of PDF downloads, growing newsletter sign-ups, increasing the number of contest participants, or growing the number of fans or shares of company posts. The goals may also vary depending on the social media platform used.

Examples of metrics that can be used to evaluate campaign effectiveness:

Campaign Reach - followers, views, source of website traffic

Audience reach is one of the key indicators when assessing campaign effectiveness. The following KPIs can be used to estimate the number of viewers who might have encountered the published posts:

- number of the influencer’s followers,

- number of people following the influencer’s profile,

- increase in traffic to the product/brand website as a result of posts on the influencer’s channel.

Engagement - clicks, likes, reactions, comments

User engagement shows how interesting or valuable the content was to them. It is also important to consider Facebook’s algorithm, which differentiates post reach depending on the number and type of user reactions.

Engagement depends on the so-called engagement rate. By taking the same denominator for two influencers, it becomes possible to compare them. Based on the number of fans and the number of interactions on the posts, the effectiveness of each can be analyzed.

There are several ways to calculate the engagement rate. One method might focus on posts, while another might analyze fans. It is crucial to consistently use the same formula each time.

Leads

Google Analytics is an excellent tool for starting work on increasing lead acquisition. It particularly allows you to see which platforms bring valuable traffic to your site. In the long run, the tool determines which types of media and content are most likely to bring a real return on investment.  

Number of purchases made through an affiliate link using a special discount code

These are very simple and effective ways to use influencer marketing to directly impact sales. With influencer marketing, it is possible to track which customers come to the store, their average cart value, and what they most frequently purchase. In the long term, it can also be checked which users return to the store and make additional purchases.

Number of contest/advertising campaign participants

If activities such as contests have taken place in collaboration with influencers, it is worth evaluating how many people participated and what participant data was generated (saved).

Media Buzz

For some activities, it is worth checking whether the campaign led to an increase in the number of posts mentioning the brand. Specifically, if the campaign promotes a particular hashtag or aims to increase the number of posts about the brand (e.g., collaboration with influencers who encourage consumers to buy a product can indirectly lead to an increase in reviews and recommending/non-recommending posts about the product), it is worth doing.

Based on the above indicators, you can create a custom Excel spreadsheet to see the influencers you work with and their published posts. We can collect data and ultimately create a score that shows the effectiveness and engagement level of a particular opinion leader or specific post.

Summary

Based on the material presented above, it can be concluded that influencer marketing is not only alive but its value for brands continues to grow. Certainly, the pandemic has played a significant role in this - more people have become active online and started spending more time on social media platforms. The growing trust in influencers is linked to the fact that popular individuals on the internet choose to post transparent content on their channels. Attempts to deceive or conceal advertising collaborations result in critical scrutiny from internet users (legally, such collaborations must be appropriately marked).

A growing trend is the continuous production of podcasts and valuable short video formats. Increasingly, online creators not only participate in podcasts but also naturally incorporate advertisements into them. Long-term and regular collaboration with influencers is also one of the effective forms of advertising, as it remains in the minds of viewers, increases brand awareness, and boosts conversions. Additionally, live content attracts attention and consistently generates viewer interest.

Expectations of moving away from traditional product reviews are becoming problematic for content creators themselves. Viewers desire specific, expert advice in an accessible, interesting, and short format. More and more companies are turning to influencers to create original formats, recorded in various shots and locations. Hence, the production of high-quality videos, such as Instagram Reels, is now being carried out by professionals using professional equipment and will continue to gain popularity. Given that the economic situation affects the industry, one can expect an increase in rates for influencer services.

One of the most important trends will be the increased use of nano- and micro-influencers operating in narrow specializations. There may be several reasons for this. Firstly, there may be a need to cut costs in the marketing department and refuse to collaborate with high-profile influencers. Cutting costs naturally leads to optimizing actions. Smaller influencers have a greater impact on their subscriber groups, are more engaged, and sell more. Collaboration with them is also much less risky. However, working with them is much more challenging (and therefore more expensive) due to the number of agreements. Hence, re-evaluating expected effects and costs and changing the approach will be one of the most important tasks in the coming years.

Influencers also need to diversify their income. They sell products and services outside the paid engagement model. Another way is the subscription model, which allows many of them not to rely on irregular and unpredictable commercial partnerships. Instead of publishing for free to millions of people, it's better to create content for tens of thousands of paying followers. Such solutions will improve the quality of content created by influencers, who will have to work harder to retain paying subscribers.

Another noticeable trend is the increasing use of influencers to create content using TikTok. Agencies and clients are no strangers to TikTok and short videos. According to research, Chinese social media users, in particular, trust popular content creators and regular users the most. This also speaks for collaborating with nano- and micro-influencers, who are closer to the average person than to successful celebrities. Such content will be used on the brand's own channels and in paid advertising campaigns.

As mentioned, before choosing an influencer, it is essential to know their work, personality, and the quality of the materials they post on their communication channels. Some do not pay much attention to the quality of the posted content, as they focus on the message rather than the form. They often use their slang (or deliberately make language mistakes) or use uniform filters in daily communication (e.g., the color scheme of photos on InstaStory). It is important to remember this because creators do not always agree to change their style.

Influencers should be chosen based on the number of views or - preferably - the actual reach in a specific target group, not the number of subscribers. Always check the average number of views/interactions over the last few months. Many popular influencers do not have a large number of subscribers due to the nature of the algorithm, yet their content reaches a large number of people. At the same time, some influencers have millions of subscribers but generate significantly fewer views.

While the number of subscribers and followers is an indicator of recognition, the average number of confirmed views over the last few months defines the current popularity of a creator. When analyzing profiles, the more important measure than organic results achieved is the current and average number of views of published content.

The best source for checking views and reach are screenshots and data taken directly from administrative screens. The client has the right to request such data to ensure that the data provided by the agency matches the above screenshots.

It should be remembered that campaign goals set before its start, such as views or reach, are in most cases only indicative (unless the influencer or agency has agreed to achieve a specific KPI). They should not be treated as guarantees. Before starting a campaign, it is necessary to establish an acceptable standard deviation (a deviation of +30% is usually considered possible). If the results specified in the agreement are not met, the agency or agent/influencer should provide additional paid promotion or compensation unless otherwise agreed in the contract. If the result was clearly affected by the client's behavior or force majeure, the agency or agent/influencer may object to the compensation claim.

Not long ago, it was said that influencers would never play a significant role in marketing strategies, but industry forecasts and the number of brands collaborating with the most popular internet personalities suggest otherwise. Analyzing the conclusions of recent studies from the Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report, it can be stated that influencer marketing pays off. Most companies allocate budget to such promotional activities, and this number is growing year by year. Considering the rising costs of social commerce sales, it is definitely worth investing in campaigns involving online creators. It is therefore worth monitoring the direction influencer marketing will take in the coming years.

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