How you measure the effectiveness of your influencer marketing campaigns depends on your goals. In this article, we will list and explain the most popular metrics. Let's take a closer look at them.
1. Reach and Impressions
These metrics stand as pillars of influencer marketing measurement, providing invaluable insights into the scope and visibility of a campaign. Reach and impressions help us see how many people have seen the influencer's sponsored content and how often it's been displayed online.
Reach: Reach tells us the total number of unique users who have seen the sponsored content with your brand or product mentions. It shows us how many people could have come across the message.
Impressions: Impressions, on the other hand, count the total times the influencer's sponsored content has been displayed. It doesn't matter if the same person saw it multiple times; impressions give us an idea of how often the content has been shown. More impressions mean more exposure, making more people aware of the brand.
In simpler terms, reach is about the number of people who've seen the content, while Impressions are about how many times the content has been shown. Together, these metrics help us understand how well the influencer's sponsored content is reaching and resonating with the audience, giving insights into the overall impact of the influencer marketing campaign.
2. Engagement Rate and Engagement Metrics
When analyzing the effectiveness of your influencer marketing campaigns, it's crucial to measure influencer marketing performance through such indicators as the Engagement Rate and specific engagement metrics like likes, comments, and shares.
Engagement Rate tells us what percentage of the influencer’s audience is interacting with your sponsored posts. If a lot of people are engaging, it means the content is interesting and grabbing attention.
While there are variations in how it can be calculated based on the platform and specific goals, a common formula for measuring engagement rate is:
Where:
Total Engagements on a post include likes, comments, shares, and sometimes clicks, depending on what the platform tracks.
Total Followers refers to the number of followers of the account at the time of the post. Alternatively, impressions can be used instead of followers for a more accurate reflection of how many times the post was actually seen.
Typically, total engagements and total followers are counted over a specific period or number of posts. You can calculate the engagement rate on your own or use our free post engagement rate calculator.
Likes, Comments, and Shares: these are the actions people take on influencer posts. When someone likes a post, comments on it, or shares it, it shows they really like what they see.
High engagement, with lots of likes, comments, and shares, indicates that your branded content is connecting with the influencer’s audience. It's not just about views; it's about people actively participating and showing interest. If people are liking, commenting, and sharing, it means the sponsored post is making a positive impact.
3. Follower Growth
Follower growth measures the increase in the number of people who choose to follow your brand's social media accounts after seeing your sponsored post on an influencer's account. More followers indicate a greater interest in what the influencer shares about your product or brand. Simultaneously, the content that the audience saw on your account also caught their interest. This implies that people not only appreciate what they see but also wish to stay connected for future content.
4. Cost per Thousand Views (CPM = Cost per Mille)
CPM, or Cost Per Mille, is one of the most popular metrics used not only to assess the effectiveness of influencer marketing but also in performance marketing channels. It shows the cost for a thousand impressions and is calculated as:
Where:
Total Cost of the Campaign is the amount of money spent on the advertising campaign.
Total Impressions is the number of times the advertisement was displayed or viewed.
The value of this metric lies in its ability to compare the impact of influencer marketing with other marketing channels and, at an early stage, determine how effective influencer marketing is compared to other channels.
5. Conversion Rate
Even if the CPM in your influencer marketing campaign turns out to be high, this metric should be analyzed in conjunction with the Conversion Rate. It's possible that the CPM might be higher than in Display Ads, but in turn, the conversion rate could be much higher because in influencer marketing, you have the opportunity to target more niche audiences. The formula to measure the conversion rate is:
Where:
Number of Conversions refers to the total number of visitors who have completed a desired action.
Total Number of Visitors is the total number of unique visitors or sessions during the same period.
A Conversion can be any action that you consider important, such as subscribing to your newsletter, registering on the website, making a purchase, and so on. When analyzing the number of conversions, consider the time usually elapsed between when a user first visits your site and completes a conversion, such as a purchase, which is typically up to 7 days for most products. However, for expensive items or decisions requiring the involvement of multiple family members and thorough product research, this period may extend to several months or more. In such cases, it's advisable to consider a closer action within a week as a more suitable conversion for evaluating influencer marketing, such as scheduling a demo or completing a lead form.
Comparing the conversion rates of different marketing channels, as well as different influencer marketing campaigns and even influencers, can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your influencer marketing activities. Keep in mind that the click-through rate (CTR) is usually higher during the initial placement, and with subsequent placements, it tends to decrease.
6. Cost per Conversion
Another metric that allows you to measure the effectiveness of influencer marketing and compare this channel with other marketing channels is the cost per conversion. This metric becomes particularly crucial in a prolonged purchase cycle.
Where:
Total Cost of the Campaign represents the entire expense incurred for the marketing or advertising campaign.
Number of Conversions is the total number of times visitors have completed a desired action as a result of the campaign.
Alongside CPM and conversion rate, cost per conversion helps you understand whether it's worth continuing to invest in influencer marketing or if there are more conversion-friendly and financially rewarding customer acquisition channels in terms of return on investment.
7. Brand Mentions
Tracking the number of times the brand is mentioned in the influencer's content is more suitable for campaigns focused on creating user-generated content. In traditional campaigns, the quantity of brand mentions depends solely on you. You'll get as many mentions as you pay for.
However, in the case of user-generated content campaigns, the number of mentions your brand receives speaks to the campaign's effectiveness and its viral potential. The more mentions you acquire, the more successful the influencer marketing campaign has been.
8. Sentiment Analysis
Analyzing sentiment, with rare exceptions, cannot be a standalone KPI for evaluating influencer marketing campaigns, but it is an important indicator that shows how the audience perceives your brand and product.
When conducting sentiment analysis, the tone of comments on the influencer's sponsored post is evaluated. A large number of positive comments indicate that the advertising message and your product are well-received by the audience.
If the goal of your advertising campaign is to assess changes in the audience's perception of your brand, sentiment analysis becomes a key metric.
Sentiment analysis can be performed using social listening tools and within the campaign tracking features available on many influencer marketing platforms. It offers valuable insights into the overall sentiment surrounding your brand within the influencer's audience.
9. Brand Lift
Brand Lift is a metric that evaluates the impact of the influencer marketing campaign on crucial brand-related measures, such as brand awareness, perception, or consideration. To measure brand lift, you should compare these metrics before and after the advertising campaign to identify the positive changes attributed to the campaign.
Brand lift typically involves assessing the brand across various parameters, including:
Audience awareness
The shift in consumer attitude toward the brand before and after the campaign
Likelihood to recommend the brand to acquaintances
Purchase intent indicator
Brand preference indicator
There isn't a strict set of metrics measured within the evaluation of brand lift; you decide which indicators are important for you.
Brand lift is typically measured through surveys and interviews among both the exposed group and the control group and is conducted by specialized agencies. Additionally, there is an option to set up a brand lift analysis on YouTube.
10. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
For an influencer marketing campaign to be considered successful, the Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) should be less than the revenue brought in by the customer. If you have a subscription model or a product that involves frequent use, such as taxi or food delivery, it's worth comparing the Customer Acquisition Cost not only with the revenue from the first purchase but also with the customer's Lifetime Value (LTV).
The formula of CAC is:
Customer Acquisition Cost formula
Where:
Total Costs of Sales and Marketing includes all expenses related to marketing and sales efforts within a specific period.
Number of New Customers Acquired is the total number of new customers gained as a result of these sales and marketing efforts during the same period.
If you're just starting and don't know the customer's lifetime, you can estimate the value the customer brings over a specific period. For example, over a month, three, or six months of using your product or services.
11. Share of Voice (SoV)
Measuring how visible your brand is compared to competitors in an influencer's posts and across social media platforms is important. The "Share of Voice" (SoV) can be evaluated either by the number of mentions or by reach. However, in influencer marketing, assessing SoV by mentions is more common because you don't have access to the reach of your competitors' campaigns, and you can only estimate it.
To evaluate the Share of Voice, you compare the number of mentions you received over a certain period with the mentions of your competitors. To do this, use the formula provided below, and calculate the Share of Voice not only for your own brand but also for all competitors with whom you wish to compare yourself.
Where:
Number of Your Brand's Mentions refers to how many times your brand is mentioned across the platforms or channels being analyzed within a specific timeframe.
Total Number of Mentions for All Brands includes the mentions of your brand and those of your competitors, representing the total mentions in the market or specific category you are evaluating.
You can compare the SoV overall, within a specific region, or among a certain category of influencers. This helps you better understand which segment you need to boost your influencer marketing campaigns in to compete effectively with your competitors.
12. Earned Media Value (EMV)
Earned Media Value (EMV) is a metric used to quantify the value of publicity gained through promotional efforts other than paid advertising. This includes mentions, shares, likes, or any form of recommendation that comes from sources outside the company's direct payments or advertisements. EMV is often used to measure the effectiveness of marketing strategies, particularly in social media, public relations, and influencer marketing campaigns.
The idea behind EMV is to assign a dollar value to the exposure and engagement a brand receives from these non-paid sources, making it easier to compare the return on investment (ROI) with that of paid media. Calculating EMV involves using industry-standard rates for advertising space or impressions, engagement rates, and other metrics to estimate what the equivalent exposure would have cost if it were paid for.
To calculate Earned Media Value, we recommend using special calculators, such as the free EMV calculator from HypeAuditor.
EMV is beneficial because it provides insights into how well a brand resonates with its audience through organic reach and the effectiveness of its content marketing, social media strategies, and public relations efforts. It also highlights the importance of building strong relationships with customers, influencers, and other stakeholders who can amplify the brand's message without direct financial incentives.
13. Return on Investment (ROI):
Calculating Return on Investment (ROI) during the measurement of influencer marketing is crucial for understanding the effectiveness and value of your campaigns involving influencers. ROI measures the profitability of investments made in influencer marketing by comparing the revenue generated from these campaigns to the cost of executing them.
The basic formula for calculating ROI is:
Apply this formula by substituting the revenue generated from the influencer campaign (attributable sales or value of achieved goals) and the total cost of the campaign. This will give you the ROI as a percentage, indicating how much profit (or loss) was generated for every dollar spent.
After calculating the ROI, analyze the results to understand which aspects of the influencer marketing campaign worked well and which did not. Consider factors such as the choice of influencers, content strategy, and engagement tactics. Use these insights to make informed decisions for future campaigns, aiming to improve ROI by optimizing strategies, selecting more aligned influencers, or adjusting campaign goals and metrics.
Conclusion
To understand how well your influencer marketing is working, it's important to use different measurements. These include looking at how many people see and interact with your posts (Reach, Impressions, and Engagement Rate), how interested people are in following your brand (Follower Growth), and how much it costs to get their attention (CPM). Also, check if people are taking actions like buying or signing up (Conversion Rate), how your campaign compares to others (Share of Voice), and how much value you get from non-paid promotions (Earned Media Value). Finally, knowing your Return on Investment (ROI) tells you if the money you're spending is bringing in profit.
This guide shows that successful influencer marketing is not just about running campaigns, but also about carefully checking their results. By choosing the right things to measure and learning from the outcomes, brands can improve their strategies, manage their budgets better, and build stronger relationships with their audience.
