Whenever you invest time, money, and energy into something, you want to get something back from it. That’s especially true if you hire an influencer and don’t see any engagement or traffic. Naturally, you’d wonder about your influencer marketing value.
When it comes to influencer marketing, you can measure value in terms of money — how much can your brand get in exchange for a certain amount up front? You can also measure the value of influencer marketing using less tangible and less concrete metrics. For example, did a campaign improve people’s perception of your brand? Do people look at your company in a more positive light thanks to the work of your influencers?
Money and return on investment matter with influencer marketing, and Edelman Digital estimates that the industry will exceed $5 billion within the next two years. But the value of influencer marketing for brands goes far beyond the financial.
What Is Influencer Marketing Value?
Financials and numbers aside, a few characteristics of influencer marketing make it a more worthwhile endeavor for brands today:
It has built-in trust.
Trust is big when it comes to getting people to do something. While people put the most trust in the opinions of others they know, they also have a considerable amount of trust in the opinions of strangers online, and a lot of trust in brand sponsorships.
It influences purchase decisions.
Influencer marketing encourages people to take action. One study from Twitter found that about 40 percent of users made purchases as a result of posts from influencers.
It works around ad-blockers.
It’s estimated that more than 75 million internet users in the US have ad-blockers installed. People don’t like banner and other online ads because they are intrusive and somewhat stalkerish. Working with influencers lets your brand reach those same people, but in a less intrusive way.
It’s flexible.
Another thing that makes influencer marketing so valuable is its flexibility. Maybe your brand has a big budget and can work with top-tier influencers, or maybe your budget is limited and you can’t. That’s OK, because it is still possible to get influencer marketing to work for you. You can work with micro-influencers or negotiate with someone for freebies in exchange for a post.
How To Maximize Influencer Marketing Value
Set goals.
When it comes to maximizing influencer marketing value, it’s important to remember that what works for Brand A might not work for Brand B. That’s why it’s imperative to have a goal before you start any campaign. When you have a set goal, you have an idea of what you are trying to accomplish, and what it will take to get there.
Choose the right influencers.
Another way to maximize the value of your influencer marketing is to choose the right influencer(s) the first time. Some influencers are way more popular than others. They might have millions of followers and seem to partner with every brand on the planet. But that doesn’t mean they’ll be a match for your brand. Instead of looking at how influencers have benefited other companies, think about how they’ll benefit yours.
Promote influencer content.
One last way to maximize the value of your brand’s influencer marketing is to spread it far and wide. Edelman notes that changes in various social media platform algorithms mean that brands can’t rely any longer on a purely organic, social-based influencer campaign. To ensure that your campaign has the largest reach possible, you’ll want to investigate all the various ways to promote it across paid, earned, and owned channels.
How To Measure Influencer Marketing Value
Return on Investment
Your brand can measure the value of influencer marketing in a few ways. First, there’s the straight up financial metric: You spent X on the campaign, and earned XX in return.
Key Performance Indicators
There are also other metrics to use to determine the value of your campaign. The metrics that matter most to you depend on your overall goals.
For example, if your goal is to increase brand awareness, a campaign that generates XX number of new followers or subscribers could prove valuable. If your goal is to increase social buzz about your brand, a campaign that leads to XX mentions of your hashtag or a boost in mentions is going to be valuable.
Examples of Influencer Marketing Value
Android Pay
Android Pay faced a challenge: It wanted to get its largest demographic of users (23- to 30-year-olds in the biggest cities in the US) to choose MasterCard as their default payment card for the program. But those pesky young people didn’t seem to really care about their payment methods. So Android Pay recruited a few influencers to produce videos demonstrating the value of setting up a MasterCard as a default payment card on the system. The goal of the campaign was to increase brand favorability by about 10 percent. The campaign nearly doubled its goal, reaching 19.4 percent. Additionally, nearly 90 percent of people who watched the videos had a favorable sentiment.
AT&T
AT&T is an example of a brand with a long history, but also one that few people would call hip or cool. To change its perception, especially among “Generation Z” (aka today’s teens), it partnered up with travel bloggers Damon & Jo to create a travel show. As part of the show, the two used AT&T’s phones to guide and direct them throughout their travels. The show proved valuable to AT&T by not only getting lots of views, but also encouraging fans to get out there and produce their own travel adventures.
When measuring the value of your influencer marketing, remember to look beyond the dollars and cents. Aiming for a good financial return on investment does make sense, but it’s not the only way to tell if your campaigns are achieving what you want them to achieve.
