Influencer marketing has become a powerful tool for brands in today’s age of social media. Brands are leveraging everyday people as brand ambassadors spreading the word about their products. Consumers trust influencers since they see them as peers and partnering with influencers is an excellent way to drive customer loyalty and build brand awareness.

Influencers serve as authentic and genuine ambassadors, but how can brands best measure the ROI of their influencers?The Impact of InfluencersAs the 'social influencer' industry has continued to develop, tracking and measuring influencers with specific key performance indicators (KPIs) has also evolved. Today, influencers have a major impact on brands’ success and marketing and can be a huge source of value for brands.

The average influencer marketing campaign generates $6.85 in earned media value for every dollar spent on paid media. Clearly, there are big returns on the money and time invested in influencers. However, many brands don’t know how to best measure the value of influencers.

‍What Should Brands Track?Before deciding what to track, decide what information you want to learn about your influencer marketing campaigns. Set clear goals —choose measurable metrics instead of just saying you want to “drive awareness” — then track accordingly. Some of the preferred metrics to track are:

• Engagement: Start with a baseline and track the increase in engagement with content related to your brand in the form of comments, likes, clicks, and shares.
• Visibility: Pay attention to website tracking and use social listening to track organic conversations about your brand.
• Number of Followers: Before launching a campaign, check the number of followers on your social accounts to see the impact of your influencer marketing campaign.
• Increase in Sales: Influencer marketing is a great way to drive conversions. Track past sales compared to sales during and after influencer blasts.

Some brands may be more interested in building their follower base, others prioritize conversions and sales. Depending on the goals of the influencer marketing campaign, there are several different things that your brand can track. Setting goals before launching a campaign will ensure that brands you the impact of the campaign and its influencers.

‍How to Track Influencer ROI

‍Once you decide on what to track, campaign managers can develop a strategy to show the top line revenue ROI of influencers. Tracking conversions and revenues generated through engagement can be done across several different platforms that are popular with influencers.

One of the simplest ways to do this on Instagram is to track direct conversions through the “comment to buy” feature. This allows consumers to comment directly on an influencer’s post expressing their interest in purchasing the product or products featured in the post. Consumers then receive a personalized link via email. Tracking “comment to buy” not only provides revenue information for the campaign, it’s also an excellent source of brand demographic information.

Pixel tracking can be used on blogs and websites and will calculate how many readers visited sponsored content on their own within a period of 30 days. Brands should consider the ratio of page views to read. For every 10 page views, two people read the content. If the number of reads on a post or page are higher than average, that influencers content should be promoted as recommended reading to increase exposure. Focus on influencers that have the highest read ratio rather than the highest amount of page views.

Links displayed in YouTube videos are also an effective way to track views. Provide links to click inside the video to incentivize site visits, but be sure to encourage site visits within the context of the topic. These links enable the consumer to move straight from your content to the end conversion point quickly and easily.

‍Pixlee’s Influencer Management Solution provides a centralized platform that allows brands to manage influencers and measure results. The tool allows brands to organize, track, and manage their network of brand ambassadors and influencers to maximize their marketing value. With a sophisticated social CRM, brands can track influencer interactions automatically, removing the need for manual reporting. With Pixlee's influencer management tools, brands can connect influencer programs and efforts with a hard ROI and track the impact and efficacy of their influencers.

Influencer marketing is a powerful tool, but without the ability to track the ROI, it’s difficult to know what is effective for your brand. Once you set goals for what you want your influencers to accomplish for the brand, track the corresponding metrics to measure the success of your campaign. Measuring specific KPIs enables brands to see which posts and influencers are receiving the most interest and engagement. Through tracking influencer marketing metrics, your brand can assess how to leverage your influencers successfully.