Influencer marketing is one of the fastest-rising trends in marketing. But how do you calculate the ROI of an influencer marketing campaign?
If you’re new to the concept, influencer marketing is the collaboration between a brand and a content creator with a large social media following. The influencer endorses the company’s product or service in exchange for compensation.
While calculating marketing ROI is notoriously difficult, we are here to simplify the process for you. So that you know the monetary impact of your influencer campaigns.
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Why Calculate Influencer ROI?
Calculating the ROI of your influencer marketing campaigns will help you understand the impact of an individual influencer, or your influencer marketing efforts as a whole.
Knowing the ROI of any investment will also help you report to key stakeholders on the results of your campaign.
This will also help you determine what you can reasonably afford in terms of influencer compensation.
What Influencer ROI Metrics Can You Track?
Before you can calculate your influencer ROI, you must determine your campaign goals.
What does success look like for your influencer campaigns? Here are some key metrics you can track:
- Brand Visibility Metrics:
- Reach, impressions, followers, and website traffic
- Social Engagement Metrics:
- Interactions (e.g. likes), comments, and shares
- Conversion & Sales Metrics:
- Leads, newsletter subscriptions, downloads, eCommerce sales, and revenue generated
For any of these metrics, you can either track the stats on influencer posts (e.g. tracking revenue through an affiliate link), or you can look at the timeframe shortly after your influencer has posted to measure their influence.
Keyhole is a real-time conversation tracker that provides keyword + hashtag analytics and social media analytics across platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Get started for free here.
Influencer ROI Formula and Calculation
The influencer ROI formula /calculation is:
ROI (Return on Investment) = Net Return / Investment x 100%
Net return is most simply expressed as your profit, but calculating your returns won’t always be as easy as tracking revenue. If your goal metrics are impressions or engagements, you will have to modify the calculation to work for you.
Typical investment costs include time or labor, influencer compensation, product supplies, marketing agency expenses, and social media tracking tools.
For example, if you’re an e-commerce brand and you invest $10,000 in influencer marketing and then see $30,000 in eCommerce sales directly attributable to your influencers, that’s a 200% return on investment:
ROI = ($30,000 –
$10,000) / $10,000 x 100%
= $20,000 / $10,000 x 100%
= 200%
How to Track Influencer ROI
Luckily, influencer analytics tools like Keyhole make it easy to identify the best influencers for your brand and then track their performance.
To start tracking your influencer ROI, start your free 14-day trial today.
Related Articles:
How Do I Calculate Social Media ROI?
Influencer Marketing ROI: Calculate ROI and Maximize Your Social Impact
Keyhole is a real-time conversation tracker that provides keyword + hashtag analytics and social media analytics across platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Get started for free here.