Social media influencers can be a powerful ally for any business. But like any investment, it’s important to consider the cost – not to mention the value you get in return.
In truth, there’s far more to social media influencing than the return on investment (ROI) alone. Read on as we look at ways of tracking ROI from influencers on social media, and the value they add elsewhere.
Why influencer value is tricky…
ROI is calculated by dividing financial gain by the cost of an investment. It’s shown as a percentage, with larger numbers signifying a better ROI.
However, in marketing, that calculation doesn’t quite work. Why? There are a number of factors that can lead to financial gain over time, but they’re not easy to attribute to a single marketing campaign.
That’s especially the case if influencers are promoting your brand rather than specific products or services. How do you measure the results of better brand awareness? Let’s say you get 500 likes on a social media post that’s shared by an influencer or 1000 new followers following their involvement. It’s hard to put a specific value on this, but it can’t simply be dismissed.
In many cases, companies will take an educated guess. Unfortunately, this can be problematic when it comes to reviewing success. How can you decide whether a campaign was worthwhile if you don’t know its value? Should you continue using influencers or would your investment be better elsewhere?
Is there a solution?
How can you track how much you’re getting back from your investment in influencer marketing?
At Find Your Influencer, we provide influencers with a unique URL to use in their promotions, allowing brands to precisely track how many sales are generated by people clicking through on their links. This allows you to see how specific influencers are performing, calculating a specific ROI for each influencer. If you’re using multiple influencers, you can compare these numbers to see who is providing the most value directly.
Added value from social media influencers
With influencer marketing, it’s not just about direct ROI. There are several factors which could lead to more sales for your business over time, but that wouldn’t necessarily be attributed to your influencers. That’s important to consider the value they add elsewhere…
Awareness
One of the biggest benefits of influencer marketing is that it gets your brand out there. Potential customers become more familiar with your brand the more they’re exposed to it online.
Should they eventually see your products in store or an advert for your services, they might be more likely to make a purchase having seen the brand before.
Following
Having your business promoted by influencers on social media can also lead to more people following you on those platforms. That means a bigger audience to connect with, build loyalty within and sell to in the future.
Association
In some cases, influencer marketing can even create an association between your brand and the influencer’s characteristics or qualities. Customers link your product to what they know about the influencer.
Just look at Mo Farah’s endorsement of Quorn on TV adverts. Suddenly, Quorn is seen as the food product for health enthusiasts.
Find a social media influencer for your brand
Influencers can add huge value to any business. But it’s important to find the right fit for your brand. At Find Your Influencer, our goal is to make this process a whole lot easier.
To get started, you can list your campaign on our site. Influencers will contact you, so you can discuss the project directly and find the right person for you.
If you’re looking for more support, our team is on hand to manage the whole process. We can assist with briefing, contracts, delivery, reporting – and recommend the best influencers for your campaign. Any questions? Give us a call on 0161 731 0048.