{"id":41533,"date":"2018-10-16T12:32:48","date_gmt":"2018-10-16T10:32:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.buzzoole.com\/?p=41533"},"modified":"2019-08-08T16:21:56","modified_gmt":"2019-08-08T14:21:56","slug":"four-tips-for-a-performance-based-influencer-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.buzzoole.com\/en\/brands-influencer-marketing\/four-tips-for-a-performance-based-influencer-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"Four tips for a performance-based Influencer campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our fourth appointment with the <\/span>Ask the Experts<\/span><\/i> series touches upon the issue of influencer marketing metrics. In his op-ed, Tom Cornish \u2013 Influencer Marketing Director at <\/span>Wavemaker<\/span><\/a> \u2013 dives deep into how to work against performance when running an Influencer Marketing campaign. Take a look at what he has to say.<\/span><\/p>\n

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There\u2019s a problem with influencer marketing. I talk to clients about the fact that the medium is maturing, that influencers are becoming more professional, and that the services we can offer are getting more sophisticated. That\u2019s all true and it\u2019s great; but as practitioners we\u2019ve got to acknowledge the big flaw at the heart of influencer marketing: most of the time, we don\u2019t really know if it works.<\/span><\/p>\n

Social engagements hold no intrinsic value; we just assume that they\u2019re indicators of other things which really matter. In fairness, this is true of all media metrics \u2013 viewing a TV ad, interacting with social advertising, or seeing a print ad for example \u2013 but in those instances, we have a reasonable basis on which to make a connection to the things that really matter to clients; sales and big brand metrics like favourability (itself largely an indicator of eventual purchase intent). This is because the media can either be more directly <\/span>attributed<\/b> (e.g. social advertising, performance media) or can be more reliably <\/span>modelled<\/b> in the media-mix (TV ad views, print advertising). <\/span><\/p>\n

Because influencer marketing is a relatively young, non-performance medium, it doesn\u2019t fit comfortably into either of these solutions, and because this means we can\u2019t reliably report on what the performance is worth to the client, it can feel like a bit of a stab in the dark. The classic \u201cso what\u201d argument around social engagement becomes even more difficult when influencers are the publishers, so it\u2019s not even your engagement.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say that the impressions, engagements, pieces of content, or influencers we pay for don\u2019t clearly correlate to those more important metrics, just that <\/span>we can\u2019t yet prove it<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Understandably, this leads clients to ask difficult questions of the nature and value of reach and engagements. If the engagement that a post receives is the only basis we have for determining effectiveness, then it\u2019s natural that they\u2019ll be scrutinised. For example, if I, as an influencer\u2019s follower see them advertising your brand\u2019s sunglasses, and my comment is \u201cnice shoes\u201d, then it\u2019s completely natural to assume that the content hasn\u2019t done its job.<\/span><\/p>\n

Is that a fair assumption though? Would we set the same criteria for understanding the effectiveness of a TV campaign, a partnership, or an experiential event? Superficial metrics like engagement can give an indication of which of an influencers posts may have been best received in relative terms, and they certainly give a platform for people to share what they think, but is the purpose of influencer marketing to get this sort of interaction, or to affect the audience in a more meaningful way?<\/span><\/p>\n

Clients ask difficult questions of the nature and value of reach and engagements.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Don\u2019t be disheartened if the comments aren\u2019t all about your brand, focus instead on proving the <\/span>general benefit<\/b> of the activity to the brand. Essentially, <\/span>just because I say I like an influencer\u2019s shoes doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019m not considering buying your brand\u2019s sunglasses<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our job with influencer marketing isn\u2019t to get a bunch of comments which say \u201cI now feel more connected to your brand, and intend to buy your product\u201d, it\u2019s to make people feel those things in the real world; and to prove to clients that our efforts are working.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are two routes we can take which can help us do this \u2013 either setting up infrastructures that allow us to accurately measure sales impact from influencer marketing, or developing media models which reliably show the impact of working with influencers relative to other types of media. <\/span><\/p>\n

At Wavemaker, we\u2019re working to integrate more sophisticated measurement solutions in both areas, and the partnership between Buzzoole and Nielsen is a great example of how the best in the industry are taking this issue seriously.<\/span><\/p>\n

The partnership between Buzzoole and Nielsen is a great example of how the best in the industry are taking this issue seriously.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As far as a solution to the problem goes, there is no perfect answer right now. However, there are a few principles which ought to ensure that you give yourself the best chance to deliver the best results possible.<\/span><\/p>\n