Influencer Outreach continues to mystify a lot of marketers.

On one hand, it’s considered the number one marketing strategy for new customer acquisition. On the other, it’s considered unpredictable at best, unknown and costly at its worst.

Here’s the deal.

Influencer Outreach is here to stay. Influencer marketing is one of the fastest-growing marketing channels and is becoming one of the most saturated as brands realize its potential. When used appropriately this marketing strategy can drive engagement like no other (with the exception of video – but then again, influencers can provide an introduction to that video, right?)

But not every business loves Influencer Outreach. So, what’s the difference between the brands who love Influencer Outreach and the brands who hate it?

The brands who love Influencer Outreach know how to measure the results and have the right tools to do so. And since they know how to measure, they have an easier time picking (and paying) for influencers that will actually drive engagement, traffic, and ultimately convert into paying customers.

That being said, what are the most effective ways to actually measure Influencer Outreach?

Here are our four easiest ways to effectively measure these campaigns in a way that makes it simple to keep recreating influencer-generated sales and success. Keep in mind, when it comes to measuring ROI on Influencer Outreach campaigns, be creative and use more than one approach!

Hashtag Promotions

Creating unique hashtags for influencer campaigns that début via Instagram and Twitter is a no-brainer way to track engagement and brand mentions that span beyond simple post reach. Catchy, creative hashtags make these stats easier to track. 

One great example of hashtag promotions in action is Sperry’s #RockYourBoat campaign. 

Using the power of influencer outreach, Sperry was able to reach their consumers in a more organic way. By using a creative, brand relevant hashtag such as #RockYourBoat, Sperry found a way to measure the reach of their influencer campaigns and the engagement of their marketing campaign while keeping it unique and trackable.

To make your influencer outreach campaigns a little more manageable, consider investing in a tool like Hootsuite or Sprout Social that automatically tallies mentions and hashtags, so your intern isn’t stuck counting brand mentions for weeks and weeks on end.

Social to Website Activity

One goal of an influencer campaign might be to drive traffic to your website. If that’s the case, you will want to pay attention to how many people are heading to your website from influencer social media posts. One of the most effective ways you can do this is by using a tool such as Google Analytics to track when people arrive at your site, how long they stay, what they’re doing once they get there and tracking any shares, clicks, and conversions. Tracking this data will help you determine which influencer’s outreach drives the most qualified consumers to your site, which campaigns are the most effective for driving website visitors, and which influencers you might want to use again for future marketing campaigns.

Remember, blog posts tend to get better reach over time (much like a fine wine!) so tracking the longevity and performance of each post several months after the campaign has ended is a great way to measure those coveted long-tail benefits. So, while it may seem like an influencer campaign was a flop, give it time and it may turn out that the campaign was much more successful than it initially seemed!

Unique Coupon/ Referral Codes

Perhaps the easiest way to track the results of an influencer campaign is to create a unique coupon code specific to each blogger and influencer. This is a simple, standout way to clearly measure at checkout who converted from the campaign into a paying customer. This works the same way that you might create an online ad with unique UTM parameters, but instead, you’re using your influencer outreach network to create a more organic way to reach your consumers. You’ve probably seen this done in sponsored YouTube videos and podcasts or promoted Twitter posts with unique URLs for the influencers and their outreach campaigns.

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Honey, an online coupon company and browser extension, has done a really great job of executing on this strategy. They use the influencer outreach of hundreds of YouTube creators, podcast hosts, and other online aficionados to “sell” the benefit of using their product. One such example is with the popular YouTuber, Cody Ko who mentions the Honey sponsorship and includes a unique URL with his name. This way, Honey can track those who download and use Honey through Cody Ko’s specific coupon code and URL. 

Much like we see here with Cody Ko including a clear benefit and call to action, the key to a coupon code’s success is to make the coupon too good of a deal to pass up on, with a clear call to action on how to use it!

Participation + Social Engagement 

Just like measuring a homegrown social campaign, tracking and measuring each post’s individual engagement, likes, shares, comments will give you a great idea on just how much new brand or product awareness the campaign generated.

These numbers are generally the highest, the most impressive and they act as the canary in the coal mine, allowing you to see at a high level, how your influencer outreach campaigns are performing. They allow you to keep a hand on the pulse of your campaigns and can help you diagnose certain issues such as campaigning on the right platform or using strong wording in your outreach.

This means you can get the most information on what content worked the best to engage the most people, so it can be easily duplicated for look-alike audiences and influencers as well as social campaigns you might launch outside of your influencer outreach channels in the future.

The best part? Tracking engagement lets you track cost per engagement, which points to the money spent per click, like, etc – and this allows you to measure how people are responding to your brand in general – not just the product.

Tell us about your latest influencer outreach campaign! What did you love about it? What would you like to improve? If you did measure the results, what did you find to work the best for you and were you happy with the ROI? How do you integrate influencer outreach into your marketing mix?

Just like measuring a homegrown social campaign, tracking and measuring each post’s individual engagement, likes, shares, comments will give you a great idea on just how much new brand or product awareness the campaign generated.

These numbers are generally the highest, the most impressive and they act as the canary in the coal mine, allowing you to see at a high level, how your influencer outreach campaigns are performing. They allow you to keep a hand on the pulse of your campaigns and can help you diagnose certain issues such as campaigning on the right platform or using strong wording in your outreach.

This means you can get the most information on what content worked the best to engage the most people, so it can be easily duplicated for look-alike audiences and influencers as well as social campaigns you might launch outside of your influencer outreach channels in the future.

The best part? Tracking engagement lets you track cost per engagement, which points to the money spent per click, like, etc – and this allows you to measure how people are responding to your brand in general – not just the product.

Tell us about your latest influencer outreach campaign! What did you love about it? What would you like to improve? If you did measure the results, what did you find to work the best for you and were you happy with the ROI? How do you integrate influencer outreach into your marketing mix?

Conclusion

When it comes to deciding how to diversify your marketing mix, influencer outreach campaigns are a great way to build, grow, and enhance your efforts. By using hashtag promotions to measure your campaigns, tracking website traffic with Google Analytics, promoting offers with unique coupon or referral codes, and measuring engagement through social metrics, influencer outreach campaigns can become one of your best measured marketing channels. Remember, it may take more than one approach, so take your time and good luck!

 

Joe Martin is CloudApp’s GM and VP of Marketing. With more than 13 years of experience in the industry and tech that makes it run, he provides strategic guidance on how to build and use the right stack for businesses. Formerly Head of Social Analytics at Adobe, Joe believes marketers need smart training and leadership to scale company growth. Connect with Joe on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter @joeDmarti.