Influencers are a proven way to support your sales efforts. The challenge? Tracking sales from influencers is rarely a linear process. This post breaks it all down!
“Is it possible to track sales from influencers?”
We get asked this all the time. It’s a good question, too!
Because scoring sales is an understandable goal for brands running creator campaigns.
That’s kind of the endgame of any marketing campaign, right? Influencers are no exception.
Thing is, assessing the ROI of influencers is an oft-cited struggle for brands. This is especially true if you want to measure direct sales from individual creators.
This post breaks down the basics of tracking influencer sales including…
We recommend brands view sales as a welcome byproduct of always-on creator campaigns.
But let’s say you or your team are laser-focused on dollars and cents.
Fair enough! Below is a breakdown of how to track influencer marketing sales and conversions.
Affiliate programs aren’t exactly breaking news. Still, they’re still popular among brands.
The concept of affiliate links is simple enough:
Source: Twitter
These days, affiliate links are most common on platforms like Twitter or Facebook. That’s because you can’t actually put live links in your Instagram or TikTok posts. That said, you can still attribute sales made through affiliate links in your social bios.
How these links work isn’t one-size-fits-all. For example, Amazon influencers’ affiliate links are only active for a 24-hour period. If someone makes a purchase after the link expires, the sale isn’t tracked. Some affiliate programs offer long-term links (think: ~30 days).
There are a few ways to set up affiliate links to track sales from influencers like:
Source: Google
Promo codes basically work as affiliate links do.
But unlike links, promo codes can feature in captions across all social platforms.
Influencer codes are common among brand affiliates and ambassadors alike. These codes are typically a variation of the creator’s @handle. Platforms like Shopify have native tools to generate codes for each of your creators.
Let’s quickly break down what promo codes look like in the wild. To kick things off, influencers promote a product in a post and share their code as a sort of call-to-action.
Source: @emamm55
Many influencers have a hybrid affiliate link and code to promote across social. You can often find creators’ both types of affiliate offers in their bio link(s).
From here, you can tap through their links or redeem their code on-site. This gives shoppers some flexibility when using a creator’s discount.
This is arguably the “easiest” way to track sales from influencer marketing directly.
By running creator content as ads, you own your campaign performance data. This includes clicks and conversions. Granted you set up retargeting and tracking pixels to monitor actions beyond social. For reference, here's a snapshot of TikTok's Ads Manager.
Source: TikTok
Below are a few options brands have for creator-based ads:
We get it: you want a clear link between influencer performance and sales performance.
But creating that connection is easier said than done.
Why? Consumer behavior trends and ongoing privacy updates are making marketing attribution complicated. Below we break down why it’s such a struggle to track influencer content for sales.
Third-party codes often result in an incomplete view of influencer performance. Here’s why:
Social marketing often feels like a tug-of-war with the various algorithms, right?
The Instagram algorithm is notorious for boosting or burying posts. Posts that the algorithm deems too “salesy” often earn little engagement or reach. The list goes on and on.
Anecdotally, we’ve seen creators (outside of our network!) with 100,000+ followers get single-digit engagement on a promo code post.
Yikes.
Like it or not, social algorithms are getting smarter. Specific words and phrases can serve as red flags for posts that push promotions too hard. This trend has direct implications for brands trying to track influencer sales.
An independent study from Social Insider notes that IG posts containing “Link in Bio” underperform versus those that don’t. This illustrates the value of smaller creators that know how to promote products organically.
Skilled creators can seamlessly weave promotions into their posts.
But in some cases, affiliate links and codes put influencers at a disadvantage.
How so? New research says that links are the least-engaging type of social content. Heavy-handed product mentions also make posts feel less authentic.
This serves as a lose-lose situation for creators and brands alike. For creators, links and codes can compromise creativity and personality. This leads to less engagement. As a result, campaign performance suffers for the brand.
Our take? Creators know best! Influencers should have the creative freedom to promote products without sacrificing their voice or enthusiasm.
The key takeaway from all of the above?
Measuring direct from influencers is tricky. It isn’t getting any easier.
Still, the sales impact of influencers is well-documented. Food for thought: brand awareness is the top goal of brands running influencer marketing campaigns.
That’s because there is a measurable correlation between building awareness and driving sales.
Figuring out how to track influencer sales means looking at your entire funnel. In our experience, brands that run long-term campaigns see the best results. That’s because they’re able to build momentum via ongoing awareness and new creator content.
Beyond direct sales, note how else influencers impact sales in ways that are totally trackable:
If you want to see the sales impact of influencers, look no further than the glowing comment section of a creator-based post like the one below.
Source: @curlsmith_official
Building awareness via creators fosters brand loyalty. That’s why brands from CPG to beauty and beyond are making influencers a top priority.
There’s so much that goes into defining the “success” of an influencer campaign.
And of course, brands want to see sales from their campaigns.
Again, sales are a welcome byproduct of a thoughtful, always-on influencer strategy. The key is working with the right creators at scale and reporting on metrics that align with your goals.
And if you need help in either of these departments, Statusphere has you covered.
Our micro-influencer marketing platform optimizes your campaign ROI faster thanks to our matchmaking algorithm, fulfillment technology and creator community.
With Statusphere, brands are programmatically matched with vetted influencers that post guaranteed, rights-ready content. This includes content you can repurpose in ads and track future sales from. We've helped 400+ brands generate 75,000+ pieces of authentic content.
Want to learn more about our platform? Get in touch with one of our experts to see how our software can scale your micro-influencer marketing efforts in a fraction of the time.
This article was first published in December 2022. It was last updated June 21, 2023.
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