What to measure when reach isn’t enough
1. Follower count (proceed with caution)
Follower count is perhaps the most seductive vanity metric in influencer marketing. A creator with 500,000 followers seems more valuable than one with 50,000, right? Not necessarily. Follower count measures potential reach, not actual influence or alignment with your brand. A creator’s audience size tells you nothing about engagement rates, audience demographics, purchase intent, or whether their followers actually trust their recommendations.
Here’s where follower count becomes dangerous: when it’s the main thing driving your creator selection. Brands that prioritize follower count often end up paying premium rates for partnerships that generate impressive reach numbers but disappointing business results. Use follower count as a starting point for discovery, not a decision-making metric. It can help you understand a creator’s tier, but it should never be the sole factor in partnership decisions or success measurement.
2. Impressions and reach (the beginning, not the end)
Impressions and reach tell you how many people potentially saw your content. This data has value for understanding campaign scale, but these metrics measure opportunity, not outcome. Just because 100,000 people scrolled past a post does not mean they paid attention, remembered your brand, or took any action.
The research shows that 54% of marketers still cite views and reach as their top success metric for creator campaigns, particularly on platforms like TikTok where view counts are prominently displayed. But this focus on reach often comes at the expense of measuring what happens next. Think of impressions and reach as the baseline for awareness campaigns. Use these metrics to establish a baseline, then layer in engagement and conversion data to understand actual impact.
3. Engagement rate (the first signal of resonance)
Engagement rate represents the percentage of a creator’s audience that actively interacts with their content through likes, comments, shares, and saves. This metric matters because it measures attention and resonance in a way that reach cannot. According to industry data, engagement rates vary significantly by platform and audience size. On TikTok, financial services brands like Robinhood have achieved engagement rates as high as 24.5% for influencer campaigns, while luxury goods and jewelry see around 0.6%.
High engagement is great because it means people are paying attention. But here’s the catch: likes and comments don’t automatically translate to sales. A highly engaging post about your brand might generate thousands of interactions without driving a single purchase. View engagement as a leading indicator of potential impact, not a complete measure of success on its own.
4. Content performance by type
Here’s something most brands learn the hard way: not all creator content performs equally. Research shows that 25% of marketers now measure influencer campaign success by content type or category, recognizing that a creator’s unboxing video might perform very differently than their tutorial or lifestyle integration.
The key is matching content type to campaign objectives. If you are launching a new product and need to drive immediate sales, a detailed tutorial showing the product in action will likely outperform a subtle lifestyle placement, even if the lifestyle content generates higher engagement. Track performance patterns across different content formats to identify what works best for your brand and objectives.
5. Click-through rate and link clicks
Now we’re getting into the good stuff: the metrics that show people are actually interested enough to take action. Click-through rate (CTR) measures the percentage of people who saw your creator content and clicked through to your website, landing page, or product page. This metric represents genuine interest and intent because the viewer took an action beyond passive consumption.
Link clicks provide clear evidence that creator content is driving traffic, which is especially valuable for e-commerce brands. However, CTR alone does not tell you whether those clicks converted into customers. Use click-through data to evaluate how effectively creator content drives consideration and motivates action, but remember that clicks are a means to an end, not the end itself.
6. Conversion rate
Conversion rate measures the percentage of creator-driven traffic that completes your desired action, whether that is making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or downloading an app. This is where measurement starts getting serious because it directly connects creator partnerships to business outcomes.
Conversion rate data helps you understand which creators drive not just engaged audiences, but audiences that are ready to become customers. A creator might drive lower traffic volume but higher conversion rates because their audience deeply trusts their recommendations and aligns perfectly with your target customer profile. Here’s where things get messy: attribution. A customer might discover you through a creator, browse on their own, see a retargeting ad, and convert days later. Despite these complexities, tracking direct conversions from creator content provides invaluable insight into campaign effectiveness.
7. Sales and revenue attribution
Sales and revenue attribution represents the holy grail of creator campaign measurement, directly connecting partnerships to business results. This is what executives care about most, with 71% of CEOs wanting marketing to focus on sales and revenue metrics. The research also shows that 21% of marketers now measure influencer campaign success through sales performance.
Revenue attribution can be tracked through various methods: unique discount codes, affiliate links, pixel tracking, and multi-touch attribution models. Each approach has strengths and limitations, but the goal is the same: understanding how much revenue your creator partnerships actually generate. For retail media campaigns specifically, 71% of marketers use incremental sales as their key performance indicator, demonstrating the industry’s shift toward revenue-focused measurement.
Case study: Warehouse club drives 30,000+ memberships with micro-influencer focus
A membership warehouse club partnered with Mavely by to grow its membership base in a crowded retail market. Rather than focusing on high-reach celebrity partnerships, the brand worked with 21,800+ micro and nano-influencers whose audiences trusted their product recommendations and shopping advice.
The campaign ran from January through August 2024 and delivered measurable business outcomes that went far beyond vanity metrics.
The results:
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30,300+ new membership signups,
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a 4.9% conversion rate,
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8 million orders, and 1
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62.3 million clicks to the retailer’s website.
The brand could track every membership signup and purchase directly to creator partnerships through affiliate links, providing clear ROI visibility that justified continued investment and program expansion.
The key to success was measuring what mattered from day one. Instead of selecting creators based on follower count or estimated reach, the program prioritized creators who could drive conversions. Performance bonuses and contests incentivized creators to focus on signups and sales rather than just engagement metrics, aligning creator compensation with business outcomes.
8. Customer acquisition cost (CAC)
Customer acquisition cost measures how much you spend to acquire a new customer through creator partnerships. This metric provides crucial context for evaluating campaign efficiency and scalability. A creator campaign might generate impressive sales numbers, but if your CAC is higher than your customer lifetime value, you are losing money on every acquisition.
Calculate CAC by dividing your total creator partnership investment (including fees, product costs, and internal resources) by the number of new customers acquired. Compare this to your CAC from other marketing channels to understand relative efficiency. Many brands discover that creator partnerships deliver lower CAC than paid advertising, particularly when working with micro and nano creators whose authentic recommendations drive highly qualified traffic.
9. Customer lifetime value (LTV)
Customer lifetime value measures the total revenue you can expect from a customer over the entire duration of their relationship with your brand. This metric matters because not all customers are created equal, and creator partnerships that attract high-value, loyal customers are far more valuable than those driving one-time bargain hunters.
LTV analysis reveals whether creator partnerships are attracting customers who stick around. A creator might drive lower initial conversion volume but higher LTV customers because their audience values quality and becomes loyal to brands they discover through trusted recommendations. Track LTV specifically for customers acquired through creator partnerships and compare it to customers from other channels to optimize for quality over quantity in future partnerships.
10. Brand lift and sentiment
Brand lift measures changes in brand awareness, consideration, preference, and purchase intent as a result of creator campaigns. While harder to quantify than sales metrics, brand lift provides crucial insight into how creator partnerships influence perception and position your brand in the market. This metric is particularly important for awareness campaigns where immediate conversion is not the primary objective.
According to research on campaign measurement priorities, 48% of CEOs want marketing to focus on brand and reputation metrics, recognizing that long-term brand value drives sustainable business growth. Brand lift studies typically involve surveying exposed and control audiences to measure differences in brand perception. Sentiment analysis adds another layer by examining the tone and nature of conversations around your brand following creator campaigns, helping you understand not just whether people know about your brand, but how they feel about it.
