Gaining Access to Influencer Engagement Data for Better ROI

in Influencer Marketing

Social platforms are constantly testing different reactions (hello, LinkedIn) and even getting rid of visible engagement metrics altogether. Most recently, Instagram has tested getting rid of “Like” numbers completely.

The leaders of these social channels want people to interact more authentically with the content on their platforms. Regarding the hidden Likes test, an Instagram spokesperson said, “we are testing this because we want your followers to focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get.”

Moving Toward Better Quality Influencer Content

Some see this shift as a beneficial move for influencers and brands to move toward more meaningful ways to track influencer marketing:

“We could see more importance placed on content quality along with the quality of engagements – comments on Instagram, for example,” says Leah Logan, VP of media product strategy and marketing for Collective Bias. “Are commenters simply leaving a quick emoji or are they truly engaging with the influencer or creator? Can we identify sentiment or indicators of purchase intent with the language used in comments?”

Brands Need Metrics for ROI

But metrics are an important part of proving influencer reach and ROI for brands partnering with ambassadors across social channels. “Should Instagram remove ‘Likes,’ agencies without access to analytic tools that can measure influencer impact would need full transparency from the influencers they work with,” says Amy Gesenhues of MarketingLand.

Many influencers are reluctant to hand over the reigns (and logins) to their social accounts–and with reason. So having a third party influencer marketing metrics tool is crucial to both brands and influencers for transparency in the relationship.

Tools Like Sideqik Bridge the Gap

Sideqik is able to provide estimated impressions, reach, and engagement on all publically available data, to access exact metrics. Our tool uses platform authentication to pull metrics directly from the influencer’s profile–even metrics that may not be displayed to followers.

Influencers Can Provide Read-Only Access

To use this feature, influencers provide Sideqik with read-only access to their social accounts.

This means Sideqik will NEVER ask for login credentials, NEVER post to any account, and NEVER follow other accounts or modify accounts in any way.

It’s important to note that even the read-only access is not indefinite access. It’s access for the timespan of the active campaign–essentially we’re a neutral monitoring service that just tallies the numbers.

More Transparency in Brand-Influencer Relationships

Campaign metrics authentication with Sideqik provides both brands and social media ambassadors with the following:

Exact metrics for accurate reporting across your influencer campaigns
Access to raw, unbiased data
An opportunity to showcase the best, most accurate possible view of influencer performance

Additionally, Sideqik allows brands to also track metrics from influencer posts using screenshots or other influencer-provided reporting. This route may be for brands working with influencers who may not be familiar with this process and or who are apprehensive about giving access to a third party.

Improve Content and Authentic Engagement While Tracking ROI

Social media testing engineers have their minds in the right place. It’s crucial that influencers have incentive to create unique, engaging content and that engagement comes from a true desire to like or comment–not to join a bandwagon.

However, measurement is a key element in an influencer marketing campaign for brands looking to use digital ambassadors for awareness and activations. Sideqik’s campaign measurement tools give brands and influencers the numbers they need to maintain and grow their relationships–regardless of what social platforms test or take away.

To learn more about this feature, schedule a personalized demo with one of our influencer marketing platform experts.

Bio
Latest Posts

Nancy Rothman

Nancy is a passionate, results-driven marketing executive with more than a decade of experience in building robust integrated marketing programs for brands of all sizes, with specific expertise in the martech space. Prior to Sideqik, Nancy held roles at four successful martech startups, each of which received multiple series of fundraising and included two acquisitions. At CallRail, specifically, Nancy served as the director of marketing where she built the company’s brand and established it as a leader in its space. She also held roles at MeetEdgar, where she oversaw the entire sales and marketing practice, increasing the company's user base and annual recurring revenue, as well as PureCars, which was acquired by Raycom Media in 2015. As vice president of marketing for Sideqik, Nancy is responsible for developing and executing on the company's marketing strategy to drive overall business growth.