How to evaluate whether KOL marketing is effective? Look at these 5 points!

In a recent survey, 76% of marketers said that the biggest challenge facing influencer marketing is measuring return on investment (ROI). In-depth investigations of more than 150 KOL marketing campaigns over the past few years have revealed that there is no perfect measurement system that can be applied across all industries. Despite this, marketers can still launch some visible and measurable marketing activities.

Before we get into the details, businesses should first consider the many variables that influence their marketing approach. This includes the sales model (direct to consumer, through retailers, through channel partners, bundled with another product, etc.) and the content of the sale (is it an expensive purchase or an impulse buy, is it a weekly purchase or every few years). This will affect the expected speed of results of short-term marketing activities.

Another factor to consider is the richness of data at the company’s disposal, as well as other ways to measure the ROI of marketing campaigns. Attribution is complex, and brands have likely considered similar questions to measure the impact of TV, print, and even digital advertising. It is usually best to apply these methods to KOL marketing so that the advantages and disadvantages of attribution models can be balanced across different marketing strategies.

So, how do you measure the impact of KOL marketing? Here are 5 important metrics that marketing agencies often use:

1. Estimation of Ad Recall Rate

Definition: Ad recall estimation is a metric provided by Facebook and Instagram to businesses to measure brand awareness. According to Facebook, this is “an estimate of the number of people who were exposed to your ad within two days.”

Advantages: Since this is a data estimate made by Facebook using machine learning, companies can get a tangible number without huge advertising investment. The study found that the benchmark value is 6%. Businesses can also measure ad recall for their branded social content to determine which content is more engaging.

Disadvantages: This indicator lacks flexibility. For example, Facebook will ask a certain audience segment if they remember seeing an ad for a certain brand. But the questions in these surveys are templated and cannot be modified to suit the needs of each brand. Furthermore, companies can only apply this to boost KOL marketing content and cannot obtain organic reach metrics for KOL marketing influencers.

2. Sales increase analysis

Definition: A sales increase analysis is a correlation analysis run by an analytics team who compares marketing data (such as delivery of content views) with sales data to determine if the marketing activity is affecting sales in the target market.

Advantages: This analysis is usually completed using the data that the company already has, so there is no additional cost other than the labor of the data analyst. Ideally, it would be compared during the pre-marketing period and a relevant base period to exclude other influencing factors.

Disadvantages: Seasonality, natural consumer buying cycles, and other promotional activities (price changes, retail store changes, other marketing support) may be difficult to distinguish in this analysis. Similarly, a competitor's large-scale marketing campaign during the marketing period or benchmark period will also affect the company's own sales. It is very difficult for companies to set a clear benchmark.

3. Conversion Analysis

Definition: For e-commerce brands, conversion analysis refers to the conversions (purchases, registrations) brought about by the audience reached by the KOL marketing content.

Pros: Using the Facebook pixel, brands or retailers can track impressions of marketing content and then see which audiences converted, even if they didn’t click on the link. These conversion audiences can deliver real sales value.

Disadvantages: Facebook is solely responsible for sales to public audiences, regardless of any marketing activity. This often results in over-reporting of data related to direct brand attribution. Ideally, both “view-after-conversion” and “click-after-conversion” actions would have an agreed-upon attribution formula in advance. Studies have found that many businesses make the majority of their sales within 24 hours of exposure, and they are sold to people who never click on it. As a result, last-click attribution is often underestimated.

4. Analysis of organic search and direct web traffic growth

Definition: Studies have found that businesses that generate the majority of their sales from users who never clicked through saw significant increases in both direct web traffic and organic search traffic. Given this, looking for and analyzing any similar increases can provide a more complete picture of the impact of KOL marketing.

Pros: Assuming a brand has good data on its normal organic search and direct web traffic levels, and assuming these spikes correlate with the start and end of KOL marketing, this analytics campaign will provide a more complete picture of the impact of KOL marketing. It is understood that many people who are interested in the brand do not click on the link. Instead, they tend to jump to a new tab and type in the brand's URL or search for the brand on Google.

Disadvantages: This method cannot fully reflect the results of KOL marketing. But combining it with another measurement approach can yield important innovative brand benefits.

5. Content validity investigation

Definition: A content effectiveness survey is a custom survey designed to measure the potential impact of KOL marketing content on important brand perception and messaging objectives. In the study, volunteers were recruited to review marketing content in a simulated social networking environment that was exactly the same as how they would view the content online. This requires brands to work with third-party companies that specialize in this work.

Pros: Since this is a custom survey, it can be used to measure the impact of marketing content on campaign-related goals. The survey was completed in a simulated environment on a social channel.

Disadvantages: The study is expected to require at least an additional investment of $30,000 and take approximately 6 weeks. It also utilizes a proxy sample audience to reflect the target population rather than the entire actual audience.

Measuring the impact of KOL marketing is not easy, but it is possible. As society’s investment in this area increases, our ability to measure it will surely improve as well.

Source: White Whale Out to Sea