How Do You Measure Influencer Marketing Performance?

How Do You Measure Influencer Marketing Performance?

Measuring influencer marketing performance means understanding how creator content influences buying decisions—something that’s hard to track with clicks alone. To do it right, marketers need to combine promo codes, affiliate links, post-purchase surveys, and qualitative feedback to get the full picture.

Why Influencer Attribution Is Tricky

Influencer content often drives inspiration, not direct clicks. A user might see a TikTok or Instagram Reel, browse later, and convert days after the initial impression—without ever using the affiliate link or discount code.

This disconnect creates major attribution gaps. Influencers may be driving top-of-funnel impact, but their true value gets undercounted in most attribution models.

Common Ways to Measure Influencer Impact

Method

Description

Pros

Cons

Affiliate Links / UTM Codes

Trackable links given to influencers

Easy to implement

Fails when users don’t click or use same device

Promo Codes

Discount codes shared by creators

Ties offer to influencer

Low redemption; easy to forget or misuse

Post-Purchase Surveys

Asks customers directly where they heard about the brand

Captures untrackable influence

Self-reported; works best with steady order volume

Social Listening

Monitors engagement, sentiment, and mentions

Measures brand lift, virality

Doesn’t link directly to conversions

Why Post-Purchase Surveys Are Critical

Unlike links or codes, surveys don’t rely on perfect user behavior. They capture attribution from customers who were influenced, even if they didn’t transact right away or use a trackable method.

Fairing lets you:

  • Capture “Influencer” as a survey option

  • Follow up with "Which influencer?" to gather granularity

  • Compare survey attribution with tracked redemptions

  • Identify top performers without obsessing over link clicks

This insight helps you double down on creators that actually influence buying—not just those who drive clicks.

How to Measure Influencer Campaigns with Fairing

  1. Add "Influencer" to your post-purchase survey

  2. Ask an auto-suggest follow-up question: “Which influencer?” or “What platform?”

  3. Compare with affiliate link/promo code data to assess coverage

  4. Optimize spend based on influence, not clicks

Real-World Example

A skincare brand worked with dozens of micro-influencers on Instagram and TikTok. Affiliate link data showed poor performance. But after using Fairing, they discovered that 26% of new customers mentioned influencers—far above what clicks suggested. They restructured their program around the top 10% of creators and grew new customer acquisition by 24%.

Final Thoughts

Influencer marketing is about influence—not just traffic. Post-purchase surveys unlock the intent and impact that traditional tracking misses.

Want to know which creators are actually moving the needle? Start measuring with Fairing.

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Start improving your marketing measurement today with a free trial, or schedule a demo to see our platform in action.

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