Many business-to-business companies have at some point likely considered collaborating with B2B influencers as part of their marketing strategy for expanding their audience.
Measuring influencer marketing campaigns' return on investment, however, may take some trial and error because benefits of brand awareness are challenging to measure directly.
You may wonder whether there is a formula where you can plug in number X divided by number Y and get the results. For some measurements, you can, such as determining whether the number of sales was worth the cost of hiring the influencer.
However, determining the success or failure of an effort or campaign requires more thought and research.
Set your goal
The US accounted for 75% of global marketing spending on influencers in 2023; clearly, US marketers believe the results are worth the spend.
But before partnering with any influencers to expand your reach, you must ensure their audience matches your customer profiles.
Create buyer personas before setting aside an influencer budget. Then talk to the influencers about what their typical followers are like. If they mainly reach businesses in the industries you serve, pay attention to past campaigns they've undertaken. What were the results? Did people comment and share? You're seeking someone with an engaged audience.
Chat with that Instafamous online personality about what you can expect from a campaign. Set goals based on what is realistic based on their knowledge from past promotions.
Choose key metrics
You must determine your key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of a B2B influencer marketing campaign.
For example, you may want to gain newsletter subscribers, so you need a dedicated subscription link that the influencer shares. You can then divide the number of new emails by the campaign's cost to get a price per subscriber figure and see how effective the effort was.
Other potential KPIs:
- Net profit
- Sales forecasts
- Net Promoter Score
- Brand mentions
- Improvement in reputation
- Referrals
- Cost per lead
The KPIs you choose depend on your goals for the campaign. Some are easier to measure than others. Consider what results you want and what measurement would spell success when deciding how to calculate ROI.
Assess campaign costs
Take the time to meticulously consider all expenses, including less obvious ones, including the cost of any software you use for your campaign as well.
For example, with around 85% of enterprises planning to adopt a Cloud-first model by 2025, it's likely your business has used more than one paid Cloud-based service across various parts of your campaigns. You may also have used an influencer network service to find the right influencer for your campaign needs.
Less-apparent "hidden" expenses can add up quickly and should be assessed as part of what will reduce your bottom line.
Calculate profit
Before you can decipher your B2B influencer marketing campaign's ROI, you must know how much of what you make is profit. If you sell a physical product to businesses, how much are the raw material, labor, and shipping expenses?
You also likely have overhead for warehouse space, costs for an online store, and other software you may not have factored in.
How much is adding product exposure worth to your brand? In a market where people are looking for another alternative software or service, paying for influencers to help you stand out from the competition could be worth it.
Create your ROI formula
The ROI formula to determine whether you've hit your KPIs may be more subjective for some types of campaigns. For example, if your goal is to gain leads, you may measure how much the average customer is worth over their lifetime and factor that in along with the cost of attaining a new one.
In simplest terms, ROI is dividing the net increase in sales by the marketing cost. The result is your percentage of profit, which hopefully is in positive territory. The formula can be as complex or simple as you desire. You also may use multiple formulas to track various KPIs.
Consider nonmonetary returns
The value of an influencer marketing campaign is often more difficult to measure. A more recognizable brand name benefits your business, but is hard to measure and valuate the increase in recognition.
You can use social media watch tools that notify you when someone posts about your company. You can also count the number of likes and shares by other business owners directly from the influencer campaign.
Ideally, a strong marketing effort will have a ripple effect. People may mention your brand, try your product or service, and share their opinion, helping to expand your reach slowly for many weeks after the initial promotion.
Decide where to spend your B2B influencer marketing dollars
Reaching the industry your product is best suited for takes concentrated effort and time. B2B influencer marketing is growing in popularity and is clearly effective. Measuring the worth to see if the effort and fees offer a good return isn't always as straightforward.
Take the time to set goals, measure KPIs and determine if each effort produced the intended results. When an influencer helps you hit the desired measurements, try another campaign with them later. If agreements don't bring noticeable results, try something different. Eventually, your campaigns will improve, and you'll increase your ROI to an acceptable level.
More Resources on B2B Influencer Marketing
The Most Successful Types of B2B Influencer and Brand Collaboration
Five B2B Influencer Marketing Guidelines for Brands
Eight Steps to Ensure Brand Safety With Influencer Marketing
