A KPI (Key Performance Indicator) is a specific metric defined before a campaign to determine whether it hit its goal. In influencer marketing, picking the right KPIs avoids the common mistake of measuring "likes" when the real goal was sales.
Common KPIs, by objective
- Brand awareness: reach, impressions, view count.
- Community engagement: engagement rate, comments, saves, shares.
- Traffic: clicks on the bio link or a swipe-up/sticker link.
- Conversion: uses of a unique discount code, attributed sales, leads generated.
- Cost efficiency: CPM or cost per click/conversion.
How to pick the right ones
KPIs should be decided in the brief, before the campaign launches, and should match the real goal: a product-launch campaign likely prioritizes reach, while a sale-driven campaign prioritizes conversion via a discount code. Measuring the wrong KPI is one of the most common reasons a brand wrongly concludes "influencers don't work," when the real problem was the chosen metric, not the collaboration itself.
Comparing KPI results against the spend is ultimately what lets you calculate a campaign's real ROI.