Influencer marketing is hitting an authenticity wall. Eighty-eight percent of consumers expect authenticity, yet nearly half believe influencers are inauthentic, and 35 percent think influencers are dishonest about both sponsored content and their own image (HypeAuditor, 2023; Lynch, 2018; Morning Consult, 2019). For brands marketing to moms, that trust gap can undo years of brand building.
So what do you as the founder of a mom influencer agency who is currently earning her doctorate degree when you identify a change in your industry? You academically research it of course! And then you apply research and 30 years of experience to offer solutions. Enjoy!
Why Authenticity Breaks Down in Influencer Campaigns
Influencers are more than individuals with large followings. They are social assemblages, a network of followers, brand managers, agency reps, content, and products that interact in ways that can stabilize or destabilize trust (DeLanda, 2006). Each stakeholder values different things. A brand may focus on reach, while followers prize sincerity. Misalign those priorities and credibility cracks appear. Balance is what creates relevance, trust, and ultimate success for all parties involved.
Five Pillars of Authentic Influence
Research shows that influencer authenticity rests on five properties working together (Audrezet et al., 2020; Lee & Eastin, 2021; Lindmoser et al., 2022):
- Expertise: real authority in the niche.
- Connectedness: followers feel personally engaged.
- Originality: unique storytelling and personal experiences.
- Transparency: clear, balanced communication about sponsorships.
- Integrity: motivations that go beyond money.
A weakness in any one area can erode trust across the entire assemblage.
Two Forms of Authenticity to Cultivate
- Passionate authenticity happens when influencers are driven by inner passion more than commercial goals (Audrezet, De Kerviler, & Moulard, 2020).
- Transparent authenticity requires openness about contracts and collaborations.
Consumers also watch for sincerity, truthful endorsements, and uniqueness (Lee & Eastin, 2021) and define authenticity as consistency with one’s true self (Lindmoser, Weitzl, & Zniva, 2022). Research by BSM Media illustrates that these behaviors are higher in Gen Z moms over Millennial or Gen X mothers.
Today, brands want to know if an influencer’s content actually moves the needle, whether that’s sales, search activity, or sentiment. Modern influencer measurement blends financial metrics like ROAS with behavioral signals such as engagement rate and search surge to show the full impact of a campaign.
BSM Media breaks down the key trends shaping influencer marketing analytics and how brands can use them to measure success.
Trend #1: ROAS and Revenue-Driven Metrics
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) is now the north star for many influencer programs. It answers the question every CMO asks: for every dollar we spend, how many do we make back?
How to apply it to your influencer marketing campaign?
- Engage content creators who are social sellers with unique tracking links or discount codes.
- This is a popular strategy best used on Tik Tok.
- Track conversions through your affiliate platform or e-commerce analytics.
- Calculate ROAS using:
(Revenue ÷ Cost) = ROAS.
High-performing social sellers and influencers often generate a 300–500% ROAS, proving real business impact. Here’s a quick and easy chart to help you define the right influencers for a ROAS campaign.
Trend #2: Engagement Rate as a Quality Signal
Engagement rate, the ratio of likes, comments, shares, and saves to total follower, is one of the most reliable indicators of how authentically an influencer connects with their audience.
Why it matters:
- It shows content resonance, not just reach.
- It helps identify influencers with loyal, active communities.
- It predicts conversion likelihood, since engaged audiences are more likely to take action.
Pro tip for using influencer engagement as a key metric:
- Compare engagement rate per platform (e.g., Instagram vs. TikTok) and per content type (reel vs. story). Even micro-influencers with 5–10% engagement can outperform mega-influencers with inflated reach.
- Utilize the most engaging influencer content for digital advertising. If it’s engaging with organic audiences, it is likely to perform well as a brand ad.
Trend #4: Sentiment Analysis and Brand Perception as a KPI for Influencer Marketing
Sentiment analysis adds emotional context to the data. It’s not enough for a post to go viral, the reaction must be positive to be successful.
How to Measure Sentiment Analysis and Brand Perception in Influencer Marketing
- Tone of comments and mentions.
- Frequency of branded keywords paired with positive or negative language.
- Overall brand sentiment shifts after influencer activation.
This qualitative layer helps brands protect reputation and identify messaging that resonates. Here’s an article on maintaining authenticity in your influencer content.
Trend #5: Search Surge as a Modern Influencer Metric
Search surge measures how much branded search volume increases during and after an influencer campaign. It’s one of the clearest signals that awareness is turning into intent.
For example, if Google Trends or your web analytics show a 20–40% increase in brand or product searches during an influencer campaign, that’s measurable lift—even before sales occur.
Now that Google is indexing social content, your influencer marketing content becomes searchable content.
How to use it:
- Track Google Search Console or brand keyword volume during campaigns.
- Compare search traffic spikes to influencer post dates.
- Layer this with sentiment data to understand why the surge happened.
Search surge bridges the gap between awareness and action, showing that influencer exposure is translating into brand curiosity and potential conversion.
Trend #6: Cross-Channel Performance and Multi-Touch Attribution
Consumers rarely buy after one post. They might see an influencer on Instagram, then a paid ad, then visit your website days later. Cross-channel performance helps brands see the full customer journey.
Ways to measure cross-channel performance with influencer marketing:
- Use multi-touch attribution models to track all interactions leading to conversion.
- Sync influencer data with your CRM and paid media dashboards.
- Analyze traffic flow and conversion patterns across platforms.
This trend is forcing brands to evaluate influencer marketing not as a silo but as part of an integrated ecosystem.
Trend #7: AI-Powered Analytics, Predictive Insights and AI Search
AI is changing how brands interpret influencer marketing data and using creator content. Machine learning, as well as good old fashion agency relations, can now predict which creators are most likely to deliver high engagement or sales before a campaign even launches. Long language models allow influencer content to become searchable on Google, maximizing the reach of your influencer campaign.
Modern analytics tools can:
- Spot early performance trends in real time.
- Identify which content themes drive positive sentiment.
- Forecast ROAS and conversion probability using historical data.
- Provide search engine optimization and LLM optimization suggestions for blogs, social posts, and online content.
AI-powered dashboards make influencer analytics faster, smarter, and more actionable by turning measurement from reactive to predictive.
Using Key Trends in Influencer Marketing Measurement & Analytics to Measure Success of Your Influencer Marketing Campaign?
To build a strong influencer measurement framework:
- Define your true goal: sales, awareness, or advocacy.
- Set KPIs that connect to that goal: ROAS, engagement rate, affiliate conversions, sentiment, search surge.
- Track across channels so no data lives in isolation.
- Use AI and automation to detect patterns early and optimize faster.
- Report in business language, not vanity metrics.
Conclusion
Influencer marketing has matured. The winning brands are those that combine quantitative metrics like ROAS, engagement rate, and search surge with qualitative insights like sentiment and brand perception.
With the right measurement strategy and partners who understand it, every influencer campaign becomes a data-driven engine for growth.
If your brand needs help building that kind of measurement framework, BSM Media can guide you through setup, reporting, and optimization to turn influence into measurable business outcomes.
For more information, Maria@bsmmedia.com.
