how to measure influencer marketing roi in new zealand
why most nz brands get roi wrong
the biggest mistake brands make with influencer marketing isn’t picking the wrong creators — it’s measuring the wrong things. vanity metrics like follower counts and likes feel good but tell you almost nothing about business impact.
real roi starts with knowing what you’re measuring and why.
step 1: define your campaign objective first
before you calculate roi, you need to know what success looks like. every campaign should have one primary objective:
- awareness — measured by reach, impressions, and video views
- engagement — measured by comments, shares, saves, and click-throughs
- conversions — measured by sales, sign-ups, or leads generated
- content — measured by number and quality of reusable ugc assets
mixing objectives makes measurement impossible. pick one.
step 2: set up tracking before launch
you can’t measure what you don’t track. before any creator posts:
- create unique utm links for each creator — so you can attribute traffic in google analytics
- set up a dedicated discount code per creator — tracks direct sales attribution
- install conversion pixels on your website — facebook pixel, tiktok pixel, or google tag
- establish a baseline — what are your current traffic, engagement, and sales numbers?
step 3: calculate your roi
the basic formula:
roi = (revenue generated - campaign cost) / campaign cost x 100
if you spent $5,000 nzd on a campaign and generated $15,000 in tracked sales, your roi is 200%.
but not every campaign is about direct sales. for awareness campaigns, calculate cost per thousand impressions (cpm):
cpm = (campaign cost / total impressions) x 1,000
for engagement campaigns, calculate cost per engagement (cpe):
cpe = campaign cost / total engagements
nz benchmarks to compare against:
- influencer cpm: $15-$40 nzd (compared to $20-$60 for paid social)
- influencer cpe: $0.50-$2.00 nzd
- influencer conversion rate: 1-3% (from click to purchase)
step 4: account for the full value
direct attribution only tells part of the story. influencer campaigns also generate:
- content assets you can repurpose for ads, social, and website (value: $200-$1,000+ per piece)
- social proof that builds trust over time
- seo benefits from backlinks and branded search increases
- audience growth on your own channels
a campaign that looks break-even on direct sales might be highly profitable when you factor in 10 ugc videos you can run as paid ads for the next 6 months.
step 5: report and optimise
after every campaign, document:
- what worked — which creators, content types, and platforms drove the best results?
- what didn’t — where did performance fall short and why?
- what to test next — new hooks, different creator tiers, alternative platforms?
the brands that win at influencer marketing aren’t the ones that get lucky once — they’re the ones that systematically learn and improve.
need help measuring your next campaign?
yuma runs end-to-end influencer campaigns for nz brands — including full performance tracking and reporting. we’ll show you exactly where your budget went and what it generated.
start a campaign or grab our free roi calculator to estimate your next campaign’s potential.
faq
what’s a good roi for influencer marketing in nz?
anything above 3x return (300% roi) on direct sales is strong. but many successful campaigns focus on awareness or content generation, where roi is measured in cpm and content value rather than immediate sales.
how long before i see results from influencer marketing?
most campaigns show initial results within the first week of content going live. full impact — including organic reach, algorithm boost, and conversion tail — typically plays out over 4-8 weeks.
should i use micro-influencers or macro-influencers for better roi?
in the nz market, micro-influencers (10k-50k followers) consistently deliver better roi per dollar spent. their engagement rates are higher, their audiences are more niche, and their rates are more accessible. macro-influencers work best for broad awareness pushes.