In 2023, the influencer marketing industry soared to $21.1 billion, marking a 29% growth. This uptrend reflects businesses increasingly harnessing influencers to enhance their brand visibility and ROI, with 67% planning to boost their budgets. 

‍

Despite its growing popularity, managing influencer data remains a challenge, particularly for smaller teams. This is where spreadsheets may help!  

Spreadsheets, while not perfect, offer a practical solution for tracking vital influencer campaign information. 

This blog will guide you on using spreadsheets to monitor influencer campaigns effectively, detailing key parameters and organization tactics. Let's dive in!

What Should You Include in an Influencer Tracking Spreadsheet?

If you are choosing to track and manage your influencer campaigns with spreadsheets, it is essential that it makes your job easier and well, more manageable. 

This means that while the parameters you select to track for your campaigns completely depend on your choice, you do not effectively need to get into granular details.

Here are some details you might want to include in your influencer tracking spreadsheet:

• Influencer Name: The influencer's full name and possibly the name of their social media account.
• Contact Information: This should include phone numbers, email addresses, and any other pertinent contact information.
• Social Media Handles: This should include links to their social media accounts like Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, and others where they are well-known.
• Platform Metrics: Depending on the platform, this includes metrics like average likes, comments, shares, follower count, engagement rate, and so on.
• Demographics: This includes details on the age, gender, geography, interests, and other demographics of the influencer's audience.
• Niche / Category / Industry: Information on which niche or category the influencer mainly works in, e.g., technology, fashion, beauty, and fitness.
• Content Style: This should explain the influencer's preferred content genre, such as lifestyle, entertainment, education, etc.
• Past Campaigns: This should include a list of the influencer's past campaigns and partnerships, including the companies they have collaborated with.
• Pricing and Fees: Information on your fees and pricing schemes for various partnerships, such as affiliate marketing, product placements, sponsored posts, etc.
• Contract Details: This must include a record of any terms, length, deliverables, and other details of any contracts or agreements with the influencer.
• Content Calendar: To ensure that your promotions coincide with their publishing schedule, this should include a list of dates when your influencer collab posts go live.
• Communication Log: This should include a record of all your correspondence—emails, phone conversations, meetings, etc.—with the influencer.
• Performance Metrics: This should include campaign metrics like reach, engagement, conversions, ROI, etc., to help you assess the success of the influencer partnership.
• Feedback: This should include the influencer’s input on the campaign and what they think might be done better to enhance future partnerships.
• Notes and Comments: This should include any extra remarks or ideas you may have for handling the influencer relationship.

Organizing these parameters on a spreadsheet can help you monitor your influencer collaborations more easily and effectively and promote more efficient teamwork and communication, leading to great success for your influencer campaigns.

How To Organize an Influencer Spreadsheet Based on the Stage of Your Campaign?

So, why should you organize your influencer tracking spreadsheets based on the stage of your campaign? In short, it streamlines your workflows and ensures you have all the information at your fingertips anytime you need it, from the start to the end of a campaign.

We recommend using six tabs to organize your spreadsheets based on the different stages of your campaign. These should include Prospecting, Outreach, Negotiation, Content Creation, Live Campaign, and Post Campaign.

Let’s see which parameters you should track during each stage:

Prospecting Stage

This is the stage where you search for the best-suited influencers for your brand.

‍

Parameters should include:

• Influencer Names: List all the possible influencers that you have chosen for your influencer marketing campaign
• Details of Contact: Include their contact information, such as email addresses
• Platform Metrics: Take note of their interaction rate, follower count, etc.
• Niche: Classify influencers according to the niche or category in which they function.
• Notes: Include any other insights or observations regarding the influences.

Outreach Stage

This tab tracks the development of your outreach to influencers. You may monitor, for instance, the last time you emailed potential influencers and if they replied.

‍

Parameters should include:

• Influencer Names: List the influencers you have contacted for possible partnerships.
• Details of Contact: Note the time and mode of communication.
• Follow-Up Dates: Maintain a record of the follow-up dates, if required.
• Status of Response: Take note of the influencer's response to your outreach.
• Next Actions: Note any necessary follow-up actions or steps.

Negotiation Stage

This is the stage where you negotiate the details of your contract with whichever influencers you choose to collaborate with. 

Parameters should include:

• Influencer Names: List all the influencers you are negotiating and contracting with.
• Costs and Fees: Keep a record of the collaboration's agreed-upon expenses and fees.
• Contract Specifics: Make a note of any conditions, deadlines, deliverables, etc.
• Payment Plan: If appropriate, please include the payment plan.
• Notes and Comments: Include any pertinent notes on contract talks or negotiations.

Content Creation Stage

This is the tab that tracks content development. You may track, for example, whether a content brief and relevant assets have been provided to the influencers to work with or how they are coming up on their deadline to submit the content.

‍

Parameters should include:

• Influencer Names: List influencers who have signed contracts and are in the process of producing content.
• Content Calendar: List the days for producing and publishing content.
• Content Brief: Summarize the needs for the content in brief.
• Content Assets: Attach any content assets given to the influencer for the campaign.
• Content Status: Monitor the level of content generation (finished, in progress, etc.).

Live Campaign Stage

This is the stage where you monitor how your influencer marketing campaign is performing.

‍

Parameters should include:

• Influencer Names: Enumerate influencers whose material is either live or in the publishing process.
• Campaign Dates: Note the campaign's beginning and ending dates.
• Content Links: Provide links to the influencer's posts or other information.
• Performance Metrics: Monitor performance indicators such as likes, comments, shares, and more. 

Post Campaign Stage

This tab should monitor the performance of the influencers' content and social media updates. You can also check here to determine if influencers have fulfilled their posting obligations.

Parameters should include:

• Influencer Names: List every influencer who participated in the campaign.
• Performance Metrics: Keep track of the metrics related to each influencer's content.
• Feedback: Find out what the influencers say about their experiences and the campaign's outcomes.
• Next Steps: Record any plans or actions needed in light of the campaign's outcomes.

Structuring your influencer spreadsheets with these tabs can help you successfully manage and track your influencer campaigns from early prospecting to post-campaign evaluation. This will, in turn, facilitate smooth collaboration and maximize campaign success.

How Can Spreadsheets Help Manage Influencer Campaigns?

Spreadsheets are great for keeping all your influencer data organized, especially if you are a small in-house team working with a handful of influencers.

‍Note: Spreadsheets are not a good idea for big companies or rapidly scaling ones with large influencer lists.

Here are a few reasons why using spreadsheets can be perfect for small-scale influencer campaigns:

Usability: 

Spreadsheets are easy to use, and you don't need any training to get started using them efficiently. They offer a simple method for entering and arranging data. Not to mention, they share and collaborate.

For instance, you may quickly copy and distribute your influencer spreadsheet template to the shared drive of your business. Your staff now has an easy-to-reference resource for your influencer marketing. This promotes teamwork and guarantees everyone access to the most recent data. Need to update a stakeholder on the status of your campaign? Do you want teammates to elaborate? It is super easy with a spreadsheet!

Customization: 

A spreadsheet's columns, categories, and campaign-related data points can all be changed to meet your unique requirements. Owing to its adaptability, you can customize the spreadsheet to meet your business's unique influencer marketing needs.

Visibility:

Unless you keep a close eye on everything, it can be very easy to lose track of your influencer’s requirements and details of your collaboration. Spreadsheets give your influencer data a visual representation, making it easy to confirm such details with less digging. 

You can also spot patterns, trends, and problem areas in your campaigns when you maintain your campaign’s performance metrics in a spreadsheet. You may optimize your campaign plan accordingly and make well-informed judgments with a spreadsheet.

Organization: 

Spreadsheets provide an organized way to manage influencer data, allowing you to easily manage several influencers, their contact details, campaign stages, and more in one place.

Versatility: 

Spreadsheets are useful for more than just keeping track of influencers; they may also be used for reporting, budgeting, scheduling, and performance analysis. Their adaptability renders them an invaluable resource for marketing teams and small enterprises with various requirements.

Cost-Effectiveness: 

Last but not least, spreadsheets are affordable for small-scale campaigns with tight budgets because they are usually included in office software bundles or are freely available as stand-alone programs.

Tips and Best Practices to Track Influencer Campaigns with Spreadsheets

Here are some organizational tips to maximize the use of spreadsheets for small-scale influencer marketing campaigns:

Consolidate Data: 

To keep things organized and make navigation easier, group relevant data into several sheets or tabs inside the same spreadsheet. You may, for instance, have several sheets for marketing timetables, performance metrics, and influencer information.

Don’t Overcomplicate: 

Avoid adding pointless data to your spreadsheet. To keep things clear and readable, add only the information necessary to achieve your influencer campaign's goals.

Create Frequent Updates: 

A spreadsheet for tracking influencers is only useful if its information is current. You must block out time in your calendar for spreadsheet updates and edits.

For each campaign, update your details no less than once every seven days. Moreover, to guarantee accurate follower and engagement data, update your influencer list(s) at least once each month.

Use Dropdown Menus: 

To reduce errors and expedite data entry, use dropdown menus for fields with predefined possibilities, such as influencer categories, campaign status, or content type.

Make a Habit of Color-Coding: 

Use color coding to draw attention to key information or to set apart various marketing phases, influencers, or KPIs. This can facilitate the identification of patterns or abnormalities and enhance visual clarity.

Take Notes For Your Influencers and Their Posts: 

This is especially crucial if you oversee many dozen influencers and their content. Remembering individual posts and events from your campaigns is simpler if you take thorough notes.

Consider how taking notes can help you draw attention to specifics in the campaign, like posts that gained widespread popularity, notable comments or exchanges from the audience, and any delays in influencer content.

However, painstakingly noting these things with several creators will eventually feel more like a full-time job than a change. So, when should you move your influencer campaign tracking beyond spreadsheets? 

Challenges of Tracking Influencer Campaigns with Spreadsheets

While spreadsheets are a great resource for organizing influencer campaign data, there are certain challenges to tracking influencer campaigns with spreadsheets. 

Let’s understand what these include.

Limited Scalability: 

As mentioned above, spreadsheets are NOT ideal for large influencer lists.  Your spreadsheet can feel pretty daunting once you have dozens of influencers on your list. Managing large volumes of data in a single spreadsheet can lead to performance issues and decreased efficiency.

Security Risks: 

Spreadsheets that are kept on shared network files or local discs could be vulnerable to malware attacks, illegal access, and data breaches. It is crucial to guarantee data security and adherence to privacy laws.

Version Control: 

Let’s face it—data entry can be very time-consuming. There can come a time when you simply don't want to do it any longer. In such cases, it can become difficult for you to maintain updates for your influencer marketing data.

Using spreadsheets can, thus, result in inadequate version control since you might not be able to keep track of spreadsheet modifications over time and ensure that everyone is using the most recent version, especially in group settings.

Dependency on Manual Procedures: 

Since spreadsheets primarily use manual data entry and manipulation, there is a higher chance of data inconsistencies and human mistakes. This problem can be overcome by automating repetitious processes, but doing so might call for more funding and technological know-how.

Does this mean there is no better way to do this? Not really. You can use an influencer marketing tool like InsightIQ to track and manage your campaigns.

Leverage InsightIQ to Track Influencer Marketing Campaigns with AI and Drive 3x More ROI

InsightIQ is a powerful influencer marketing API that provides comprehensive information about influencers and their brands. It is a great tool for getting reliable influencer data easily and in real time. 

With the help of InsightIQ, you can immediately identify influencers who align with your business and quickly get your campaign off. When establishing relationships with content creators to support campaigns, our technology gives marketers access to the most precise information about influencers across all major social networks, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and more.

From intelligently creating a list of possible brand-fit creators to understanding the quality of their engagement and community and monitoring and evaluating a collaboration’s effectiveness in increasing brand reach, InsightIQ can help small in-house marketing teams create a reliable, comprehensive, and updated influencer database to support an effective influencer marketing effort that can drive 3x more ROI on autopilot. Want to check it out yourself? Book a FREE demo today!

FAQs:

1. How Do I Create an Influencer Database?

Building an influencer database involves identifying relevant influencers, gathering their profiles, engagement, and audience data, and organizing this into a classified database. Continuously update it with new influencers and campaign data to enhance your influencer marketing efforts, monitor partnerships, and evaluate ROI.

2. How Do You Set KPIs for Influencers?

Setting influencer KPIs involves aligning campaign goals with measurable metrics such as sentiment, reach, engagement, and conversions. Define clear goals and select KPIs to gauge success, adjusting them based on campaign insights. Ultimately, assess how these partnerships impact broader marketing aims and ROI.

‍