Influencer Retention

Influencer retention measures the loyalty of a brand’s influencer community (the group of influencers who mention the brand on social media) by tracking the proportion of influencers who continue to post about that brand from one quarter to the next. Influencer retention is usually expressed as a percentage, and is an important metric for brands seeking to gain long-term exposure on social media through influencer marketing. Because a brand’s relationships with influencers appreciate in value over time, as influencers grow their own followers and gain a deeper affinity for the brand, strong influencer retention suggests a brand is well-positioned to reliably expand its earned media presence.

What “good” influencer retention looks like varies from brand to brand, based on factors such as a brand’s size and vertical. For example, cosmetics brands tend to see higher influencer retention than skincare brands, simply because they tend to be larger, and it’s easier for larger brands to retain more influencers. When benchmarking your brand’s influencer retention, it’s important to account for variables including the size of your influencer community, the vertical you’re in, and the maturity of your influencer marketing program.