CONTENTS
What is Earned Media Value?
The benefits of tracking Earned Media Value
How TRIBE calculates Earned Media Value
Measuring the impact and ROI of Influencer Marketing campaigns isn’t always simple. The definition of success is different for every brand and is rooted in the objective and goals of their campaigns. Years ago, before the evolution into the much broader Creator Marketing category, influencers were considered a brand awareness channel - making metrics like engagement and audience size the only gauge of success.
Today, measuring Influencer Marketing has changed and marketers are achieving far more with their creator communities by deploying their content in paid and owned channels that track metrics like impressions, reach, click-through rate and sales.
For organic creator campaigns, Earned Media Value is a reliable metric to measure performance and ROI, and should be used to inform decisions that improve the results of your overall strategy. Keep reading to find out why.
First, what is Earned Media Value?
In a nutshell, Earned Media Value (EMV) is used to quantify the value of organic and earned activity like social media content and influencer marketing. It helps gauge your ROI by calculating the estimated spend that would have been required on traditional paid media to achieve the same results as your organic activity.
Unlike paid channels where you ‘spend a dollar to get a dollar,’ EMV is vital to measuring the positive impact of UGC or creator collaborations on social media.
The benefits of tracking Earned Media Value
If Creator Marketing has evolved, is EMV still relevant?
Absolutely! If you’re measuring the performance and ROI of an organic campaign, or individual post from a creator, it’s one of the best metrics to look at. Understanding the benefits of EMV can significantly improve your approach to creator marketing and deliver more tangible results.
1. EMV IS AN ACCURATE MEASUREMENT OF ROI
The ROI of any organic social media activity can be difficult to measure. EMV offers a standardized data point by assigning a monetary value to metrics such as impressions, likes, comments and shares.
By comparing your EMV to the cost of achieving the same results in traditional or paid platforms you have a real sense of your ROI. If your EMV is high, consider it a good indication that your efforts have reached the right audience and a meaningful connection has been made.
2. EMV ELIMINATES THE GUESSWORK WHEN SOURCING CREATORS
Imagine having a way to predict how much ROI you’re likely to earn before committing to collaborating with a creator.
On TRIBE, you’ll find a creator’s average EMV alongside their average engagement rate, reach, audience demographics and more. When considering which creators to collaborate with, their average EMV is a great way to gauge the quality and performance power of individual creators by aggregating multiple metrics at once.
Of course, many factors impact how effective an individual collaboration will be (content quality and brand/creator alignment, for example) however a creator's average EMV is an excellent place to start.
3. EMV INFORMS HOW TO INCREASE PERFORMANCE
EMV has become a vital metric for marketers to not only measure success - but also identify data-backed opportunities for improvement.
By analyzing EMV data in real-time during and after a campaign you’re equipped to identify trends and patterns that bring the best results. Whether it’s individual creators, audience breakdowns, content format or messaging you have a powerful indicator of what works.
4. EMV TELLS YOU WHERE TO INVEST YOUR BUDGET
For starters, EMV can guide which creators to continue investing in for organic paid partnerships.
But, to drive middle and bottom-of-funnel outcomes, the most effective strategy is to amplify your top-performing content in your owned channels. The content that sees the best results organically is the same content that’s likely to get even better results when promoted in paid social - especially when it comes to Creator Ad boosting.
EMV data allows you to invest your budget more securely and strategically by instantly identifying your top-performing organic content.
It’s a marketer’s best friend when aligning creator and paid performance strategies to drive outcomes like clicks, conversion & sales and ultimately grow your ROI.
How does TRIBE calculate Earned Media Value?
There is no definitive industry standard for calculating EMV because the metrics used to calculate it vary and change constantly.
To be as unambiguous as possible, TRIBE adopts what is considered the most common approach in the Influencer and Social Media Marketing industry. TRIBE’s EMV calculates the combined value of; comments, shares, likes and impressions (CPM) on TikTok posts and Instagram posts & Reels. For Instagram Stories, the calculation is based on shares and impressions.
EMV is calculated on all individual published posts and your campaign as a whole. We also provide an EMV multiplier which provides an instant snapshot of your ROI.
As you can see, EMV is pretty powerful.
But like all metrics, it’s only one indicator amongst many that defines performance. Its power comes down to your objectives and how you analyse it within your broader strategy.
If your goal is to reach a large audience and generate brand awareness, EMV is a great indicator of success.
If your goals are conversions or sales, EMV can transform how you amplify your organic activity into paid channels designed to achieve and track those goals.
With TRIBE, our combination of tech, team and talent delivers long-term, high-performance strategies that focus on results - no matter your objectives.
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