Influencer marketing has become an important way for businesses to introduce products, build trust, and reach audiences through creators they follow. However, a campaign that generates likes and comments does not necessarily produce sales or profit. Businesses need evidence to understand whether their investment is worthwhile.
The Tomoson influencer marketing study is frequently referenced in discussions about influencer marketing returns. A widely repeated finding attributes an average return of $6.50 for every $1 spent to the research, while the top-performing 13% of businesses reportedly achieved $20 or more in returns per dollar invested. These figures appear in later industry publications, but the original methodology and underlying data should be checked before using them as universal benchmarks. See industry reporting.
Understanding the context behind these numbers is more valuable than memorizing the headline statistic. Businesses need to know what the research suggests, what it cannot prove, and how to measure their own campaign results.
What Is the Tomoson Influencer Marketing Research?
The research is commonly cited as an early example of measuring the business potential of influencer marketing. It helped bring attention to the possibility that recommendations from relevant online personalities could generate meaningful commercial results.
Rather than treating influencer partnerships as simple promotional posts, businesses can use this research as a starting point for considering customer acquisition costs, audience engagement, product discovery, and measurable returns.
However, an important distinction must be made between a reported industry finding and a verified experimental result. A figure repeated by several marketing publications is not automatically proof that every business can expect the same outcome. Before publishing precise figures as definitive facts, editors should locate the original report and verify its sample, research date, questions, and calculation method.
What Does the Research Say About Influencer Marketing ROI?
Return on investment, commonly called ROI, helps businesses compare the value generated by a campaign with the cost of running it.
The figures often associated with this research suggest that influencer marketing can be commercially valuable. Yet the reported $6.50 return should not be interpreted as a guaranteed profit for every dollar spent.
The meaning of return also matters. Revenue is not the same as profit. If a campaign generates $6.50 in sales for every dollar invested, the business still needs to account for product costs, shipping, discounts, agency fees, platform costs, and other expenses.
For example, imagine a company spends $1,000 on a creator campaign and attributes $6,500 in sales to it. The campaign has generated $6.50 in attributed revenue per dollar spent. Its actual profitability depends on the costs associated with those sales and whether the campaign genuinely caused the purchases.
This distinction is essential when using historical influencer marketing figures to make current budget decisions.
Why Influencer Marketing Can Work
Recommendations can introduce products naturally
People often discover products while watching tutorials, reading reviews, or following creators who share useful information. A product demonstration can help an audience understand how something works in a real setting.
This approach is especially useful when a product needs explanation before a customer feels comfortable buying it. A detailed demonstration may answer questions that a short traditional advertisement cannot address.
Relevant audiences matter more than follower totals
A creator with a smaller, highly relevant audience may be more useful to a specialist brand than a creator with a much larger but less interested following.
For example, a company selling gardening tools may benefit from working with a creator whose audience regularly watches gardening tutorials. The audience’s interests, trust in the creator, and likelihood of needing the product are more meaningful than follower count alone.
Businesses should therefore assess audience relevance, content quality, engagement patterns, and previous campaign performance before selecting a partner.
Creator content can support several marketing goals
Influencer partnerships can help businesses increase product awareness, generate website visits, collect customer questions, support product launches, and produce creative assets for other marketing channels.
These goals should be defined before a campaign begins. A campaign designed to introduce a new product should not necessarily be judged by the same criteria as one intended to generate immediate purchases.
How to Measure Influencer Marketing Performance
The practical lesson from historical industry research is to establish clear measurement rules rather than relying on a single average.
Set a specific campaign objective
Start by deciding what success means. A brand seeking awareness might track qualified reach, video views, and audience recall. A business seeking sales might focus on conversions, acquisition cost, and contribution margin.
Choose the main objective before selecting influencers. This prevents teams from changing their definition of success after seeing the results.
Track links and conversions
Use campaign-specific tracking links, unique promotional codes, or properly configured analytics to connect activity with outcomes. Record the measurement period and attribution rules before the campaign starts.
These methods have limitations. Customers may see a creator’s post, research the product later, and buy without using a tracked link or code. As a result, direct tracking can miss some influence, while overly generous attribution can claim sales that would have occurred anyway.
Calculate return consistently
A basic revenue-to-spend ratio can be calculated as follows:
Attributed revenue ÷ campaign spend = revenue per dollar spent
For a more meaningful profitability calculation, use:
ROI = (incremental profit − campaign cost) ÷ campaign cost × 100
Here, incremental profit means the additional profit attributable to the campaign after accounting for relevant variable costs. The campaign cost should include the expenses being evaluated, such as creator fees, production, samples, and agency support.
The word incremental is important. Sales attributed by a tracking platform are not necessarily sales caused by the campaign. Where practical, businesses can use holdout groups, geographic comparisons, or other controlled tests to estimate the additional impact.
Review results beyond the first few days
Some campaigns produce immediate purchases, while others influence later decisions. A short reporting window may miss delayed conversions, repeat purchases, or the continuing value of published content.
Set a reasonable reporting period based on the product, sales cycle, and campaign objective. Compare results with the same measurement rules across campaigns so that decisions are based on consistent evidence.
How Small Businesses Can Apply the Findings
Small businesses do not need large budgets to learn from influencer marketing. They need a controlled process that limits risk and produces useful information.
First, choose one clear objective. A local business might want to increase bookings, while an online retailer might want to sell a particular product. The objective determines which creators and performance indicators make sense.
Next, identify creators whose audiences match the intended customers. Review their recent content, the quality of audience interactions, and the consistency of their subject matter. Look for suspicious engagement patterns, unexplained audience spikes, or comments that appear unrelated to the content.
Then begin with a manageable test. Agree on the deliverables, publication dates, compensation, content usage rights, and reporting requirements in writing. Give the creator enough room to communicate naturally while making essential product information and campaign expectations clear.
Finally, compare the results with the campaign’s costs and original objective. If the test performs well, consider expanding gradually. If it underperforms, investigate whether the problem involved audience fit, the offer, the content, the landing page, or the measurement setup before spending more.
This approach turns a marketing experiment into a learning opportunity instead of treating a single campaign as proof that a channel always works.
Common Mistakes When Interpreting Influencer Marketing Statistics
Treating historical averages as current guarantees
Marketing platforms, consumer habits, competition, and advertising costs change over time. A figure reported years ago may provide useful historical context, but it does not establish today’s expected performance.
Confusing engagement with business results
Likes, comments, shares, and views can indicate audience response. They do not independently establish profitability. A campaign can attract substantial attention without generating meaningful purchases.
Ignoring the full campaign cost
Creator fees are only one possible expense. Product samples, shipping, content production, agency support, discounts, and paid amplification can change the economics of a campaign.
Overlooking audience quality and disclosure
An audience that looks large may not consist of genuine prospective customers. Businesses should also make sure that paid relationships and gifted products are disclosed appropriately.
The US Federal Trade Commission explains that material connections between influencers and brands should be disclosed clearly and conspicuously. Its guidance is a useful starting point for understanding disclosure responsibilities, although businesses must also follow the rules that apply in their own jurisdictions. FTC influencer disclosure guidance.
What the Research Cannot Tell Businesses
A historical industry statistic cannot determine which creator will work best for a particular product. It cannot establish the likely return for every budget, industry, audience, or social platform.
The strength of the evidence depends on how the original research was conducted. Important questions include how many businesses participated, how participants were recruited, how returns were defined, and whether the results were self-reported or independently measured.
Without those details, the findings should be treated as historical context rather than a precise forecast. Independent campaign data is more useful when it reflects a business’s actual audience, margins, sales cycle, and marketing objectives.
This is why the Tomoson influencer marketing study should be read alongside current campaign analytics and transparent reporting methods, rather than used as the sole justification for a marketing budget.
A Practical Framework for Better Campaign Decisions
A reliable influencer marketing process connects each decision to evidence.
Begin with the business objective and a defined target audience. Select creators based on relevance and content quality, then agree on deliverables, costs, disclosures, tracking methods, and the reporting period.
After publication, examine both the direct results and the limitations of the data. Compare the campaign with a reasonable baseline, calculate costs consistently, and investigate whether the results reflect additional business activity.
Document what worked and what did not. Over several campaigns, this creates a more useful internal benchmark than relying on an industry-wide average alone.
Conclusion
Influencer marketing can help businesses reach relevant audiences and communicate product value through trusted creators. However, its effectiveness depends on audience fit, campaign execution, costs, and accurate measurement.
The most useful lesson from the research commonly associated with Tomoson is not that every business should expect a particular return. It is that influencer marketing deserves to be evaluated as a measurable business activity, with realistic expectations and transparent evidence.
Businesses that define success before launching a campaign, track results consistently, and learn from each test are better equipped to decide when influencer partnerships deserve further investment.
FAQ section
What is the Tomoson influencer marketing study?
It is a commonly cited piece of historical influencer marketing research associated with reported returns from influencer campaigns. Its figures should be checked against the original report before being treated as definitive benchmarks.
What return did the study reportedly find?
Later marketing publications commonly attribute an average return of $6.50 per dollar spent to the research. The reported figure is not a guaranteed result, and readers should verify how the original study defined return.
Is influencer marketing still effective?
It can be effective when a creator reaches a relevant audience, and the campaign supports a clear business objective. Results depend on the product, audience, creative approach, costs, and measurement method.
How can a business measure influencer marketing ROI?
Businesses can track campaign costs, attributed sales, conversions, and profit margins. To estimate true incremental ROI, they should also assess whether the campaign generated additional results beyond what would otherwise have occurred.
Are small influencers useful for businesses?
Yes, depending on the campaign. A smaller creator with a relevant audience and credible content may be a better fit than a larger creator with a less relevant audience. Performance should be assessed against the campaign objective.
Can historical influencer marketing statistics predict future results?
No. Historical statistics provide context, but changes in platforms, audiences, costs, and campaign execution make them unreliable as individual forecasts. Businesses should test their own campaigns. See More