Now that influencer marketing budgets are increasing, here's what marketers should expect across the industry.

About a week ago, eMarketer released some new data stating that 70% of agency and brand marketers surveyed agreed that influencer marketing budgets will increase in 2018. Additionally, 89% of survey respondents said they found influencer marketing to be an effective tactic for brands to positively reach their target audiences. While both of these results support the success of influencer marketing, another statistic stood out that was surprising.

Six in 10 marketers said that they look at press mentions as a way to measure the success of their campaigns. While we fully understand that when budgets rise brand expectations rise with them, if the big result of your influencer program is to be mentioned in AdWeek, Marketing Daily or another publication, you aren’t looking at the “big picture”. These types of results aren’t going to serve your brand well down the road.

Alternatively, brand marketers should remember that is it is possible to run influencer programs that drive real, meaningful results. We’ve personally seen Carusele campaigns drives sales, website traffic, engagements, coupons downloads and more. If you’re not seeing these types of results with your campaigns, you may be using an outdated approach to influencer marketing, or you may not have the right tools in place to properly measure your campaigns. In either case, our updated guide to measuring influencer marketing campaigns in 2018 is a great resource as you get ready for your next campaign.

If you’re looking for a way to stay up-to-date on the latest influencer marketing news and trends, check out our weekly video series, The Spin.