The Tomoson influencer marketing study is often discussed in connection with the growth of influencer marketing and the value businesses can gain from working with online creators. It is particularly relevant to marketers who want to understand how bloggers, social media personalities, and content creators can influence purchasing decisions and help brands reach specific audiences.
However, a useful understanding of this study requires more than repeating a headline statistic. Readers need to know what Tomoson reported, how influencer marketing works, what the findings may mean for businesses, and why historical research should not automatically be treated as a current industry benchmark.
This article explores the background of the Tomoson study, its commonly discussed findings, practical lessons for marketers, and the limitations to consider when evaluating influencer campaigns.
What Is the Tomoson Influencer Marketing Study?
Tomoson is associated with influencer marketing software and services that help brands connect with bloggers and online content creators. Influencer marketing itself is a promotional strategy in which businesses collaborate with people who have an audience and can introduce products, services, or ideas to that audience.
The Tomoson influencer marketing study is commonly referenced in discussions about the return on investment (ROI) of influencer marketing. Its findings helped popularize the idea that influencer partnerships could be a cost-effective marketing channel compared with certain traditional advertising methods.
The study is particularly interesting because it reflects an earlier stage of the influencer economy, when blogs and product-review websites played a significant role alongside social media platforms.
To interpret the research properly, it is important to distinguish between the figures attributed to the original report, the conclusions marketers draw from them, and the results a business might achieve today. These are not necessarily the same thing.
Key Findings From the Tomoson Influencer Marketing Study
The widely reported Tomoson survey was conducted online between March 10 and March 16, 2015, and included 125 marketers. Its findings offer a historical snapshot of how businesses viewed influencer marketing at that time.
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The most frequently cited result is the reported average of $6.50 in returns for every $1 spent on influencer marketing. Other reported findings addressed budget plans, customer acquisition, preferred marketing channels, and perceived customer quality.
The $6.50 return figure
The headline statistic suggests that businesses saw considerable potential in creator partnerships. However, it should be interpreted carefully: the survey relied on marketers’ reported experiences rather than a controlled experiment measuring verified sales across participating companies.
It is therefore not a guarantee that every business will earn $6.50 for each dollar invested. A campaign’s outcome depends on the product, audience, creator, costs, and quality of execution.
Marketing budgets were expected to grow
The survey reported that 59% of respondents planned to increase their influencer marketing budgets over the following 12 months. This indicates that many surveyed marketers viewed the channel as worth further investment at the time.
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Budget intentions, however, are not the same as completed spending. The figure describes what respondents planned to do, not independently verified growth across the entire marketing industry.
Blogs and social media were important channels
The historical findings highlighted blogs and Facebook as prominent influencer marketing channels. Blogs were selected as the most effective platform by 37% of respondents, while Facebook received 25%.
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These results reflect the platform landscape of 2015. They should not be treated as a ranking of today’s most effective platforms, because creator formats, audience habits, and social networks have changed considerably.
Customer quality mattered alongside sales
The survey also reported that 51% of marketers believed influencer marketing helped them acquire better customers.
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This finding points to a useful marketing principle: a campaign should not be judged only by how many people see a post. It should also be evaluated by whether it attracts people who genuinely need the product, trust the recommendation, and are likely to become satisfied customers.
Why the Study Still Matters to Marketers
Although the survey is historical, it raises questions that remain relevant to businesses evaluating creator partnerships.
First, influencer marketing can combine product discovery with a recommendation from a person whose content an audience already follows. Second, the value of a campaign depends on more than exposure. Third, companies need a consistent way to measure results rather than relying on general industry claims.
The study is best used as background for understanding the development of influencer marketing, not as a current performance forecast.
How Influencer Marketing Works
Influencer marketing connects a brand with a creator whose audience overlaps with the people the business wants to reach. Instead of relying exclusively on a company-controlled advertisement, the business collaborates with someone who can present a product in a relevant content format.
A typical campaign follows a straightforward process:
- Set a goal: Decide whether the campaign should generate sales, increase awareness, attract website visitors, collect leads, or build trust.
- Choose suitable creators: Evaluate their audience, content quality, engagement, credibility, and relevance to the product.
- Agree on deliverables: Establish the content format, publishing schedule, payment, usage rights, and disclosure requirements.
- Publish and promote: The creator produces agreed content, while the brand may distribute it through its own channels or paid advertising.
- Measure results: Track performance against the original goal and calculate whether the investment was worthwhile.
For example, a small skincare company might collaborate with three beauty creators who regularly discuss skincare routines. Rather than paying one celebrity to publish a single promotional post, the company could test several creators and compare qualified website visits, purchases, and customer feedback.
This approach creates an opportunity to learn which audience and content style work best before committing to a larger budget.
Main Benefits of Influencer Marketing
Reaching a relevant audience
A creator’s audience may already be interested in a particular subject, such as fitness, technology, fashion, cooking, or personal finance. A partnership can help a business reach those people without building an audience entirely from scratch.
Relevance matters more than follower count alone. A creator with a smaller, highly engaged audience interested in a product may be more useful than a much larger account whose followers have little interest in it.
Building trust through useful content
Creators can demonstrate how a product works, explain its advantages, discuss limitations, or answer common questions. This format can give potential customers more context than a short conventional advertisement.
Trust is not automatic, however. Audiences may respond negatively when a promotion feels forced, exaggerated, or inconsistent with the creator’s usual content.
Producing reusable marketing content
Influencer partnerships can generate product demonstrations, tutorials, reviews, short videos, photographs, and other creative assets.
Where the contract and platform rules permit it, a brand may reuse this material in its website content, email campaigns, or advertisements. Businesses should agree on usage rights in advance rather than assuming that payment for a post grants unlimited rights to every asset.
Supporting different stages of the customer journey
Influencer content can serve several purposes, depending on its format and audience.
- Awareness: Introduce a new brand to people who have not encountered it before.
- Consideration: Explain product features, comparisons, and real-world uses.
- Conversion: Encourage an interested customer to purchase through a tracked link or discount code.
- Retention: Help existing customers learn about new products, features, or ways to use a service.
A campaign that generates awareness may still be useful even if it does not immediately produce measurable sales. Its results should be evaluated against the objective established before launch.
Influencer Marketing Campaign Types Compared
Different campaign formats suit different goals. The following table outlines common options and what marketers should measure.
| Campaign type | Main purpose | Useful measurements |
|---|---|---|
| Product review | Explain product quality and use | Referral visits, conversions, customer feedback |
| Sponsored post | Introduce a brand or offer | Reach, engagement, clicks |
| Tutorial or demonstration | Explain how something works | Watch time, saves, qualified visits |
| Affiliate partnership | Generate trackable sales | Orders, conversion rate, commission cost |
| Giveaway | Encourage participation and discovery | Relevant followers, qualified leads, subsequent sales |
| Long-term partnership | Build familiarity and consistency | Repeat conversions, customer retention, campaign trends |
No format guarantees success. A giveaway may attract many participants who have little interest in buying, while a detailed product tutorial may attract fewer people but generate more qualified visitors.
The right format depends on the business objective, audience needs, and resources available.
How to Measure Influencer Marketing ROI
One of the most useful lessons to draw from the Tomoson influencer marketing study is the need to examine returns rather than treating marketing activity as proof of success.
Businesses should distinguish between revenue, profit, return on ad spend, and broader brand impact. These measures answer different questions.
Calculate the full campaign cost
A realistic campaign budget should include more than the creator’s fee. Depending on the arrangement, expenses may include:
- Product samples and shipping
- Creator payments or affiliate commissions
- Agency or marketplace fees
- Content production and editing
- Paid promotion
- Staff time and campaign management
- Tracking tools and other operational expenses
Leaving out these costs can make a campaign appear more profitable than it actually is.
Track conversions consistently
Use unique tracking links, creator-specific discount codes, campaign parameters, and website analytics where appropriate. These tools can help identify traffic and purchases associated with individual partnerships.
Tracking is not perfect. A customer may discover a brand through a creator, return directly to the website, and purchase later. Some platforms also limit access to detailed user-level data. Businesses should recognize these gaps when interpreting results.
Understand the difference between revenue and profit
Consider a hypothetical campaign that generates $3,000 in attributable sales and costs $1,000 to run.
Its revenue-to-cost ratio is 3:1, often described as a three-times return on campaign spend. But this is not the same as earning $3,000 in profit.
If the products cost $1,500 to supply and deliver, the remaining amount before other business expenses is only $500.
A simple calculation for campaign ROI is:
\[ \text{ROI}=\frac{\text{Incremental profit}-\text{Campaign cost}}{\text{Campaign cost}}\times100 \]
For a meaningful calculation, incremental profit should account for the profit that would not have occurred without the campaign. That can be difficult to establish, which is why tracked sales and causal impact should not automatically be treated as identical.
Evaluate results against the original goal
If the campaign aims to generate sales, prioritize conversions, revenue, customer acquisition cost, and profit.
If the objective is awareness, consider reach among the intended audience, relevant video views, brand-search trends, and changes in awareness where reliable measurement is available.
A campaign can perform well on engagement and poorly on sales. Conversely, a niche creator may produce relatively little engagement but attract visitors who are ready to buy.
The measurement framework should reflect the actual business objective.
How Small Businesses Can Apply the Study’s Lessons
Small businesses do not need to imitate the budgets or campaign structures of major brands. They can use a controlled testing process to determine whether influencer partnerships are suitable for their products.
Start with a clearly defined audience
Describe the intended customer in practical terms. Consider their interests, problems, location, purchasing habits, and the type of content they consume.
A business selling specialist computer accessories, for example, may benefit more from working with creators who publish detailed technology reviews than from selecting general entertainment accounts solely because they have large audiences.
Review creator quality before negotiating
Look beyond follower numbers. Review recent posts, comment quality, audience relevance, content consistency, and evidence of genuine interaction.
Be cautious of sudden unexplained follower increases, repetitive comments, engagement that does not match the account’s reach, and promises of guaranteed sales.
Ask for relevant performance information when appropriate, but remember that creator-provided figures should be assessed in context.
Run a small pilot campaign
Choose a manageable number of creators and set a spending limit. Give each partnership a clear brief, an agreed deliverable, and a consistent measurement period.
After publication, compare the results. Identify which creators generated relevant visits, which content formats encouraged action, and where the campaign lost potential customers.
Use those findings to improve the next test instead of assuming that one successful or unsuccessful post establishes the long-term value of influencer marketing.
Build relationships around audience value
Long-term collaborations can help a creator understand a product more thoroughly and produce more consistent content. However, ongoing partnerships should depend on performance, audience fit, and professional reliability rather than familiarity alone.
Brands should also allow creators reasonable freedom to communicate naturally while ensuring that factual product claims remain accurate.
Important Limitations of the Tomoson Influencer Marketing Study
The study is useful historical context, but several limitations should shape how its findings are applied.
It is based on an older marketing environment. The survey was conducted in 2015, before the current prominence of short-form video and many of the creator tools and advertising formats used today.
The headline return is self-reported. Respondents’ estimates may differ in how they define revenue, expenses, and marketing returns. Without independently verified financial data, the reported average cannot establish what every participant actually earned.
An average can hide substantial differences. Campaign results vary by industry, business size, creator, audience, and offer. A small group of unusually high returns can raise an average above what a typical participant experiences.
The survey is not a controlled experiment. It cannot, by itself, establish that influencer marketing caused every reported sale or outperformed every alternative channel under comparable conditions.
Historical platform rankings are not current recommendations. The prominence of blogs and Facebook in the original findings reflects the preferences of respondents at that time. Current platform choices should be based on the intended audience and fresh performance data.
These limitations do not mean influencer marketing is ineffective. They mean that a historical survey should inform questions and hypotheses rather than replace current measurement.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Tomoson influencer marketing study?
The Tomoson influencer marketing study is a survey of marketers conducted in March 2015. It is best known for reporting an average return of $6.50 for every $1 spent on influencer marketing, based on respondents’ reported experiences.
Is the $6.50 influencer marketing return guaranteed?
No. The figure is a historical survey average, not a guarantee or a reliable forecast for an individual business. Actual results depend on campaign costs, creator suitability, audience interest, product pricing, and conversion performance.
How many marketers participated in the Tomoson survey?
The widely reported 2015 survey included 125 marketers who responded online between March 10 and March 16, 2015.
What percentage of marketers planned to increase their influencer marketing budgets?
The survey reported that 59% of respondents intended to increase their influencer marketing budgets over the following 12 months. This represents their stated intentions at the time, not verified spending increases across the industry.
Which platforms performed best in the original study?
Blogs were identified as the most effective influencer marketing platform by 37% of respondents, followed by Facebook at 25%. These figures describe the 2015 survey and should not be interpreted as a current ranking of marketing platforms.
Is influencer marketing suitable for small businesses?
Yes, it can be suitable for small businesses when creator selection, campaign costs, and objectives are carefully managed. Starting with a small pilot, using trackable links or discount codes, and comparing results can help businesses evaluate the channel before increasing their investment.
What is the difference between influencer marketing ROI and revenue?
Revenue is the money generated from sales, while ROI measures the return relative to the investment after accounting for relevant costs. A campaign that generates substantial revenue can still produce a low profit or a negative ROI if its expenses are too high.
How can a business measure influencer marketing success today?
A business should define its objective, track relevant outcomes, account for campaign expenses, and compare results against an appropriate baseline. Depending on the goal, useful measurements include conversions, incremental profit, customer acquisition cost, qualified website visits, and audience reach.
Conclusion
The Tomoson influencer marketing study remains a recognizable reference point in discussions about creator partnerships, particularly because of its widely quoted $6.50 return figure. Its 2015 findings also highlighted marketers’ interest in increasing budgets, the role of blogs and Facebook, and the perceived value of customers acquired through influencer campaigns.
Its greatest value today is historical and educational. The survey illustrates why businesses became interested in influencer marketing, but its reported averages should not be used as guaranteed outcomes or current industry benchmarks.
For businesses considering this strategy, the practical lesson is straightforward: select creators based on audience relevance, establish measurable objectives, calculate the full campaign cost, and evaluate results using reliable data. This approach provides a stronger foundation for investment decisions than relying on a single headline statistic.
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