Is it worth investing in blogger partnerships if you don’t see direct sales through their promo codes? This question troubles 28% of marketers, as tracking trends and measuring marketing ROI are cited as the biggest challenges of this channel according to Influencer Marketing Hub’s industry report.
The paradox is that 87% of consumers acknowledge the influence of influencer recommendations on their purchases according to QR Code Tiger’s influencer marketing statistics report, yet brands often don’t see direct conversions from promo codes. Where did these sales go?
Why Influencer Marketing Works Differently Than You Think
In 2025, the influencer marketing industry will reach $32.55 billion — more than the GDP of some countries. But the true value of this channel lies deeper than direct sales figures, something leading marketing agencies in Ukraine understand well.
Imagine a typical situation: Maria sees new cosmetics in her favorite blogger’s stories. She doesn’t buy immediately, doesn’t even save the promo code. But a week or two later, when she wants to buy a new cream — there’s a high probability Maria will recall that exact brand. And a month later, she’ll buy it on the website without any promo code. This is the classic AIDA model in action, where each stage plays its role in forming the purchase decision.
Attention becomes the first touchpoint with the brand. In Ukraine, Instagram has 12.4 million users, and TikTok has 16.47 million among adult audiences according to DataReportal’s digital situation in Ukraine. This represents enormous potential for first contact with your product through content marketing and targeted advertising (distributed through those same influencers).
At the Interest stage, consumers begin noticing the brand more frequently. 49% of consumers make purchases daily, weekly, or monthly under influencer influence according to Sprout Social’s influencer marketing trends research. But this doesn’t happen immediately — interest forms first through quality SMM promotion or email marketing.
Desire arises when consumers independently search for information about the brand. At this stage, trust is important — 71% of consumers consider it more important than before, according to Marketing Charts data on brand trust importance. SEO promotion and branding work well here too.
The final Action often happens without a promo code, without tracking. Consumers come to you independently or through contextual advertising. And here, how your brand has anchored itself in the consumer’s subconscious after the first touch through a blogger plays an important role. In this case, the influencer played the role of reputation “builder” for your brand. An intermediate but important stage in your marketing strategy.
Marketing ROI That’s Hard to Measure but Easy to Feel
Brands receive an average of $5.78 for every dollar spent on influencers — that’s 578% ROI. But how do you conduct proper marketing analytics and measure marketing ROI when not everything can be tracked through direct conversions? Marketing research and web analytics help here.
Influencers created 1.4 billion posts in 2024, generating $236 billion in Earned Media Value according to Influencer Marketing Hub’s benchmark report. This is an enormous volume of content shaping brand perception in consumers’ minds. Meanwhile, 69% of consumers trust influencer words more than brand statements — this is the foundation for customer retention and brand development.
This trust transforms into loyalty — 86% of consumers make a purchase under influencer influence at least once a year according to Sprout Social’s consumer behavior report. But weeks or even months can pass between viewing content and purchasing — this is where marketing automation and customer journey mapping become important.
Ukrainian Realities: How to Adapt Global Trends
In the Ukrainian context, strategic marketing through influencers has its peculiarities. Instagram and TikTok dominate among platforms, but YouTube in Ukraine has a potential reach of 24.3 million users. This creates unique opportunities for different content formats — from short stories to detailed reviews within video marketing and podcast marketing frameworks.
Spending on digital marketing and influencer campaigns in Ukraine shows 15% annual growth and is projected at $25 million by 2027 according to Statista’s forecasts for Ukraine’s advertising market. This indicates market growth and increased brand investment in this channel through performance marketing and growth marketing.
At the same time, Ukrainians, like global consumers, are becoming more selective about content authenticity. They easily recognize advertising and value sincere recommendations. Therefore, it’s important to choose partners whose values align with your brand, not just focus on follower count — this is the foundation of successful marketing consulting and marketing planning.
Practical Strategies for Maximum Return
Choose Partners by Values, Not Just Reach
Nano-influencers with small audiences often have significantly higher engagement rates than macro-influencers. Smaller audiences mean deeper connections with followers and higher trust in recommendations.
When choosing an influencer, it’s important to conduct a marketing audit of potential partners. Pay attention to value alignment with your brand, audience match with your target group, and content authenticity. Interaction history with audiences in comments and readiness for long-term cooperation are also important.
Invest in Long-Term Partnerships
Most influencers offer better terms for long-term partnerships according to Sprout Social’s research on influencer benefits. This isn’t just budget savings but an opportunity to build deeper trust with audiences.
Influencer marketing is part of your overall marketing strategy, working in synergy with content marketing and SMM promotion. The advantages of long-term cooperation are obvious: audiences get used to the brand, influencers better understand the product, opportunities arise to create serial content, and recommendations become more authentic.
Measure Impact Comprehensively
If you focus only on direct sales through promo codes, you’ll lose most of influencer marketing’s value. It’s important to track growth in brand searches, increased social media mentions, improved brand sentiment, organic traffic growth, and repeat purchase dynamics — all part of comprehensive marketing analysis.
Mistakes Ukrainian Brands Make
The most common mistake is focusing exclusively on promo codes. If a client buys a week after viewing stories, the promo code is already forgotten. Use UTM tags, retargeting pixels, and analyze overall sales dynamics during and after campaigns for better marketing ROI.
The second critical mistake is one-time campaigns. Almost half of creators say long-term campaigns are their favorite way to work with brands. One post rarely brings significant results for your marketing funnel.
The third mistake is ignoring micro- and nano-influencers. The vast majority of marketers work specifically with small-scale influencers according to Goat Agency’s research on influencer sizes. Smaller reach often means higher engagement and audience trust.
2025 Trends: What to Watch
AI and virtual influencers are gaining popularity — more than half of respondents used virtual influencers in their campaigns. In Ukraine, this trend is just emerging, but it’s worth monitoring its development for integration into digital marketing.
Authenticity becomes critical — two-thirds of consumers most value genuine reviews from influencers. Scripted posts no longer work; audiences want to see real product usage experience.
Video content dominates — more than half of influencers choose short videos for brand collaborations. TikTok and Instagram Reels are becoming the main platforms for influencer campaigns within video marketing.
How to Launch an Effective Campaign
Start by defining goals and conducting a marketing audit of the current situation. This could be brand awareness, lead generation, trust building, or long-term sales growth. Each goal requires a different approach and measurement metrics within marketing consulting.
Choose platforms based on your audience data. For the Ukrainian market, priorities are Instagram for visual content, TikTok for younger audiences, and YouTube for detailed reviews — this is the foundation of your omnichannel marketing strategy.
Find the right partners through hashtag searches in your niche, competitor analysis, specialized platforms, or recommendations from current clients. Meanwhile, two-thirds of influencers want to be involved in the creative process from the beginning. Give them creative freedom within your brand values.
After launch, don’t expect immediate results. The true impact of influencer marketing manifests over months of regular presence in your target audience’s information field — this is the key to successful lead generation.
Real Example: How Daniel Wellington Built an Empire on Micro-Influencers
Daniel Wellington’s story is a textbook example of how influencer marketing can transform a modest startup into a global brand. In 2011, Filip Tysander invested just fifteen thousand dollars in creating a watch brand. Instead of traditional advertising, he chose a revolutionary strategy for the time — collaborating with thousands of micro-influencers.
The approach was simple but genius. Daniel Wellington sent free watches to influencers with audiences of a few thousand followers, asking only to publish photos with the hashtag #danielwellington. Creative control remained entirely with influencers, making content authentic and diverse according to Influencer Update’s analysis of Daniel Wellington’s strategy.
The results are impressive. Within three years, the company achieved sales of two hundred million dollars, selling over a million watches. Daniel Wellington became the most mentioned brand on Instagram among sponsored posts, surpassing even Nike and Sephora according to Social Bakers’ research on Instagram brands.
The key to success was a long-term strategy. The brand didn’t just buy posts but built a community. Influencers became ambassadors, their followers became loyal customers. Today, the hashtag #danielwellington has billions of views on TikTok and millions of posts on Instagram according to Latterly’s analysis of Daniel Wellington’s marketing strategy.
This example shows that influencer marketing isn’t about instant sales through promo codes. It’s about building reputation, creating community, and forming trust that converts to sales over months and years. This strategy helped Daniel Wellington achieve fifty percent margins and become a global brand without venture investment.
Conclusion: Reputation Lasts Longer Than a Promo Code
Influencer marketing is an investment in your brand’s future. With the industry’s exponential growth, ignoring this channel means losing competitive advantage in the digital marketing era.
Trust builds over months but works for years. Authenticity is more important than reach. Influencer marketing ROI extends beyond direct sales. Long-term partnerships are always more effective than one-time posts — this is the foundation of a successful marketing strategy.
Start today by analyzing which influencers already mention your brand organically. Identify potential partners in your niche. Develop a quarterly strategy, not just a single post. Prepare a measurement system that considers not only direct sales but overall brand impact.
Need help developing an influencer marketing strategy from a professional marketing agency? Our team will help find the right partners and build long-term relationships with your audience through comprehensive marketing consulting. Let’s discuss how influencer marketing can work for your brand.
Author: Kateryna Kaida, Marketing Strategist at 4LIV