Unlocking Greater ROI: Why Brands Should Demand More from Their Influencer Marketing Spend

The marketing landscape across Africa is evolving at breakneck speed. With over 40 years of combined expertise through our parent companies, Exp Group (owner of the Exp Agency network) and Nfinity Influencer have launched Expressions Influencer Agency to help brands navigate this shift.

Today, more than ever, influencer marketing isn't just a trendy add-on, it's a powerhouse for driving real business results. Yet, many brands are still settling for mediocre outcomes, leaving money on the table in terms of ROI and cost efficiencies. In this post, we break down why you can—and should—expect more from your influencer marketing investments, drawing from our data-driven approach and proven successes.

The Shift to Influencer Marketing: Why It's the Smartest Spend

Let's start with the facts. Traditional above-the-line (ATL) media channels like print, television, outdoor, and radio are no longer delivering the bang for your buck they once did. According to recent global insights, digital channels—particularly social and influencer marketing—provide the best return on investment, clocking in at a staggering 82% effectiveness compared to just 18% for print and 16% for television.

This isn't just hype. Unilever's Global CEO has publicly committed to allocating 50% of their total media budget to social and influencer marketing moving forward. Similarly, WPP Media's global ad forecast reveals that, for the first time, over 50% of content-driven ad dollars are flowing into creator platforms rather than traditional media.

In Africa, where digital penetration is exploding and consumers crave authentic voices, this trend is even more pronounced. Brands that ignore it risk falling behind, while those who embrace it can amplify engagement, reach, and ultimately, sales.

But here's the catch: not all influencer campaigns are created equal. Many fall short because they're not data-driven, lack proper vetting, or fail to integrate performance metrics. At Expressions Influencer Agency, we're changing that narrative by powering campaigns with exclusive access to Webfluential's AI-driven platform and Nfinity Influencer's expertise, ensuring every spend translates to measurable results.

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them for Better ROI

Too often, brands dive into influencer marketing without a clear strategy, leading to wasted budgets and underwhelming returns. Here are some key challenges—and how a sophisticated approach with Expressions Agency can turn them into opportunities:

1. Mismatched Influencers Leading to Low Engagement: Picking influencers based on follower count alone is a recipe for disaster. Nano-influencers (with smaller, highly engaged audiences) can drive deeper connections, while macro-influencers offer broader reach. The key is analytical selection. At Expressions, we leverage META and TikTok API integrations to deep-mine data on thousands of nano and micro/macro influencers across the continent, ensuring they're vetted and the perfect fit for your brand. This results in authentic endorsements that spark genuine conversations, not just monologues.

2. Lack of Performance Tracking and Optimisation: Without real-time insights, campaigns can drift off course. Our end-to-end Webfluential platform provides a dashboard for monitoring metrics like impressions, link clicks, and engagement rates against industry benchmarks. Together with our partner, who has more than 10-years experience in influencer marketing, we've rolled out over 530 campaigns, generating 18,000+ unique pieces of content and paying out millions of dollars to influencers— all while delivering ROI that exceeds expectations.

3. Inefficient Management and Hidden Costs: Coordinating influencers can be chaotic, leading to delays and inflated costs. We handle everything from strategy development and influencer onboarding to content approval, posting calendars, and paid media boosts on high-performing posts. This streamlined process not only cuts administrative overhead but also enhances cost efficiencies by focusing spend on what works.

By addressing these, brands can achieve deeper engagement (which naturally boosts reach), generate more sales or link clicks, and work with a spectrum of influencers—from nano to celebrity—for tailored impact.

Real-World Proof: Case Studies from Across Africa

Don't just take our word for it—our results speak volumes. Here are a few examples where we've amplified ROI for major brands:

• Close Up (Nigeria): Aiming to highlight their antibacterial zinc technology for fresh breath, we deployed micro-influencers to create educational content. The campaign delivered 140% more impressions than benchmarked and 35x the link clicks, with paid media yielding over 70 million impressions at a CPC of just $0.005—far below the $1 benchmark. This campaign was also linked to Jumia to track and drive sales.

• Carling Black Label (Zambia): Promoting an under the crown promotion (UTC) and driving attendance for the upcoming Charity Shield football game, we used a mix of ambassador influencers with micro and super fans to share content from a personal perspective (about the Charity Shield) and how the fans (through the UTC) can determine which players play, on game day. We achieved 461% impressions and 3.9X link clicks against goal, more than 150% organic value against benchmark and game attendance doubled from previous years.

• MTN Ayoba (Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa): To drive awareness for the MTN Ayoba App, influencers were tasked with crafting unique content that sparked excitement about the Ayoba App and to inspire downloads by showcasing the Apps amazing features. The results were +28 million impressions, +290 thousand engagements, 80 thousand link clicks and 11 thousand Ayoba installs.

These successes stem from our unique value propositions: API-integrated vetting for optimal influencer matches, campaign analytics dashboards (enhanced by IBM Watson), end-to-end platform management, and seamless integration of online and offline tracking.

Amplify Your Results Today

Influencer marketing has the potential to deliver unmatched ROI and cost efficiencies—but only if done right. At Expressions Influencer Agency, we're not just an agency; we're your partner in driving data-driven social commerce that outperforms current benchmarks.

If you're ready to elevate your campaigns and see real business growth, reach out to us at info@expressions.agency or contact us via our website https://www.expressions.agency.

Let's connect your brand with Africa's most influential voices and turn your spend into greater success.