Influencer marketing's spreadsheet addiction is costing brands hundreds of thousands, study finds

For an industry built on algorithms, analytics and digital reach, influencer marketing remains surprisingly reliant on spreadsheets.

A new study by Forrester Consultingsuggests that many brands are still managing creator partnerships through manual processes more commonly associated with an earlier era of marketing, potentially costing businesses hundreds of thousands of pounds in lost efficiency and missed opportunities.

The research, commissioned by influencer marketing platform Kolsquare, found that a large European consumer brand could generate more than £734,000 in benefits over three years by replacing fragmented campaign management with a centralised system. The analysis estimated that such organisations could recover their investment in less than six months.

Behind the headline figure lies a broader story about the maturation of influencer marketing itself.

What was once regarded as an experimental discipline has evolved into a significant commercial channel for many consumer brands. Major retailers, beauty companies and fashion groups now run hundreds of influencer campaigns annually across multiple markets, often investing substantial sums in creators whose audiences rival those of traditional media outlets.

Yet while spending has increased, operational practices have not always kept pace.

According to the study, many marketing teams continue to rely on a patchwork of spreadsheets, screenshots and manually compiled reports to track campaigns, monitor performance and assess return on investment. Creator discovery is often conducted through individual research, while reporting remains fragmented across different social media platforms.

The consequence is not merely inefficiency. It is a growing difficulty in demonstrating value.

As economic conditions remain challenging and marketing budgets face greater scrutiny, chief executives and finance directors increasingly want evidence that every pound spent delivers measurable results. Influencer marketing, despite its rapid growth, has sometimes struggled to provide the level of accountability expected elsewhere in the business.

That challenge is becoming harder to ignore.

The study examined organisations operating across sectors including retail, fashion and beauty, representing businesses running hundreds of campaigns across multiple countries. Interviewees described difficulties comparing performance between markets, identifying successful partnerships and providing consistent reporting to senior management.

In short, influencer marketing has become too large to be managed informally.

The findings arrive at a time when the industry itself is undergoing a period of professionalisation. As brands commit larger budgets to creator partnerships, they are demanding the same standards of measurement, governance and oversight that apply to more traditional forms of advertising.

That extends beyond financial performance.

Recent controversies involving influencers have highlighted the reputational risks associated with creator partnerships. A poorly vetted collaboration can quickly become a public relations problem, making robust due diligence increasingly important for brands seeking to protect their image.

For that reason, many businesses now view influencer marketing less as a social media exercise and more as a strategic communications channel requiring proper infrastructure.

The significance of the Forrester findings may therefore lie less in the projected financial return and more in what they reveal about the industry's direction of travel.

Influencer marketing is no longer a peripheral activity conducted by small social media teams. It has become a mainstream marketing discipline that is expected to justify its budget, measure its outcomes and demonstrate its contribution to commercial performance.

The era of managing multi-million-pound creator programmes through spreadsheets may not be over yet.

But it increasingly looks out of step with the scale and importance influencer marketing now commands.