If you’re running influencer campaigns or creator partnerships, you know the drill: everyone wants to see “ROI” but nobody wants to dig through another noisy dashboard. This guide is for people who need to actually prove what worked, what didn’t, and what to do next—without wasting hours lost in the weeds. We’ll walk through using Heypoplar reporting tools step by step, focusing on what matters and skipping the “feature tour” fluff.
1. Get Your Tracking Right Before You Start
Let’s be blunt: your ROI numbers are only as good as your tracking. If you’re not tagging links, syncing sales data, or tracking influencer content properly, your reports will be junk—and so will your decisions.
Checklist before launching your campaign:
- UTM parameters: Make sure all influencer/creator links use unique UTMs. Don’t let anyone “just use the homepage link.”
- Conversion tracking: Integrate your e-commerce platform (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.) or whatever you use for conversion tracking. Poplar supports most of the common ones, but double-check.
- Content approval: Ensure all creators use the right hashtags, mention handles, and submit their content through the platform. Otherwise, you’ll miss posts in reporting.
- Test everything: Run a test link or “dummy” conversion to make sure data flows into Heypoplar before your campaign goes live.
Pro tip: If you skip this prep, you’ll spend more time cleaning up data later than you’d spend doing it right the first time.
2. Find the Right Reports in Heypoplar
Heypoplar offers a bunch of reports, but not all of them matter for ROI. Here’s what’s actually useful:
- Campaign Overview: High-level look at spend, reach, engagement, and conversions.
- Creator Performance: Breaks down individual partner results. Good for spotting over- or under-performers.
- Sales/Conversions: Connects the dots between influencer activity and sales (assuming you set up tracking right).
- Content Analytics: Shows what content types or posts are driving results.
Ignore: Vanity metrics like total followers or impressions unless you’re specifically running an awareness campaign. Stick to what moves the bottom line.
3. Pull Your Key ROI Metrics
ROI isn’t magic. It’s just “return” divided by “investment”—but the details matter. In Heypoplar, here’s how to get real numbers:
a) Set Your Investment Amount
- Add up all costs associated with the campaign: creator fees, product costs, shipping, agency fees, etc.
- Enter these into Heypoplar’s budget or cost fields for the campaign. If you miss costs, your ROI will look artificially high.
b) Find Your Return
Depending on your goal, “return” could mean: - Sales revenue (most common) - New customers acquired - Leads generated (for B2B or email list growth)
Heypoplar can show sales tracked via conversion events or UTM parameters. Make sure you’re only counting incremental sales (sales that wouldn’t have happened without the campaign). This is tricky, but it’s better to be conservative than to kid yourself.
c) Calculate ROI
Most marketers use:
ROI (%) = [(Return – Investment) / Investment] x 100
Heypoplar will calculate this for you if you plug in all the numbers, but don’t just trust the default. Double-check the underlying data.
Pro tip: If you’re forced to show ROI before the campaign is over, call it “projected ROI” and be clear about what’s baked in and what’s an estimate.
4. Analyze What Actually Drove Results
Here’s where the reporting tools save you time—if you use them right.
- Compare creators: Sort by cost per conversion, not just total conversions. Sometimes a creator with fewer sales is actually a better deal if their fee was lower.
- Look at content type: Did Stories, Reels, or static posts deliver more conversions? Don’t assume the flashiest content worked best.
- Timing: Did sales spike on specific days or after certain posts went live?
- Misses: Spot creators or posts that didn’t move the needle. Don’t be afraid to drop what’s not working.
What to ignore: Don’t get distracted by “engagement rate” if your goal is sales. Plenty of posts get likes and comments but don’t drive purchases. Keep your eye on conversions.
5. Slice and Dice Data Without Getting Lost
Heypoplar gives you filters and breakdowns, but more isn’t always better. Here’s how to use them without drowning:
- Segment by audience: If you’re testing different markets or products, filter by those segments.
- Timeframes: Look at week-over-week changes, not just totals. Did ROI improve after you tweaked the campaign?
- Export raw data: For deep-dive analysis, download the CSV and use your own spreadsheet. Sometimes the truth is easier to see when you make your own simple charts.
Pro tip: If you find yourself endlessly slicing data and not learning anything new, step back. Focus on the 1-2 metrics that matter most for your business right now.
6. Report Results Honestly (and Avoid the Spin)
Nobody trusts a report that only shows wins. When you present ROI, be up front about:
- What’s included: List which costs and sales are counted.
- What’s not tracked: If some creators went off-script or used the wrong links, note that their results aren’t included.
- Context: If a campaign landed during a holiday or sale, or got boosted by unexpected PR, mention it.
- Benchmarks: Compare to your own past campaigns—not industry averages you found in a vendor slide deck.
What to skip: Don’t pad reports with “insights” that don’t lead to action. If you wouldn’t bet money on it, leave it out.
7. Use What You Learn—Don’t Just File the Report
The point of all this isn’t to make a pretty dashboard. It’s to improve your next campaign. Once you’ve measured ROI:
- Double down on what worked—book those creators again, reuse top-performing content, or replicate timing/tactics.
- Cut what didn’t. Don’t fall for the “maybe next time” trap.
- Iterate. Run smaller tests with new creators or formats before rolling out big changes.
- Keep your set-up simple, so reporting stays painless. Complexity is the enemy of insight.
Keep It Simple, Keep It Honest
Heypoplar’s reporting tools are only as good as the data you feed them and the questions you ask. Focus on clean tracking, clear metrics, and honest analysis. Don’t overthink it: measure, learn, and repeat. That’s how you get real ROI—not just nice-looking numbers.