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The Behavioral Barometer
The latest and greatest from your human experience guides at Element Human
Why Influenceability is the Future of Marketing Measurement.
By now, most marketers have accepted that reach is not a reliable proxy for results. Yet, campaign dashboards still glow with vanity metrics—impressions, CPMs, clicks—while the real question remains unanswered: Who actually changed their mind?
Welcome to the era of influenceability. Influenceability is the emerging insight that not all consumers are equally persuadable. Some are more likely to be moved by a message, nudged by a creator, or swayed by a story. Others? Not so much. And if you’re not measuring for that, you’re flying blind. Let’s unpack why this matters—and how emotion-led data is finally giving marketers the tools to close the effectiveness gap.
According to Oxford’s Felipe Thomaz, 80% of campaigns hit their reach goals. But only 25% hit their effectiveness potential. That’s a staggering drop-off. Why? Because most campaigns are optimized for exposure, not persuasion. This is the “reach sufficiency” myth: the idea that if you just get in front of enough eyeballs, the conversions will follow. But metrics aren't measurement. Eyeballs don’t buy. People do. And people are messy, emotional, and context-dependent.
Influenceability is a behavioral science concept that’s finally making its way into marketing strategy. It refers to how susceptible a person is to being influenced—by an ad, a creator, a message, or a moment, and it is deeply tied to measuring the drivers of human behavior. And it's not static, it's a complex, dynamic system - changing and evolving based on the players involved.
Influenceability varies by:
In other words, influenceability is the missing layer between attention and action.
This study explores consumer engagement in social media influencer marketing using the self-determination theory and a stimulus-organism-response framework. It analyzes the impact of influencer, advertisement, and social factors on consumer engagement levels (content consumption, contribution, and creation) through psychological motivators like self-disclosure willingness, innovativeness, and information trust.
Let’s be clear: attention is necessary, but not sufficient. You can have someone’s eyes without having their heart—or their wallet.
Some channels are better at sparking behavioral change than others. Word of mouth, for example, is powerful because it’s personal. Influencer content often works because it blends social proof with storytelling. TV still punches above its weight in emotional resonance. Brand-owned channels (like your website) are surprisingly persuasive, especially for mid-funnel nudges.
But here’s the kicker: the same channel can have wildly different influenceability depending on the audience. That’s why cookie-cutter media mix models are breaking down.
Most measurement stacks—MMM, MTA, last-click attribution—are built on behavioral proxies, which often overlook the nuances of behavioral science and its applications. They tell you what happened, but not why. They miss the emotional moment when a viewer leans in, feels something, and starts to shift, which is why tools for measuring human reactions to content are critical. That’s where platforms like Element Human come in. Products like the HX Workbench capture real-time emotional reactions through facial coding and attention metrics, revealing not just who saw your content—but who was moved by it.
This is the holy grail: measuring the psychological lift, not just the pixel fire.
So how do you put influenceability to work?
1. Segment by Persuasive Potential. Stop treating your audience as a monolith. Use emotion-led data to identify who is most influenceable—and tailor your creative and media accordingly.
2. Pre-Test for Emotional Resonance. Before you launch, test your creative in different environments. Does your ad spark joy on Instagram but fall flat on YouTube? Does a creator’s tone drive trust—or skepticism?
3. Match Creative to Context. A high-influenceability segment on TikTok might respond to humor and authenticity. On LinkedIn, it might be authority and clarity. Don’t just personalize targeting—personalize influence.
4. Optimize for Influenceability, Not Just ROAS. Imagine planning media not just for reach or frequency, but for influenceability. That’s where the industry is headed—and emotion-led platforms will power that shift.
In the creator economy, influenceability is the new currency. As Digiday reports, the line between “creator” and “influencer” is blurring—but what matters most is the creator’s ability to move their audience. Nano and micro influencers, for example, often outperform macro stars on revenue per follower. Why? Because their audiences are more influenceable. They trust them. They engage. They act.
As brands shift from transactional influencer deals to long-term creator partnerships, measuring influenceability will be key to identifying who actually drives behavior—not just buzz.
This magnum opus of a study is brought to us by our friends at Suzy. It's an examination of the role creators play in the lives of consumers, and the influence they have in the consumer decision making process.
We see a future where:
And behavioral AI to measure, model, and predict the human experience will be at the center of it—bridging the gap between behavioral science and marketing effectiveness.
In a world drowning in data, the brands that win will be the ones that understand people—not just pixels. Influenceability is your unfair advantage. It’s the difference between being seen and being remembered. Between being noticed and being chosen.
The question isn't be “Did they see it?” It’s “Did it change them?” And that’s a metric worth measuring.
"You guys are excellent partners, and we appreciate the innovativeness."
"We are proud to partner with Element Human to delve even deeper into the emotional impact of creator content on audiences and offer actionable insights, empowering brands to maximise the impact of their influencer marketing campaigns."
"Element Human has been an invaluable partner in showing the business impact creators can have on brand performance."
"They’re responsive, collaborative, and genuinely invested in our success, a rare combination that has made them a trusted partner of mine across multiple companies."
"Creator Economy PSA... Vanity metrics surpassed long ago. Effectiveness, impact and ROI are all measurable with partners like Nielsen, Element Human and Circana."
"Element Human was not just key for the BBC’s project but also was engaging and a great learning experience for me personally!"
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