Measuring Authenticity to Evaluate Creator Campaigns

Trust isn’t bought — it’s felt. And in the world of influencer marketing, trust is the oxygen. But ask 10 marketers how they measure the “authenticity” of a creator — and you’ll get 12 different answers. One says engagement rate. Another says audience comments. Someone throws in “vibe.” We’re still relying largely on vanity metrics and subjective judgment to choose and evaluate creators. Meanwhile, the science of emotional response is sitting on the sidelines.

Where Traditional Metrics Miss the Mark

Clicks can be accidental. Comments can be juiced. Even engagement rates can be manipulated with giveaways. But the human face doesn’t lie. What someone feels when they watch a creator’s content — that’s the real ROI.

Emotion analytics, powered by facial coding and behavioral science, gives marketers the ability to measure how viewers actually respond to influencer content in real time by measuring the drivers of human behavior. Not what they say. Not what they retweet. But what they feel. Surprise. Joy. Skepticism. Boredom.

This is the path where the future of creator marketing is hiding in plain sight.

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Creators and Americans: A Love Story Worth Studying

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.

Key Results:

• Significant Creator Following: 69% of American consumers aged 16-54 follow creators/influencers, with 60% engaging with creator content daily.
• Positive Sentiment: 83% of consumers like or love the content they come across from creators, finding it entertaining, enjoyable, informative, and educational.
• Trust in Specialized Creators: 62% of consumers trust the recommendations of influencers specializing in specific subjects, which is very close to the level of trust in family and friends (75%).
• Humor and Information Drive Engagement: 67% of consumers cite humor and educational information as the main reasons they follow creators.
• Creator Content Leads to Action: 80% of consumers have taken some form of follow-up action inspired by creators.
• Reasons for Not Following Creators: Non-followers cite lack of interest in current content (56%), lack of perceived authenticity (42%), excessive promotional material (41%), and lack of relevance (31%).

Big Takeaways:

• Creators are highly influential: They are not just entertainers but trusted sources of information that drive consumer actions.
• Creator content is preferred over traditional ads: This signifies a significant shift in how consumers engage with brands and marketing messages.
• Authenticity and specialization matter: Consumers trust creators who are genuine and have expertise in specific areas, not just celebrities.
• Creator content directly leads to sales: The 43% purchase rate shows the clear ROI of creator marketing.‍
• Understanding consumer preferences is crucial: Knowing what types of content, platforms, and creators resonate with your target audience is essential for effective marketing strategies.

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The Neuroscience of Authenticity

There’s a biological reason we’re wired to trust some creators more than others: our brains are finely tuned to micro-expressions, tone of voice, and emotional congruence. Emotional analysis shows it's not about polish — it’s about resonance.

When a creator’s delivery doesn’t feel aligned with their message, we sense it instantly. Even if we can’t articulate it. Even if we still hit “like.” But our facial expressions — subtle furrows, smiles, raised brows — they give it away. And emotion analytics can quantify that instinct across a panel of real viewers.

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The Effect of influencer Marketing on the Buying Behavior of Young Consumers

This study explores how social media influencers influence affects the consumer behavior and purchase intentions of young people within the fashion and beauty industries. The researchers examined the relationship dynamics, trust, perceived credibility, and ethical concerns surrounding influencer marketing.

• Follower Engagement: Followers spend a significant amount of time watching influencer content but interact passively (liking, occasionally responding to polls) rather than active interaction (commenting or messaging).
• Relationship Dynamics: Followers often develop para-social relationships with influencers, perceiving them as friends or role models. This relationship can be a driver for purchase intention.
• Influence on Behavior: Influencers impact young consumers' behavior by shaping their aspirations, lifestyle choices, and purchasing decisions. Followers often seek to emulate influencers' styles and product choices.
• Partnerships and Trust: While brand partnerships are common, followers are often skeptical of paid promotions, perceiving them as less authentic. Gifted products are seen as more trustworthy.
• Credibility and Authenticity: Influencer credibility is crucial. Followers value honesty, transparency, and perceived expertise. Authenticity plays a significant role in trust-building.
• Monetary Benefit: Influencers' main income is through brand partnerships. Followers are aware of this and often question the genuine endorsement of products.
• Purchase Intention: Followers are more likely to consider products endorsed by influencers they like, even if they are initially skeptical of partnerships. This influence may affect long-term buying decisions.
• Brand Perspective: Brands find influencer marketing cost-effective for raising awareness but struggle to directly measure sales impact. They prioritize influencer image, engagement, and credibility.

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Pre-Test Influencer Content Like You Would a TV Ad

You wouldn’t air a TV spot without testing it. Brands can run influencer content through real-world human panels, at a fraction of the cost and time required for traditional market research methods. The human data collected, modelled, and analyzed generates insights such as:

• Emotional response curves over time
• Attention drop-offs
• Moments of delight, confusion, or trust erosion
• Viewer alignment with brand messaging

This doesn’t just tell you whether a creator will perform — it tells you why they will. Or why they won't.

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Applications for Creator & Influencer Marketers

Here's how leading influencer teams can use emotion analytics to level up:

1. Vetting Creators Pre-Partnership. Don’t rely on follower counts and gut feelings. Use real human response data to validate their content’s emotional impact.
2. A/B Testing Creator Messaging. Test different versions of a creator’s content before launch to see which version elicits the strongest emotional engagement.
3. Diagnosing Underperformance. If a campaign flops, Behavioral analytics, such as the HX Workbench, can pinpoint when audiences lost interest or trust — and why.
4. Benchmarking Creator Fit Across Brands. Different creators spark different feelings. Use those emotional signatures to find the best match for your brand tone and audience.

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Case in Point: The Micro-Influencer vs the Celebrity

A recent Element Human test pitted content from a celebrity influencer against a lesser-known creator. The micro-influencer’s video evoked 3x more sustained joy and 4x less confusion—despite lower reach. The campaign’s sales lift? 27% higher from the micro creator.

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The Twitch Benchmark Study: Machine Learned Performance

The study analyzed 74 videos across 37 brands with 17,544 participants to understand what makes ads successful on Twitch. It examined memory, emotion, and self-reported responses using methods like facial coding, eye-tracking, and implicit association tests.

• Trustworthiness and Creativity Matter: Trustworthiness drives purchase intent, while creativity drives brand positivity.
• Better Ads = Better Results: Higher video ratings correlate with increased purchase intent and other positive outcomes.
• Relevance Drives Engagement: Ads that are relevant, interesting, and upbeat are more likely to be engaged with.
• Happiness "Rubs Off": Happy ads positively impact brand perception and association.
• Avoid Neutrality: Neutral ads lead to less engagement, clarity, and uplift.
• Embrace Some Confusion: A little bit of confusion can engage people's rational minds.
• Tailor to the Platform: Gamer-custom content and ads that "fit" well on Twitch perform better.
• Longer Ads Engage: 30-second ads tend to be more engaging than 15-second ads.
• Data-Targeted Campaigns: Psychological profiles can be used to create effective, targeted campaigns.

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Reach isn’t resonance. Attention isn’t trust.

In a world where consumers are more skeptical, ad-blind, and privacy-conscious than ever, human emotion is the next big measurable. For marketers working in the creator economy, it’s time to move past assumptions and performative metrics — and start measuring what truly matters: how people feel.

Because if you can measure authenticity, you can scale it.