The holidays are coming, and every marketer can feel it. With influencer marketing becoming increasingly popular, marketers face long nights, short timelines, and the rush to make every campaign sparkle while budgets stretch thin.
From Black Friday to Christmas, 12.12, Boxing Day, Chinese New Year, and Valentine’s Day, every brand across Singapore and Southeast Asia will soon be competing for the same audience attention. As we move into the 2025 and 2026 holiday seasons, the pressure to show real results has never been higher.
The question is not how much you spend, but how smartly you spend it.
In last week’s piece on holiday influencer marketing mistakes to avoid, we looked at the most common pitfalls that derail festive campaigns before they even begin.
This time, let’s talk about what comes next. How do you make every dollar of your influencer marketing budget count during the 2025 and early 2026 holiday window?
Because in a season where everyone is posting, sharing, and selling, ROI is not luck. It is a strategy.
The New Influencer Marketing ROI Reality
ROI in influencer marketing is changing fast. Once upon a time, marketers measured success through likes, shares, or how “viral” a post looked. But as we move into the 2025 and 2026 holiday seasons, those surface-level metrics no longer, and should not, hold up.
Today, brands need to connect every campaign to actual outcomes. It is not enough for influencers to post; their content must perform. ROI now means measurable results: conversions, cost efficiency, and reliability.
The Southeast Asian market is more competitive than ever. For example, Exchange4Media reported that influencer rates during festive seasons typically rise between 10% and 30% compared to regular months. With higher costs and tighter competition, brands cannot afford campaigns that only “look” successful.
Some of the best-performing campaigns combine creativity and discipline. Shopee’s 12.12 Big Sale series continues to work because it is not just about flashy content. The brand aligns its influencers, timing, and storytelling with buyer intent. Each influencer’s post is part of a larger rhythm that builds anticipation, drives engagement, and converts at the right moment. That is ROI in action.
Pre-Campaign: Maximising ROI
The work that builds ROI happens long before the first festive post goes live.
1. Know your goal before you start
Be clear on what success looks like for your brand and objectives. Is it awareness, engagement, or conversion? Each goal demands a different influencer mix. Macro-influencers build reach while micro-influencers drive trust and measurable action.
Typically, smaller voices, like pico and nano-influencers feel more relatable and help audiences make the leap from scrolling to buying.
2. Start early and secure the right influencers
The best influencers get booked fast. Waiting until November means you are left with limited choices or higher prices. Many brands in Southeast Asia now start scouting in early September.
With platforms like AtisfyReach, marketers can identify and match reliable influencers by analysing engagement consistency, on-time delivery, and past campaign performance. It saves time and prevents the year-end scramble.
This shift toward reliability mirrors a broader market trend. Research by Launchmetrics found that Black Friday e-commerce sales reached USD70.9 billion, and 70% of brands planned to work with mid-tier influencers for their holiday campaigns.
3. Align budget with content mix
Maximising ROI also means diversifying formats. Short-form videos and livestreams convert impulse buyers, while static posts and carousels sustain brand awareness.
Over the past year, influencer-hosted livestreams and interactive Instagram content have driven record engagement across Southeast Asia. Shoppers tuned in, asked questions in real time, and made purchases directly through influencer-led product demos.
In 2024, Shopify’s Future of Commerce Report found that 61% of online shoppers in Asia made purchases directly from influencer livestreams. As the festive season continues to merge entertainment with commerce, brands that integrate livestream content early often see stronger conversion rates and lower acquisition costs.
During Campaign: Boost Performance and ROI
Once the campaign launches, speed and adaptability matter most.
1. Post when buyer intent peaks
Timing can make or break a campaign. Most holiday shoppers plan purchases in waves, peaking around events like 12.12 and Boxing Day. Posting too late means missing the buying window.
Insights show that consumers in Southeast Asia are becoming increasingly active during festive shopping events like Black Friday, using these moments to score deals and discover new brands. This shift highlights how influencer marketing can play a key role in driving attention and conversions when purchase intent is at its peak.
2. Track through live analytics
ROI is dynamic. Waiting for post-campaign reports is sometimes too late. Daily updated dashboards let you see what works while it happens.
Using AtisfyReach’s performance analytics, brands and marketers can track which influencers drive the most clicks, conversions, or engagement during each campaign phase. If an influencer’s Reels outperform others, budgets can be shifted to boost those posts while momentum is high.
3. Adjust campaigns quickly
High-performing brands do not just observe results; they act on them.
If a short video format works, scale it. If one post underdelivers, pause and redirect. The best campaigns function like conversations, and that is flexible, responsive, and data-informed.
Post-Campaign: Sustaining ROI After the Holidays
When the season ends, the smart and sometimes hard work begins.
1. Repurpose top influencer content
The most cost-effective way to increase ROI is to reuse what already performed. Repurpose high-performing influencer videos into social ads, email snippets, or retargeting assets. It saves creative spend and extends value beyond the holidays.
2. Review influencer reliability
ROI is also about efficiency. Missed deadlines, inconsistent tone, or slow approvals cost brands more than they realise. Tracking reliability helps identify which influencers truly deliver.
3. Build long-term influencer partnerships
One-off campaigns can deliver quick wins, but sustained ROI comes from influencers who stay connected with your audience.
Some brands partnered with the same lifestyle influencers for two consecutive festive seasons. Their second-year campaign can often achieve a higher ROI because audiences recognised the faces and trusted the message.
Holiday Influencer Marketing ROI Blueprint for Brands
The formula for ROI is simple, but execution takes focus.
- Before the campaign: Define goals, plan budgets, and secure reliable influencers early.
- During the campaign: Monitor results in updated time, optimise performance, and reallocate budgets smartly.
- After the campaign: Analyse performance, repurpose top content, and strengthen relationships with influencers who perform.
At every stage, AtisfyReach provides the tools to keep ROI visible. From AI-powered influencer matching to live analytics and performance scoring, our platform helps brands see exactly where every dollar is working.
Building Stronger Influencer Marketing ROI
ROI in influencer marketing does not happen by accident. It is built through preparation, precision, and data.
The brands that will win the 2025 and 2026 holiday seasons are the ones that plan early, stay flexible during campaigns, and partner with influencers who deliver consistently.
According to Stack Influence, 58% of holiday buyers said they planned to purchase products recommended by influencers during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, while more than 21% intended to buy gifts directly through social media platforms. This shift shows that influencer content no longer just inspires; it drives real purchase decisions.
With the right mix of strategy, timing, and technology, influencer marketing can become one of the most measurable investments in your marketing calendar.
Book a free demo with AtisfyReach to see how AI helps brands turn holiday creativity into lasting ROI.
