Post holiday influencer strategy starts with separating the seasonal spike from what your creators can reliably drive the rest of the year. The week after peak gifting season can feel like a cliff: CPMs rise, conversion rates soften, and even your best partners look average. However, that drop is not a verdict on your program. It is a measurement problem, a planning problem, and sometimes a creative problem. In this guide, you will diagnose what changed, reset expectations with clean benchmarks, and build a practical 30 day plan to keep revenue and content momentum moving.
Post holiday influencer strategy – define the metrics and terms you will use
If you do not define terms early, teams argue about results instead of improving them. Start by aligning on a small set of metrics and how you will calculate them across creators, platforms, and paid amplification. Then, document those definitions in your campaign brief so reporting stays consistent. Importantly, keep a single source of truth for inputs like spend, codes, and attributed revenue. Finally, decide what “good” looks like for each metric in the post holiday period, not just in December.
- Reach – unique accounts that saw the content at least once.
- Impressions – total views, including repeat views by the same account.
- Engagement rate (ER) – engagements divided by impressions (or reach) times 100. Choose one denominator and stick with it.
- CPM – cost per 1,000 impressions. Formula: CPM = (Spend / Impressions) x 1000.
- CPV – cost per view (commonly for video). Formula: CPV = Spend / Views.
- CPA – cost per acquisition (purchase, lead, signup). Formula: CPA = Spend / Conversions.
- Whitelisting – running ads through a creator’s handle (also called creator licensing for ads). You pay for permission and often for setup.
- Usage rights – permission to reuse creator content on your owned channels, email, site, or ads for a defined time and scope.
- Exclusivity – creator agrees not to work with competitors for a defined period and category. This should be priced, not assumed.
Concrete takeaway: Put these definitions into a one page measurement appendix and require every partner and agency to use it. When numbers dip after the holidays, you will spend less time debating math and more time fixing the funnel.
Diagnose the drop: what changed after the holiday spike
Post holiday performance usually shifts for predictable reasons. First, demand cools off: fewer people are in a buying mindset, and gift card redemptions can distort AOV and conversion timing. Second, auction pressure changes: many brands pull back spend, but others push “New Year” offers, so CPM and CPC can move in either direction depending on category. Third, creative fatigue shows up because audiences just saw weeks of promos. Finally, attribution gets messier as shoppers browse longer and convert later.
Run a quick diagnosis in this order so you do not chase the wrong fix:
- Check tracking integrity – codes, UTM parameters, landing pages, and pixel events. Confirm nothing broke during holiday site updates.
- Separate paid from organic – whitelisted posts and Spark Ads can mask organic softness or inflate impressions.
- Segment by intent – gifting content behaves differently than replenishment content. Compare like with like.
- Look at lag – measure 7 day and 14 day post click conversions, not only same day sales.
When you need a refresher on how to structure reporting and keep it consistent across campaigns, use the practical templates and measurement articles in the InfluencerDB Blog resource hub as your internal reference point.
Concrete takeaway: If tracking is clean and lagged conversions are stable, the “drop” is often just a top of funnel reach shift. In that case, fix creative and offer framing before you renegotiate rates.
Reset benchmarks for January and February (with a simple table)
Holiday benchmarks are a trap because they bake in seasonal urgency. Instead, set a post holiday baseline using the last 60 to 90 days excluding the final two holiday weeks. Then, compare each creator to that baseline, not to the peak. Also, normalize by format: a TikTok video and an Instagram Story sequence have different view patterns and click behavior. Finally, keep benchmarks directional, not absolute, because niches vary widely.
| Metric | Holiday peak expectation | Post holiday expectation | What to do if post holiday misses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conversion rate (site) | Higher due to gifting urgency | Moderate to lower | Test offer framing, landing page speed, and bundles |
| CPM (paid amplification) | Often high due to competition | Can drop or stay volatile | Refresh creative, broaden audiences, cap frequency |
| Engagement rate | High for gift guides | Normalizes | Shift to education, routines, and problem solving |
| AOV | Higher due to bundles and gifting | Normalizes | Introduce subscribe and save, replenishment reminders |
| Click through rate | High on deal urgency | Lower | Use stronger hooks, clearer CTAs, fewer links per Story |
Concrete takeaway: Write two benchmark sets in your dashboard: “Peak” and “Post peak.” Your team should not use peak numbers to judge January creators.
Build a 30 day recovery plan: stabilize revenue and keep creators motivated
Once you accept that seasonality is real, you can plan around it. A strong post holiday plan does two things at once: it protects near term revenue and it banks content for the next quarter. To do that, run a 30 day sprint with clear weekly goals and owners. Keep the scope small enough to execute, but specific enough to measure. Most importantly, do not ask creators to “do better” without changing inputs like angle, offer, or format.
| Week | Goal | Key tasks | Owner | Deliverables |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Audit and reset | Validate tracking, segment results, identify top 20 percent creators by profit | Marketing ops | Clean report + creator tier list |
| Week 2 | Creative refresh | New hooks, new CTAs, new landing page modules, update briefs | Content lead | 3 new angles + brief v2 |
| Week 3 | Offer and funnel test | A B test bundles, subscription, free shipping thresholds, quiz or finder | Growth | Test plan + results snapshot |
| Week 4 | Scale what works | Renew top creators, whitelist winning posts, cut underperformers | Influencer manager | Renewal list + paid scaling plan |
Concrete takeaway: Treat January like a controlled experiment month. If you run at least one creative test and one offer test, you will usually recover more than you would by simply adding more creators.
How to calculate true creator ROI after peak season (with examples)
Post holiday reporting often overweights last click revenue and underweights assisted value. You can keep it simple without pretending attribution is perfect. Start with contribution margin, not revenue, because discounts and shipping promotions change profitability. Then, include content value if you plan to reuse assets in paid or on site. Finally, compare creators on the same model so you do not reward the ones with the easiest tracking setup.
Step by step ROI model (practical and defensible):
- Compute net profit per order: Profit = (AOV x gross margin) – variable costs (shipping subsidy, payment fees, returns reserve).
- Estimate attributed orders: use codes + UTMs + platform reported conversions. If you have overlap, choose a rule (for example, codes override UTMs).
- Add paid amplification cost: include whitelisting fees and media spend tied to that creator.
- Calculate CPA and ROI:
- CPA = Total cost / Attributed orders
- ROI = (Total profit – Total cost) / Total cost
Example calculation: You pay $2,000 for a creator package and spend $1,000 whitelisting the best post. Total cost = $3,000. You attribute 60 orders over 14 days. CPA = $3,000 / 60 = $50. If AOV is $80 and gross margin is 60 percent, gross profit per order is $48. Assume $8 variable costs per order, net profit per order is $40. Total profit = 60 x $40 = $2,400. ROI = ($2,400 – $3,000) / $3,000 = -20 percent. In that case, you either need a higher conversion rate, a higher margin offer, or lower total cost to make it work post holiday.
For measurement standards and definitions that help you align stakeholders, the IAB’s guidance is a useful reference point: IAB guidelines.
Concrete takeaway: If a creator is negative ROI in January but produces high performing ad creative, you can still keep them if you price usage rights correctly and scale via paid with a clear CPA target.
Renegotiate deliverables, usage rights, and exclusivity without burning relationships
After the holiday spike, creators often expect the same rates because their Q4 performance looked strong. Your job is to reprice based on post peak economics while staying fair. Begin with transparency: explain that you are shifting from gifting urgency to evergreen demand, so you are changing deliverables and success metrics. Then, offer options instead of a single take it or leave it rate. Creators respond better when they can choose a package that fits their workload and audience.
- Deliverables: swap one big post for a post plus two Story reminders, or add a live shopping segment if the platform supports it.
- Usage rights: define where you will use the content (paid social, website, email) and for how long (30, 90, 180 days). Pay more for broader scope.
- Whitelisting: price it as a separate line item plus a performance bonus if CPA beats target.
- Exclusivity: limit category and duration. A 30 day exclusivity window is easier to price than “no competitors this quarter.”
Decision rule: If you plan to run the creator’s content as ads, ask for usage rights and whitelisting up front. Retroactive requests slow down scaling and create friction.
Also, keep disclosure requirements in your contract language and briefs. The FTC’s endorsement guides are the baseline reference in the US: FTC guidance on endorsements.
Concrete takeaway: Use a menu: “Base package” (organic only), “Growth package” (organic + usage rights), and “Performance package” (whitelisting + bonus). This reduces negotiation time and protects your margins post holiday.
Common mistakes after the holiday spike
Teams often panic and make changes that feel decisive but do not address the real issue. One common mistake is cutting the entire creator program based on a two week window. Another is keeping the same holiday creative, which is usually heavy on discounts and light on product education. Some brands also over index on vanity metrics like views when the real constraint is conversion rate or stock availability. Finally, marketers sometimes add more creators to compensate, which increases management load and muddies learning.
- Comparing January performance to the best week of December
- Changing three variables at once: creator, offer, and landing page
- Ignoring lagged conversions and assisted revenue
- Failing to rebrief creators with new angles and clear CTAs
- Not pricing usage rights and exclusivity explicitly
Concrete takeaway: Before you cut spend, run a single controlled test: keep the creator constant and change only the offer or landing page. If results rebound, the creator was not the problem.
Best practices: turn post holiday into an advantage
The brands that win after peak season treat it as a learning window. They capture insights while competition is quieter, then use those insights to build a stronger Q2 pipeline. Start by shifting content from gifting to routines: “how I use it,” “what I repurchase,” and “what I would do differently.” Next, build a creator bench with a mix of proven converters and experimental voices. Then, lock in favorable terms for usage rights while creators have more availability.
- Angle shift: replace “limited time deal” with “problem solution,” “before and after,” and “comparison” content.
- Creative system: require three hooks per video and one clear CTA. Approve hooks, not scripts, to keep creator voice.
- Measurement cadence: report at 3, 7, and 14 days post post. Make decisions at 14 days unless inventory forces faster calls.
- Scaling rule: whitelist only the top 10 to 20 percent of posts by thumb stop rate and click intent, then optimize for CPA.
- Relationship rule: renew winners early with a clear post holiday brief and a performance bonus that feels attainable.
Concrete takeaway: If you leave January with a tested set of evergreen angles and a short list of creators whose content scales in paid, you will be ahead when competitors ramp again.
A quick checklist you can use today
Use this as your immediate action list when you see performance soften. It keeps the team focused on controllable levers and prevents reactive budget cuts. Work through the checklist in order, because later steps depend on clean inputs. Also, document what you changed so you can learn from it next month. If you want more practical playbooks and reporting templates, keep the bookmarked for your team.
- Confirm tracking: codes, UTMs, pixel events, and landing page status
- Rebaseline benchmarks: exclude the final two holiday weeks
- Run one creative refresh: new hook, new CTA, same creator
- Run one offer test: bundle vs subscription vs free shipping threshold
- Reprice rights: usage, whitelisting, exclusivity as separate line items
- Scale winners: whitelist top posts and cap frequency to avoid fatigue
Final note: The holiday spike is a gift and a distortion. With a disciplined post holiday influencer strategy, you can keep the best parts – demand signals, creator learnings, and reusable content – while building a steadier baseline for the rest of the year.
