Sentiment vs. engagement: which actually predicts repeat brand deals

The first time a brand reached out to our influencer client, Sarah, with a second campaign offer, we high-fived. It felt like a win, a validation. Not just for her hard work, but for our approach to measurement. Sarah’s first campaign, a series of Instagram Reels for a new skincare line, had performed well by traditional metrics. Her engagement rate was solid, her reach impressive, and the click-throughs to the product page were above average for the brand's other influencer campaigns. We’d presented all this data in a neat report, feeling pretty darn good about it.

But when the brand manager called, she didn't lead with engagement rates. She said, "You know, we saw so many comments on Sarah's posts about how genuinely excited people were. How many mentioned they felt seen, or that they trusted her. It just felt different." That "felt different" stuck with me. It was qualitative, not quantitative, and it was the real reason they wanted to work with Sarah again.

For years, engagement has been king. Likes, comments, shares, saves—these were the gold standard. They told us people saw the content and interacted with it. And for a long time, that was enough. Brands wanted eyeballs and some indication of interest. But as the influencer marketing space matured, and as brands started to invest serious budgets, a new question emerged: is engagement actually leading to business outcomes? More importantly, is it leading to lasting relationships with creators?

We started noticing a pattern ourselves. Some creators with sky-high engagement rates wouldn't get re-booked. Their campaigns might perform well in the short term, driving initial clicks or a burst of sales, but the brand didn't see the sustained impact or brand lift they were hoping for. On the flip side, we saw creators with slightly lower, but still respectable, engagement rates getting booked again and again. What was the differentiator?

It came down to sentiment.

Sentiment, in this context, isn't just about positive or negative comments. It's about the quality of the interaction, the emotional resonance, and the depth of connection the audience feels with the creator and, by extension, the brand. Are people just leaving an emoji, or are they sharing their personal experiences, asking specific questions, or expressing genuine enthusiasm for the product? Are they feeling heard, understood, or inspired by the creator's message?

Think about it from a brand's perspective. They’re not just buying reach or clicks anymore. They’re buying advocacy, trust, and community. They want to inspire loyalty, not just a one-off purchase. And while engagement metrics show activity, sentiment data reveals alignment. It tells you if the creator's audience truly resonates with the brand's values, if they believe the creator's endorsement is authentic, and if they feel a personal connection to the message being conveyed.

We started refining our own analytical approach, moving beyond just counting comments to understanding their essence. We began categorizing comments by themes, looking for keywords related to trust, authenticity, relevance, and positive emotional responses. We’d manually review a significant sample, then use AI-powered tools to scale that understanding across thousands of comments.

What we found was illuminating. Creators who consistently generated high-sentiment comments—those expressing deep appreciation, personal connection, or genuine excitement for the product—were the ones brands wanted to maintain long-term relationships with. Their audiences weren’t just engaging; they were advocating. They were becoming micro-communities around the brand, driven by the creator's trusted voice.

For instance, one creator we work with, a sustainable fashion enthusiast, doesn't always have the highest raw engagement numbers compared to some of her peers. But her comments sections are gold mines of high-intent, high-sentiment conversations. People ask for detailed ethical sourcing information, they share their own sustainable fashion journeys, and they express profound gratitude for her recommendations. Brands working with her aren’t just getting exposure; they’re tapping into a deeply engaged, values-aligned community. And those brands consistently re-book her because they see the subtle, yet powerful, impact on their brand perception and customer loyalty.

It’s a shift from quantity to quality. Engagement still matters, absolutely. It’s the initial gateway. But sentiment is the key to unlocking repeat deals and truly impactful long-term partnerships. It’s what transforms a one-time transaction into a lasting relationship, both between the creator and their audience, and the creator and the brand.

So, for any brand or creator looking to foster enduring collaborations, don't just chase the highest engagement rates. Dive deeper into the conversations. Understand the sentiment. That's where the real power of influencer marketing lies.