One of the higher hurdles in leveraging influencer marketing is appropriate attribution. Years of phony metrics coupled with a convoluted and constantly evolving purchase process has left many advertisers guessing, at best.

An article from the Content Marketing Institute raised an interesting question regarding attribution.  Pawan Deshande posed, “ask yourself who gets credit for your college diploma?” To many, this may seem like a ridiculous question but, for advertisers seeking transparency, it makes perfect sense. Is it a high school or kindergarten teacher, or maybe a college professor?  Is it possible to pinpoint? I say no.

Our data-driven world demands concrete answers. As advertisers and influencers wade through the murky waters of attribution, some say coupon codes, YouTube links and social media should be enough to show the way. Even in accepting commonly favored approaches to illustrating ROI of an influencer marketing campaign, the struggle continues.

The insanity here is marketer willingness to pay exorbitant amounts of money on implementing an influencer strategy with minimal insight into actual influence. Rakuten Marketing research highlighted this point, noting that nearly 90 percent of marketers admit not knowing exactly how rewards are calculated, and less than 40 percent are unclear about whether their spend is boosting the bottom line. Fret not, for blockchain may be the answer you seek.

“The gradual implementation of blockchain will provide transparency on marketing claims by every journey having the ability to be analyzed and validated. This will even lead to the ability to also negotiate contracts and accept terms based on those results,” explained Douglas Karr, DK New Media in a Forbes piece. This newfound clarity paves the way for fair compensation of those deserving credit for the purchase.

What it’s really about is democratizing influencer marketing with blockchain. The retail value chain is in for a blockchain-enabled overhaul, with smarter relationships, delivering enhanced transparency across an environment of collaboration between marketers and influencers – and properly rewarding parties involved.