Understanding Commercial Intent: The Missing Metric in Influencer Selection
Why engagement rate is overrated and commercial intent is everything. How to identify audiences that actually buy vs those that just watch.
The Engagement Rate Trap
For years, brands have obsessed over engagement rate. 5% is good, 10% is great, 15% is amazing. Right?
Wrong. Engagement rate tells you how many people interact with content. It doesn't tell you if they'll buy anything. That's where commercial intent comes in.
What Is Commercial Intent?
Commercial intent measures how likely an audience is to make purchases based on creator recommendations. It's the difference between:
Low Commercial Intent:
"Love your content! So inspiring! 😍"
High Commercial Intent:
"Where did you get that protein powder? I've been looking for something exactly like that. Does it really help with recovery?"
The 5 Levels of Commercial Intent
Level 1: Passive Consumption
Audience watches content but never asks about products. Primarily entertainment-focused. Conversion potential: 0.1-0.5%
Level 2: Curious Engagement
Occasional questions about products, but mainly for information. Not actively shopping. Conversion potential: 0.5-1.5%
Level 3: Active Research
Regularly asks for product recommendations, compares options, seeks buying advice. Conversion potential: 2-4%
Level 4: Purchase-Ready
Comments like "just ordered!" or "bought this last week". Actively shopping. Conversion potential: 5-8%
Level 5: Brand Advocates
Tags creator when they buy, shares purchase experiences, recommends to others. Conversion potential: 10-15%
How to Score Commercial Intent
Analyze the last 100 comments across recent posts. Count comments in each category:
Commercial Intent Scoring Formula
- Product questions: +3 points each
- Purchase mentions: +5 points each
- Price/availability inquiries: +4 points each
- Comparison questions: +3 points each
- Generic praise: +0 points
- Emojis only: +0 points
Score 200+: High intent
Score 100-200: Medium intent
Score below 100: Low intent
Commercial Intent Signals to Look For
- Product-seeking language: "Where can I buy...", "What brand is...", "Link?"
- Comparison requests: "Is this better than...", "How does this compare to..."
- Budget discussions: Mentions of prices, affordability, value for money
- Purchase confirmations: "Just ordered", "Got mine yesterday"
- Problem-solving focus: Audience discusses pain points and seeks solutions
Red Flag
If an influencer has 10% engagement but zero product-related questions in their comments, that's low commercial intent. They entertain, but they don't influence purchases.
Case Study: High Engagement, Zero Intent
A travel creator with 300K followers and 12% engagement rate. Impressive, right? A luggage brand thought so and spent $30K.
Problem: The audience came for beautiful photos, not product recommendations. Commercial intent score: 47/100.
Result: 8 sales. Meanwhile, a gear review creator with 40K followers and 6% engagement (but commercial intent score of 287) generated 142 sales for $12K.
Industry Benchmarks
Average Commercial Intent by Niche
- Product reviews: 250-350 (Very High)
- Fitness/nutrition: 180-250 (High)
- Beauty/skincare: 160-220 (High)
- Tech/gadgets: 140-200 (Medium-High)
- Fashion/style: 120-180 (Medium)
- Lifestyle/vlogs: 60-120 (Low-Medium)
- Entertainment/comedy: 20-60 (Low)
Optimizing for Commercial Intent
When vetting influencers:
- Score commercial intent first
Before looking at engagement rate or follower count - Require minimum threshold
Don't partner with anyone below 150 commercial intent score (for direct-response campaigns) - Weight it heavily in decisions
Commercial intent should be 40% of your evaluation criteria
The Bottom Line
Engagement is vanity. Commercial intent is revenue.
Stop optimizing for likes and comments. Start optimizing for audiences that actually buy. That's where the money is.
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Vyrex analyzes every creator's commercial intent using AI, so you can instantly identify influencers with audiences that actually buy.
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