What Is Brand Lift?

Brand lift is a metric that shows how your advertising or influencer campaigns change people’s perceptions of your brand. It’s based on survey responses collected from your target audience both before and after your campaign runs. By measuring shifts in awareness, consideration, and purchase intent, you can see if your marketing is really moving the needle.

Examples in Influencer Marketing

Imagine you work with a beauty influencer to promote a new skincare line. Before the post goes live, you survey a group of potential customers about whether they’ve heard of your brand and if they’d consider buying your products. After the influencer’s video, you survey a similar group again. If awareness jumps from 20% to 45% and purchase intent climbs from 15% to 30%, that’s your brand lift.

On social media, many platforms offer built-in brand lift tools. For instance, you can run a Facebook brand lift study alongside your ads or use Google Ads lift reports to track how YouTube ads affect search interest in your brand name.

Why Brand Lift Matters

1. Proves ROI beyond clicks: Likes and clicks are nice, but they don’t always translate to sales. Brand lift shows real attitude changes.

2. Optimizes creative: If one ad drives more awareness than another, you know which creative resonates best.

3. Justifies spend to stakeholders: Data on improved consideration and intent helps win budget approvals.

For small DTC brands or creators, brand lift provides concrete proof that your message is cutting through the noise.

Common Misconceptions

• Brand lift is only for big budgets: Many social platforms offer scalable lift tests that fit smaller campaigns.

• It’s just for awareness: Lift studies often measure multiple metrics like ad recall, favorability, and purchase intent.

• Surveys take too long: Quick polls on Stories or in-app pop-ups can capture responses in days, not weeks.

Practical Tips for Applying Brand Lift

1. Define clear KPIs: Choose metrics (awareness, consideration, intent) that align with your campaign goals.

2. Use control groups: Compare exposed vs. unexposed audiences to isolate real impact.

3. Leverage platform tools: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat all have brand lift solutions built in.

4. Keep surveys short: Two to three questions maximize completion rates.

5. Test creatives early: Run short brand lift tests on new concepts before full-scale launches.

By measuring brand lift, you’ll gain insights that go beyond clicks and impressions. You’ll know exactly how your campaigns shape audience attitudes—and you’ll be better equipped to refine your strategies and grow your brand.