What is a sponsored post?
A sponsored post is an influencer's post with a brand mention that was published on a paid or a barter basis when an influencer receives a product or services from a brand in return for publication.
How does HypeAuditor detect sponsored and non-sponsored posts in the Competitor Analysis Report?
In the Competitor Analysis Report, HypeAuditor detects three types of posts: Sponsored, Likely Sponsored, and Free.
Sponsored posts in the HypeAuditor Mentions report represent posts of the analyzed campaign that are undoubtedly made within a commercial relationship. To see more details please check the article: What do Sponsored posts represent?
Likely Sponsored posts represent those posts which are not disclosed by an influencer as sponsored, however, look as sponsored to HypeAuditor's AI. To learn more about how such posts are detected please see the article: What do Likely Sponsored posts represent?
Free posts represent those posts which do not look like sponsored. This can help you find out how you or your competitor benefit(s) from being mentioned by influencers without a commercial relationship.
Understanding the distinction between post types is valuable for marketers: it allows you to assess the true commercial footprint of a competitor's influencer campaign and benchmark how much organic (unpaid) brand awareness they generate alongside their paid activity. This context helps inform budget decisions and strategy for your own campaigns.
Are metrics of the Competitor Analysis report based on Sponsored or Likely Sponsored posts?
Most metrics of the Competitor Analysis report present values for all types of posts of the analyzed campaign including Sponsored, Likely Sponsored, and Free. However, you can always check the value for Sponsored and Likely Sponsored posts separately right under the main value:
Such metrics as CPE and Top Sponsored Hashtags are based both on Sponsored and Likely Sponsored posts.
Share of Paid Mentions is based on Sponsored posts only.
All blocks of the Sponsored Content Insights section are based on Sponsored and Likely Sponsored posts.
Starting from the Activity section all metrics and graphs include all types of posts by default, however, you can switch to Sponsored + Likely Sponsored, Sponsored, Likely Sponsored, or Free at any time. Once you choose the mode, it will be applied to all further sections of the report.
Please note: you can also manually mark posts as Sponsored or Free. To learn more about how to do that please see the article: Can I manually change a post type from Sponsored to Free?