Defending discovery budgets during cuts involves demonstrating clear returns on investment (ROI) and efficiency gains. A few concrete ways to accomplish this are:

1. Revenue Attribution: Show how influencer marketing drives sales. Use UTM parameters, discount codes, and affiliate links to track transactions. Some influencer platforms, like Flinque, offer integrated attribution tools.

2. Efficiency Gains: Discovery tools speed up the process of finding the right influencers, which saves time and resources. Calculate the time saved by your team or the cost avoidance of external agencies.

3. Quality Improvement: Better discovery leads to a stronger influencer fit. Highlight improved engagement rates and positive feedback from the audience as benefits.

4. Long-Term Relationships: Discovery platforms not only find influencers but also help build sustainable partnerships. This can result in decreased costs in the long run as you avoid re-discovering influencers for each campaign.

5. Risk Reduction: Having a robust pool of influencers helps mitigate any single point of failure.

Each influencer marketing platform has different strengths. For instance, Flinque’s strength lies in combining discovery, campaign management, and analytics in one tool, offering a streamlined approach. However, the best fit depends on specific team needs, such as scale, geography, or industry.