Latin American influencer marketing agency Goldfish has transformed campaign planning from intuition to analytics by developing proprietary data systems that predict creator performance and measure ROI. Founded in 2014 by former Google executive Natalia Serna Jaramillo, the agency now operates in five countries and serves over 700 clients with measurable, metrics-based creator strategies.

“We are 100% based on data, and we really have data as our backbone. All of our decisions are based on data,” explains Natalia, who established Goldfish when she identified a market gap for influencer marketing in Latin America. At that time, she notes, the term “influencer” barely existed.

“We didn’t have almost any data, and we made choices just because we thought that influencer could work,” Natalia recalls of the industry’s formative period. This lack of data posed challenges for both brands and creators. The former struggled to justify influencer investments against more established channels with clearer metrics, while the latter found themselves judged on arbitrary factors rather than their actual ability to deliver business results.

Launched initially as a multi-channel network for YouTubers, Goldfish has become an influencer marketing agency that co-creates strategy with global brands. With L’Oréal, for example, they have built regional playbooks, standardized KPIs, and designed scalable frameworks for always-on influencer programs across 12 markets. Natalia created the company specifically to bring structure and accountability to creator collaborations in a region that spends an average of 3.5 hours daily on social platforms.

Inside the Data System

Natalia built Goldfish around three connected systems: selection, measurement, and optimization. 

At the core of their selection process is the Goldfish Score, a proprietary metric that uses more than 20 variables to determine the optimal match between brands and creators. This moves beyond follower counts to assess brand affinity, audience alignment, credibility, historical performance, and expected results compared with their cost.

For measurement, Goldfish employs a standardized ROI methodology that translates campaign performance into business value. “We have one metric of ROI, which is a methodology where we actually understand the earned media value we are generating for the brand,” Natalia details. “We partner with a company called Social Index. And they tell us what’s the value per 1000 impressions on Instagram or on TikTok or what’s the value per like or per comment or per share.”

By dividing this earned media value by the campaign investment, Goldfish generates an ROI figure that has shown strong correlation with actual sales and market share metrics. Beyond ROI, our measurement framework includes two additional layers: performance metrics and cost-efficiency metrics. 

Natalia explains, “In performance, we track reach, impressions, views, engagements, engagement rate, clicks, traffic, and sales. In cost-efficiency, we analyze metrics like CPM (cost per thousand impressions), CPE (cost per engagement), CPV (cost per view), and CPC (cost per click). By combining ROI, performance, and cost-efficiency, we gain a holistic view of the campaign’s impact, which allows us to make data-informed decisions that maximize results.”

Goldfish’s data-based approach is best illustrated by its relationship with L’Oréal, which now invests approximately 35% of its marketing budget in influencer marketing across Latin America.

“When we started, they offered us a very small budget,” Natalia recalls. “And today, we have become the most  important partner for their brands.”

Natalia highlights Golfish’s “Viral Beauty” campaign for L’Oréal. The beauty giant’s sales were down by 20% and L’Oréal Paris, Maybelline, Garnier, and Vogue were facing a major challenge: reconnect with a generation that didn’t search for products, but for signs. 

“We turned beauty into signals, creating algorithm-friendly patterns that made our products feel omnipresent across TikTok, Instagram, and friend circles. With massive seeding, creator-driven storytelling, and social-first strategy, we didn’t wait for virality but rather engineered it. The result? 85M views, 32% sales growth, and a 41% increase in engagement. 

EMBED VIDEO HERE: Viral Beauty IAB Colombia.mp4

The Science of Influencer Valuation

Goldfish’s utilization of data also enables them to help clients look beyond simplified metrics that can lead to suboptimal investment decisions. Engagement rate is one such metric that Natalia believes must be evaluated in context.

“I think engagement rate is very important, but it’s not enough on its own. Yet, some clients just see that one metric,” she cautions. “Some clients won’t work with influencer A because his or her engagement rate is only 1%. To that, I say, ‘Fine, but the cost per engagement of influencer A is 10 times less than influencer B, who has 3% engagement rate. You could have three of As versus one of B and triple the engagement.'”

The foundation of their metric analysis is connection—ensuring creators truly relate to the brands they promote. “If someone wants influencer marketing, it’s because they’re looking for authenticity,” Natalia emphasizes. “First, select the right influencer and not only look at all the data, but also at the brand affinity. Does this creator use my brand, or if not, would they love to use it? Would I believe if he’s using my brand?”

Scaling Through Technology

As Goldfish has grown across Latin America, technology has become essential to maintaining its data-based approach at scale. The company’s proprietary tech platform, Goldfish DNA, connects creator selection, real-time campaign analytics, and business operations in a single ecosystem, allowing clients to scale with consistency, transparency, and speed.

“We call it ‘a massive database,’” Natalia says. “This database helps us to optimize processes to scale our projects. For example, if we are going to do sampling to creators and we want to reach 1,000 creators for a sample, we send a massive message to 5,000 beauty influencers in the region and ask them if they want to have a free sample.”

The company is also applying artificial intelligence to improve efficiency. “We have probably around 30 processes that we are automating in the agency through AI,” Natalia notes.

Data-Based Social Commerce

Looking forward, Natalia sees social commerce as the next step for metrics-based influencer marketing—connecting creator content directly to purchase behavior.

“Social commerce is one of the biggest social trends that we’re seeing,” Natalia observes. “How influencers convert and how we are starting to transform that influence to commerce.” This shift comes as brands demand more tangible returns. “Brands today don’t live only with likes and shares, saves and comments. No, they want to sell.”

Goldfish is developing affiliate marketing strategies and revenue-sharing models that allow creators to function as retail channels. “That’s one of the big bets we have right now in the company,” Natalia notes. “All these affiliate marketing strategies where we look for affiliates that are influencers and look for ways to have revenue share models so the brand can actually see a positive ROI.”

Natalia describes this change as “the democratization of retail,” drawing a parallel to how influencer marketing transformed media. “Before, we had very few TV channels, very few radio stations, very few out-of-home [advertising options]. But today, when we see influencer marketing, everybody is a media outlet by themselves,” she explains. “We can now sell through social and will see the democratization of retail through social commerce strategies.”

The Impact

With influencer marketing growing in Latin America, Goldfish’s metrics-focused approach becomes particularly relevant.

“When we look at the investment in influencer marketing versus total investment in marketing, it’s 3% globally and 5% in Latin America,” Natalia notes. This higher penetration rate reflects both the region’s social media usage patterns and the industry’s increased precision.

As Natalia continues to lead Goldfish’s expansion across Latin America, with Argentina identified as their next potential market, her vision remains centered on using data to elevate influencer marketing from subjective to strategic.

“Influencer marketing is evolving from storytelling to sales,” Natalia concludes. “As social commerce grows and creators become retail channels, Goldfish is leading a phase in which content that not only connects, but converts.”

Checkout Our Latest Podcast