One of Three Pillars of Tsunami
How AES Really Works
The smartest way to measure real influencer performance
The Methodology
How AES is Measured
A hybrid system combining automated tracking with expert human judgment.
Automated System
80% of the score
Our platform automatically tracks and calculates:
Human Review
20% of the score
Youssef + the Tsunami™ team manually review and adjust the final score for:
Simple Summary
AES = Smart Automation + Human Judgment
This hybrid approach is why brands trust us more than normal engagement rate (ER). Pure automation can be gamed. Pure human judgment is slow. We combine both for the fairest and most accurate score.
Simple to Understand
Two Numbers. That's All You Need.
Every creator on Tsunami™ has two scores. Together, they tell the complete story of performance.
Standard ER
Industry rate
Your standard engagement rate: (Saves + Shares + Comments + Likes) ÷ Reach. The number every brand already benchmarks against.
It tells you how much engagement happened — not how good it was.
GCC industry average is ~3.1%. Creators in our network average ~6.9%.
AES
Out of 100
Your Audited Engagement Score (0–100). 80% re-weighted engagement (Saves and Shares count more) + 20% human review of brief compliance and correct product usage.
Think of it as a quality grade, not a rate. It answers “how good was this engagement?” — not just “how much?”
Each creator’s AES = 0.80 × weighted engagement + 0.20 × human review. The published Group AES is the average across all verified creators.
Standard ER tells you how much engagement happened.
AES tells you how good that engagement actually was.
A creator with 12% Standard ER but an AES of 45 is mostly fake likes — the audit catches it. A creator with 6% Standard ER and an AES of 89 is gold: real saves and shares, on-brief.
The 80 / 20 Model
How AES is calculated
Standard ER only measures volume. AES attempts to measure quality and compliance as a 0–100 score.
The same interactions, re-weighted toward intent — Saves 40%, Shares 25%, Comments 20%, Likes 15% — scored 0–100 against the Surge benchmark.
The human review checks brief compliance and correct / natural product usage. Scored 0–100 by the team.
Each creator’s AES = (0.80 × Weighted Engagement Score) + (0.20 × Human Review Score).
Group AES % = average of all verified creators’ individual AES scores after review and fraud screening.
From Youssef
Why I Built AES
For decades, brands paid influencers based on follower counts. A number that means almost nothing. Creators with 500K followers and 0.3% engagement got the big deals. Creators with 5K followers and 8% engagement got ignored.
Worse, the system rewarded faking. Buy followers, buy likes, buy comments. The brands couldn't tell the difference, and the honest creators suffered.
“I lived for decades in the fog. I didn't want my Gold Crew to suffer the same.”
So I built AES, a scoring system that is nearly impossible to fake and rewards creators who do real, honest work. No politics. No favors. Just performance.
Inside the Score
What Makes Up Your AES
Automation + human judgment. Nothing is hidden.
Automated Tracking
Same-day & exact same-date posting
Timing is everything in a synchronized wave. Posting on Surge Day signals coordination and discipline.
Real views, likes, comments, shares, reposts, and saves
All core engagement metrics tracked from Instagram Insights. Saves and shares weighted highest because they are nearly impossible to fake.
Content usage / brand integration accuracy
Was the product shown correctly? Was the brand naturally integrated, not forced?
Consistency across the full Surge
We measure how each creator performs relative to the full wave — not just one post, but their pattern.
Fraud Detection (5 Layers)
Save-to-like ratio, ER anomaly vs bid, comment quality analysis, zero-saves flag, raw ER sanity. Score 60+ = manual review. Score 90+ = auto-disqualified and banned. 16 contests, zero fraud incidents. This runs as part of the automated system.
Human Review (Youssef + team)
Content quality & brand alignment
Does the content match the brief? Is the product shown naturally? Is the storytelling strong?
Overall campaign impact and resonance
Did this reel move the needle for the brand? Did it spark conversation or create a moment?
Special context (e.g. boycott effects)
External factors can skew data. Human judgment adjusts for context that algorithms cannot see.
The Difference
Why AES Is Better Than Everything Else
What others do
Only % engagement rate
What we do
ER + Reach Fairness + Fraud Check + Quality
Why it's better
One number cannot capture truth. Four dimensions can.
What others do
Big creators always win
What we do
Small creators with high quality score higher
Why it's better
A 5K-follower nano creator earned $185 and outscored a 185K creator who earned $210. Real meritocracy.
What others do
Easy to fake with bots
What we do
5-layer fraud detection on every submission
Why it's better
16 contests. 290+ reels. Zero fraud incidents. Zero disqualifications on the Almarai campaign.
What others do
Payout based on follower count
What we do
Payout based on actual AES performance
Why it's better
You bid your ER. We measure your actual ER. Overperform = earn more. Underperform = earn less.
Full Transparency
How AES Is Calculated: Automation vs Human Oversight
AES is semi-automated, not 100% automatic. This is intentional. Your campaign success is too important to leave entirely to algorithms.
Automated by System
Instant, consistent, zero human error
Engagement Data Collection
Likes, comments, saves, shares, and reach, pulled automatically from Instagram.
Standard ER + AES
Both the Standard ER and the weighted-engagement component of AES, calculated instantly from the same Instagram data. No manual math.
On-Time Posting Detection
System checks if the creator posted on Surge Day, same day, same hashtag.
Basic Sentiment Analysis
Our system scans comment quality, flags suspicious patterns, and detects bot activity.
Human Review
Where judgment and context matter most
Product Usage & Branding
Was the product shown correctly? Was the brand integrated naturally, not forced? A human eye catches what algorithms miss.
Brand Satisfaction & Alignment
Does the content match the campaign brief? Does the messaging align with what the brand wanted? This requires real judgment.
Final Quality Adjustments
Based on campaign goals, content storytelling, and overall impact, fine-tuned by someone who has reviewed 10,000+ creator reels.
Why I Do It This Way
I combine smart automation with human judgment, especially on brand satisfaction, because your campaign success is too important to leave entirely to algorithms. I have reviewed over 10,000 creator reels across my career. That experience matters when the score is close and the context is nuanced.
Built on Proven Principles
AES Follows Global Measurement Standards
AES (Audited Engagement Score) is our proprietary performance scoring system, specifically designed for same-day coordinated Surge campaigns. It follows best practices and core principles from leading industry bodies while going further to address the unique challenges of real-time influencer marketing.
ESOMAR
Social Media Research Guidelines
AES aligns with ESOMAR's emphasis on transparency, data integrity, and ethical use of social media data. We prioritize clear methodology disclosure and protect against manipulation.
Media Rating Council (MRC)
Social Media Measurement Guidelines
AES follows MRC's standards for valid, reliable, and auditable measurement. It incorporates weighted reach, quality validation, and anti-fraud principles.
ANA Influencer Marketing Measurement
Association of National Advertisers
AES supports the ANA's call for standardized, authenticated metrics. We focus on real performance outcomes rather than vanity metrics.
By combining these respected industry principles with our proprietary hybrid model (automation plus human oversight on brand alignment and satisfaction), AES delivers a fair, transparent, and highly actionable score tailored specifically for same-day Surge campaigns.
Worked Example
See AES in Action
Three creators from the same Surge — same brief, same product. Watch the audit re-rank them by raw ER vs AES.
Aklopedian 07
Nano - 4,200 followers
Standard ER
8.2%
AES
9.6%
Earned
$185
312 saves, 89 shares, 47 comments. Posted on time, perfect product integration, complete story arc. Highest AES in the entire contest, outperforming creators 50x her size.
Winner - Highest AES in the contest
Aklopedian 12
Mid-tier - 38,000 followers
Standard ER
5.6%
AES
5.9%
Earned
$320
1,420 saves, 380 shares, 210 comments. Strong saves ratio but posted 6 hours late and lost the on-time bonus. Still earned more due to higher reach factor.
Aklopedian 03
Large - 185,000 followers
Standard ER
2.1%
AES
1.4%
Earned
$210
Big reach but low saves-to-reach ratio. 1,850 saves sounds impressive until you see it is only 2% of 92K reach. AES rewards depth over width. 185K followers did not protect this score.
* Illustrative scenario based on real Surge patterns — numbers simplified to show how AES re-weights raw ER.
For Creators
How to Get a Higher AES
Higher AES = higher earnings and priority in future Surges.
Post on Surge Day, on time
The +25% on-time bonus alone can jump you from mid-pack to top 5.
Create save-worthy content
Saves carry 40% of the engagement weight. Make recipes people bookmark.
Show the product naturally
Forced logos hurt your sentiment. Natural integration earns +20%.
Tell a complete story
Setup → process → reveal. A complete arc earns the story completion bonus.
Engage your community
Reply to comments. Ask questions. Real conversation boosts your score.
For Brands
Why You Can Trust AES
You only pay for real, authentic performance. Here is why.
5-Layer Fraud Detection
Every submission passes five checks. Score 60+ = review. Score 90+ = auto-disqualified and banned. We have had zero fraud incidents across 16 contests.
Transparent Formula
Nothing is hidden. Every weight, every multiplier, every factor is published on this page. If you want to verify a score, you can calculate it yourself.
Pay for Performance
Creators bid their expected ER. If they deliver more, they earn more. If they deliver less, they earn less. Your money goes where the real engagement is.
Two Clear Numbers
Standard ER (6–14%) and AES (87–91). No confusing dashboards. No ambiguous metrics. Two numbers that tell you everything about a creator.
6.9%
Avg ER (vs 3.1% GCC avg)
290+
Reels scored
5.7M+
Total reach measured
0
Fraud incidents
“AES is my promise to every creator and every brand: the fog is over. From now on, truth wins.”
Youssef El Deeb - Founder, Tsunami™
Creator of Fatafeat TV · 55M households · Acquired by Discovery Networks 2013