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5 reasons you should be doing affiliate influencer marketing

By April 11, 2022 Stories

Reading time: 4 min

What if we told you that you could outsource your marketing to experienced individuals for the cost of a sliver of a sale?

May we introduce you to affiliate influencer marketing.

With the growing use of social media, the best time to have started affiliate marketing was yesterday, the next best time is now.

Read on to find out how it works and what you can expect.

How does affiliate influencer marketing work?

Affiliate marketing is a partnership agreement between an affiliate and a brand, where the affiliate takes on the duty of marketing your product to their audience.

Unlike other types of influencer marketing, where the brand pays a dedicated project fee in return for content creation and influence, often with affiliate influencer marketing, the affiliate only gets paid when they generate a sale.

Accordingly, this payment model incentivises influencers to use their influence to drive more sales and can present a lower-cost model for brands to get involved in influencer marketing.

That said, many influencers work on a project fee and affiliate combination model, which in our opinion, is how the best results are achieved.

In a combination model, you’re approaching a campaign as content creators and partners first, with conversion as your secondary goal.

How are sales tracked?

Media Mortar_Content marketing agency_Hannah & Kristy_Highs & lows

The most common approach to tracking sales is by providing an affiliate with their own unique publisher ID which they list on their channels.

Once a customer buys a product through the affiliate’s link or enters the affiliate’s publisher ID, that sale can be tracked to the affiliate, commission paid and so on and so forth.

While this tracking is essential for the affiliate, it’s also useful for brands to understand the conversion rate and the value of influence.

How do most businesses manage their affiliates?

There are two common ways of working with affiliates – through an affiliate network or an affiliate program.

An affiliate network uses an intermediary platform to help connect publishers (or brands) with a variety of affiliate options.

This method makes management centralised and easy, however, the intermediary takes a small percentage of the sale along the way.

Alternatively, it’s entirely possible to build your own affiliate program, which allows you to set the rules, giving you full control over commission rates, the longevity of promotion, and the ability to approach any affiliates you want to work with.

So why should you implement affiliate marketing if you’re thinking of digital influencer marketing?

Let us give you our fast five:

1. Affiliate Marketing is low cost with high returns

Affiliate marketing can be cost-effective, with limited investment on behalf of the brand until a sale is generated.

2. You can create targeted traffic

You can find affiliates with follower bases of all sizes and niches, which allows you to talk directly to your target audience.

3. Affiliates are trusted by their audiences

Consumers may become desensitised to OOH advertising or TV ads, but affiliates are more personable and operate within their audience’s sphere of influence, making their followers way more likely to react to your marketing messages.

4. You have access to data and statistics

When using an affiliate network, you can have access to a range of data and statistics about affiliates and sales. While it may not be as readily at hand, you can also calculate your figures if you’re running your own program. This data can be useful to match you with the right affiliate, track progress, and give you helpful insights into how to improve other parts of your marketing strategy.

5. Improve your SEO

Many affiliates will use blogs, social media pages, and websites to create sales. Beyond pure conversion metrics, these constant posts and references to your company and products are freebie back links to your website, improving your SEO ranking.

How do I get started with affiliate influencer marketing?

If you haven’t read our blog about working with digital influencers, we suggest starting there as it outlines how and when to approach influencers.

Once you have your target audience and product for promotion in mind, we recommend choosing whether to join an affiliate network or create your own affiliate program.

If you’ve chosen to join a network, a quick google search will give you a list to get you started in finding one which suits your business.

Once you’re set up, get in contact with your affiliates and watch the dollars roll in!

Luke-Crowley-Blog
By Luke Crowley

Luke loves managing content just as much as he loves getting on the sporting field. He has been able to apply his business studies from the University of Queensland to the workplace originally as an intern, and now as a team member at Media Mortar. Growing up in a large family, Luke is well practiced at organisation. He enjoys employing creativity in content planning, researching and delving into the relationship between a person’s actions and a well-formed marketing campaign. Luke is a big fan of ‘market research’ and you will often find him chasing an authentic experience of the destinations and experiences he promotes.