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Affiliate marketing is a great way to promote your business and a business owner or make money as a content creator or publisher. Social media is an effective channel for affiliate marketing because it taps into the relationship between creators and their audiences.
Social media followers learn about a brand or product they might be interested in, the creator has a chance to earn a commission, and the business has an opportunity to reach more potential customers.
How does affiliate marketing work on social media?
All affiliate marketing starts with a brand or business that wants to promote its products or services to a larger audience to boost its sales. That business sets up an affiliate program with rules and guidelines for its affiliates.
Content creators and publishers apply to become affiliates of that business. If their audience and brand are a match for the business, the creator gets a unique URL or coupon code to share in promotional posts.
Creators make content highlighting affiliate products and then share their unique referrals with their audience. Every time someone buys a product after clicking through that URL or using that code, the creator gets a small payout or commission. The commission is either a flat fee per customer or a percentage of the profit, depending on the affiliate agreement.
What are the benefits of affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing benefits both brands and content creators. As shoppers, we’re more likely to trust word-of-mouth recommendations from someone we know or are more familiar with than a business. By bringing on affiliates, brands can promote their products or services through someone who’s built trust with their followers.
Social media creators then get a chance to build professional relationships with brands they like and support and open up a new income stream. If a piece of content with an affiliate link stays up longer term, then it also becomes a way to earn passive income and make their content work harder for them.
Meanwhile, followers get to discover products they might not otherwise. Often, creators vet the products before supporting them, so they can trust the recommendation. And by buying via an affiliate link, they can support a creator they’re a fan of.
Read the full guide to affiliate marketing
How to become an affiliate marketer on social media
To start sharing affiliate content on social media, start by choosing your area of focus. Focusing on one niche to start will help you figure out what’s most successful for you and your followers. Choose a topic that you’re already familiar with and have talked about on your social accounts already.
Once you have your niche chosen, you can repeat these steps as needed.
Find a brand or affiliate network that fits your niche.
Apply to be an affiliate.
Read and sign your affiliate agreement.
Create content—a video, a post, or both—to promote the affiliate products and your unique referral URL.
From there, it’s up to you to get your content in front of your target audience and convince them to click through and make a purchase. To make it easier for your followers to find your affiliate links, you can put them in a link in bio Bio Site or pin recent posts to your profile page.
Remember that there may be laws and regulations about sharing promotional content, so check into any restrictions for the platforms you use.
Best practices for social media affiliates
Affiliate programs are accessible to anyone, but you still need to go through an approval process to become an affiliate for a brand. There are a few things that can help you stand out:
Choose the right platform for the product. It may not make sense to promote your product on every social account or to promote them all the same way. For example, you might promote one product on LinkedIn but not Instagram, but something that works for your Instagram audience might not work on TikTok.
Take the time to build an engaged audience. Businesses want to know that working with you will get their products in front of new customers, so your audience size and whether they interact with you on social matters.
Develop expertise and trust. The more your followers trust your opinion on your topic of focus, the more likely you are to influence their buying decisions.
Try to stick to products you’ve used. This goes hand-in-hand with trust. Promoting products you’ve used before gives you more credibility with your followers.
Make it easy to find your affiliate links. Social media users are distracted and they move quickly. Don’t be afraid to draw attention to new posts and put your affiliate URLs in a prominent place on your profile page.
Over time, you’ll figure out what content and posting process works for you. Stay open to feedback and pay attention to how your content performs, then keep adjusting as you go.
Get more tips for converting social followers into site traffic
How to set up your own social media affiliate marketing
It’s possible to create an affiliate marketing strategy for your own brand or business. Your affiliates don’t have to post only on social media either. They can share across blogs, in newsletters, or anywhere else they typically interact with their audience.
To start setting up your own affiliate partnerships:
Decide what you want to promote. Have a clear idea of what you want to promote and what you want people to do once they click through an affiliate link (make a purchase, sign up for something, etc.).
Define the terms of your affiliate agreement. You’ll need to specify what counts as a successful conversion (a purchase, a click, etc.) and who gets the sale if multiple affiliates send the same customer your way.
Specify the payment structure for affiliates. As part of your affiliate contract, you’ll need to decide whether someone earns a flat fee for every new customer they send your way or a percentage of the sale (and if so, how much).
Choose an affiliate tracking tool. You can manage your own affiliate tracking by creating unique discount codes or UTM referral URLs for each affiliate. Or you can take the manual work out of the equation and use an affiliate management tool or by joining an affiliate network.
Set any other guidelines for affiliates. Whether it’s for the success of your affiliate program or to help maintain your brand, minimum requirements will help you choose the right affiliates. You might consider factors like follower count, engagement rate, social channel, and personal brand.
Start bringing on affiliates. If your brand is newer, you might need to be more active to find your first affiliates. Try reaching out to repeat customers or people who’ve shared about you on social media already. And promote the program on your own channels.
Set up payments. Decide how often you want to pay out your affiliates and set up a payment processor so that you can manage payments and tracking.
Best practices for creating an affiliate program
Like any new revenue stream, it’ll take a little time to get a new affiliate program off the ground and figure out what fits your workflow best. These best practices can help you find your groove faster.
Make it easy to find your affiliate program. On top of promoting it to your audience, make the opportunity easy to find on your website. Joining an affiliate network will also allow affiliates and influencers to find you organically.
Give your affiliates the tools they need to succeed. Keep your affiliates up to date on your latest news or give them useful tips like a list of popular products. Consider creating a newsletter or member site just for your affiliates so they can stay in the loop and connect with each other.
Choose a reasonable payment schedule. It’s common to pay affiliates every 30 to 60 days—in line with your return policy—to ensure every customer they send your way is a complete sale. Be clear about your timeline to your affiliates.
Track your performance data. Keep track of your analytics as your affiliate program grows. This will help you figure out your most successful affiliates, whether the program is boosting your sales, and when to make adjustments.