What is affiliate marketing? How does it work, and who uses it? These are questions often asked by people who are looking to build an e-commerce business but are new to the world of online marketing. First, we should say that affiliate marketing is not some form of ‘dark art’. It is, quite simply, a part of an online marketing strategy.
In the article that follows we will explain affiliate marketing in simple terms, look at who the affiliates are, and some examples of successful affiliate marketing. So, let’s get down to business!
Affiliate Marketing Explained
Marketing a brand, product or service nowadays needs a different approach to a couple of decades ago. The world has moved on very quickly, with an online presence now a necessity for all businesses rather than a novelty as in the early days of the internet.
A well-structured marketing campaign should involve paid ads, content via blogs or articles, social media pages, and affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is actually simple and works like this: a business has a product or service to promote. They look for blogs, for example, that are related to that product or service. They search for relevant social media groups and pages.
Let’s create an example. A business has a new range of bicycle accessories to promote. They look for cycling bloggers, cycle clubs, cycling pages on Facebook and so on. They ask these people or groups to become affiliates. Now you may be thinking ‘why should they’?
Here’s the bonus: an affiliate may start a conversation on social media or mention the brand in a blog post. These mentions also carry a link to the product in the e-commerce store. For every customer who clicks through from the affiliates page or site and makes a purchase, the affiliate is awarded a commission, a percentage of the sale.
In summary, an affiliate is someone who promotes a product or service and gets paid when they are successful in securing sales. Who are these affiliates?
Who Are Ideal Affiliates?
There is an element of online marketing known as Social Trust, which is somewhat aligned with affiliate marketing. Social Trust is about ensuring consumers see your brand as trustworthy. It’s achieved by using social media to get ‘likes’ and ‘follows’ for your brand. The more your pages are followed, the greater trust people will put in the brand.
This is why the best affiliates are those who have recognised authority in your market. They need not be celebrities as such, but they should display a level of experience in using the product or service and be able to recommend it. If the consumer sees promotions by people who have such authority, they will be more likely to make a purchase. These are the top level of affiliates – influencers for want of a better word – and fall into the class of ‘Involved Affiliates’.
Many businesses, especially smaller and growing brands, simply ask people to share the link on social media. These can be people who are friends and family, and it’s a simple and often effective – as well as cheap – method of using affiliate marketing. However, the above type of affiliate is always going to get you more relevant leads, so it’s worth investigating your market to see who is writing or making videos related to the market you are in, and which of these have an audience.
Who Uses Affiliate Marketing?
Businesses of all sizes utilise affiliate marketing as part of a carefully planned marketing campaign. Whether you are a new business looking to get a foothold in the market or an established company seeing further growth, it’s a way of expanding your brand exposure at little cost.
However, affiliate marketing does require management. Many who use the method have a strict code of conduct and templates as to what can and cannot be said or written in marketing posts by affiliates. It may be worth talking to one of the many affiliate marketing businesses who can manage the program for you.
Perhaps the best-known affiliate marketing program is that run by Amazon, the market leading e-commerce retailer, whose Amazon Associates program is possibly the biggest in the world.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a marketing boost for your e-commerce business affiliate marketing is certainly a worthy method of promoting your brand. By researching and choosing the best affiliates for your market you can begin to target consumers who are relevant to your niche. Ensure you have rules put in place so that your business is marketed correctly.
