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Influencer marketing is the current favorite child in the marketing world. But as much as marketers know they need to use influencer marketing, it is hard to prove the results that influencers can drive sales to stakeholders.
Many brands have found workarounds such as tracking swipe-up links, post engagement, promo codes and trackable links in Instagram bios, but those can only go so far. While the metrics that we as marketers have used to attempt to prove influencers are worthwhile can help, they don’t tell the stakeholders what they really want to know – which influencers are leading to which product sales.
For years, Instagram has been the go-to platform for influencers to promote brands and ultimately make a living. Its wealth of creators makes Instagram the perfect platform to launch its own affiliate program which Mark Zuckerberg recently announced the testing program for.
Testing Instagram’s New Affiliate Tool
This new affiliate tool allows creators to recommend products that are available for purchase on Instagram from brands, sharing them with their followers and ultimately earning commissions the products purchased from people who clicked on their posts. To comply with transparency standards, all of the Instagram posts created using the tool will be accompanied by the text “eligible for commission” appearing beneath their username in the same way that sponsored content labels appear.
Another feature included in this affiliate tool is a way for followers to show creators their appreciation with Badges. Influencers have utilized live videos on Instagram since its launch, and now viewers will be able to tip creators by sending a “Badge”, costing between $0.99 and $4.99. In addition, Instagram will allow creators to earn bonuses for accomplishing challenges, such as going live with another account.
Influencer Marketing Proving ROI
This launch is one of many steps that social media channels have taken to help creators make a living being influencers while also proving their worth to brands. TikTok and YouTube have both announced creator funds that will help provide an income stream to their creators and Instagram is now making strides to help both brands and influencers as well.
The key to understanding the new data provided by Instagram’s affiliate tool is having an experienced team behind you like Brandstar Digital Marketing. Contact us to learn more about how we can help you generate sales and improve ROI on social media through influencer marketing.
