Making money in this modern era is easier than you think. Yes, there is competition in the market, but there are possibilities too. Where there is a lot of online stuff you can make money with, one of them is affiliate marketing, and it is one of the safest and most reliable methods of making money online. Businesses and brands need different ways to market and sell their products online because they can’t do everything independently. So, they reach out to influencers and creators to market and sell their products online. One of the popular social media platforms is Instagram. But here is a catch, if you want to be an Instagram affiliate marketer, you don’t have to be a big celebrity or an influencer. You just need the right affiliate partners and understand your followers. Furthermore, Instagram’s new features have made shopping easy for shoppers. For example, you can post shoppable posts, track analytics, buy stickers, pay with Instagram checkout, and shop from artists. Influencers can now tag brands in their posts as part of this year’s affiliate business model. Additionally, Affiliate marketing on social media is getting popular, especially on Instagram. In this article, we will check how Instagram affiliate marketing works and help you to make money.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
In simple words, Affiliate marketing is when you sell someone else’s product and get a commission per sale. As a result, rather than selling directly, you will only receive commissions. A brand or business creates a referral marketing program. Sometimes these brands reach out to influencers to promote and sell their products. Influencers (affiliate marketers) reach out to affiliate programs of their niche and create content around the products to promote them online with a unique affiliate link. Then, A influencer or a creator earns a commission whenever any person buys products from that unique link. It is a WIN-WIN situation for both brand and the affiliate marketer. Furthermore, Affiliate marketing has been in the market for a long–time, but from the past decade. Social media has become a new hub for affiliate marketers to promote and sell products.
Reasons for Using Instagram for Affiliate Marketing
You may be aware of how powerful social media is nowadays. Almost everyone is on Instagram; if you spend 4-5 hours per day scrolling the feed, you can make money on Instagram. You can even do a side hustle on Instagram. Here are some reasons to start affiliate marketing on Instagram.
Great source of Income/ passive income
Instagram has over 1 billion users. Hence this makes Instagram a perfect platform to market trending brands & products and generates more sales. You can do Instagram affiliate marketing full-time or as part-time. Moreover, many big brands and PR agencies need influencers to market their products on Instagram, which means Instagram affiliate marketing is in demand.
Get new valuable connections
When you start creating quality content and establish your presence on Instagram, you will attract big personalities and influential people, which will help you grow more on Instagram.
It is for Long Term
Instagram affiliate marketing is not limited; once you become popular, big brands come to you to collaborate for the long term.
Affiliate marketing is a low-risk business
If you want to promote an affiliate product, you do not need any investment. The only investment you need is your time to create quality content. Thus, it is a safe and promising field.
How to do Affiliate Marketing on Instagram
Step 1: You need a creator account: First, you need a creator account on Instagram, which is specially designed for content creators, influencers, etc. Create an account as a creator by following these steps:- Step 2: Optimize your account: Optimize your profile for your Instagram Creator’s account; choose a relevant username, profile photo, and bio that describes your affiliate products. Additionally, You can use Online photo editing tools to edit your posts. Step 3: Choose a Niche: Select a niche you are familiar with so that you can offer affiliate products and establish yourself as a reliable source of information for particular products. Step 4: Choose your affiliate partners: Your next step is to find brands that pay commissions on purchases. After that, you can market these products on your Instagram creator account. Also, you can create unique links, track commissions, and receive payouts from one dashboard using the ShareASale, Rakuten, Awin, and CJ Affiliate platforms. However, there may be differences in commission rates among several programs within the same network. Furthermore, if you have been a loyal customer of that brand for a long time, you can directly contact the brand and market their product while earning commissions. Step 5: Boost your Instagram influence: Once you’ve set up everything to do affiliate marketing on Instagram, you should inform your followers about the brand and products by connecting with them and creating quality content. Here are some tips to become a successful influencer on Instagram. Step 6: Track your performance: After setting up your affiliate program, it is also important to track and monitor your performance. In addition, keep an eye on how your followers react to your post. Furthermore, take inspiration from the internet to strengthen your affiliate marketing.
Instagram Affiliate Marketing Tips
Grow your Instagram account
To grow on Instagram as an affiliate marketer (or an influencer), you need to understand how the algorithm works, the best time to post, how to post, etc.
Tag affiliate products
Tag your affiliate products with brands in your Instagram feed to drive more sales.
Your Instagram bio should include affiliate links
This Means Instagram does not let you post links in the caption. Use apps like linktree in your bio to add affiliate links and direct users to purchase from there.
Create a discount code Story highlight
Remember to mention the discount coupon code in the story while posting a story with any new discount so that you can easily apply it.
Share your buyers’ feedback in your story
To build trust and credibility, ask your buyers to give feedback, record a small video unboxing, or use the product. You can share this feedback on an Instagram story reel.
Put your personal touch
Instagram affiliate marketing is familiar, so many people are doing it. But you can make your feed stand out by adding your personal touch. In short, make one thing your trademark (It can be a logo or prop)
Create shoppable stories and pin them
You can recommend products on your Instagram by tagging them in your stories.
Conclusion
Instagram affiliate marketing is easy if you have the right strategies. No matter if you are a beginner or intermediate in it. You just need to create quality content and help your followers with their queries. On top of it, when you affiliate marketing with your favorite brand’s products, you start enjoying the process. So, what are you waiting for? Get started with Instagram affiliate marketing, learn from experts, connect with influencers and be richer.