HOW TO USE INSTAGRAM FOR AFFILIATE MARKETING

Majority of us spend several hours of our day browsing through Instagram. But what if I told you that we could make that browsing productive. That we could make money simultaneously while surfing through Instagram. Today I will tell you how to earn money through Instagram Affiliate Marketing.

Integration Of Instagram & Affiliate Marketing:

Let me explain with an example, when pictures of the Kardashians and other mega influencers pop up on your feed, don’t you wonder “Who takes their pictures?” I mean their pictures are so perfectly lit and absolutely stunning.

When these mega influencers post on Instagram, they get millions of likes and lovable comments. But what these posts also do is provide invaluable exposure to the brand they are advertising. More over these influencers get paid up to $1 million per post and also earn sales commissions.

You must be wondering that why would brands be interested in hiring these influencers when they cost thousands of dollars and each sale made from their promo code or link would mean a deduction in company’s profit.

The answer to this is the high level of engagement and activity Instagram receives: the platform has over 1 billion monthly users and over 500 million check the app daily.

Instagram is a platform on which the users interact with the products personally and consistently rather than any other traditional advertising method. You can comment, direct message, share, like, watch product videos, and so much more– all in one place. This is why Instagram is an excellent platform for affiliate marketing.

Also due to corona virus majority of influencers have noticed a spike in their engagement since people are observing quarantine and are always on their phones.

What’s In It For You? :

The bad news is that majority of you reading this article aren’t celebrities nor have massive fan following. But the good news is that you don’t need to be one! Micro influencers" have emerged as an unstoppable force for product promotion in the affiliate marketing industry.

They are Instagrammers that have up to or more than 5k followers, are focused in a specific niche and have highly engaged users despite their modest following. Because of their small and highly engaged communities, more and more brands are making the choice to collaborate with micro influencers.

Another point worth mentioning is that it’s not that difficult to become a micro influencer. It does require some time and effort but is essentially free and very much possible.

Now the question is how exactly do things work out? Well its quite simple. Once you have achieved a loyal following in a specific niche, you start looking for affiliate products to sell and promote. You'll earn a commission if your followers buy any of these products using your link or promo code. And that's pretty much it for the Instagram Affiliate Marketing.

How To Develop An Instagram Following? :

Pick a niche:

You must pick a niche before starting to promote products. Choose a niche in which you are knowledgeable or have a keen interest in. There are many niches out there such as fashion, beauty, lifestyle, food, parenting etc.

Start generating high-quality content:

This step eats majority of your time. Of course, people won’t start trusting you overnight unless you become viral. You need to use all of Instagram’s features such as reels, IGTV, videos, stories etc. You must appear as relevant and credible to people and try to post aesthetically pleasing images.

Actively engage in your niche:

After selecting your niche and creating quality content what you need to do is engage with other influencers within your niche. Comment on their videos, IGTVS and stories. Also interact with your followers by doming them and responding to their comments.

Make good use of hashtags:

Hashtags are very important for Instagram. They work just like keywords work for google. They help users of Instagram in finding you, however avoid using hashtags not related to you.

Don't pay for followers:

Buying followers may seem very attractive because it allows you to gain many followers in a short period of time. But you must avoid it because they aren’t real people, they are bots and they won’t interact with your posts the way people do. And at the end of the day you need real people to buy products. Also brand/companies monitor your engagement with followers to decide whether they want their products to be promoted by you.

A decent reputation:

We all know that being controversial helps gain public recognition. But you need to keep in mind that you will be representing the brand that you work with. So they should be able to trust you with their products.

Post on a regular basis:

Finally, you need to be consistent while posting on Instagram. Of course I am not asking you to bombard people’s timelines by posting everything at once. But if you post irregularly your followers may forget about you. You must also be consistent with the timing of your post as it also affects the views and engagement you will receive.

Connecting With An Affiliate Network:

Brands are interested in your platform now that you have a decent following in a specific niche; the next step is to find an offer to promote.

This part is relatively simple – much simpler and faster than Part 1. Sign up for an affiliate network. Simply go to a site like ShareASale, Rakuten, or AWIN, fill out the information, and then choose an offer from the thousands available.

Important things to consider:

Look within your niche:

Promote affiliate products that are related to your specific niche. If you have maintained an Instagram related to health and fitness than promote products related to the same niche. This will make you credible and authentic in the eyes of users.

Long term commitment with a brand:

Look for a brand whose product you trust and have full confidence that you are recommending a good product to your followers. Pick a brand that suits the image of you and your account. So that you can stick with them in the long run.

Pick high ticket items:

Let’s be honest! No matter how loyal or dedicated your following is, not everyone is going to make the purchase. Therefore, you have to make sure that the products you promote earn you a decent commission

Now that you have selected the product/offer you want to promote, its time to put it on Instagram so that you can earn some money.

Placing Your Link On Instagram:

There are various ways to place your affiliate link on Instagram especially when it’s become so ecommerce friendly.

Here are some possible solutions:

Link in bio:

You may have noticed many users have a link posted in their bio. Majority of these links are affiliate links. This is a very common technique however it will become difficult if you are promoting more than one product

Link in bio + carousel:

This is the solution of the problem that arises when you want to promote multiple products but can only post a single link. If you follow this method you only have to post a one link in your bio and once the user clicks on it, they will be directed to a list of affiliate offers and can select the one they are interested in.

Shortened link in your post:

Although both the methods stated above are easy and effective but sometimes users don’t want to click on the bio link. What you can do is use a link shortener like bitly.com and post the affiliate link in your caption.

Promo code:

Another way of posting your affiliate link on Instagram is by mentioning a promo code. The user can then use your promo code to avail a discount and you earn a commission.

Swipe up feature:

In this method you include your affiliate link in your Instagram stories and whoever is interested can swipe up to view the link.

Link in IGTV:

An IGTV is a video clip without any time constraints. You can post a video without worrying about its duration. You can post an affiliate link in your IGTVS.

Sponsored posts:

Sponsored posts are ads that you post on social media. The benefit of these is that viewers can see your link on their homepages with a clear call to action button that will direct them to your link.

Conclusion:

I have mentioned all the information you need to start Instagram affiliate marketing. So what are you waiting for? It’s time to take action and start earning as an influencer!