Market research shows that affiliate marketing spending amongst marketers and business promoters is all set to increase. This is mainly because it is an affordable and viable marketing strategy that can be efficiently measured and tracked. The research also highlights that 15-30 % of e-commerce sales come from affiliate marketing drives.

As a multi-billion dollar global industry, affiliate marketing is a performance-based online marketing strategy where businesses (such as merchants or advertisers) reward individuals or entities (such as social media influencers ) for promoting their products or services and driving desired actions, such as sales, leads, or traffic to the merchant's website. Affiliate marketing is also associated with live commerce, which is steadily growing in India. Another example of affiliate marketing that is slowly gaining footing is Instagram live selling, where small business owners and entrepreneurs conduct live selling on their platform.  Viral sensation, Jasmeen Kaur who made the catchphrase “Just like a Wow” famous is the best example of Instagram live selling.

With the influencer economy booming, Instagram affiliate marketing is becoming a formidable marketing strategy for businesses to drive sales or increase traffic.

Influencers can serve as highly effective partners for businesses and marketers seeking to promote their products or services, and there are several compelling reasons for this collaboration as they have -

• Extensive audience reach
• Access to targeted demographics
• Trust and credibility from their followers
• The skill set to create very compelling visual stories

Besides their social media reach and talent in content creation, influencer affiliate marketing benefits brands for the following reasons -

# 1 Very ROI Focused

Affiliate influencer marketing campaigns are inherently performance-based, with brands paying for actual sales or desired actions. This sharp focus on return on investment (ROI) ensures that marketing expenditures are directly tied to measurable outcomes.

# 2 Helps in Cost Control

Since it is easy to track ROI for affiliate marketing, marketers can easily control the budget of the affiliate influencer marketing campaign. Based on the performance of the influencer during the campaign, markets can also divert resources. Therefore, businesses of any size can benefit from this component of affiliate marketing.

# 3 Negligible Upfront Cost

Unlike traditional advertising or influencer marketing campaigns that may require substantial upfront payments for ad placements, influencer affiliate marketing often requires minimal upfront costs. Brands pay commissions only after the desired results are achieved.

# 4 Diversified Marketing Channels

By collaborating with multiple influencers across various social media platforms, brands can diversify their marketing efforts and reach audiences on different channels simultaneously, increasing their brand's online presence.

If executed properly, affiliate marketing is a low-risk, high-return marketing strategy that can drive big results. To build an effective influencer affiliate marketing strategy, marketers can consider the following tips -

# 1 Identity the right Influencer for the Campaign

Brands should narrow on the influencers whose audience aligns with their target demographic. Their followers should be interested in the products or services for which the affiliate links are created.

# 2 Defining Clear Objective

What do the marketers want from the affiliate programme? Higher sales, brand awareness or more website traffic. For each of these outcomes, the influencer marketing campaign will have to be envisioned differently.

# 3 Provide The Influencer Good Affiliate Resources

This would include, product codes, banners, promotional links, product images or any other forms of related content. Also, ensure that the product codes and affiliate links are working properly at the time.

# 4 Offer Fair Compensation

Determine fair compensation for influencers, whether it's a flat fee, a percentage of sales, or a combination of both. Consider offering performance-based incentives, bonuses, or exclusive discounts to motivate influencers.

# 5 Encourage Transparency

Advertisers and marketers must ensure that the influencer discloses their affiliate relationship with the brand to maintain transparency and adhere to legal regulations. This is important for building customer confidence and credibility.

# 6 Clear Contract and Guidelines

Create a clear contract that outlines expectations, deliverables, posting schedules, and disclosure requirements. Provide guidelines for content, ensuring it aligns with the brand values and messaging.

# 7 Monitor Performance

Track and analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the success of your influencer affiliate marketing campaign. galleri5’s affiliate marketing platform allows businesses to monitor the performance and all the metrics associated with the affiliate marketing campaign.

# 8 Cultivate Long-Standing Relationships

Finally, brands must work towards building a long-term relationship with the influencers who have performed well during the entire campaign. Besides good outcomes from the campaign like higher sales, and increased web traffic, brands must also pay attention to the work ethic and professionalism of the influencer.

Brands must build a relationship with all social media influencers who have exceeded expectations on all these fronts. This will be crucial for future affiliate programs and also for building authentic endorsements and trust-building with their audience.

In summary, influencer affiliate marketing provides brands with a highly effective, cost-efficient, and results-focused marketing strategy that leverages the credibility and influence of online personalities to drive sales, engagement, and brand recognition. This approach has the potential to yield a strong return on investment while simultaneously offering a more authentic and engaging customer experience.

galleri5’s affiliate marketing program is very solid. We have an understanding of the market, given our expertise in the influencer marketing domain. We have a complete creator stack across genres and have a proven track record of helping brands launch very successful influencer and affiliate marketing campaigns. For more information, book a demo today!