Influencer, Affiliate Marketing: How will it benefit the e-commerce industry?

The modern consumer is ever evolving and is shunning the traditional media sources like TV and is shifting to content online. Social media, viewing video content and online shopping are where internet users are spending most of their time. Along with shunning traditional media avenues they also are moving towards new market forms namely the e-commerce sector. Influencers and affiliate marketing are the ways to attract and cater to this modern consumer.

Influencers have an extremely powerful on most social media platforms which includes Facebook Snapchat, Instagram, Tumblr to name a few. Facebook, where internet users spent vast amounts of time, influencers can provide marketers with engaged social media audiences interested in specific topics. Facebook’s recent algorithms change has made it more difficult for brands and their own content to appear in front of target audiences organically. Social media is pay to pay, and a brand message without paid support is a whisper that will be lost in the crowded shouting match that is the facebook newsfeed. Influencers give the brand or the product a social proof as they are unique and real and have a social connection to their followers.

The idea of affiliate marketing is simple enough: you let other businesses or people promote your products and send traffic to your site. In exchange, you pay them a percentage of any sales that are made that originate from those efforts. To keep track, it will give you affiliate identification code. The nature of this relationship helps your e-commerce site by driving more visitors to your page and reaching a new audience you might not otherwise connect with. Plus, you are able to take advantage of and access to this new network of customers without any upfront costs unlike traditional marketing strategies which would require you to invest in new marketing campaigns for each new audience.

So, does it make sense for you to engage your brand in affiliate marketing and influencers?

Generally, it is a beneficial strategy for any brand so long as you the time and resource to develop, monitor, and maintain an effective program. This includes from selecting the right affiliates, tracking their conversions, and determining the effectiveness of your efforts.

Influencers are in a prime position to drive e-commerce and showcase ROI providing social media e-commerce features are included in strategy. This is clear to see when we understand that 72% of Instagram users make purchasing decision based on products seen in their feed and 80% of Gen Zers and 74 % of millennials report that social media influences their shopping habits’.

E-commerce has enjoyed strong growth in 2018 with categories like travel and fashion seeing between 7% and 18% growth in global revenue. Paid and SEO have typically been considered the best methods to drive e-commerce and increased e-commerce capabilities in social media outlets and influencer content, such as : Instagram comment to buy and tap to buy feature , discount codes and track able links, are helping drive more internet users to research and purchase via social media. Since, Cost per Acquisitions model as one acquires new companies, Affiliating is a highly advisable model as one acquires new customer without paying in advance for marketing campaigns. Every single penny matters for e-commerce companies & every sale is important.

However, if you are a small operation with limited time and resources, your efforts may be better spent elsewhere. As your company grows, you can consider affiliate marketing.

Authored by Mr Rahul Bahukhandi, Co-founder, LaYuva