As a marketer, you have decided to venture into affiliate marketing and create your own affiliate program for your customers. However, the key element to figure out is where those entities are that can run your program successfully. With entities, we mean the middle layer of individuals or affiliates who can act as a bridge between you, as an advertiser or brand, and your end customers. There would be no affiliate marketing without the presence of affiliate marketers. These marketers are considered the backbone of any affiliate marketing program. They are your brand advocates who can create the correct buzz for your products and services, driving brand awareness and engagement, and spurring sales in the market. Without them, imagining the success of your affiliate program is close to impossible or a mere pipedream. As such, it is imperative to identify and recruit affiliate marketers who can fully promote your products and services and scale them to greater heights.
These individuals cultivate trust among their consumers and are considered authority figures due to their knowledge and first-hand use of products and services. Consequently, consumers repose trust in them and make purchasing decisions based on their reviews and recommendations. Thus, advertisers thoroughly vet these individuals before hiring them, as they can affect consumers' buying decisions and determine the success factor for their business. It has to be noted that it can be challenging and tedious to choose the right creamy layer. In the face of fierce competition and a sea of superior programs and opportunities, you must be diligent, creative, strategic, and meticulous enough in your approaches to reel them into your program.
On this note, let us quickly look at the definition of Affiliate Recruitment
Affiliate recruitment involves identifying, assessing, and onboarding individuals who can promote an advertiser's products and services in their target market and earn commissions based on performance. These individuals or affiliates must align with the brand's values, audience, and goals, or operate within the same niche. The recruitment occurs through email, social media, webinars, podcasts, and online advertising.
What Constitutes Great Affiliates?
Selecting affiliates from your existing customer base allows you to handpick those who are satisfied with your brand's offerings and can refer others to your brand. The fact that they have established credibility in their social circles makes them the ideal choice for affiliates. Consequently, they are the individuals who can honestly convince their network why your program is worthwhile for purchasing products and services, and they are highly likely to write testimonials.
Hence, you must not miss a chance to reach out to a pool of existing customers, expressing appreciation for their loyalty and elucidating the perks of becoming an affiliate, such as earning high commissions, exclusive discounts, and gaining access to future promotions etc. In addition to possessing expertise and knowledge in their niche, these affiliates are aligned with your brand's interests and objectives. They comprise content creators, Influencers on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, etc., super affiliates, media publishers, bloggers, podcast owners, etc. Post-hiring, affiliates receive promotional materials such as banners, links, and coupon codes that they can share with their audiences so they will click on the links or use the coupons to purchase products. In return, they receive commissions for their services.
How can you, as an Advertiser, find and Recruit Quality Affiliates?
1) Get Your Mingle On at Industry Events and Conferences
By participating in industry events, you get the opportunity to rub shoulders with other affiliates, influencers, partners, and super affiliates, who are actively seeking partnerships. There is no better way to build meaningful connections with other like-minded affiliates and nurture long-lasting partnerships than attending industry events or conferences. Through this, you get educated on the latest industry happenings and trends, find new brands to work with, and continue to grow your business.
These events provide a medium to establish rapport with other business professionals, including affiliates, and cement trust between your brand and them. You showcase your brand, discuss your affiliate program in-depth, get instant feedback on your offerings, and answer any questions immediately at the booth level. Thus, this fosters mutual collaboration and beneficial relationships between brands and affiliates. With this, you may highlight the benefits that potential affiliates can expect from partnering with your brand. In addition, you continuously synergize with them so that you can understand their needs, pain points, and motivations. Insights gained from connecting with these affiliates can be invaluable in refining your program and attracting current and prospective partners.
2) Leveraging the Power of Social Media Platforms
By harnessing the power of Social Media Platforms, you, as an advertiser, can connect with affiliates and recruit them for your affiliate program. You may also post Feed and Story posts about your program for interested audiences to enroll. You may also embed links and provide clear instructions on what you expect them to do. Instagram and TikTok provide an excellent platform for recruiting younger affiliates, whereas LinkedIn allows you to find a battery of professionals ("content creators," "influencers," etc.). LinkedIn can let you comb through skilled and seasoned affiliate partners with the necessary expertise, authority, credibility, and audiences who can promote your products or services effectively.
Aside from that, you may also join relevant groups and communities on these social media platforms and engage in discussions with other tribes affiliated with these platforms. You may also connect with Influencers or other content creators through hashtags or social media search functions to explore business opportunities with them. You may also send a personal message explaining your interest in their offerings and why you're contacting them. You can build a relationship with them by liking and commenting on their posts, sharing their content, and contributing ideas or suggestions. The goal of social media is to sell, but it is also to cultivate relationships and build communities with potential affiliates. As a result, you will form strong bonds with your affiliates and hire the best candidates.
3) Reaping the Benefits of Influencer Marketing
By collaborating with influencers, you are open to a world of possibilities! Since they are experts in the niche you're in, you have the chance to connect with them and their followers. As influencers, they have a broader fan following who trusts and admires them, and they let your program be exposed directly to their network of affiliates. Using this strategy, you can provide incentives and exclusive deals to influencers, enticing them to become part of your program. By partnering with these influencers for your programs, you gain credibility and showcase your brand authentically in the eyes of their circle of affiliates. As affiliates, influencers can join your program, and their performance can be tracked through your affiliate links.
To generate sales for your program, you must target nano and micro influencers since mega and macro influencers are difficult to reach. To captivate their audience's attention, these influencers also tend to create engaging content and promotional materials that make them more appealing to their target audience and earn them more money. Aside from shoring up your affiliate program management impact, these influencers allow you to generate profitable results for your business. This Influencer collaboration is symbiotic as Influencers gain commission or exclusive discounts in exchange for promoting your products to audiences, thereby boosting your brand's growth.
Statistics reveal that approximately 50% of Twitter users rely on influencer feedback before buying a product, and 40% said they purchased something after seeing an influencer showcasing it. Hence, influencer marketing may help you reap the benefits from an affiliate marketing program.
4) Paid Advertising
Paid ads are a powerful way to direct traffic to affiliate landing pages and drive conversions. Facebook Ads lets you reach scores of influencers and high-quality affiliate partners, Google Ads retrieves precise results based on targeted keywords entered by audiences, LinkedIn attracts industry professionals by finding groups within relevant niches, etc. A clear, concise, and compelling ad copy with visuals can highlight the unique benefits of your affiliate program, such as competitive affiliate commission rates, timely payouts, etc.
5) Casting your Net to Competitor’s Affiliate
Recruiting your competitor's high-quality and proficient affiliates can prove efficacious for your program. Try luring them with enticing offers, lucrative commissions, and compelling proposals. It will help them gravitate to your program and contribute to its success.
How does the Offer18 Platform help Businesses to Manage their Affiliate Program?
Offer18, a performance marketing platform, invests in cutting-edge tools and technologies that can track, monitor, and optimize the performance of affiliates. Affiliate marketing software solutions provided by Offer18 allow businesses to track every click, conversion, and sale an affiliate generates. Aside from managing affiliate commissions, performance reports, and real-time analytics, they also enable businesses to make data-driven decisions and reward high-performing affiliates.
Conclusion
In addition to hiring affiliates, it is equally important to recruit affiliates of premium quality. The quality is just as important as the quantity. You should, however, think it through carefully to ensure you are selecting the right candidate. You will need to be conscientious in your approach to realize the results for your program that will be rewarding and compensating for the time and effort you put into finding the right candidate. The market is swarming with affiliates, such that there is no dearth of affiliate marketers; however, to fish out the plum candidates, you need to strategize, broaden the search criteria, follow the tips in this blog, and put on your thinking cap until you get the right candidate.
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