Instagram: How to Run a Successful Affiliate Program

Affiliate marketing on Instagram? You heard it right; it’s a smart move. Consider this. With more than 1 billion people using the platform actively, setting up an affiliate program and partnering up with influencers and creators will lead to a highly profitable audience.

Four key players are in this affiliate equation: the affiliate network, the brand, the affiliate marketer (influencer/creator), and lastly, the customer. The generated clicks and sales from affiliate links are a great brand magnification tool. It’s all about growing your customer base and expansion.

This is precisely why this article focuses on the Instagram affiliate programs; how to set your brand up for success! Everything’s covered: from choosing the network to finding the right influencers. For more affiliate marketing-related topics, visit our blog.

Use affiliate marketing on Instagram to fast-track brand growth and further success.

Setting Up an Affiliate Program on Instagram

If you are a beginner in the affiliate field, the good news is that it is relatively simple to set everything up. Read on to uncover the step-by-step guide that leads to affiliate and brand success.

1. Choose an Affiliate Network

Before you begin searching for a perfect influencer, the easiest road to follow is choosing the right affiliate network. Affiliate networks are here to make your life and your job easier. They offer reporting tools, tracking technology, payment processing, and an established base of influencers to choose from.

The tracking technology part might be the most important part of an affiliate network. This is all thanks to trackable links that influencers post on their social media, in this case, Instagram, to keep track of sales and clicks.

Affiliate networks also help in determining the type and amount of commission your influencer receives. Two main commission models are utilized: cost per acquisition and pay per click. In the first case, every click on a website produces a small number of earnings. In the second case, the commission is earned after a sale is made. The second model might be a safer bet, given that it will make influencers shift focus from traffic to sales.

2. Set Commission Rates

Mapping out commission rates is the second step in our guide. This translates to how much you’ll pay an influencer for every sale they drive. Here are a couple of ideas

• Perform a Competitor Analysis: Be sure to ask around; what are the industry standards? How much do the competitors pay their influencers?
• Analyze Profit Margins: If we know that commission payments come out of the profit margin, you must understand the amount of profit you are willing to trade for a higher sales volume.
• Ask Your Chosen Affiliate Network: With their extensive experience, affiliate networks could possibly give you the best advice out there!

3. Create an Eye-Cathing Affiliate Program

The third step is creating a captivating affiliate program. Influencers should be wowed by it and should sincerely want to participate in it. One of the most effective ways to motivate influencers is to create a tiered program with the possibility to unlock additional rewards. This way, they get a boost, you get growing sales, and subsequently, they are fairly awarded for their efforts.

4. Find the Right Influencers

The influencers you choose should depend on your IG marketing goals. Also, quality over quantity is a tip that everyone should follow. The ones you hand-pick should deliver a strong voice about your products/services to their audience while effectively driving sales up.

Pro tip: Always send brand resources and guidelines before setting up influencer affiliates with your brand’s program. This will aid influencers in content creation, along with understanding the true essence of your brand.

5. Analysis and Adaptation

Once the program is up, your work is still not done. You should always keep track of what’s working and what should be changed. Affiliate networks already have details in their reports that show generated affiliate links tied to your brand, the clicks, and finally, the sales value. Tracking the number of affiliate sales that are closed is another important thing you should keep in mind.

Conclusion

To summarize, running an affiliate program should be your next step to success. Plus, Instagram is a perfect platform for it, given the wide audience range and numerous influencers that might help your brand grow. Follow these simple guidelines, and find out just how effective affiliate marketing is.