In our previous post, we made a general introduction to Instagram affiliate marketing. Valuable tips were shared, but we’re not done just yet. Instagram released news of its new affiliate program at the beginning of summer 2021. And with it, major beneficial changes came.
Let’s look into this unmissable feature for affiliate aficionados. Bear in mind this post will be most helpful to content creators on Instagram, a.k.a. Instagrammers who want to find brands they can promote.
New Monetization Method
Creators now have new profitable methods available on Instagram, making it easier to earn money from product promotions. The image-sharing company is currently testing out its novel feature, and the test phase will go on for a couple of months.
What Does the Affiliate Program Do?
This native affiliate marketing tool will:
- Let creators discover new services and products that people can buy via the Instagram app.
- The creators will then be able to share those products and services with followers.
- That earns them commissions for any customers that they lead towards purchasing.
In other words, if you are an Instagrammer, you get paid for recommending products and services – but now it’s easier than ever!
Don’t forget to check out a brand’s commission rate within the application. You get paid on closed commissions when the return period for the bought services and products has expired. That timeframe is usually in the 30-90 day range.
You can monitor your performance in the “Insights” section of your Instagram dashboard.
How Does the Program Work?
These are your simple steps for setting up your new profitable affiliate path:
- Select “Set Up Affiliate” from the “Pro Home” section.
- Pick the shop you prefer. You will then be shown its products and services. Select the ones you like the most and want to promote and save them to your wishlist.
- When you create a Feed and Story post, you can now tag the products from the wishlist.
Mind you, your resulting Feed or Story post will come with a disclaimer that says “Eligible for commission.” Affiliate tags will be available for feed carousels and feed videos, but not for IGTV.
Make sure you are a suitable candidate for the affiliate program by visiting the Instagram Partner Monetization Policies. You need to comply with the policies to use the feature.
New Horizons and Opportunities – and Risks
The new feature will definitely bring some new monetization opportunities, which is the primary goal of social media platforms in general. That goal is even more highlighted in these covid times when people are sitting more at home and turning towards eCommerce.
Another good angle for Instagram is that their own affiliate program will definitely push more people to post more frequently.
There are also some risk factors involved. Brands are threading a possibly prickly path, as they won’t directly have a say in who promotes their services and brands. The cancel culture won’t be slowing down soon, and company CEOs and their brand managers are well aware of that.
People are right to guess that there is some other verification procedure involved in the affiliate program. But we will need to wait for the feature to become widely available to see if this is true. For now, the affiliate program is being tested among a smaller batch of States-based Instagrammers and brands (MAC and Sephora being amongst them).
Don’t Forget the Golden Rules
New feature or not, there are still things that you need to keep in order when setting up your Instagram profile.
Make sure that you partner with those brands that fit your tone and audience. You don’t want to post things no one in your ‘followers’ list is interested in. It could end up costing you valuable targets.
When you pick an appropriate brand, don’t forget about valuable hashtags and location information. Such a small thing, but it still makes some difference in 2021.
And finally, nothing can beat good old engagement. Be responsive and answer your DMs and comments as much as you can.
Conclusion
Instagram started as a simple photo-sharing application but is now a means to make a living for many people. The newest addition proves the undying strength of eCommerce.
The new seamless connection between monetization and content-sharing will make it easier than ever for you to spin your passion into a living.
On the other side, users will find and shop for products that they like even more straightforward than before.
Hungry for more affiliate marketing content? Check out our blog for more social media-savvy tips and tricks. No matter if you are a brand or content creator, we got something for you.
