Looking to scale your affiliate marketing program while driving results across the entire funnel? Your top priority is to harness the power of creators.
That’s the advice of Carissa Flinders, who heads up creator partnerships at leading affiliate marketing platform Awin.
“The affiliate channel is not just coupon and discount code partners,” Flinders explained on a recent podcast appearance with CreatorIQ’s Mike Balducci. “Affiliate marketers are realizing that influencers and creators fit into this strategy very nicely, driving full-funnel outcomes and boosting brand awareness.”
So how can you merge your affiliate and influencer marketing programs? Flinders and Balducci shared six key insights.
1. Think Beyond Last Click
The value that affiliate creators provide extends beyond direct sales.
“Affiliate marketers know that driving brand awareness with creator partners is going to lead to sales eventually,” explained Flinders. “It creates this halo effect. Creators are such a great way to activate through the full funnel because they drive brand awareness, which then can lead to sales.”
Flinders pointed out that EMV (Earned Media Value) has become a valuable metric for affiliate marketers. By quantifying this “halo effect,” marketers are able to measure the true impact of creator content.
Balducci pointed to a survey conducted by Digiday and Awin, which found that 58% of marketers identify brand awareness as a primary goal of their affiliate program.
“Their top goal still is to drive sales outcomes,” Balducci said, “but they are increasingly focused on brand awareness.”
2. Set Realistic Goals and Timelines
Harvesting the long-term benefits of brand awareness requires marketers to be patient and set realistic expectations.
“We often see brands who want a creator to drive massive sales overnight,” Flinders said. “But there have to be realistic expectations. You need to build strong, sustainable relationships before you’re going to see that increase.”
Balducci added that brands shouldn’t view creator partnerships on a one-, two-, or even six-month horizon. He explained that “it really takes time to grow these programs and drive a meaningful result.”
3. Prioritize Post Frequency Over Follower Count
Influencer partners are typically evaluated on follower count and engagement rate. But Balducci noted that post frequency is actually a much stronger indicator of success for affiliate creators.
He pointed to Lululemon as a brand that has adopted unique evaluation criteria for its affiliate creators. The brand prioritizes post frequency over follower count and engagement. It also factors in whether a creator has previously worked with a brand.
“My recommendation to all the influencer marketers out there is to really think about how you approach evaluating affiliate creators versus how you've historically evaluated [traditional influencer partners],” Balducci explained.
4. Give Creators the Support They Need
Brands not only want creators to post frequently, but to do so over the long term. Providing the right education and support is critical to building those relationships.
“We're starting to see in these affiliate creator programs that brands are providing more and more tools for creators to help them succeed,” Flinders said.
She mentioned webinars and support groups that teach creators how to build high-conversion content, structure CTAs, and select landing pages. This is particularly helpful for creators who are new to the affiliate model.
This education and support creates a mutually beneficial relationship that’s crucial to scaling your program.
5. Let Creators Create
Another key to maintaining long-lasting relationships is to avoid meddling in the creative process. Partners should be granted the “the freedom to create content authentically,” Flinders said.
Concerns over brand safety can unintentionally lead to micromanagement of the creative process, or cumbersome approval procedures.
However, Balducci pointed out that brands typically overestimate the potential for brand safety risk. An affiliate creator is highly incentivized to stay in good standing with the brands they promote. That means they’re careful to avoid, and quick to respond to, brand safety issues.
Keeping the content creation and approval process efficient is critical to growth.
“Your friend is scale,” Balducci said. “You want thousands of creators in your program creating content every day. That's what’s going to drive meaningful results.”
6. Use Affiliate to Measure Creator ROI
We’ve talked a lot about how creator marketing aids affiliate marketing, but the benefits go both ways.
As budgets come under siege and influencer marketing teams face increased pressure to demonstrate ROI, affiliate programs serve as testing grounds to gauge the performance of potential creator partners.
“Brands start with a base of affiliate creators, and then start to see who's successful,” explained Flinders. “Whom do our products resonate with best, and which creators generate the type of content we love?”
This approach allows brands to identify high-performing affiliate creators who align well with their brand values, enabling a deeper, more mutually beneficial relationship over time.
This, ultimately, is the value of integrating your affiliate and creator marketing strategies: both approaches serve to bolster the other, increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of your creator marketing campaigns.
Want to dive deeper into these insights? Watch the webinar replay for the full conversation.