Affiliate marketing is the most accessible and effective means of digital marketing today. It has expanded into a massive multi-billion-dollar industry around the world, with influencers and blogs marketing brands to people all over the world.
And yet, Aussies aren’t interested. Or rather, they’re keeping away. Australia’s share of the e-commerce market is a fraction of that in the US or China, and marketers are asking why.
Apparently, it comes down to a cultural matter. Australians distrust the idea of affiliate marketing and therefore tend to keep away from influencers giving out endorsements on social media, spawning from a general distrust of big businesses and corporations.
Is there any way we can fix that? Or are we resigned to miss out on a potential market that simply isn’t interested? We explore the idea of affiliate marketing and what could possibly convince the Aussies to trust the concept of affiliate marketing.
What are the benefits of affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is essentially the same idea as a celebrity endorsement if you were to really stretch the concept of what makes a celebrity. What immediately comes to mind is Instagram influencers talking about Raid: Shadow Legends on their Stories, but affiliate marketing can occur across the internet. It’s in podcasts, blogs, big brand websites, video content and more.
In fact, it might be the case that, even though Aussies apparently distrust affiliate marketing, they’ll have been convinced by it at some point. The idea of a YouTuber interrupting their own conversation to talk about Skillshare may not be subtle, but far more affiliate marketing is and comes off as an organic discovery of a product or brand while browsing the internet.
It comes with the perk of a built-in review, too. By the sheer fact that an influencer or blog is promoting this brand, that must mean they believe in it, which is where the celebrity endorsement aspect comes in. The audience trusts who they follow and trust them to endorse a product they believe in.
Affiliate marketing vs Multi-Level Marketing
A major problem with Aussies embracing the idea of affiliate marketing is their confusion with the business model. Without the two outlined, there is an ongoing misunderstanding that affiliate marketing is just multi-level marketing with a different name.
On the surface that might make sense. A user will see someone they are following promote something to them and might assume they have been told to flog their pyramid scheme items from another pyramid scheme member.
Affiliate marketing is very different from that. Affiliate marketing is a partnership wherein the influencer will earn a commission for mentioning the item in their content. It is the brand that is selling the item, not the influencer, and there are no unethical practices in the core concept of affiliate marketing.
Ditch big influencers for micro-influencers
Not necessarily contained to Aussies, users around the world are becoming more distrusting of big influencers. There is a cycle to online fame that ultimately starts with the fans building up someone small then knocking them down once they become too big. This is usually informed by some unethical actions by the influencer. Users are becoming disillusioned with the influencers they follow, whether due to a lack of authenticity that comes with getting big enough, or ideals and actions that the user doesn’t agree with.
Meanwhile, a new concept is expanding throughout social media, particularly on Facebook and TikTok: communities. People are finding their own people amongst Facebook groups and TikTok communities. Whether they’re a mother, a book fan, a member of the LGBT community, or deaf community, etc. users are finding others of their ilk online. Like any community, there are people who stand out, in this case, likely because they are putting more time into their content and building a reputation and soon they gain the status of “micro-influencer”.
Affiliate marketers can partner with micro-influencers to gain a lot of eyes on their brand or product. Not only is the micro-influencer a person of authority due to their status online, but they are a kindred spirit, which means the community is more likely to believe them.
And why shouldn’t they? The other side of the benefits of partnering with micro-influencers is that they will appeal to a very niche market, one where everyone in the community is likely to use the advertised product or service. If a marketing team can use the voice of one influencer to advertise their products to a community, they are likely to gain a lot more than to hope a bigger influencer appeals to a wider demographic that might not fit the product. Plus, depending on the product or service, you could gain a lot of loyal customers that keep coming back to the brand because it suits their needs.
For more information on affiliate marketing, take a look at our blog, or book a free call with a member of our team for more personalized advice.
