In this episode of the Affiliate Marketing Podcast, Vana Han, Head of Global Affiliate for TikTok Business, joins Lee-Ann. Vana discusses the affiliate program that TikTok for Business has and how it targets SMB advertisers. Vana also shares strategies for scaling an affiliate program, including narrowing down the focus on key partners and growing existing partners.
Talking points include:
- Challenges in the content creator ecosystem
- Balancing AI and human creativity in marketing
- Ensuring transparency without compromising security.
Vana will be speaking at our ELEVATE Summit in London, this September. Get your ticket now to hear Vana speak on emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities at the intersection of performance marketing and lead generation. Put yourself in a room of forward-thinkers to hear exclusive insights on how to shape your strategy for 2025 and walk away with actionable tactics.
Listen in here to this week’s episode…
Moving the needle
Lee-Ann begins by asking Vana, “TikTok is a massive brand. It’s grown exponentially in a very short space of time. It’s right up there, but it’s almost come out of nowhere. How have you leveraged partnerships to actually support that growth? It’s integral as part of the business culture because we’ve had these discussions. So, how are you looking to work with partners and what are you learning from swapping into that B2B space?”
Vana replies, “So the question is how do you essentially scale any business in the affiliate world, right? Whether that be B2B or B2C. So, the way that I break it down is into three segments:
“One is the hardware, which is the tool. So we partner with Impact. It’s a great tool. Rather than focus on everything, they’re very specialized just building a very scalable tool that’s global.
“Then the software, which goes back into the human connection piece, right? So finding the right people, and this is very applicable to all the businesses. How do you find the right people with the right skillset, but it’s also about being able to have the soft skill that’s needed, right? Like in this business, you need the right hunter and you need the right gatherer to actually grow the business. So that’s the second aspect, which is what I call software.
“Then, you have the strategy. So that’s the bring aspect of it. You still have to understand, and be continuously testing to understand what actually works, and what doesn’t. I just got out of a meeting last night where my manager said, ‘Hey, do less. Do less, but actually find out what’s meaningful and just focus on doing fewer things that are actually moving the needle’. So that’s the core of strategy.”
“There isn’t a ‘one size fits all’”
“95% of the population know what TikTok is”, Lee-Ann says, “So, how do you still scale after that? What are the strategies and things that you’ve done to really continue to find the opportunities for TikTok to continue to grow, especially in the B2B space?”
Vana replies, “It’s true. I think on our consumer products, it’s a household name. Everybody knows about TikTok, but there are actually fewer people who know about TikTok for business. Maybe the marketing and advertising vertical know about us. It’s a household name to them, but to others, who are like the SMB advertisers, they’re just super busy with trying to grow their own business. Which is the type of customer that we like to partner with and help.
“They actually don’t know that much about our product offerings and the tools that we can help them to scale their business with. So, it’s actually a lot of education in the beginning.
“I do see the evolution of the awareness and now it’s getting into becoming more of a household name, even on the business side. But to answer your question, how we scale the business, I would say I essentially developed a test, learn and iterative framework. I think that’s applicable to a lot of business. There isn’t a ‘one size fits all’. We’re constantly testing. We’re testing different commission structures. We’re testing different verticals. We’re looking at the data. We’re just whiteboarding on things. I think testing is very important.”
Balancing AI and human creativity in performance marketing
Lee-Ann asks Vana, “What are some of the issues that you think need to be addressed in a content creator ecosystem for partnerships to thrive as we move forward into the new year, with all the changes that are coming?”
Vana replies, “AI is definitely a huge topic in the space, particularly for the creator space. So I think it’s a matter of how do we strike the balance between the human creativity and the AI efficiency? And regulation – technology is always ahead of regulation. So that’s something that we should all collectively observe and navigate the complexity of that space.”
Listen to find out more about:
- Vana’s career journey and transferable skills
- Leveraging partnerships for growth
- Treating Affiliates as partners, not suppliers
Key segments of this podcast and where you can tune in to go direct:
[10:24] Staying up-to-date with current trends
[25:30] Challenges in the Content Creator Ecosystem
[34:08] Advice for Affiliate Managers
Coming up on next week’s episode of The Affiliate Marketing Podcast: ‘Affiliate Marketing Is Now Everywhere: Why Brands Are Bringing It In-House’. Lee-Ann is joined by Amy Scanlon, GM at Affiliate Practice, Right Side Up.
ELEVATE Summit 2024 – LONDON
Meet Vana at ELEVATE! Join us in London on 16-17 September.
Limited Tickets Remain! GET YOUR TICKET HERE
Tickets to this unmissable two-day conference at Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, include:
- Full two-day conference and keynote speaker line-up (Learning from the best in the industry)
- Access to specific Masterclasses helping you level up your performance and skills development
- Lunch and Refreshments FREE on both days
- Networking and Exhibitor Area
- Matchmaking meet-ups
- A Social Networking party
Don’t miss your chance to be a part of this groundbreaking ELEVATE summit and take your performance and lead generation marketing efforts to new heights.
Secure your ticket and learn with industry veterans what’s new and trending in the Affiliate and Lead Generation worlds. Book today by clicking here.
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