We talk a lot about affiliate marketing here. How to do it, how to do it well, what are the social media implications, etc. but it is worth reminding ourselves what affiliate marketing does for a digital marketing campaign.
As for teens, there are a lot of compelling reasons why it’s optimal to partner up with some of the younger generation. We’re breaking them down in this guide so that you can create the best affiliate marketing program with the people who best know what they are doing.
Why does eCommerce need affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a form of marketing that sees an affiliate (an influencer, a blog owner, a website owner, a podcaster, etc.) paid a commission to promote a brand, specifically by driving traffic to the brand’s site or page via a link shared in the content. So, for a practical example, a blog post might contain an affiliate link that will take the viewer to the brand’s site. The brand will then pay the owner of the blog, depending on the number of clicks they get to the site.
Sure, there are other means of marketing your businesses online. It is the most accessible, affordable, and easiest way to get your name out there, after all, but affiliate marketing is definitely the most effective. By working with affiliates, you don’t have to go asking an entire internet’s worth of people to please know who you are, which can be like screaming into a void, but instead inform a dedicated audience of another of who you are and what you do, like taking the mic off of Elvis for 30 seconds then handing it back.
This way of targeting an established audience has made affiliate marketing vital to any online marketing campaign.
Why are teens the best choice for affiliate marketing?
The idea of teens might be taking things too far, but it is useful to work with affiliate partners that are younger, or at least carry the same benefits as teens.
What are these benefits? Well, for one thing, teens are very tech and social media savvy. They’ll be the first ones to try new features on social media and report back on whether it’s something worth pursuing. Their bubbles are likely to naturally show them the latest tech news, and they might well flag up ideas from technology and content creation.
And that brings us to another reason that teen creators are a good choice. They are front and centre of content trends. They know what works to get people’s attention and what doesn’t. For example, British YouTuber TomSka has outlined a long history of making content for marketing purposes. He says, amongst his long story, that he doesn’t believe in ad reads, which are boring as they say the same thing every time and are easy to skip past. TomSka, for his part, prefers to incorporate marketing points into a comedy skit. Beauty influencers might prefer to use a product in their latest look, cooking influencers might want to incorporate them into their recipes or kitchens, etc. Or they might want to do something entirely different that they know is going to get their audience’s attention. It’s worth giving them that chance.
Creators are naturally bursting with ideas. They consume creator work, they make creator work, so they are in a particularly good position to know what themselves and their audience are likely to engage with. TikTok, in particular, is a good ground for organic marketing right now. Products are slotted into the content naturally, whether a paid commission or a creator just showing off their best buys. Booktok reviews and recommends books, fashion TikTok does hauls, #TikTokmademebuyit shows off items that have been bought online. That is proof of the younger creators knowing and creating more ways to market, but also an opportunity for affiliate marketers to partner up to get into these trends.
Of course, these perks aren’t exclusive to Gen Z and it’s up to you where youth ends. Child labour laws permitting, it’s useful to collaborate with affiliate partners who are young. Listen to what they have to say because they will have an insight that cannot be replicated. They can communicate well with others their age, without sounding corporate or very “Hello, fellow kids”. They have more flexible time to work on new ideas for sponsorships, and they will have more time to build a social media presence and work on their affiliate marketing, which means more traffic to your site.
If you’re interested in more affiliate marketing know-how, you can take a look at our blog, or even better, come to the Affiverse Elevate Summit in June. Or for more personalized advice, book a free call with a member of our team.
