A new shopping feature on Instagram was launched in mid-2021. Users will be able to directly make purchases on Instagram which means influencers will have a whole new feature for earnings.
In other words, affiliate marketing commissions for the products that are promoted by influencers or social media celebrities could increase tremendously, especially for those with tens of thousands or millions of followers.
There has been an increase of smaller (called nano or micro) influencers of late. This was compounded by the move by brand owners to move toward targeting smaller markets that are more nice and more relevant to them.
This simply means that any influencer with just 100,000 followers could earn cash from their posts and shares.
The Leak and its implications
In a leaked report recently, it was found that influencers earn between 8% and 20% in commission.
The new affiliate marketing program by Instagram showed some astounding numbers with brands like Zara offering around 8% of commission (which can be considered acceptable).
On average, the payout of commission is around 16%. The report showed that brands like Old Navi pay 10% in commission, Massimo Dutti pays 13% while The Yes is as high as 17%.
After the report was leaked, most of the brands decided not to comment on the matter but it looks like both parties are benefiting greatly from such an arrangement.
An influencer would potentially earn an average of $5,000 per month through the affiliations, and this was in 2020. That said, the numbers have been growing in the ensuing years and influencers would potentially be earning more today.
What does this mean for the influencers?
While the numbers are quite surprising, this simply shows that marketing has changed tremendously.
Affiliate marketing is only one of the ways that can help brands push their products better to their target audience. Instagram helps influencers to earn money but also brands promote their identity.
Brand owners must look into affiliate marketing while remunerating content creators accordingly. The report also revealed that the largest revenue driver that creators get is through sponsored content which could well be $100 for every 10,000 followers.
It is no surprise that brands are willing to go all out in paying for results. Posts by influencers will need to deliver the numbers and it is not just about having tens of thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of ‘LIKES’ but it is in the conversion that would matter in the end as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OX1hGJ4QMAchttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD16VMaBly4
