Affiliate vs. Influencer marketing - Which Should Your Company Use

Nowadays no marketing strategy is complete unless you incorporate the social media into it. With the boom in social media marketing there is a new marketing device that has come up and that is the influencers. The social media influencers have the power to reach large audiences among their followers. With the help of influencers companies can reach and engage potential customers in large numbers. Let us look at the difference between affiliate marketing and influencer marketing and compare the two.

Affiliate marketing vs. influencer marketing

Affiliate marketing is a strategy which encourages the individuals called affiliates to promote your brand and they are paid a commission on the sales. However, this payment is made only if there is a sale and someone buys the product or service.

 

Influencer marketing on the other hand is a strategy that uses influential people to promote the services or products. In this type of marketing the main challenge is the influencer analysis which helps the brands to identify the influencers who will be useful for their brand.

 

Influencer marketing is not really a new concept, because brands have been using celebrities to endorse their products and services for a long time. However, the modern day influencer marketing does not use celebrities, but instead opts for the common people who have a strong reach in the social media. We all know that the modern generation is more likely to believe something told by their peers rather than some celebrity. The companies use this fact and engage influencers who promote the brands in their own way. Here you need to bear in mind that both the marketing techniques use the word of mouth approach, but there are a few differences.

 

For affiliates in affiliate marketing the lead generation is the main focus because they use links to guide the audience to the site of the brand. On the other hand influencer marketing is more about brand exposure. Of course it is possible to view the traffic through tools like Google analytics, but there is no clear connection between the post of the influencer and the purchase on the site. Let us see the differences which play a major role on how the strategy approaches compensation. Here we need to bear in mind that in affiliate marketing it is not so difficult to look for affiliates, but looking for influencers require some time and effort.

 

How are the two paid?

The affiliate marketing uses the pay for performance method of payment. This means that they will get paid only for the real time results. On the other hand the influencers are required to be given an up-front fee. This is why a lot of influencer analysis is required because the companies do not want to end up paying the influencers without any results. A lot of research has to be done beforehand to ensure a good ROI and negotiations are made between brands and influencers to decide on the fees to be paid to them.

 

You may already know what affiliate marketing is from the matter mentioned above. However, we need to take an in depth analysis for the influencer marketing and the way it works.

 

Measurement and tracking

In influencer marketing the site of the publisher is used to track and measure advertising focused on branding. This includes:

 

  • Total audience which is the potential reach. This includes subscribers, blog traffic, social followers etc.
  • Social engagement which includes likes views, clicks on the links, social sentiment, comments
  • Social sharing through shares and embeds
  • Newsletter sign ups or give away entries
  • New social media followers

 

Cost per impression

When it comes to affiliate marketing, the technique uses tracking cookies and pixel which are placed on the site of the brand and in turn it tracks and measures the response focused on advertising. This method of measurement is somewhat more tangible and the calculation of the ROI becomes more reliable.

 

This includes:

  • Email sign-ups, registrations, giveaway entries
  • Orders, sales, subscriptions
  • New customer compared to returning customer
  • Conversion rate
  • Average value of the order
  • Cost per acquisition

 

Value of the customer lifetime

Whether you choose affiliate marketing or influencer marketing it depends on your needs and goals. The choice of marketing approach depends on three factors – what your goals are, who you audience is and where they spend time online and your budget.

 

These factors are such that they shift over a period of time and you will see that you will alternate between affiliate marketing and influencer marketing. It is not necessary to strictly adhere to one approach instead you can switch between the two or use both at the same time as your goals and needs shift and evolve. Let us see what you need to consider and you review both the factors.

 

Your goals

For a special offer, promoting a specific product or get your audience excited about a launch or campaign you should use influencer marketing. On the other hand if you want people to promote your products or services, special offers, discounts and more through channels other than Social media then you should opt for affiliate marketing.

 

Your audience

If your product caters to millennial audiences then it is a better option to choose influencer marketing. This is because millennial audiences are more likely to trust the words of their peers who are the influencers. On the other hand if you want to target a specific group of people instead of the complete audience then affiliate marketing is a better option.

 

Your budget

If you have a larger marketing budget then you can partner with larger influencers who can get maximum exposure. However, influencer marketing is expensive and here in order to reduce the cost of marketing it is ideal to opt for micro influencers who have a smaller group of followers but have a high quality of engagement with them. If on the other hand you want to wait and look at the results before you pay or want the option of ending the campaign as per your budget then you should choose affiliate marketing.

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