How D2C Brands Can Leverage Influencer & Affiliate Marketers to Ensure Growth & Success

As D2C brands enjoy hyper-growth mode thanks to consumers’ increasingly digital habits, savvy marketers are looking to influencers and affiliate marketers to expand their reach. The key to running a successful campaign, regardless of which method you choose, is simple: design it around your goals and customers, and the results you desire will follow.

What’s the Difference Between Influencers & Affiliate Marketers?

While influencer marketing and affiliate marketing both rely on tapping into large third-party followings on digital media, there’s a big difference. The main difference is that influencers are people, while affiliate marketers are media companies.

Influencer marketing: Social media personalities, or influencers, endorse your brands and products to their following. 

Affiliate marketing: Popular blogs and media websites advertise special offers, discounts, and sales for your D2C brand’s products to their audience through ads or featured content.

The Incredible Impact of Influencers & Affiliate Marketers

Influencer marketing: Social media personalities, or influencers, endorse your brands and products to their following. 

Affiliate marketing: Popular blogs and media websites advertise special offers, discounts, and sales for your D2C brand’s products to their audience through ads or featured content.

  • 93% of marketers have used influencer marketing in their campaigns

  • Most mentioned brand on Instagram in 2021: Zara 

  • Most mentioned brand on TikTok in 2021: FashionNova 

  • By 2022, the affiliate marketing industry is expected to be worth of $12 billion

  • 8 out of 10 brands run an affiliate marketing program

  • Affiliate marketing drives 16% of eCommerce sales in Canada and the US

  • The fashion and wellness industries are the top affiliate marketing niches

How to Leverage the Power of Influencers & Affiliate Marketers

Choosing which route to take and which influencer or media platform to partner with can feel like a tough call, but fortunately, your goals, customer base, and eventual metrics can help make these decisions easier. 

Choose Your Approach Based On Your Goals

What are you looking to achieve by working with an influencer or affiliate marketer? By setting your goals, you can look at the benefits of each to determine which is a better fit for your brand.

Benefits of influencer marketing:

  • Drive awareness for your brand on social media
  • Create brand affinity by framing products as beloved influencer recommendations
  • Convert social media followers into new customers

For example, let’s say you’re looking to grow your following on social media or generate buzz around a new product launch. Your brand would likely be best served by hiring an influencer who’s popular among your customer base. 

Benefits of influencer marketing:

  • Boost sales for a product line through branded content
  • Increase the number of new visitors to your website
  • Grow the reach of a new promotion

If you’d like to tout a special promotion, partner with an affiliate marketing website that can tell your product story through content and drive readers to your offer. You can also opt to place banner ads on articles related to your products. For example, if you’re a D2C beauty brand with an upcoming promo for lip balm, you may decide to place your ad in a prominent spot on a buzzy beauty blog.

Consider Your Customers’ Digital Habits

If a D2C brand’s influencer or affiliate efforts didn’t quite hit the mark, it doesn’t necessarily mean that marketing strategy is a bad fit. It may just mean that their marketing team needs to gain a better idea of where their customers live and what they follow.

Sure, influencers and affiliate marketers can give you a breakdown of their following, but does it match yours? Before you sign on to one of these partnerships, consider your customers:

  • Where do they spend their time online? 
  • What are their interests? 
  • How do they engage with your brand and others on social media

You might also want to ask your customer success team to locate some of the social media profiles of frequent buyers and get a feel for the influencers or blogs and media sites they follow. (Many blogs also have an Instagram presence to keep readers up-to-date on their latest posts.) If your top customers have favorite influencers or blogs in common, consider that your go-to list for partnerships.

Gain Inspiration from These Scroll-Stopping Examples

Designed for the modern minimalist, OAK + FORT looked to fashion and travel blogger Kate Ogata to tout their breezy, oversize trench to her 138,000 followers.

Spotlighting Sephora as the destination for clean foundation, influencer @jessannkirby demoed the easy application of Ilia Beauty’s Super Serum Skin Tint Foundation in an Instagram video.
NYT’s all-things affiliate marketing website Wirecutter features a popular Deals section that spotlights can’t-miss savings plucked from their must-read roundups of the hottest products available in a variety of categories. Note that in addition to the deals callout, the feature also links to the listicle it’s featured in, 33 of the Best Housewarming Gifts.
A beloved beauty magazine turned digital authority for all things beauty and skin, Allure.com packs plenty of roundups that feature product reviews and direct-buy links for their millions of visitors.

Scope Your Success Metrics

No matter which avenue you choose, the moment of truth comes when you determine whether or not your placement worked. Marketers typically use unique links or promo codes that allow them to seamlessly connect sales, website traffic, and other engagement metrics to the appropriate influencer or affiliate website.

When running an influencer campaign, keep an eye out for:

  • An increase in social media followers
  • A boost in comments, likes, and shares on your social media posts
  • A spike in website visits
  • An increase in orders of a specific product that was featured
 

With a successful affiliate marketing campaign, you’ll see:

  • A boost in order value thanks to your featured promotion
  • Increased website traffic from new visitors
  • More sales driven by an increase in reach for your promotion

Once this data is available, meet with your team members to review your campaign’s performance. As mentioned before, if your initial numbers disappoint, it doesn’t mean these strategies aren’t worth trying again. Work with your team to determine opportunities for improvement, whether that be moving to a different affiliate website, tweaking the terms of your promotion, or seeking out an influencer whose following is more reflective of your customer base.

You may also like...

Subscribe to Our Blog

Subscribe to receive an email when we publish new content!

    Ready To Empower Your Business?

    We can help you future-ready your business with customized, innovative solutions designed to foster sustainable growth.

        Meto

        Meto

        Meto is a tech-based nonprofit intent on making access to quality higher education a reality for all students. We have a special focus on creating scholarships for low-income students.


        In 2018, Meto was founded to connect African students with university opportunities. Along the way, we have learned that all students can benefit from our innovative model, wherein universities make the first move and invite good-fit students to apply. So, in 2023, we opened our platform to students across the globe.

        website: https://meto-intl.org/

                  Nikhil Badlani Foundation

                  The Mission of the Nikhil Badlani Foundation (the “Foundation”) is to enhance the lives of underserved children in West Orange, NJ and neighboring communities through music lessons, scholarships, and traffic safety education for all.

                  Since the Foundation was established in 2011, Theorem has consistently been an annual sponsor of and team participant in the STOP for Nikhil 5K Run/3K Walk. This event intends to raise traffic safety awareness and to serve as a way to remembervbgfc ≈ and honor those who have been killed or seriously injured in traffic accidents. We recognize the importance of raising awareness and road safety amongst teenagers and parents alike, especially in the local communities of our Chatham, New Jersey office. Learn more about the Nikhil Badlani Foundation at nikhilbadlanifoundation.org

                  Diversity and Inclusion

                  Theorem actively aids in the ongoing fight against systemic racism and discrimination, realizing the importance of ongoing discussions surrounding diversity and inclusion.

                  By contributing to organizations such as Black Girls Code and the Anti-Racism fund, we aim to be a fundamental supporter of diversity in the workplace and beyond. These organizations specifically speak to Theorem’s role as a leading voice in the technology innovation space and we avidly support their missions. The vision of Black Girls Code is to empower girls of color, ages 7-17 to become innovators in STEM fields and encourages them to be the builders of their own futures. The Anti-Racism Fund serves as a response to the inequities experienced by the African-American community. It provides monetary support to a dynamic portfolio of curated organizations as a way to inject and enable social change.

                  Feeding America

                  Feeding America is the largest charity working to end hunger in the United States. By partnering with local food banks, food pantries and other community food programs, Feeding America looks to advance change across the country and ensure equitable access to nutritious food.

                  As a long-standing contributor and sponsor of Feeding America, we deeply believe in their vision of an America without hunger. The need for and importance of organizations like Feeding America has has become more and more prevalent as communities face more hardships as a result of the pandemic and the current economy. Theorem is dedicated to its continued contributions to Feeding America to do our part to empower and strengthen our communities. Learn more about Feeding America at www.feedingamerica.org

                  Grameen America

                  Grameen America is dedicated to helping entrepreneurial women who live in poverty build businesses to enable financial stability mobility.

                  Since their founding in the United States in 2008, Theorem has supported Grameen America’s mission, which seeks to build upon the legacy of Presidential Medal of Freedom, Congressional Gold Medal and Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. Through financial contributions and event participation, Theorem has contributed to Grameen America’s cause. As an immigrant entrepreneur himself, our CEO Jay Kulkarni is especially eager to support the organization’s mission of aiding underserved communities. Learn more about Grameen America at www.grameenamerica.org

                  Vision Spring

                  VisionSpring is making the wonder of clear vision possible for all by helping provide affordable and quality eyeglasses to those in need. For many, lack of access to affordable eyeglasses leads to loss of employment or less educational opportunities.

                  VisionSpring partners with organizations who join them in their mission of supporting livelihood initiatives, enhancing potential for all. Learn more about Vision Spring at https://visionspring.org Theorem has consistently partnered with VisionSpring to organize free events, such as eye check-ups, across multiple villages in the Mysuru, India region, impacting over 3,000 rural residents. We stand with VisionSpring in their mission to increase accessibility to quality eyewear and eye care.

                  Covenant House

                  Covenant House provides housing and supportive services to youth facing homelessness, helping young people transform their lives.

                  For more than 5+ years, Theorem has supported Covenant House with corporate sponsorships, leading career-building workshops at their Newark, NJ shelter facility and participation in the organization’s fund raising Sleep Outs. Covenant House utilizes these Sleep Outs to raise funds and help shine a light on the injustice of youth homelessness, inspiring communities to step up and protect the vulnerable. We are proud to support Covenant House’s programs, which are designed to empower young people to overcome and rise above adversity, today and in the future. Learn more about Covenant House at www.covenanthouse.org

                  Contract Type

                  |

                  Location

                  Job Title

                  Contract Type

                  |

                  Location

                  Job Title

                  Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.