Instagram Has Announced an Affiliate Tool!

Instagram’s Adam Mosseri shared his excitement about the new launch and gave a little background info on how we can expect it to work. The tool is native to the platform, which means it will operate entirely in-app. Creators are able to find products, tag and share them with their followers on their posts, and earn a commission % based on purchases they drive from their platform.

Having a native affiliate tool, connected to direct purchases, increases the ability for Creators to prove their ROI and track the amount of sales they create when tagging products. Generally, the lines have been quite blurred in proving sales, as they are notoriously difficult to track across organic social. Currently, both Creators and brands can only view or capture organic insights from consumers who click on a tracked link (be it a link in bio, swipe up or Instagram shop link) – but as we know, not everyone purchases products in this way. We might see a product or item we love on an influencer’s post, tap the photo to see the brand, and then open a webpage to search the brand or product. This means that this traffic, or shopping journey is tracked under an ‘organic search’ on Google, rather than through socials, even though the customer found the product and made their purchase intent when on the influencer’s post.

Instagram’s affiliate program should allow Creators to understand what sort of content drives sales, and whether they are driving sales at all, by understanding who is clicking on the products they tag. They are also able to ease the consumer journey process, by giving consumers the option to shop exactly when they tap on the photo to see what is tagged in the post.

Another big pro about Instagram potentially rolling out an affiliate tool, is the opportunities for smaller Creators. Currently, the market is relatively saturated, and individuals have to network or pitch to other brands to create a collaboration or a deal. The process is lengthy and usually brands will only select a few influencers to work with. Being able ‘work’ with brands just by tagging products means that Creators are able to earn a commission, or an income just by doing business as usual. For a lot of smaller Creators or Micro Influencers who struggle to bring in income from their posts, this could be a real gamechanger.

We touched on it earlier, but with the roll out of a new tool, comes a roll out of more insights. This of course is extremely valuable for ANY Creator, as they can understand exactly how their followers like to shop, and which products work most successfully in terms of sales, on their feed.

In conclusion, (if you couldn’t already tell), we’re excited to see the plethora of opportunities this new tool should bring to Creators once it is (officially) rolled out. What do you think? Would having a native affiliate tool on Instagram be helpful to you as a Creator?

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