Instagram is Changing its Affiliate Game, Do You Need to Jump on It?

We’ve all seen those cheery influencer #ads—the ones where they’re all teeth, and one click reveals a million tagged brands that they’re partnered with. And while we occasionally jot down where that very cute dress is from, for the most part those tagged items are the social media equivalent of TV commercials. We hardly pay them any mind, and for good reason; no one likes being bombarded with targeted ads (I talk about Twinkle Tush ONE time…).

But for those of us who are lucky enough to be on the influencer side—promoting brands for a cut of the sales, or commission—the Instagram affiliate tool in beta may be of interest to you as an opportunity to be compensated for the work you put into creating and sharing free content.

instagram affiliate marketing: before

Before, influencers would tag where their goods were from for the benefit of their audience (no one wants to answer where they bought their shoes a million times over), but rarely would that tag be a linked item that you could follow through to buy the product yourself as a consumer. This mostly boiled down to compensation—unless the influencer was big enough to be in a paid partnership, there was no monetary incentive to link a checkout page. However, with the new Instagram affiliate tool in the works, creators and influencers have much more reason to link items directly for purchase.  

Instagram @Creators account introduced the affiliate tool in a post that states “now, when creating a Feed or Story post, creators will have the ability to not only tag the exact products they are featuring in their content, but earn commission on any sales they drive from that content.” In theory, this will help push Instagram in the e-commerce direction they’ve been moving towards ever since introducing the shop tab in-app.

what if i’m not an influencer?

Okay so obviously, if you’re not an influencer to some capacity, this news feels kind of moot. However, what I anticipate it meaning is a change in ad-focused content from the creators you follow on IG in the future. With more reason to push their “favorite” eyeliner, oversized tee, and micro bikinis, you can probably expect to see more product-centered content. I personally feel like that means a decrease in authenticity on the app, but realistically there was only ever so much authenticity you could expect from a platform that mainly profited off of aesthetically pleasing images of people and places. Ideally though, this leads to more transparency as Instagram streamlines sponsored content.

what if i am an influencer? earning income through the instagram affiliate tool

If you’re an IG entrepreneur with enough of a loyal following to consider the affiliate tool, there’s a couple things to keep in mind:

Because the tool is still in testing there’s very little concrete information on how much it would benefit you. Affiliate programs typically pay out anywhere from 5-25%, and usually fall on the lower end (so you usually need to make a lot of sales before earning more than a buck here and there). And it’s still a bit unclear as to whether creators will get paid after a purchase is made, or after a purchase passes beyond the return window, etc.

Any posts that utilize the new affiliate tool will be marked “eligible for commission” at the top for transparency and disclosure reasons. Despite that, the FTC cautions creators that IG’s built in disclosure measure may not be enough, and that they need to make sure their affiliate disclosure is crystal clear.

Lastly, as a more personal caution, I’d advise continually auditing your audience if you do start implementing the affiliate tool. Sales are made based on connections, and there is no faster way to create a disconnect than by trying to hustle your followers into buying something for your personal gain. We all have to make money somehow, but just try to remember that every purchase or view comes from a real person, not just dollar signs. Stick to promoting things you’d actually recommend to a friend, and don’t hide the fact that you’re making a commission.

In summary, as the app tries to stay relevant, and continue its revenue growth, the Instagram has opted for a tool that will hopefully help in-app creators develop another stream of income. It’s an interesting move considering IG’s recently-announced intention to transition to more video and entertainment-based content, but one that could benefit the platform as it strengthens creator/brand relationships.

How do you feel about all the new changes Instagram is implementing? Will you try the new Instagram affiliate tool?