Boosting your brand with influencer and affiliate marketing 

Not so long ago, influencers were virtually unheard of. Now they dominate not only social media, but also appear in reality TV and expert commentators. What’s more, associating your business with the right influencer can be a successful way of reaching new customers and driving growth. Our guide will help you decide whether influencer and affiliate marketing could be right for your brand, and how to harness it for optimal results. 

What are the differences between influencer and affiliate marketing? 

Influencer marketing and affiliate marketing are both powerful marketing strategies, but they operate differently: 

• Influencer marketing involves partnering with individuals who have a dedicated following on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube. These influencers create content that promotes your brand, aiming to boost awareness, trust and engagement. Payment is often a flat fee or free products, and the focus is on brand storytelling and credibility. 

• Affiliate marketing is a performance-based strategy where partners (affiliates) promote your products or services using unique links or codes. Affiliates earn a commission for every sale or lead they generate. This approach is highly measurable and cost-effective, as you only pay for actual results. 

While influencer marketing is about leveraging trust and reach, affiliate marketing is about driving measurable conversions. Increasingly, brands are blending both strategies, working with influencers on an affiliate basis to combine authenticity with performance tracking.  

The key benefits of influencer and affiliate marketing – when it’s done right 

Influencer and affiliate marketing strategies offer a range of benefits for SMEs: 

• Brand awareness: Influencers can introduce your business to new audiences, increasing visibility and recognition. For example, micro-influencers (with 10,000–100,000 followers) often achieve higher engagement rates and more targeted reach than celebrities, making them ideal for SMEs. For example, if you are a bricks-and-mortar business, you might like to partner with an influencer who has a strong following in your local area; if you’re an online business, you might want to identify a micro-influencer whose following mirrors your target customers.   

• Client engagement: Influencers foster authentic conversations and interactions, building trust and loyalty. According to a Forbes report, over 70% of consumers trust influencers’ opinions, which can lead to higher engagement and conversions.  

• Client loyalty: Affiliate partners often become long-term advocates for your brand, driving repeat business and referrals. 

• New client acquisition: Both strategies help you reach niche markets and attract new customers who may not have discovered your brand otherwise. 

Case studies of influencer marketing success stories: 

• A sustainable fashion SME grew sales and brand awareness by partnering with 50 micro-influencers and bloggers 

• Glossier, a beauty brand, scaled rapidly by focusing on micro-influencers and authentic user-generated content 

• A cover-free washable duvet brand reached new markets through aligning with local influencers 

Before you start influencer and affiliate marketing 

To run effective influencer and affiliate marketing campaigns, you’ll need tools for: 

• Influencer discovery and outreach: Platforms like Influencer Hero and Upfluence help you find and manage influencer relationships. Many offer free trials or entry-level plans. 

• Affiliate tracking: Solutions such as Glewee and UpPromote automate tracking, payments, and reporting. Some platforms offer free versions for small businesses. 

• GDPR compliance: If you collect or process personal data (e.g., for giveaways or tracking), you must comply with GDPR. This means obtaining clear consent, minimising data collection, and providing transparency about how data is used. Both brands and influencers are responsible for compliance – see this GDPR guide for influencer marketing.  

Optimising Return On Investment from influencer and affiliate marketing  

As with any marketing strategy, there are some key considerations to determine before you start implementation to help you optimise your Return On Investment (ROI): 

• Set clear goals: Define what you want to achieve: brand awareness, sales, leads or engagement. Use SMART objectives (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound). 

• Measure success: Use unique tracking links, promo codes and analytics dashboards to monitor performance. Tools like GRIN and Sprout Social can help you track ROI.  

• Align with your brand: Ensure all influencer and affiliate content matches your brand tone and values for consistency and credibility. 

• Choose the right partners: Focus on engagement rates and audience alignment, not just follower counts. Micro-influencers and niche affiliates often deliver better results for SMEs.  

• Provide resources: Supply affiliates and influencers with clear guidelines, creative assets and support to help them succeed  

Pitfalls to avoid with influencer and affiliate marketing 

Done right, influencer and affiliate marketing can help you reach new markets, grow brand awareness and drive sales. But there are some common bear pits that you need to avoid to ensure success:  

• Chasing follower counts: Don’t select influencers based solely on their audience size. Engagement and relevance are more important.  

• Lack of transparency: Always disclose sponsored content and affiliate relationships to comply with regulations and maintain trust. 

• One-off campaigns: Building long-term relationships with influencers and affiliates yields better results than one-off collaborations. 

• Neglecting compliance: Failing to address GDPR or advertising standards can result in fines and reputational damage.  

• Poor tracking: Without proper tracking, you can’t measure ROI or optimise your strategy. 

Examples of when influencer and affiliate marketing has gone horribly wrong  

It’s worth going into influencer and affiliate marketing with your eyes wide open. It works while your chosen influencer or affiliate partner’s star is on the rise and their profile (values, voice, audience) aligns with your brand.  

Some high-profile cases act as a health warning for how swiftly that can change, and that you need to keep across the wider news and social picture to ensure that the association is not potentially brand damaging.  

Kendall Jenner & Pepsi — BLM Protest Backlash (2017) 

Pepsi released an ad featuring Kendall Jenner handing a police officer a Pepsi during what resembled a Black Lives Matter protest.
Why it backfired: 

• The ad was accused of minimising racial injustice and exploiting a serious social movement to sell soda. 

• Massive public backlash forced Pepsi to pull the ad within 24 hours, and both Pepsi and Jenner issued public apologies. 

Fyre Festival — Influencer promotions for a failed event (2017) 

Influencers like Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski, and others were paid large sums (often undisclosed) to promote the luxury Fyre Festival. 

Why it backfired: 

• The festival turned out to be a disaster – unsafe conditions, no artists and fraudulent organisation (the organiser was ultimately sentenced to six years in prison for two counts of fraud and ordered to forfeit $26 million). 

• Influencers were criticised for promoting an event they didn’t vet, leading to lawsuits and new scrutiny around transparency – Kendall Jenner paid $90,000 in a settlement related to her involvement 

• The incident became a case study in deceptive influencer marketing.

Scott Disick & Bootea — The copy-paste caption mistake (2016)

Reality star Scott Disick posted a Bootea protein ad on Instagram, but accidentally included the brand’s instructions in the caption: 

“Here you go, at 4pm EST, write the below…” 

Why it backfired: 

• The mistake made the promotion look blatantly inauthentic. 

• It triggered widespread mockery and became a classic example of influencer ads done wrong. 

• It highlighted the need for influencers to appear genuine and brands to monitor their campaigns more carefully. 

The good news for SMEs that the micro-influencers who are often the most appropriate partners don’t come with the high stakes of a Kardashian – but these high-profile disasters do emphasise the need to keep across your campaigns and your partnerships, and potentially to act swiftly if something misfires. 

Optimising your influencer and affiliate marketing strategy 

As with all marketing strategies, influencer and affiliate marketing is unlikely to help you achieve your goals if you give it the green light and then sit back and wait for the results to appear. It needs constant refinement to make sure it your campaigns are hitting the mark and remain on target as interests and trends change.  

• Review and refine: Regularly analyse what’s working and what isn’t. Use performance data to adjust your approach, focusing on the most effective partners and content types. 

• Test and iterate: Experiment with different platforms, content formats and commission structures to maximise ROI. 

• Stay up to date: The digital marketing landscape evolves rapidly- keep learning and adapting your strategy to stay ahead. 

Influencer and affiliate marketing, when approached strategically, can deliver measurable growth, brand loyalty and new customers for SMEs. 

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