Social media platforms scream “Sell me something!” and everyone seems to be buying it. This is where affiliate marketing links and sales pitches can actually be worth something. You want to increase your potential to scale as a business, and social media gives you ample room to spread your marketing message. Learn more about what types of social media platforms are best suited for using affiliate marketing, along with tips on taking on these channels.

Choose the Right Social Media Platform

Every social media platform has its own edge in terms of who uses it. You will find that even though you might like using a certain platform, such as Facebook, your prime audience is not. Therefore, you have to think like they do and go where they go.

Here is a breakdown of where US adults over 18 are going when they log in to social media as of 2021:

  • YouTube with 81 percent
  • Facebook with 69 percent
  • Instagram with 40 percent
  • Pinterest with 31 percent
  • LinkedIn with 28 percent
  • Snapchat with 25 percent
  • Twitter with 23 percent
  • WhatsApp with 23 percent
  • TikTok with 21 percent
  • Reddit with 18 percent
  • Nextdoor with 13 percent

This is on course with how social media use has traversed for Americans since 2012 with little changeover, except for the case of Instagram. Going on Insta gained huge popularity in 2016 when the social media platform bypassed the third most used service, LinkedIn, to gain a bronze position in the standings.

Since then, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram have all remained high on the listings, with YouTube maintaining a commanding chunk of the audience with more than 75 percent consistently. Here is where you want to spread your reach by including some of each of these social media channels in your affiliate marketing.

YouTube and Affiliate Marketing

Therefore, if you are searching for the most visited social media platforms for adults to begin with affiliate marketing, you want to go with video content on YouTube. Start there and build up a YouTube channel dedicated to your brand. Here is where you can lead the pack with affiliate marketing.

Setting up a YouTube channel involves a bit of branding and customization, but the work is worth the effort. You are able to create and hone in on the value of video content, which is a gold mine for viewers and advertising executives. This is the new television, and since YouTube is free to use, everyone does—all over the world. It is little wonder why YouTube is at the top of the user charts, which means you want to start with affiliate marketing here.

Keep in mind, you need to have 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 public watch hours in order to receive YouTube advertising revenue. That being said, this can easily turn into a revenue source to add to your business. Here you want to focus on video content, and for affiliate marketing, this can be tricky. You are required to notify the users if your videos contain sponsored content, and if your audience does not trust you, they may not follow along.

One of the tricks with YouTube is establishing that brand and audience loyalty so that your content does not feel too commercial. Nobody likes to watch companies sell themselves or other companies outright. However, if you are a trustworthy brand and you are improving the lives of your viewers by showcasing products and services that they can use, then you are doing everyone a service. YouTube and advertisers will appreciate this and your content will gain momentum.

So, how do you do affiliate marketing? Start with including links and SEO-based descriptions in your videos to share affiliated content. From here, grow your brand and channel by connecting with other affiliate marketing prospects.

Facebook and Affiliate Marketing

Facebook has also consistently been at the top of the charts for social use. As of February 2021, 77 percent of US adults ages 30 to 49 are using Facebook. Compare this to:

  • 70 percent of adults 18 to 29
  • 73 percent of adults 50 to 64
  • 50 percent of adults 65 and older

Your target marketing group should be working adults since this is the highest earning age group. In addition, there are typically two gainfully employed adults per household in the 30 to 49 age range, which increases the marketing potential and often crosses genders.

Once you have established a fanbase that trusts your brand, you are ready to use this robust marketing platform. Start with running Facebook Ads, which will start spreading your content like wildfire. From here, you want to spend some time working directly with Facebook and its marketing tools available to you. Take advantage of everything you can and include all details in your content, such as SEO and keywords.

Finally, utilize the Ads Manager to better understand your Facebook audience. This gives you the momentum needed to step up or scale back on certain marketing campaigns, while streamlining your approach to more effective methods.

Instagram and Affiliate Marketing

On Instagram, you are looking at younger adults and, especially females according to the Pew Research Center. The majority of users of Instagram are ages 18 to 24 and this accounts for a whopping 75 percent. From here, users tend to age out with adults 25 to 29 at 57 percent and those 30 to 49 at only 23 percent of users.

In terms of affiliate marketing, it pays to play this platform out for the younger generation. You want to expand your marketing reach to extend to the greatest number of individuals.

To reach Insta users with affiliate marketing, take advantage of fabulous photo quality. You want to create a spread layout that envisions your brand image. This way, you generate a vibe with your audience that tells a visual story and helps generate an emotive response. From here it is all about selling them what they want to buy. Include those links and hashtag the heck out of it, and you will be all set.

As you finalize your plan for affiliate marketing, don’t forget to think about Pinterest, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms. Every channel opportunity gives you some room to grow even more with your brand and marketing.

Interested in Signing Up?

That’s it! Affiliates send you business, and you make more sales!

X