How to Use Social Media in Your Affiliate Marketing Affiliate marketing is a great way to make a living. Today there are literally hundreds of thousands of people who are able to support themselves while working from home on their computers! Many have developed successful strategies for setting up websites that offer products that not only sell well but offer generous commissions.
Today many successful marketers have discovered that using social media has added new profits to their businesses. How do they use social media in their affiliate marketing?
To understand better, you must appreciate that social media has taken the world of affiliate marketing by storm because of the viral way that it spreads messages, videos, and photos out over the web. It is amazing to watch a video on YouTube only to discover that you are just one of over a million people who has viewed it! How can this viral effect be leveraged into an affiliate marketing business?
One way is by understanding what types of items tend to get passed on most frequently. For instance, if you watch a video of a professor explaining why gasoline is more efficient with ethanol that without, would you pass it on to your friends? Would you attach a note that says “Hey guys, here’s a video you are really going to enjoy!” Not likely. Both the subject and presentation are boring. The video didn’t make you laugh, cry, or have any kind of emotional reaction whatsoever.
On the other hand, what if you were sent a video of a cute little puppy that was trying to climb over the side of his playpen. Let’s say it’s a little basset hound and he keeps tripping on his long ears and falling back down — only to persistently get up and try again. Maybe in the background, the theme from “Rocky” is playing and as it builds to a crescendo the music fits perfectly with each new effort of the determined little pup. Would you send it on? Sure you would! And so would the friends you send it to!
Now if you could develop a video that is as entertaining and as emotional as a little puppy trying to climb out of his playpen, then your video could become a viral sensation, too. And if you could attach your link at the end of the video, do you think it would send traffic to your site? Absolutely!
YouTube is just one of the social media sites that successful affiliate marketers have tapped into. There are also gigantic sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest that offer similar opportunities to send out messages that will go viral. It just takes some careful thought and planning.
A word of caution is in order, however. You cannot spam these sites or overtly sell on them. You need to use social sites as they were intended. If you can create fun and entertaining messages to post, then these social sites will serve your business well. Spamming them will only turn people off and may even get you banned.
If you are an affiliate marketer not yet using these wonderful social sites, then it is time you get started. They will help tremendously in getting traffic to your websites.
