How to Level-Up Your Affiliate Marketing with Video Content

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Today we consume more video content than ever before. There’s content available for every niche and to entertain every person, whether it’s a how-to or a review.

It’s become an effective way to inform and engage. While a picture tells a thousand words, a video shares a million.

Thus, it’s become a must-have component for any marketing campaign, especially affiliate marketing.

Many businesses use affiliate marketing or a brand ambassador program for passive income and promote their products and services. So, how do you make yours stand out?

Using quality video content, you can improve your credibility and attract a diverse base of consumers, increasing your conversion rate.

But why’s it so important, and how do you create a great video?

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a form of performance-based marketing, where affiliates are rewarded for each customer they refer to a business.

It’s a cost-effective way for brands to promote their products and services to a diverse customer base.

It’s a win-win situation. Affiliates can earn money by promoting products they love, and brands can access an audience they might not have reached. 

Learning how to start an affiliate program is relatively straightforward, but developing effective content to drive sales can be a little trickier.

That’s where video content comes in. Whether you’re a brand or an affiliate, creating good video content for your marketing can up your game and increase customer conversions.

Why is video content so important?

Imagine you want to buy a smartwatch. With all the options available, would you rather go through long, wordy reviews and specification lists or watch a thirty-minute comparison video?

Using video content for marketing is a no-brainer, and many companies and affiliates are already doing that. There are many benefits to using it for affiliate marketing. 

• Expand your audience

Whether you’re an affiliate or a brand, video content can grow your audience and customer base.

Affiliates put brands in touch with a loyal, tangible customer set who can view videos about them. Similarly, as people search for tutorials, reviews, and unboxings of products, affiliates expand their audience when they view their videos.

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• Improve SEO efforts

Video benefits SEO, including building quality backlinks and increasing click-through rates.

• Increase credibility

Reputation is crucial for online companies and affiliates. Having an actual person promote a product or brand in a video shows credibility and instils trust. 

For affiliates, brands’ investment in a video can build a loyal viewership through current customers.

• Create more engaging content

Text and images are limited in what they can do. Videos, on the other hand, show products and services in action. They portray a story and entertain consumers instead of simply telling them.

Content can be more creative and personable. Video can engage and entertain a target audience with comment sections and shareability.

• Increase conversions

All of the above leads to one thing, increased customer conversions. Video provides credibility to a larger audience and engages them in a way only an in-person salesperson would be able to do.

How to create great video content

Videos have very few constraints. As there are no ads, text, or length limits, it’s easy to stray from your original intentions and create a video that doesn’t match your affiliate marketing objectives.

To help keep you on track, let’s look at some elements of making a good video.

Types of video

Understanding what type of video you want to create will help you make it. Whether it’s deciding on a format or what equipment you’ll need for your video toolkit, it’s helpful to consider your video content options.

For example, a video announcing beauty products will differ from a video reviewing those same products or a Q&A video. 

Don’t think you have to stick to one format of affiliate marketing video. Being versatile when creating content will keep your potential customers engaged and get them to care about your brand.

Some conventional formats include:

• Promotional videos
• Tutorials and how-to videos
• Unboxings and shopping hauls
• Product reviews
• Events – Product launches, announcements, teasers
• Holidays and sales 

Use video content for affiliate marketing in conjunction with other marketing strategies. For example, if you’re writing a press release for an upcoming conference, could you vlog it? Could you show a behind-the-scenes?

Variety is key to keeping viewers engaged and converting them into customers. Don’t fall into the loop of making the same video over and over again.

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Video content platforms

Marketing is about getting a message to your target audience, but with the number of video-sharing platforms that exist, which one should you use?

Well, it depends on the video content you want to share. 

Think about the content you consume on social media. The videos you watch on YouTube are very different from those you see on TikTok. 

Different platforms work well with different types of video content. TikTok is great for short, snappy clips, whereas YouTube and Vimeo are better for longer, in-depth content. Instagram, Facebook, and Twitch are ideal for interactive live streams, whereas Twitter shares short clips.

Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide which video will work best on which platform. Consider the video content you want to produce and where your target audience will be watching to assist you in making a decision.

It’s never a bad idea to peek at your competitors for inspiration. After all, if it’s working for them, it’ll work for you.

Tips to help you level-up

Use existing content

Pair your existing content with videos. For example, if you have a recipe blog, add videos for each recipe, showing how food’s prepared, instead of just telling.

Create a strategy

Video content is still content. Develop a well-researched strategy for it like you would anything else. 

Understand your audience and the type of content they consume. Do they watch thirty-second lifehacks, or are they into ten-minute tutorials? Does your niche have potential?

Answering questions like these will help you determine which platforms to target and the type of content to create.

For example, if you’re promoting cosmetics, a make-up tutorial is ideal for reviewing and promoting your product through affiliate marketing.

Build a toolkit

Creating videos requires equipment. 

Cameras, microphones, and editing software is essential in producing quality content to promote brands. 

While you don’t need the priciest options, decide on a budget to help achieve your goals.

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Keep videos short

We’ve already established a seemingly endless amount of video content available. So, why would someone watch yours?

While affiliate marketers might have an audience, are they engaged? Are they interested? Are they entertained?

Don’t let your videos drone on about every product you have, veering from your message. Keep them short, focusing on entertaining and engaging your potential customers.

Be specific and concentrate on what matters.

Use a CTA

Imagine you’ve created a quality video for an upcoming product reveal, but you forget to mention when it is. 

A call-to-action (CTA) is crucial when it comes to affiliate marketing. Always plan videos with a CTA to give them purpose and avoid issues.

Include affiliate links in the video description as links in the video itself (on YouTube) and even in the comments section. 

Other CTAs may include asking viewers to subscribe or share feedback.

Use your video as an ad

When you work with an affiliate to create a brilliant video, you want as many people to see it as possible.

On some video-sharing sites, like YouTube, you can use your video as an ad. Not only can you get more use out of your video content, but it ensures you will reach a wider audience.

Video content is excellent affiliate marketing, but it’s also great marketing overall. If you’ve got it, you might as well use it. 

Tell a story

Everyone loves a good story. Video content can portray a brand’s story or even how the brand helped the affiliate marketer.

Use video content to do more than sell. Use storytelling to build a bond with the audience, creating conversations that lead to conversions.

Build this into your affiliate video marketing strategy for success.

Appeal to emotion

Combining storytelling with emotion is a perfect way to influence your audience’s decisions.

People are emotional. You can build a deeper connection to your current and potential customers by appealing to their emotions. 

Let your video content show how your products and services can positively affect your audiences’ lives, using examples they can relate to.

It makes your affiliate marketing seem more empathetic rather than a sales robot.

Aim for mobile

Smartphones and mobile devices have become essential to daily life. Even some social channels, like TikTok and Instagram, are mobile-centric.

While people will still watch videos via TV apps and desktops, with growing mobile usage, it’s time to consider tailoring your video content to mobile devices. 

Video content is the future of affiliate marketing

Using video content for affiliate marketing has never been more vital than it is now. If you’re not, it’s a missed online marketing opportunity.

It’s easier than ever to film, edit and share your videos online. With content channels like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, you have access to a large audience to promote your products and services.

It not only increases conversions and your passive income, but it can improve your reputation and credibility to potential customers.

Create a video content strategy to understand what you want to achieve and how you’ll achieve it.

Remember that people invest in stories and emotional connections. Use this to charge your creativity and involve your viewers in a conversation. Friendly and personable videos instil trust when making a purchasing decision.

For both brands and affiliates, learning the skills required to create incredible videos will lead you on the road to levelling up your marketing efforts.

Bio:

Sam O’ Brien – Chief Marketing Officer, Affise

Sam O’Brien is the Chief Marketing Officer for Affise—a Global SaaS partner relationship management solution. He is a growth marketing expert with a product management and design background. Sam has a passion for innovation, growth, and marketing technology. Here is his LinkedIn.