There are two basic linking strategies for posting affiliate links on social media. This article shows you the pros and cons of using them as well as tips you can use for your affiliate business.

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Your success with affiliate marketing not only relies on your marketing activities, it also relies on the way you use these linking strategies to send targeted prospects to your advertiser's content. 

Where you send potential customers is so important because your primary goal is to instill confidence in your audience that you have the best solution and you know what you're doing. 

Send them to something that looks spammy or not aligned with their expectations, and you'll lose any chance of making a connection or a sale, for that matter. 

We'll start by giving you a definition of affiliate marketing and explain the process. Affiliate marketing is the process of earning a commission by promoting products created by other companies. 

The process used by affiliate marketers includes finding a product that fits their niche, or one they have experience with, preferably something they have used. They apply to the brand's affiliate program and they're hopefully accepted.  

Once they're accepted, they promote the product (or products) to buyers in their network.  When consumers purchase products and services from their affiliate links the affiliate will earn a piece of the profit for each sale that's completed. 

Affiliates normally earn a percentage or a flat fee for each sale. They can also earn a one time fee or a fee that repeats over a period of time. They can also be paid for each lead that results from consumers that use their links.

The Elements Needed to Be a Successful Affiliate Marketer

Here are some of the elements needed to be effective in promoting affiliate offers: 

Affiliate Linking Methods

There are two primary methods of posting affiliate links on social media, (1) through a bridge page and (2) by using the direct method.

Both methods have pros and cons, however it's good to be aware of the things you can and can't do when posting to your social accounts. Each platform has a list of do's and don'ts when it comes to affiliate marketing. 

Having a platform that is effective in helping you reach your goals is important as well. If you have a place to send consumers that you control, that you can monitor and track allows you to place links there, versus using direct links in your social media posts. Direct linking or using direct links that have been shortened, may or may not be acceptable on your social media platform or with your affiliate merchant. 

There is a difference when it comes to risk, in posting on your blog, versus posting on social media.  

Read about additional affiliate linking methods and link types that you can use when posting on your blog and pages.

You can probably tell that my preference is the bridge page option, but I do also use the direct method on occasion.

Having a bridge page enables me to receive feedback on how well my affiliate products are doing. And using a blog, an eCommerce platform or a landing page can serve as a buffer between my site and the merchant's site that adds value for my visitors, customers and gives me the ability to follow up over time. 

The Direct Linking Method

Using this method, you place your affiliate link in your social media post. The visitor clicks on the affiliate link from social media and is sent straight to the merchants website where they can make a purchase. 

This is a quick and convenient way to create and distribute affiliate links. At the same time, this practice can and has been abused.  Because of that, this practice has several disadvantages: 

1. Some affiliate merchants do not allow their affiliates to direct link from social media to their products.

It's important to read your merchant agreement to ensure that you're allowed to use direct linking for this purpose. It's also a good idea to check with the social platform to make sure they allow it as well. 

2. Once the visitor clicks on the affiliate link and is sent to the merchant's website, the affiliate has no way to keep in touch with the visitor. They may never see them again. 

3. The affiliate sends the visitor to the affiliate site without building a relationship, or having a way to follow up.

4. Some sites like Pinterest don't like shortened affiliate links and they can flag them as spam or something negative.  

5. Shortening your affiliate links can break your affiliate code and cause your commissions to be limited, so it's best to use the URL shortener recommended or provided by your merchant. 

Creating a Bridge Page

There are several advantages to using this method including:

1. The affiliate has the ability to test out pages to see what works best to convert visitors into leads and leads into sales.

2. The affiliate has more control over the page and can include a lead generation form that will build their email marketing list.

3. The affiliate can use the contact information to follow up with the user for relationship building and repeat sales.

One of the main disadvantages of this method is that if you don't create a landing page that appeals to the visitor, and they don't trust that your brand is legitimate, you may lose the potential customer altogether.

They may bounce off your page without signing up and never return. If this happens you will lose any chance of getting the lead or the sale. 

For this reason, it's important to create landing pages that appeal to your audience. You do this by understanding your audience, and performing A/B testing, to see which versions of your pages convert better.  Thrive Suite has this functionality that comes with their membership that does this for you. 

Affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to earn passive income from any location. But it's important to use best practices when posting and creating content that will keep your accounts in good standing whether it's on social media, or with your affiliate merchant.