Affiliate marketing and social media 'brought closer together'

14:00 20th April 2010

Affiliate marketing and social media may be able to work closely together in the future.

According to Alex Mifsud, the chief executive of EntroPay, it could become more common for social media to play a part in affiliate marketing.

He stated that the recent decision by Domino's Pizza to allow affiliates to make money from the sales produced by the advertisements on their blogs or websites will be worth watching to see if it proves to be successful.

Writing for UTalkMarketing.com, Mr Mifsud added that in order for the partnership to work effectively, brands must communicate well with their affiliates to ensure the relationship runs smoothly.

He said: "Another key issue for brands looking to leverage social networks as part of their affiliate marketing programme is the frequency of commission payments."

Mr Mifsud explained that social media website users are unlikely to be interested in affiliate marketing unless they are receiving regular payments.

He said it will be "fascinating" to watch how the tactic from Domino's pans out and to see if any other brands decide to set up similar affiliate marketing programmes.

This follows Canadian business advisor NEBS stating that the key to social media marketing is to engage with customers.

It said companies could reach a new audience by using social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter effectively.