How to Use Influencers to Drive SaaS Affiliate Sales

In today’s digital landscape, the word ‘influencer’ does ring a bell. Of course, influencers have a wider reach and stronger connections online. They have the power to engage with prospects and customers and influence their purchase and/or hiring decisions.

When hiring affiliates to boost your sales and marketing, working with influencers can be one of the most powerful ways to reach your business goals. But how exactly can you leverage influencers for your SaaS company, especially when entering a saturated and competitive market?

Read on to learn how to leverage them to drive affiliate sales for your business.

The Role of Influencers in Affiliate Sales for SaaS Businesses

It’s easy to see influencers thriving online, especially on social media. Think of Instagram stars drawing in huge followers, YouTubers with thousands of subscribers, or TikTok users showcasing their viral clips. 

That’s why businesses partner with influencers, making them affiliates responsible for promoting their products or services. Have a sneak peek of Cristiano Ronaldo’s IG post showcasing Legacy’s newly designed fragrance bottle, as him being the top social media influencer worldwide:

Businesses across different industries can actually work with influencers to promote their brands. Even those in the SaaS market can combine both influencer and affiliate marketing to boost their sales conversion rate. 

Find out more about the SaaS business model below.

The rise of SaaS business

SaaS stands for software as a service, which is precisely what it sounds like. 

A SaaS company gives clients access to software applications on a subscription basis. This means users don’t purchase and install them on their computer devices. However, the SaaS provider is responsible for hosting the software while handling its deployment, maintenance, updates, and more.

The SaaS market has been growing and expanding in the digital age. Its global market is projected to grow from $408.21 billion in 2025 to $1.25 trillion by 2034 at a 13.32% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

Given its market growth and expansion, the SaaS industry has become saturated. However, it shows no signs of stopping—or even slowing down! 

With rapid technological advancements, SaaS companies will continue to evolve and offer this kind of service. But amid the tight market, how can your business stand out in a sea of digital competition? Implementing affiliate and influencer marketing is key!

Explore how both marketing types work for your SaaS business below.

Understanding affiliate and influencer marketing

Affiliate sales and influencer marketing are intertwined. As a SaaS company, you can combine both to promote your business and drive significant sales. This move entails working with influencers as immediate affiliates for your brand. 

But first things first, let’s understand the difference between the two:

• Affiliate marketing is performance-based advertising. Here, you hire affiliates, such as social media influencers, to promote your brand, products, or services. In return, they get a commission for every successful sale earned through referral links. The global affiliate marketing industry is predicted to increase from $15.77 billion in 2021 to $27.78 billion by 2027 at a 9.89% CAGR.

• Influencer marketing is an online marketing strategy, where you partner with people with a strong following on social media to promote your brand and offerings. These influencers can also be your affiliates who can post referral links and earn for successful clicks. The global influencer marketing market has more than tripled since 2020 and could reach almost $33 billion this year.

Discover the role of influencers in your SaaS business below.

How influencers can significantly impact your SaaS business

Companies across different industries are investing in influencer marketing. Nearly 15% of marketers claim they invest 10-15% of their marketing budgets into it. They collaborate with various influencers to drive more and more sales for their business.

As such, SaaS companies should consider working with social media influencers to achieve business growth and success. However, it’s best to employ affiliate marketing management by allowing these influencers to become your top affiliates.

This begs the question: How does this work? 

Generally, your hired influencers promote your SaaS brand on their social media channels in various marketing ways. However, it’s best to require them to post a referral link on each content they publish on their platform. That way, they can earn a commission for every successful sale. That’s how affiliate and influencer marketing get combined!

That said, here’s how influencers can help your SaaS business grow and succeed:

• Expand your customer reach. Of course, influencers already have large and engaged followers on their social media accounts. By working with them, your SaaS brand can reach as many prospects and clients as possible. 

• Increase your brand awareness. Social media influencers can spotlight your SaaS brand right before their followers’ eyes. This business exposure can translate to brand recognition as endorsed by trusted and credible influencers.

• Engage with potential customers. Influencers are best at engaging with people—the reason they have a solid following. By collaborating with them, you can identify SaaS prospects and connect with them on a deeper level.

• Generate leads for your business. Social media influencers do the work for you—attracting prospects to your SaaS company. However, collaborate with relevant tech industry influencers to drive the right people to your business.

• Convert sales or win customers. The ultimate goal of your hired influencer is to drive sales or get clients for your SaaS business. Setting an affiliate program using influencers is one of the best ways to achieve this goal. 

Learn the key steps to drive affiliate sales for your SaaS business in the next section.

Key Steps for Using Influencers To Drive SaaS Affiliate Sales

There’s no denying the power of partner marketing using influencers and affiliates to boost sales. In fact, influencer marketing is generating huge returns for many industries, including the SaaS market. The proof is in the number: Businesses can earn $6.50 in revenue for every $1 spent in influencer marketing.

Given the abovementioned facts and figures, what better way to boost your sales than to engage in influencer marketing? This entails working with social media influencers specifically for your affiliate program. This also involves proper planning and strategic execution at the outset.

That said, here’s how to leverage influencers and boost affiliate sales for your SaaS business:

1. Study the influencer and SaaS connection 

The initial step is understanding the synergy between influencer marketing and the SaaS sector. The SaaS industry caters to a unique market that needs software applications for its company or organization. Are there social media influencers capable of connecting with prospective clients needing SaaS? Take note: 

• Influencer marketing: This online strategy has become increasingly popular in the digital space. However, only a few influencers are penetrating the SaaS industry, except tech geeks and gurus. You’ll find it hard to connect with the right influencers unless you’re looking into running an e-commerce platform like how to start a t-shirt business. So, performing market research and analysis is key!

• SaaS business: The SaaS industry is a specific niche catering to a unique market—those needing software applications. While it’s a booming sector in today’s business landscape, assess the size, type, and nature of your SaaS company. Then, delve deep into your target market—their specific needs and preferences. Finally, see what kinds of influencers best suit the SaaS industry.

2. Set up the right SaaS affiliate program

After performing due diligence, you can establish an affiliate program for your SaaS business. This program is a marketing tactic where your chosen influencers will promote your brand and SaaS offerings in exchange for a commission on sales. 

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According to a study by Forrester Consulting commissioned by Rakuten Advertising, more than 80% of advertisers and less than 85% of publishers use affiliate marketing programs. Amazon currently holds the biggest share in the affiliate market, followed by Rakuten, Awin, ShareASale, and CJ Affiliate shown below:

Image source

It’s crucial to establish a well-planned and well-designed affiliate program before collaborating with influencers. However, there are several things to consider for your particular affiliate program. For the most part, here are the key components of a successful SaaS affiliate program to keep in mind:

• Competitive commission structure: How much will your influencer affiliates get for every successful sale? Is it five to ten percent of your total price? When and where can they get their commission? Set proper structure in place to avoid payment disputes!

• Clear affiliate terms and conditions: It’s best to have contracts agreed upon by both parties—your SaaS company and hired influencers. Since you’re in the SaaS business, consider contract management software for clear contractual agreements and streamlined execution.

• Digital platform or online channel: What platforms will you allow your influencers to promote your brand and sell your SaaS? Chances are, you’ll leverage their social media channels with large followers, such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and LinkedIn.

• Reliable tracking and attribution: As a SaaS business, harness the power of automation to track sales and attribute them to the right influencers. Automated software applications usually have web scraping tools to monitor influencers’ activities and identify successful sales.

• Sales and marketing assets: When working with your chosen influencers, be proactive by offering sales and marketing materials. For insurance, provide them with your brand and SaaS information and raw company clips they can use for their content creation and promotion.

• Robust dashboard for analytics: As a SaaS company, give your influencers access to software applications with advanced analytics features. That way, they can track their referral links and successful sales and get the right commission they deserve!

• Dedicated affiliate support: You should also have a support team designed to assist your influencer affiliates. The team should be readily available to help your affiliates, whether requesting marketing materials or answering payout questions.

3. Look for and work with the right influencers

Sure, affiliate marketing programs can help increase your profits. However, the key to sales success in the SaaS niche is to partner with the right influencers. As mentioned, there aren’t many influencers for this industry. Therefore, you must be on the lookout for the right partners. Here’s how:

• Search for influencers. The Internet is a goldmine of social media influencers you can manually search for. However, you must filter your prospects by ensuring they align with your niche or industry. To avoid manual search, leverage AI-powered analytic tools to help you find exactly what you need.

• Structure the partnerships. Once you have a list of hired influencers, set commission structures and contractual agreements in place. What are your sales and marketing goals? What are their duties and responsibilities as affiliates? How much commission do they get for successful clicks of your referral links?

• Collaborate together. While you give your hired influencers the freedom to create content and promote your SaaS offerings, consistently offer help and support. As mentioned above, provide them with the marketing materials they need to produce and publish content on their social media channels.

4. Create and promote high-impact content

This step is one of the most critical: Content creation and promotion. As you can see, content has the power to engage with people and influence purchase or hiring decisions. 

So, consider Forbes Advisor’s list of high-performing content marketing types, such as videos (45%), short-form articles (31%), success stories (28%), long-form blog posts (24%), and case studies (19%). Here’s what your hired influencers go through:

• Content creation: Social media influencers have experience and expertise in generating content. They gain authority in their platform and build trust among their followers. So, trust that they can create the right content for your SaaS business. However, provide the resources and check the content before the actual publishing.

• Content promotion: Allow your hired social media influencers to promote your SaaS business on their channels and other related platforms. However, your company should also proactively post and share these pieces of content on your website, social media channels, and other digital platforms.

5. Monitor, measure, and optimize performance

The work doesn’t stop after content creation and promotion. There are three key things you would need to do to ensure your influencer marketing success. Follow the crucial steps below:

• Track their performance. Understand that your hired influencers are like your employees under your sales and marketing team. So, it’s crucial to monitor their performance to see if their content pieces with referral links are actually driving sales for your SaaS business. If not, you better adjust your influencers’ tactics.

• Measure against set KPIs. The initial step is to set your key performance indicators (KPIs) for your influencer marketing. You need to measure the click-through rate (CTR), engagement rate, site traffic, and conversion rate. Are your influencers meeting the targets? More importantly, are these affiliates making sales and earning commissions?

• Help improve performance. Finally, this is the most important step—optimizing your influencer marketing campaign. If you see areas for improvement evident among your hired influencers, offer them the needed help and support. Otherwise, you would need to end the contract and look for the right influencers that can drive sales for your SaaS business.

Take it from Brandy Hastings, SEO Strategist at SmartSites. He underscores the importance of performance monitoring, measurement, and optimization in influencer marketing.

Hastings explains, “Just like any marketing effort, you can’t just set it and forget it. Tracking performance, measuring against your goals, and tweaking what’s not working is key to making influencer partnerships actually drive results.” 

Final Words

The impact of influencers on businesses is undeniable in today’s digital landscape. They can help expand your reach, increase brand awareness, and engage with customers. Ultimately, they can generate leads and boost sales for your SaaS company.

That said, consider hiring influencers as affiliates for your sales and marketing. Follow our crucial steps above for using them to drive sales for your SaaS business. By doing so, you maximize their potential to help your company grow and succeed!

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