With more and more people consuming visual and audio content, influencers have more opportunities to excel in SaaS affiliate marketing. While traditional affiliate links are great for text-based formats, they aren’t effective in non-text mediums like podcasts and videos.
To maximize your influencer’s creative content, you should leverage coupon codes.
In this blog, we'll walk you through how influencer coupon codes work, their benefits, and how SaaS businesses can effectively use them to boost sales and track campaign performance.
How Influencer Coupon Codes Work
Influencer discount codes are unique promotional codes assigned to specific influencers. These codes offer customers a discount and enable companies to track sales generated by each influencer. This tracking helps measure the effectiveness of influencer marketing campaigns.
Pro tip: Discover some recommended tools to monitor your affiliate promo code performance.
Compared to the affiliate link method, coupon codes are usually shorter. Some examples are TOM20, SAVE25, or BOOK50.
The short format allows influencers to easily add them to their content, especially to the non-text mediums.
Where Can Influencers Implement Coupon Codes?
Coupon codes can be effectively integrated into various content formats for boosting SaaS affiliate marketing. Here are some of the best content formats for implementing influencer coupon codes:
- Video content
Influencers can mention coupon codes verbally in their videos and include them in on-screen text or video descriptions. Platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram Stories are perfect for this approach. Think product unboxings, reviews, or tutorials where the discount can be naturally integrated.
- Podcasts
Influencers can share the codes with their listeners during their episodes. Use catchy and memorable codes for product shout-outs, sponsor segments, or as part of a story within the podcast.
- Live streams
Mention the code multiple times during the stream, pin it in the comments, or display it on-screen. This can create excitement by offering limited-time discounts available only during the live stream.
- Webinars and online events
For more professional or niche audiences, influencers can mention coupon codes during webinars or online events. This approach is particularly effective for B2B SaaS products because the audience is already learning about the industry or product.
- Virtual workshops and tutorials
During instructional content, influencers can offer coupon codes as a bonus for completing the session or as a thank-you for attending. This will give viewers a direct incentive to stick around and engage with the content fully.
- Branded merchandise and packaging
For physical products, influencers can include coupon codes as a tangible reminder to encourage repeat purchases and build brand loyalty.
Why Non-Textual Mediums Are Effective for Affiliate Marketing
There are reasons why creating influencer coupon codes for visuals and audio content pays off well:
- Personal connection
Videos, podcasts, and live streams enable influencers to engage with their audience almost face-to-face. This is more personal and straightforward than writing, and their verbal recommendations can come across as more genuine and trustworthy. - Higher engagement
These mediums often have higher engagement rates. Just think about it: when's the last time you left a reply to a blog? And when was the last time you forwarded or 'liked' a video on social media? Viewers and listeners are more likely to pay attention to and act on the content because they are actively consuming it. - Easier for demonstrations
In video and live stream formats, influencers can demonstrate the use of your product in real time. This gives viewers visual proof of how a product works, which can significantly boost the credibility and attractiveness of the offer. In contrast, reading a blog feels more like reading a manual—and that's much less engaging.
Challenges in Using Coupon Codes in Videos, Audios, and Images for Influencer Marketing
Incorporating affiliate links into non-text-based mediums isn't as straightforward as putting a link into an article—but it's also not difficult. Here are some of the ''challenges'' to be mindful of:
- Verbal marketing
Unlike affiliate links, viewers can’t click on the coupon code on videos or images. Influencers must verbally communicate the coupon code, which can make it less convenient for users to act immediately. Of course, they can add the coupon code in the video or post descriptions to keep it accessible at all times. - Less tracking accuracy
How do you ensure that every sale attributed to a specific influencer is accurately tracked? Listeners or viewers might forget the coupon code or use a different device when they buy it, which makes it hard to link a sale to a specific campaign. - Adherence to guidelines
You need influencers to adhere to your promotional guidelines in every format. That's a bit harder in live and unscripted content, which is sometimes the case for non-text-based content. There’s a risk of miscommunication or deviation from your brand's key messages.
Strategies To Overcome Influencer Discount Code Challenges
Don’t be put off by the challenges. There are some workarounds to ensure that your influencer discount code can work well in any affiliate marketing content format.
- Memorable coupon codes: create easy-to-remember coupon codes directly associated with the influencer’s name or brand. Make them short and sweet. Linking them to the influencer's name also helps.
- Repeated mentions: encourage influencers to mention the coupon code multiple times throughout their content, but not too many. It shouldn't sound like an ad.
- Visual aids: in videos and live streams, display the coupon code using on-screen graphics or text overlays.
- Reminder prompts: for podcasts, include the coupon code in the episode description or show notes. You can also add mid-roll or end-roll reminders to prompt the audience.
- Integrated tracking tools: use integrated tracking tools that can help link back the sales to specific influencers even if the exact coupon code is not used. This can include unique URLs or UTM parameters.
- Post-campaign analysis: conduct a thorough post-campaign analysis to understand the effectiveness of your strategies. Look at both quantitative data (sales, conversions) and qualitative feedback (audience comments, influencer insights).
Top tip: Learn the key affiliate marketing metrics you should track to measure your program’s effectiveness.
4 Best Practices for Creating and Distributing Influencer Coupon Codes
To get the most out of your influencer coupon codes, follow these best practices:
1. Set Clear Guidelines and Expectations
Provide the influencers you work with with a detailed brief about the coupon code applications and ensure all questions are answered before any post goes live. They should know how and where to use the coupon codes, and what your campaign objectives, promotional timelines, and key messages are.
2. Collaborate on Content Creation
This is a partnership, so leverage each other's strengths. Create content that seamlessly integrates coupon codes. Think tutorials, product demos, or unboxing videos that enable them to work the discount code in a natural, conversational way.
3. Give Them High-Quality Marketing Assets
Set your influencers up for success with professional-grade images, videos, and promotional materials. You don't want them to waste time looking for these assets, or even worse, using ones that are out of date or of low quality.
Related: Discover various types of content you can create and promote with your affiliate influencers.
4. Integrate Codes Across Multiple Mediums
A code gains traction when it's shared in multiple places and various formats. Make sure it's used in video descriptions, during live streams, in podcasts, and on social media. The more touchpoints, the higher the chances of conversion.
Expert Tips on How to Track Influencer Coupon Performance
You should know how your coupon code campaign is performing at all times, not just at the end of the month when you're checking the sales stats. Here's how to keep an eye on it so you can act quickly on signals from the market:
- Use advanced tracking tools
Tools like Rewardful make it easy to track coupon code results in real time. You can quickly identify which influencers drive the most sales and which codes are most effective, helping you double down on the working strategies to boost the impact.
- Analyze conversion rates
Look beyond the number of redemptions and focus on the conversion rates. This gives you a better understanding of how well the codes are performing in terms of actual sales.
- Don't skip the qualitative feedback
It's not just the numbers that count; your influencer experience is important, too. Gather feedback from them and their audience through surveys. This will show you the response to the coupon code campaign, improving future partnerships.
Create, Track, and Improve Your Coupon Code Influencer Campaigns with Rewardful
If your team is doing SaaS affiliate marketing with influencers, use Rewardful to monitor, analyze, and enhance your strategy. Rewardful's coupon code feature gives you seamless integration, real-time tracking, and powerful analytics to help you optimize your campaigns.
Explore our coupon code feature today and see what difference a solid platform and partner makes!
