In today’s hyper-digital landscape, Shopify Collabs—Shopify’s affiliate marketing platform—has become a powerful tool for brands to reach and engage with their target audiences. However, as the influencer and affiliate marketing industry has grown, so has the noise. Consumers are bombarded with sponsored content daily, and many are increasingly skeptical about the authenticity of the messages they receive.
For brands to stand out in this crowded space and build meaningful, lasting relationships with their customers, it’s essential to seek genuine partnerships with influencers and creators—not just transactional endorsements. Shopify Collabs helps brands do just that. While Collabs helps brands find and connect with influencers, the Collabs’ Community Guidelines are designed to help ensure trust and create authentic relationships.
Here’s why prioritizing authenticity with influencers, whether through affiliate or campaign partnerships, is essential for long-term success:
1. Authenticity resonates with audiences
When an influencer endorses a brand, it’s a reflection of their personal brand. Audiences are more likely to trust and engage with content that feels real, transparent, and aligned with an influencer’s true values. This can result in higher engagement, more meaningful interactions, and ultimately stronger loyalty. Influencers know this and often share products they already use and love, or look for brands that match their values, aesthetics, niche, or follower’s needs.
2. Builds trust and credibility
When an influencer authentically supports a brand, it speaks volumes about that brand’s values and quality. In many cases, influencers are seen as experts or trusted voices within their niche or community, so their endorsement carries weight. The influencer’s audience will be more likely to trust the brand’s future messaging and products after receiving this endorsement.
3. Genuine content makes for strong long-term relationships
One-off influencer collaborations may generate short-term buzz, but they don’t often translate into long-term consumer loyalty, strong sales, or sustained brand awareness. Rather than relying on brief, one-off sponsored posts, choosing to expand relationships with influencers who are already making genuine content for your brand can lead to strong long-term partnerships. These partnerships, built off authenticity, can lead to deeper storytelling, more consistent messaging, and continuous engagement.
4. Engaged audiences are more likely to turn into customers
Authentic, consistent content can also lead to increased sales. When influencers make content talking about or showing a product they recommend, it can help remove the guesswork on things like quality or sizing, making followers more likely to purchase.
But how can a brand best capitalize on this content to drive sales?
By initially partnering with influencers and creators in an affiliate capacity, brands can not only track influencer driven sales, but also provide influencers with an ongoing incentive to promote their products. This long-term approach fosters genuine, sustained engagement, since influencers can make authentic content to promote their affiliate offers as it makes sense for them and their audiences.
Luckily, Collabs makes it easy for brands to discover and recruit influencers and creators who genuinely align with their values and track the resulting affiliate sales. Collabs helps brands find these genuine connections in a few different ways.
One way is through online store application pages, which brands can customize and add to their websites. These pages allow for interested influencers to apply to partner with the brand. The brand can create custom survey questions to ensure they’re approving only those who make sense for them as an ambassador.
Brands can also opt into giving Collabs creators instant commission offers. This allows Collabs creators to discover and promote a brand’s products without additional approvals, which also makes it a great recruitment tool. After a Collabs creator drives sales for a brand, they show up in their connections. Brands can easily opt into giving these creators a higher commission, buyer discount, or gift to incentive more sales. Brands can also decide to work with creators on additional campaigns off-platform, with no extra fees.
Central to authenticity on Collabs, are Collabs’ Community Guidelines, which promote transparent practices. This ensures that brands can trust creators, particularly those with access to their instant offers, are making content about the products they promote, and are driving traffic that results in affiliate sales via their own platforms.
In today’s crowded and often skeptical digital world, seeking genuine relationships and endorsements with influencer and creator partners is not just a good business strategy—it’s essential for building trust, credibility, and long-term success. By prioritizing authenticity, brands can foster more effective and lasting partnerships, leading to stronger brand loyalty and increased sales.
