Your Ultimate Guide to Affiliate Marketing on Facebook 2024

Affiliate marketing on Facebook is the soundest advice any digital marketer can give anyone who wants to earn extra cash but doesn’t have a blog or website.

Leveraging this platform’s unparalleled global reach (about three billion and counting) translates to more promotional and sales opportunities. But since it’s a social media channel, you’ll get more than a potential for a fat paycheck. You also gain new contacts and build relationships that can be beneficial in future endeavors.

So, how do you gain affiliate marketing success with Facebook?

Sit back, and we’ll show you ten proven tricks and other juicy bits.

Affiliate Marketing on Facebook: 10 Useful Tips to Gain Success 

With as many as 75.8% of affiliates using Facebook to drive traffic to affiliate brands, this social media channel is one of the most productive monetization platforms. However, the figure also underscores Facebook affiliate marketing’s competitiveness.

You can still be successful and leave other affiliates in the dust if you adhere to the following tips.

Benefit audience with product selection

Facebook has over three billion users, making the platform one of the best sources for generating extra income.

People can promote almost anything on this platform, but it doesn’t mean you should. You will appear “salesy” or “pushy,” and your Facebook audiences will not want to visit your page again, let alone interact with your posts.

So, analyze your product selection and promote only those people WANT, and please, pick only high-quality options.

Ideally, you’ll want to share products with tangible benefits and verifiable evidence.

For example, suppose you’re promoting a hair growth solution on Facebook. Posting before-and-after images should capture Facebook users’ interest, but that’s insufficient. After all, anyone with Adobe Photoshop knowledge can edit any picture.

Why not add a link to a scientific article proving the hair growth product’s effectiveness? That would be more convincing.

The point here is to cater to your Facebook audiences’ needs. Obviously, hair growth products are essential for improving people’s self-esteem and self-confidence.

And that goes similarly for any product you promote on Facebook. It must add value to FB users, and they must “feel” your sincerity in offering these products.

Place affiliate link disclosure

Nothing pisses off Facebook users more than “shady” marketers on the platform. And you should be, too! After all, these characters put trustworthy affiliates in a bad light.

People (including Facebook users) want transparency. And you can do that without undermining your income-generating activities by including an affiliate disclaimer in your Facebook post.

It’s like giving FB users a head’s up on your post (you’ll receive a commission if they click the link and buy the promoted product).

And that’s empowering because they can choose.

Facebook users also appreciate your honesty, making them want to interact with your page even more (perhaps even become your follower or group member).

So, don’t think putting an affiliate disclosure in your link-embedded FB posts a disadvantage.

It only shows you care about people’s trust and confidence, and you won’t be the number one rule-breaker in the platform. That adds to your credibility as a social media influencer.

Remember, credibility and trustworthiness translates to more Facebook users supporting your affiliate marketing endeavors.

Use relevant hashtags for discovery

Although it’s been 16 years since Chris Messina first used the number sign “#” to improve cross-referencing on Twitter, hashtags remain as relevant as ever.

It’s like a digital magnet attracting similar topics or themes, boosting discoverability.

But how do you leverage hashtags on Facebook to advance your affiliate marketing endeavors?

Keeping the hashtag simple and easy to read is a good start. For example, if you’re a wellness affiliate, you could pick “#fitnessmotivation,” “#health,” and “#fitfam” as hashtags.

Keep the hashtags as relevant to your niche as possible to avoid confusing your Facebook followers.

You could also create a hashtag encouraging action (i.e., #shareastory) or something specific and unique to your brand.

More importantly, keep it discreet. You don’t want to flood a single FB post with 20 or more hashtags. That’s overkill.

Create unique, realistic content from experience

Although providing scientific evidence for promoted products can be a convincing content strategy, few Facebook users want to read an academic paper. (At least we know we don’t.)

People use Facebook to interact like friends, meeting for the first time after several decades of separation. Facebook posts are light and entertaining, touching on or talking about everyday people’s lives and stories.

So, keep your posts as relatable as possible. You’re “connecting” with ordinary people and not Harvard-trained scholars.

For example, promoting a hair growth solution will be more “believable” if you share your experiences with the product. Did it grow your locks by how many inches in several months? What other benefits did the item give you?

Remember, Facebook users can “sense” if you’re talking bull or being genuine about your content. And that counts in affiliate marketing via Facebook.

Include attention-grabbing video content

Here’s a tip that will boost any promotional content on Facebook.

Videos rule!

And if you have an attention-grabbing video (i.e., Facebook Videos or Reels), you’re almost guaranteed 1,200% more likes and shares than images and texts.

That’s more opportunities for you to engage with, build credibility, and boost affiliate marketing.

And did you know 86% of affiliates leverage high-quality videos to drive traffic, and seven out of ten recognize videos’ ability to boost conversions?

Although these numbers are for marketing in general, we can never downplay videos’ value in arousing curiosity and sparking conversations. And that increases engagement opportunities.

Obviously, producing high-quality videos for Facebook isn’t as straightforward as writing a two-line post.

But that’s just it!

High-quality Facebook videos convey an image of credibility. Users see you as someone dedicated to his (her) craft, churning out only good-quality visuals that evoke emotions and tell a relatable story.

And that’s one way to win on Facebook.

Engage with Facebook groups

Facebook Groups are miniature communities leveraging Abraham Maslow’s theory about humankind’s innate need to “belong” or become part of an entity larger than oneself.

And since Facebook has billions of users, you can expect many “groups” with shared interests, passions, and values to exist.

Interacting with niche-related groups has at least two benefits.

First, you’ll gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of your niche from other people’s perspectives and experiences.

Second, you can leverage these groups to boost your credibility and expand your follower base.

They call it “piggybacking,” but we prefer calling it a mutually beneficial relationship.

Some of these groups might have a more expansive audience than yours. Engaging with them and their members exposes you (and your Facebook page). And if they like your comments and other “group actions,” some members could become your followers or members, too.

And that’s one way to grow on Facebook. Remember, the more audiences you have (and trust you), the better your chances of affiliate marketing success.

Interact and build lasting audience relationship

Some affiliates fail with Facebook because they consider audiences as a “means to an end,” not as invaluable affiliate partners.

Your affiliate marketing journey doesn’t end when a Facebook user buys a product using your link. It’s a never-ending process of trust-building and reinforcing.

You never stop. You always add value to your followers, lest they realize you’re only after their money.

And if it comes to that point, they’ll “unfollow” your Facebook page. The worst part is these “dissatisfied” Facebook users can share negative things about your page.

Additionally, Facebook users expect Page owners to interact with them, especially if they have questions or concerns about a post.

If you ignore these audience interaction requirements, you would be sorry for a dwindling Facebook follower count.

So, spare at least half an hour to read and react to comments. A simple “thank you for your valuable input” can go a long way to caressing someone else’s pride.

Monitor Facebook page insights

Facebook isn’t all about making connections and reestablishing broken ones. This platform has a powerful tool giving affiliates insights into their Business Page’s performance.

Aptly named Facebook Page Insights is a window into an affiliate’s audience-building and relationship-boosting activities.

This analytics dashboard lets you analyze Facebook posts and audience behavior, empowering you to adjust marketing strategies accordingly.

You’ll get answers to the common affiliate questions, like the number of Facebook users who viewed the content and the number of shares, comments, likes, and reactions.

And if you added a video in your post (like we recommended above), Facebook Page Insights also gives you an idea how many folks viewed it for at least three seconds and a full minute.

So, check out your page insights daily to determine if the content is impactful or requires a bit of tweaking.

Collaborate with other influencers

Teaming up with other influencers is an excellent strategy for boosting page visits and expanding your Facebook audience.

Unfortunately, not all social media influencers might be too keen on collaborating with others, especially if your page only has a few hundred followers.

Don’t be disheartened because you can always ask them nicely. A heartfelt invitation to collaborate should give you a positive response.

And even if bigwig influencers don’t, nano and micro influencers (with 1,000 to 100,000 followers) might be willing.

However, ensure your content is worth promoting or offers their audiences exceptional value. After all, no influencer will encourage followers to check out a Facebook page with dubious claims and poor-quality content.

You can’t blame them because their followers will not trust the influencer anymore.

So, ensure your page has the right content (i.e., niche-related and good quality with discernible audience benefits) before connecting and collaborating with other influencers.

Leverage Facebook Ads

Relying on Facebook’s organic reach isn’t a cost-effective way to grow an audience to promote products. And although piggybacking with well-established Facebook groups can hasten audience building, it’s still insufficient for most affiliates.

So, if you want to see faster results with your affiliate marketing, we recommend earmarking a budget for Facebook Ads.

Thankfully, Facebook doesn’t put limits on advertising budgets. You dictate how much you want to spend directing ad-aided traffic to your page, and Facebook does the rest.

For example, give Facebook $50 weekly, and the platform adjusts the ad exposure and traffic commensurate to this value. Earmark a higher budget, and Facebook readjusts.

Unfortunately, Facebook can be unforgiving for ads with affiliate links (if caught).

The solution?

Use the paid ad to promote your website or blog. Potential customers can click on affiliate links in the blog when they visit (and let you earn a commission).

What is Facebook Affiliate Marketing?

Facebook affiliate marketing is a money-making strategy leveraging the social media sphere’s most powerful platform – Facebook.

Conventional affiliate marketing utilizes blogs or websites to generate traffic or potential customers. Affiliates embed meticulously-crafted links and other affiliate-related trackers into blog posts, crossing fingers audiences will click on them and produce a sale.

Affiliate marketing on Facebook is similar, except affiliates use the platform (not websites, blogs, or other marketing channels) to promote products and encourage users to “buy.”

But why Facebook when other social media platforms exist?

As mentioned, Facebook is a robust platform.

Statista released an October 2023 report underscoring Facebook’s massive global reach, leaving 2nd-placer YouTube in the dust with a hefty half-a-billion monthly active user-gap (3.03 billion vs. 2.491 billion).

Facebook’s sister platforms, WhatsApp and Instagram, aren’t far behind in 3rd and 4th places, each with two billion monthly active users.

These numbers highlight Facebook’s potential in drawing customers to an affiliate brand. Even if you only corner a fraction of Facebook users, the figures will still be impressive.

Hence, niche identification is crucial because you will want to maximize every post you put on Facebook to lead to a sale. Strategy and creativity matter, too.

Pros Vs Cons of Doing Affiliate Marketing on Facebook

No affiliate marketing channel (including Facebook) is perfect. A drawback or two can always rear their ugly heads and demotivate newbie affiliates. Knowing this platform’s pros and cons should give you a head’s-up.

Facebook’s massive reach translates to an expansive audience across multiple demographics (i.e., gender, age group, location, and interests). Almost everyone is on this platform, including your potential customers.

And you’ll never fret about “connecting” with your audience, either. After all, people log into Facebook for about 20 hours monthly or a little under 40 minutes daily. You could post daily, and your followers will get your “communication” in their feeds.

That should give you all the opportunities to engage and interact with them, add value to their social media experiences, and grow your audience. Keeping in touch with them won’t be an issue.

Did you know Facebook has an intelligent algorithm that analyzes your data and sends the “most likely target audiences” to benefit your niche? Of course, it needs some fine-tuning, but Facebook does some of the work to simplify your life.

And here’s the real gem!

This social network lets you use different advertising media, including photos, stories, videos, slideshows, Messenger ads, and carousel ads.

Now, that’s cool!

Unfortunately, Facebook’s audience-targeting can be a hit-or-miss, especially if you don’t clearly define the parameters or your affiliate business information is missing a few details.

Moreover, Facebook’s cost-per-click impressions can be misleading because of fictitious profiles or spam accounts. (In the last three months of 2022, Facebook deleted at least 1.3 billion fake accounts on its platform).

Facebook might drive your ads to these “audiences,” bringing no favorable result.

How to Start Affiliate Marketing on Facebook? 

Facebook’s shortcomings are manageable, making it an excellent platform for deriving affiliate revenue. But how do you start Facebook affiliate marketing? Consider our breezy three-step guide.

Step 1: Create an affiliate marketing Facebook Business Page (or Group)

Some might think a Personal Facebook Page is sufficient for an effective campaign.

Unfortunately, it isn’t. You’re producing a business-like vibe and connecting with established and reputable brands.

Hence, your Facebook account must have at least a dedicated affiliate marketing “group” or, better yet, a Facebook Business Page.

Think of the Business Page as your “website” within Facebook. It’s more “official,” allowing you to conduct legitimate affiliate marketing activities without earning the platform’s ire and stiff penalties.

Creating a “new” Facebook page is as hassle-free as clicking the “Pages” link in your Facebook profile homepage. Fill in the required details and finish by clicking the “Create Page” button. Don’t forget to pick a suitable cover photo and profile picture to make the page more “business-like.”

We recommend carefully thinking about the Facebook Business Page details, including the name, category, and description. You will want a catchy, niche-appropriate, and easy-to-remember brand.

It’s the same procedure for a Facebook Group, although you must decide its privacy settings (i.e., “hidden vs. visible” and “public vs. private”). Note that Facebook Group doesn’t offer control over the members’ activities. Hence, your job is to “moderate” group interactions.

With your Facebook Business Page or Group set up, you can drive traffic.

Step 2: Build and expand your audience

Successful marketers on Facebook have a large audience or fan base. The people following or visiting your Business Page or Group (or both) are potential customers.

A well-crafted affiliate link will prove useless if there is no one to click on it.

Hence, your first task is to drive traffic to the Business Page or Group (or both).

But how?

Focus on building credibility and trustworthiness first. Forget about promotional campaigns for now. Your job is to get as many visitors to the Page or Group and have them follow.

Create informative (or educational) or entertaining content that users find useful or valuable and share with people in respective social networks.

Add visual elements to your blog post to grab attention, boost engagement, and improve information retention.

For example, adding videos to your posts can help viewers retain as much as 95% of the message. Try that with an ordinary text-string post. Your readers will only absorb 10% of information.

Use Facebook Live and share trending (but niche-related and entertaining) images, memes, and videos.

You must earn a worthy reputation – an authority in your niche and a reliable provider of trustworthy information. It will differentiate you from other affiliate marketers who are only content on pushing “salesy” posts.

You can also “piggyback” or join niche-related groups to leverage their “popularity.” Add value to the group to earn their trust and avoid “spammy” activities.

Relying on Facebook’s organic traffic alone takes time to generate traffic. Hence, fast-track it with Facebook Ads for affiliate marketing.

Note that Facebook prohibits promoting certain products through its ads. In such instances, you can only use this feature to expand your audience, encourage engagement, and drive traffic to an external website or blog.

Step 3: Join an affiliate program or network

You can join an affiliate program after growing your audience. It’s the only time you can start thinking about promoting products to your followers, visitors, and other audiences.

Ideally, a high-paying platform is necessary, especially if you advertise with Facebook’s ad program. You must also read the program’s terms because some companies have strict Facebook posting rules.

Examples of Affiliate Marketing Facebook Page 

It’s one thing to talk about affiliate marketing on Facebook and another to appreciate what a Business Page or Group about affiliate marketing looks like. So, let’s look at some examples.

The Affiliate SEO Mastermind

Search engine optimization (SEO) remains one of the core strategies for successful affiliate marketing campaigns. It beats social media marketing by two percentage points in marketer usage (69% vs. 67%), while blogging is a close third with 65%.

Diggity Marketing founder and CEO Matt Diggity understands SEO can be alien to first-time affiliates. Hence, he created the online community to pool the industry’s foremost SEO experts and share their experiences for everyone.

Although the Facebook group is private, it encourages open discussion. Members will stay updated with Google’s ever-changing algorithm, allowing them to make the necessary adjustments in their campaigns.

The group covers various topics, including FB ads, email marketing, sales funnels, and Google advertising.

And the best part? Anyone can join.

So, if you’re looking for proven tactics to boost affiliate marketing performance via SEO, this FB group is worth joining.

Travel Affiliate Club

Travel Affiliate Club (TAC) is the Facebook Group worth joining if you’re into travel affiliate programs.

Formed in 2017, TAC is now 6,400-plus, comprising travel affiliate bloggers, vloggers, influencers, and podcasters. The online community empowers members to review and compare various travel programs, allowing them to pick the right one to promote.

The travel or tourism industry is a multi-trillion-dollar market, with economists predicting it will reach $17 trillion by 2030. That’s excellent news for travel affiliates, raising their hopes of earning more for the next several decades.

And with TAC’s FB group, you’ll never feel alone in leveraging the market’s potential.

It’s an excellent way to monetize a thriving industry, while building relationships with like-minded affiliates.

How to Make Money from Blogging

Here’s another example of a Facebook group dedicated to affiliates who want to earn extra from blogging.

Sharon Gourlay created Digital Nomad Wannabe in 2015 to share her experiences earning four- to five-digits monthly monetizing links on her website. She knew that other people would also want to boost their incomes and realize their dreams.

How to Make Money from Blogging is a relatively large online community of over 11,000 and the perfect platform for advanced-beginners and seasoned bloggers to boost their online presence. (Head’s up! This FB group isn’t suitable for greenhorn affiliates.)

They learn from each other’s experiences, ask questions, share personal wins, and give experiential advice.

But it’s not only blogging this group talks about.

Members also stay abreast with the latest in business strategies, affiliate marketing, and search engine optimization campaigns.

Automation Nation

Buildapreneur founder Spencer Mecham is one of the industry’s most successful digital marketers, authors, and YouTubers. And although he can talk about almost anything in the digital world, affiliate marketing holds a special place in Mecham’s heart.

Automation Nation is Mecham’s way of giving back to the community, inspiring others to build a system for ensuring passive income for long-term success.

The FB group has an impressive following of 25,000, and counting! Some members earn five- to seven-digit paychecks, while others are beginner affiliates.

Weekly training sessions are available and, despite Mecham’s hectic schedule, he finds time to interact with members.

What Are the Best Affiliate Platforms for Facebook?

As mentioned, the last step for starting Facebook affiliate marketing is looking for the best program to join. So, we shortlisted some of the industry’s leading platforms to earn a decent affiliate income through Facebook.

Amazon Influencers

There’s no better platform to earn commissions from diverse affiliate products than Amazon. This Jeff Bezos-helmed e-commerce giant has over 350 million offerings, allowing affiliates to promote almost anything.

It’s worth noting that Amazon Associates has a specific program for social media influencers – the Amazon Influencer Program. It’s perfect for Facebook users who want to monetize their social media accounts.

The Influencer program is similar to the Associates. You still get a wealth of product offerings, creatives, and marketing support that Amazon is well-known for. Even its cookie window is identical.

Although Amazon is an excellent program to affiliate with, it has strict rules when posting on Facebook.

Amazon prohibits promoting affiliate links via FB Ads feature, although you can place them in your usual FB posts.

Hence, direct-linking between Amazon and FB Ads is a big NO-NO!

So, how is Amazon an excellent program for Facebook users if you cannot use the Ads to promote the products?

Use FB Ads to promote your blog and embed the Amazon links in the blog articles. That’s an easy way around this Amazon-FB Ads conundrum.

Despite Amazon’s FB Ads-boosting restrictions, the e-commerce giant is very forgiving in its social media follower requirement. Your FB page only needs about 500 followers or members to join Amazon’s Influencer program.

ClickBank

ClickBank is the brainchild of Tim and Eileen Barber as an Amazon Associates alternative. Although the platform is only two years younger than the Bezos-led platform, its product offerings aren’t as extensive as Amazon.

Still, 4,000 products is impressive, especially for affiliates who want “more generous” affiliate commissions.

Unlike Amazon, capping its compensation at 20%, some ClickBank merchants are more generous, offering affiliates as much as 75% in commissions. Most sellers provide a 30% to 40% reward – still better than Amazon’s 20% max.

Moreover, ClickBank’s cookies can last up to 60 days, blasting Amazon Associates’ mediocre 24-hour window.

Here’s the funny thing with Facebook’s relationship with ClickBank.

If Amazon penalizes affiliates who direct-link Amazon products to FB Ads, it’s the opposite with the ClickBank-Facebook dynamic. Facebook doesn’t allow ClickBank affiliates to post affiliate links in FB Ads.

So, how do you resolve this issue?

You can read Facebook’s policies on Branded Content and check to see if your ClickBank product is relevant. If it is, you can promote it on that platform.

Alternatively, you can embed a link to your blog on a Facebook post (like the Amazon-Facebook workaround).

Facebook might not be too cozy with ClickBank links on its FB Ads, but there’s always a way. It should help you optimize CB’s generous commissions and extended cookie duration.

eBay Partner Network

Over 18 million online sellers love eBay!

And why not?

This platform lets people sell their items at an auction, improving the likelihood of netting a higher sale price than fixing it at a predetermined amount. Additionally, you don’t need a full inventory to sell on eBay.

Unsurprisingly, eBay’s product offerings blast Amazon’s listings by a whopping 1.5 billion-plus (1.9 billion vs. 350+ million). And if you find Amazon’s collection dizzying, eBay’s can be out-of-this-world. On the plus side, affiliates on Facebook can focus on promoting eBay’s BUY NOW offerings instead of For-Auction units. Or vice versa. And here’s where eBay has social media influencers on its side.

The eBay Partner Network doesn’t mind posting its links directly on Facebook. Neither does Facebook have any qualms about promoting eBay products through its Ads feature. It’s a win-win.

So, you can bet your affiliate marketing efforts will never go in vain.

Alas! eBay’s commission scheme and cookie policy are identical to Amazon. You must entice your Facebook followers to buy the eBay product within 24 hours, lest you forgo the 1% to 4% potential earning.

ShareASale

Here’s another program worth affiliating with and promoting its offerings on Facebook.

You can consider ShareASale as an Amazon Associates and ClickBank-wannabe, although it has a few advantages up its sleeve.

Unlike Amazon’s nearly 10 million sellers, ShareASale only caters to about 25,000 brands. That’s still commendable, especially if one checks out some of the companies partnering with this network (i.e., Reebok, Etsy, Nectar, and AllBirds).

Not impressed?

How about 250 affiliates joining ShareASale daily? The program also spent nearly a billion dollars paying the commissions of its affiliates last year (2022).

Like the eBay Partner Network, ShareASale doesn’t mind affiliates promoting products on Facebook. On the contrary, it encourages such activities. Facebook doesn’t have restrictions either (unlike the ClickBank affair).

But what makes ShareASale better than Amazon or eBay?

Let’s zero in on ShareASale’s commission, maxing at 50%. Even its lower limit (4%) is comparable to Amazon’s and eBay’s maximum monetary reward for affiliates. Cookies last a month, too.

So, if you want to grow your affiliate marketing business with Facebook, include ShareASale in your shortlist.

FAQs

Does Facebook accept affiliate marketing?

Yes, Facebook accepts affiliate marketing on its platform. However, affiliates must check the affiliate program’s terms or conditions relative to promoting products on Facebook.

Can you promote your affiliate links directly on Facebook and Instagram ads?

No, you cannot promote affiliate links directly on Facebook and Instagram Ads. However, you can promote a blog article using FB Ads and embed the link in the website for Facebook users to click.

What are the requirements and functionality for affiliate and branded content?

Facebook’s branded content refers to posts or digital creations specifically made for and paid by a business or brand. Meanwhile, affiliate content reflects “shareable” materials for which the “sharer” or affiliate can earn a commission.

Is Facebook the best social media platform for affiliate marketing?

Although Facebook’s social media reach is the most extensive among platforms (with more than three-quarters of affiliates using it to drive traffic), it’s not THE best, but one of them. Its ad campaigns are affordable, and using the platform is a piece of cake.

Conclusion

Facebook might not be the best social media channel for affiliate marketing, but no one can deny its popularity. Affiliates still turn to this Mark Zuckerberg platform to grow their audience, engage them, and strengthen their credibility.

True, Facebook has rules, but all organizations do. And if affiliates only read and adhere to FB’s rules and terms, they’d be as successful as super affiliates making six- to seven-digit incomes annually.

So, if you want to be successful with Facebook, we highly recommend learning its terms and maximizing them to your advantage.