Creator commerce company LTK believes platforms like YouTube and TikTok are at a major disadvantage when it comes to expanding into affiliate marketing.
These platforms are betting big on social shopping, introducing in-app shopping tools and features for creators and customers alike, putting pressure on creator commerce and affiliate marketing startups and programs that work with influencers and brands to drive sales, from Amazon’s influencer program to companies like MagicLinks, ShopMy and LTK.
Alison Yazdian, senior vice president of creator growth and success at LTK, told Business Insider that LTK has an advantage over the tech giants jumping into affiliate marketing because it’s not tied to a single platform, format, or brand.
“The reason LTK has been and will continue to be so successful is because we’re platform agnostic,” Yazdian said. “Creators can show their whole life story, without it being segmented by platform.”
LTK, formally known as RewardStyle and LiketoKnow.it, is an affiliate marketing and creator commerce platform for influencers. Creators can earn money on LTK in a variety of ways, from affiliate commissions to brand collaborations. The platform offers a variety of tools and features, including the ability for creators to build storefronts where their followers can shop. The Dallas-based company was valued at $2 billion in 2021. Raised $300 million from SoftBank.
LTK’s platform allows creators to share shoppable photos and videos. Screenshot/LTK website
Yazdian pointed to tech companies like Meta pulling away from social shopping as another sign that platforms are struggling with the business.
TikTok Shop has been a rapid success in social shopping since it launched in the U.S. last year, but the company’s e-commerce efforts come as other platforms like Instagram have scaled back their native shopping features.
Meanwhile, YouTube’s affiliate program has not been widely adopted by creators because they are unfamiliar with it or see no difference from the affiliate companies they already use.
“These platforms come and go,” Yazdian said, “and you need a place where people can find you regardless of where they’re consuming content.”
2021, YouTube We quietly tested the affiliate program with a small number of creators.Currently, the platform offers a range of shopping tools, including an affiliate marketing program that pays creators a commission when they drive sales through clickable affiliate links. To gain the support of creators and shoppers, it is betting on an integrated user experience: viewers can see products and prices right under the YouTube video, instead of having to search through the video description where the external links are located.
Still, Yazdian said creators want all their shopping links in one place, and she said retailer-specific affiliate programs from companies like Target and Walmart are too limiting because they offer fewer products to promote.
“You don’t want to be dependent on one retailer,” Yazdian said. “You want to have the full picture.”
LTK is introducing a feature aimed at attracting creators from rival affiliate marketing programs.
LTK has introduced a number of features to directly combat competitors.
Followers can visit a creator’s page, the LTK Shop, which features links to products the creator recommends. The Shop displays a feed of shoppable posts, including photos and short vertical videos, similar to an Instagram profile. A feature called Collections allows creators to group similar products into a folder or organize links by specific categories.
LTK also offers several tools tied to specific platforms to help creators drive followers to their LTK storefronts: Recently, the company launched a direct messaging tool that allows creators to automatically message their Instagram followers with LTK product links.
“LTK is a destination,” Yazdian said. “You’ll see creators say things like, ‘Check out my LTK anytime,’ and instead of those followers going to a retail site, they’re going to their favorite creators’ storefronts on LTK and shopping their styles there.”
