The title of influencer has bothered me for quite a while, because how is one able to claim that they are a bonafide influencer without metrics? In the past few years, influencer accounts have cropped up all so suddenly. They boast of 5 digit following and claim their followers are legit and they are true influencers. I’m so sorry, but I don’t buy it simply because I know the game – I wasn’t late into the social media game, I know for a fact that some account BUY their followers which are just bots or accounts from the Middle East or real accounts of people’s multiple created accounts, similar to a troll farm.
I need to be honest, I got envious of some people who are able to reach X number of followers in a span of months, while I grew my following – oh so slowly through the years. My followers may be 3,000 only – but my followers are real people and are loyal. It took me a long while to increase my following simply because I do not want to buy followers. I have been tempted to put ads, but then I always hesitate and decide otherwise. Last October, I became a Lazada Affiliate. To be honest, I am one who doesn’t believe in these things. I have been invited to become marketing affiliates in certain online stores and I have decline. The reason is that I don’t want it to be a hard sell. So going back, I became a Lazada affiliate, I was offered it and I took it willingly, I thought to myself – why not! I mean what is the harm is posting my Lazada, adding my affiliate link and earning a little from my REAL recommendations. Piece of cake, right? Well, yeah! Before the 11.11 sale came – I posted a few links of my recommend buys. I kept an open mind and adopted the ‘wherever it will take me’ attitude. I checked my metrics and with what I saw, I told myself it’ll take me years before I could cash out on my commissions.
I checked my account after two days and was surprised with the amount I saw. I honestly couldn’t believe it. It was about P2,000.00. I had to ask a friend for clarification on what ‘Estimated Payout’ meant – she said it was the actual amount of my commissions from the sales I drove to Lazada. I was surprised – it was a wonderfull surprise, because it was an effortless post on IG and on FB. Over the next few days, I saw to see the metrics of my sales. I saw the item – how many clicks were made, and how many sales I was able to get on that particular item.
For the first time, I saw legitimate metrics. I saw which items I was able to sell. I was most surprised because I was able to sell 14 jars of Comvita Manuka Honey. I was very kilig because, if I remember correctly – one 500g jar costs at least P3,000 each – and I was able to sell 14 pcs! My top sales referral was Instant Pot – I was able to sell various Instant Pot brand appliances across my Instagram and FB posts. My IP sales, weren’t that much of a surprise to me. I know, ang yabang ko – but seriously, I KNOW that I drive sales of that appliance – in my circle of friends, I was able to convince a LOT of them, I just didn’t have the metrics to back up my claim.
I got the shock of my life when I was told that I was part of the Top 3 Sales for the 11.11 sale! To be specific, I drove P152,000.00 in sales for Lazada! When I received that news, I felt so validated – I was ecstatic! Seeing those metrics made me feel more confident in who I am in the social media world. It was a perfect validation for someone who was doubting herself! For the past years, I felt bad that my following hasn’t grown exponentially. There were so many times that I questioned if what I was doing still made sense. I am so grateful and very happy that I have (finally!) metrics that I can show those who ‘doubt’ my capacity to influence and convert my posts into a sales. I took a screen shot of my metrics for the 11.11 Lazada sale.
My metrics above was quite good if you ask me. I was able to convert 53% of clicks I drove to Lazada. That’s a good enough percentage, right? Not bad! At least for me because I just posted and there were sales! Sales is really important for a brand, and I drove sales to them. YEHEY!
Then the 12.12 sale came along. I was just hoping to redo what I did during the 11.11 sale. I recommended mostly the same products and added some more. I thought that with the metrics I had from the 11.11 sale, I learned that my followers were willing to buy more expensive items. That was the trick for me, I think. So I posted again in Instagram Stories and on FB – I did the usual recommendation and even compiled them in my IG’s highlights. Little did I know that I would fare better during the 12.12 sale! I fared better compared to my 11.11 metrics. I mean look at that metric!
I was floored when I saw the metrics – 133 orders from 131 clicks! Never in my wildest dream did I think that I would be able to give out 100% sales from the links I provided. The metrics above meant that every click that was made, there was a corresponding SALE that happened. Amazing right? Yes!
The social media/influencer world is filled with so many kinds of people. I go by the saying ‘There is enough for everyone’ because there is really. With the metrics above – it just proves that I CAN DRIVE sales, and I am so very happy that I finally have a measurement for it!
THANK YOU to everyone who continues to trust me and trust that I do. I am very grateful for your trust all these years. I hope that I have given you guys the content that you need for the brands that you represent. Please do count on my every effort that I put forth whenever we do projects together. Thank you for believing in me even without having a form of measurement to my capabilities. THANK YOU!
Thank you to Rowena & Jeosen who thought of including me in their group of Lazada Affiliates. I am forever grateful to you both.
