Making big $$$ while sleeping

Cami Beaulieu    November 11, 2018

“I wish every outfit I liked on Instagram would magically appear in my closet.” This popular meme from 2014 is almost a reality now with the LIKEtoKNOW.it app. Nowadays, pretty much anybody and everybody can be an influencer of some level and make money through social media. Top influencers are making 7-figures income (yes, $1M – you read that right) and are growing their brands from blogging to fashion line, online retail, home décor, modeling and much more. In 2011, Amber Venz Box, President and Co-Founder of rewardSTYLE & LIKEtoKNOW.it created her company as a way to make money through her own blog. Now, bloggers’ influence on their followers is very tangible through online sales.

LIKEtoKNOW.it allows followers to “shop their screenshots”. The app works by having enabled pictures on influencers’ social media platforms (Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat) as well as through the mobile web. The end user simply make a screenshot of the desired look and “receive shoppable product details via email or get them instantly within the app”. (source: LIKEtoKNOW.it). The consumers know which pictures are enabled when the image has the LIKEtoKNOW.it icon or if the influencer added the link http://liketk.it on its Instagram post. The app “provides a win-win-win for brands, influencers and consumers. It helps consumers buy items they see on social media posts by simply taking a screen shot. It also helps the influencers who use platforms like Instagram and Snapchat (that do not allow links) earn a commission on products they help sell. Finally, it helps brands who want to expand their market awareness in a targeted, cost-effective way.” (Source: Robin Report)

The app’s parents company, rewardSTYLE, is connecting influencers – by invitation only –  with brands to 1) drive sales from retailers and 2) monetize the Instagramers and bloggers’ content. “Every time that a consumer click on an affiliated link and buy the product, the blogger receive a commission for that sale.” (Source: Ignite Visibility). The four type of social media metrics developed by Jay Baer are used to monitor this business and to make sure that the right influencers are invited to use rewardSTYLE.

Consumption Metrics: How many followers viewed and liked the content?

Sharing Metrics: How rich is the content? Quality & relatable content means more sharing and visibility.

Lead-gen Metrics: How often did the content generated on a lead to the buying process?

Sales Metrics: How many online sales resulted from the affiliated links?

(Source: Course Content Week 6 Social Media Metrics)

Social media metrics are monitored by rewardSTYLE program and the app LIKEtoKNOW.it. They work only with bloggers and influencers with a strong followers base, who are also able to monitor their ROI and make sure that they reach their click to sales conversation targets.

rewardSTYLE:

4500+ retailers with 1m brands

30k influencers in 100+ countries

530m+ unique consumers

$1B annual online sales

 

Dominique Jackson define that Instagram business profile accounts have access to a lot of useful metrics to get to know their audience demographic, as well as:

  • Impressions: The total number of times your posts have been seen.
  • Reach: The number of unique accounts that have seen your posts
  • Profile views: The number of times your profile was viewed.
  • Engagement: The number of likes and comments on your posts.
  • Saved: The number of unique accounts that saved your posts.

 

The knowledge of Instagram analytic as well as their audience help bloggers build their credibility with program such as rewardSTYLE and LIKEtoKNOW.it app. John Lincoln says that 75% of RewardStyle consumers are millennials, so when influencers can monitor their social media metrics to demonstrate that they reach this demographic as well, they can build their case to request the invitation from rewardSTYLE and LIKEtoKNOW.it app to participate in their lucrative endeavours.

The program from rewardSTYLE and now the LIKEtoKNOW.it app have help many bloggers and influencers earn a living through social media. “The most important thing we look at is retail sales driven,” RewardStyle president Amber Venz said. “While conversion rate can tell us a bit about a publisher, we’re a little less interested in that and more interested in what [sales] they will drive as a publisher.”  A seemingly unknown fashion blogger turn designer, Rachel Parcell, was able to turn her blog into a million-dollar income. “I’m not up in the millions (followers), yet I convert higher than some of these girls who have millions of followers,” said Parcell.  (Source: Vanity Fair. This article is from 2014. Four years later, she has now 976k+ followers on Instagram. She is credited to have drove $1M in sales for Nordstrom (American department store) during the 2014 holiday season. (source: Forbes). This was before the LIKEtoKNOW.it app is used to generate money through Instagram posts. Fashion bloggers, influencers, Instagram models… they now have a real measurable effect on social media businesses.

Lessons for Others

Let the metrics work for you. Warren Buffet says: “If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.” Bloggers and influencers who are using rewardSTYLE program and LIKEtoKNOW.it app have apparently find a fine way to make money while sleeping. I personally find it fascinating to learn about people who created their own career. A lot of occupations today were inexistent a decade ago. What will these smart persons do next?

Organization: rewardSTYLE
Industry: Online retail
Name of Organization Contact: Amber Venz Box

Authored by: Cami Beaulieu

If you have concerns as to the accuracy of anything posted on this site, please send your concerns to Peter Carr, Program Director, Social Media for Business Performance.


References

Jackson, D. (April 2, 2018) All of the Social Media Metrics That Matter. Retrieved from https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-metrics-that-matter/ on November 9, 2018.

McKay, B. (July 14, 2017) The Six Most Effective Social Media Metrics to Understand You Campaign’s Success. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/07/14/the-six-most-effective-social-media-metrics-to-understand-your-campaigns-success/#2df4880764cb on November 9, 2018.

Ganatra, R. (March 5, 2018). How LIKEtoKNOW.it is Driving Influencer Sales at Scale. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/rganatra/2018/03/05/liketoknow-it-driving-influencer-sales-at-scale/#23e7b0902298 on November 9, 2018.

Lincoln, J. (2018). What are LIKEtoKNOW.it and rewardSTYLE (and why they matter). Retrieved from https://ignitevisibility.com/like-to-know-it-and-reward-style/ on November 10, 2018.

Rao, P. (June 12, 2014). The top fashion bloggers making millions aren’t who you think. Retrieved from https://www.vanityfair.com/news/daily-news/2014/06/fashion-bloggers-making-millions on November 11, 2018.

Russell, J. (February 8, 2018) Loving LIKEtoKNOW.it. Retrieved from https://www.therobinreport.com/loving-liketoknow-it/ on November 9, 2018.