One of my goals for the blog this year is to share more information-rich content that aims to help you create your own content and go after your goals.
I know how confusing the digital space can be, and it’s constantly evolving, so keeping up with it is a huge feat. My background is rich in both creative development (Nearly 5 years of advertising agency experience), guiding creative (Nearly 3 years on the client side), and now consulting with a range of brands. So it’s safe to say that along the way, I’ve learned a thing or two! And I’m excited about being a resource here for you to learn and explore this space further.
Many of you, like me, are bloggers.
While I believe that having a passion for blogging is most essential, there is of course an element of monetization that’s important to explore, especially if you are interested in making it a career, like myself. Without that element, it’s just a hobby.
Even if you’re not a blogger, you may be curious about how to start, run, and grow a blog. And if you’re not curious about that for yourself, you may be interested in just learning different ways to make money off of blogging. Which leads me to the purpose of today’s post, which is a question that I’m pretty certain a lot of people, no matter what your interests are, are wondering.
What is LIKEtoKNOW.it?
LIKEtoKNOW.it is an app that is the single largest influencer shopping channel. It’s used for shopping, discovering new influencers that inspire you, and curating your own lifestyle collection via tracking your likes and wish list items.
Getting set up is super easy! Just head over to the sign up page. You’ll of course need to download the app, too! (Here’s the App Store link, and here’s the Google Play link.)
LIKEtoKNOW.it is the consumer-facing side of the shopping platform. However, it’s powered by Rewardstyle, which is important to know as an influencer.
How It Works
The LIKEtoKNOW.it app is actually quite similar to Instagram in that there’s a main feed where you can scroll through the content of the people that you follow. Unlike Instagram, this feed surfaces content by chronological order, so you don’t have to deal with frustrating algorithms. (YAY!) As you scroll through your feed, you can “Like” photos and products that will then appear on your personal wish list and that you can organize into your personal collections. It’s a super easy and intuitive way of shopping, and I also love that you can see all the products in a lifestyle setting! Within the app, you can search for and follow influencers, and they can also explore content via the discover page.
From an influencer perspective, it’s a great way to showcase the products surrounding you — from style to home — and link to them. This helps your audience to easily shop and explore those items for themselves. It’s also great because when a purchase is made via your referral, the influencer gets commission! So, net net — it’s a key way that influencers make money.
How to use LIKEtoKNOW.it as a blogger
The first step is applying to RewardStyle. The RewardStyle team will ask you important foundational questions such as what is your mission, purpose, target audience, and business goals. It’s super important for your blog and business to have a core understanding of these elements, not just for applying but for you to be successful in general. (I have actually known a few people who have been turned down from joining due to a lack of purpose and clarity.) Their team is invested in supporting those who are serious about growth and creating — I can personally attest that they are so helpful in providing tips and advice for optimizing your content and strategy. They are true partners!
One note here is that you don’t have to have a blog to apply to RewardStyle. There are plenty of incredible creators/influencers who leverage one or a few platforms, such as Instagram. So while it’s (in my opinion) smart to have a blog as a base (more on that below), it’s not a mandatory, for either signing up or for success.
Every influencer has a LIKEtoKNOW.it profile and username, which is how users find you within the app. (Here’s mine!) Anything you publish to LIKEtoKNOW.it will surface on your profile, so it’s an easy one-click way to make your content shoppable. To actually publish something, however, you need have the RewardStyle app. To put it another way — LIKEtoKNOW.it as an app is consumer-facing. RewardStyle is how you enable the content that shows up there. Make sense?
Using the RewardStyle App (To Enable Your LIKEtoKNOW.it Content)
The below may seem a little overwhelming, but I promise the app is super intuitive and easy! You just have to get in there and play around. For those who are curious as to what’s in the app, here’s a quick overview. There are 5 key sections one you’re in the RewardStyle app.
Home Screen
This is your initial landing page and home base, to which you can enable new images to be shoppable, check out analytics from posts you’ve shared, and grab important highlights such as how many followers you have within the app, how many emails have been sent to those followers, and your commission earned.
Analytics
Shows you all your commission information from the last 7 days. It highlights what your followers have purchased, how many clicks your content generated, and exactly how much commission you have made.
Link Ninja
A section that allows for you to search advertisers, their commission rates, and explore their sites to find products to link your content to.
Favorites
A curated collection of your folders that you’ve generated content links for, so that you can easily enable images with products. (For example, I have a “Closet Staples” folder which had products that I regularly wear, so that when I share an image of those items I can easily grab that product link.)
Search
This is a fun section where you can find shoppable products. (For example, you can search “Hudson Jeans” and a ton of Hudson Jean options, from an array of retailers, will pop up.)
Why I Believe It’s Important To Have A Blog For Monetization
This could (and will, in the future!) be an entire blog post, but for the purposes of this subject I’ll focus it on having a blog as it relates to LIKEtoKNOW.it and Rewardstyle.
Generally speaking, I believe it’s important to have a platform that you own. That way, no matter what happens elsewhere in the digital space such as Instagram updating their algorithm, or Vine going under, you have a place that houses your content and that you have total control over. (And full content rights, mind you!)
LIKEtoKNOW.it as an app is wonderful, of course, but it does require for the user to log in and use the app in order to drive sales. Which is something that many love to do because it’s a quick and easy way to both follow their favorite influencers and shop! However, it’s also true that many people prefer to shop outside of apps.
I can personally attest that my blog is where I make the majority of my commission money.
(Take that with a grain of salt because 1. I don’t have a large LIKEtoKNOW.it app-specific following, and 2. Have a lot of improvement to do in terms of consistency and strategy. However I’ve talked to a lot of bloggers and this is also the case with them.) For example, if I link to this cute shirt that I am wearing while typing this, and you click through and purchase it, I make a small commission. This is fully empowered and enabled by RewardStyle.
The other powerful thing about leveraging these links on your website, is that the cookies stay in a user’s browser for up to 30 days. Which means that even if the person doesn’t purchase that item immediately, you can still earn commission as a referral if they do purchase it later. Pretty amazing, huh?
It’s also pretty cool that, in addition to my own LIKEtoKNOW.it profile, I have a section on my personal website where people can shop this content. My “Shop Daily Charms” section is basically my LIKEtoKNOW.it profile, embedded into my site. I love that, no matter how a person prefers to shop, I’m showing up for them. Which is not something I’d be able to do if I was solely on Instagram.
How I’ve Been Told That I Can Improve My LIKEtoKNOW.it Presence
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a perfect blogger. I have a lot of work to do, especially in terms of content consistency. (Side note: I’m going to start doing less client consulting in the coming months, so that I can focus more on things here moving forward!) However, despite my opportunities for growth, I’m making enough off of blogging to see that focusing on improving my LIKEtoKNOW.it presence is a lucrative part of my business.
I hopped on a phone call recently with my RewardStyle rep to chat about how I can improve, and insights that their team is finding to be successful for other influencers. Here are some of the amazing pieces of advice that she told me.
Consistency Is Key
Their team is seeing that the most traction comes from posting to LiketoKnow.it at least 10x a month within the app. A realistic number for sure!
Drive More App Exclusive Content
Ideas thrown out were things like showcasing more “Behind the scenes” or posting an app-specific series such a home content. For those who are aesthetic freaks like me and get caught up in curating my Instagram feed, this app-exclusive behind the scenes is a great way to go!
Put Your LIKEtoKNOW.it Profile Link In Your Bio
More eyes to your profile = more opportunities for growing followers!
However, I will tell you that while I don’t doubt that this is a powerful strategy for driving growth within the app, I’m having a hurdle with it for myself. Primarily because Instagram is such a big traffic driver to my website, and web traffic is the ultimate goal for my content/business.
I think here you just need to take note of what works for you and prioritize! Just remember that wherever you link to should be strategic.
Swipe up to your LIKEtoKNOW.it profile
Specifically with Instagram Stories, it was suggested to swipe up to my LIKEtoKNOW.it profile as opposed to the direct product. This allows consumers to still shop your specific item, but also to have the opportunity for deeper profile exploration.
Do A LIKEtoKNOW.it Highlight
Specifically on Intagram, it’s important to educate consumers on how to shop your products. This is on my to-do list!
Strategize Around Key Buying Days and Times
Any guesses as to what the best day to post to LIKEtoKNOW.it is, in terms of in-app purchase behavior? It’s Sunday! And the best times to post are between 7 – 9pm. Take note!
Be Descriptive In Captions
30% of LIKEtoKNOW.it app sales come from the LIKEtoKNOW.it discovery page, which means it’s super important for influencers to help get their content discovered. Basically, similar to SEO, you can do this by using product keywords and hashtags in your captions.
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Helpful, right?! LIKEtoKNOW.it is definitely an area that I’m going to be focusing more on in 2019, especially as digital shopping trends favor influencer marketing more and more. (Yay us!)
