Getting to grips with Shopify Collabs.

Considering launching Shopify Collabs for your eCommerce site?

Following the latest product releases from Shopify’s Winter Editions 2024, we’ve updated our original post on Shopify Collabs with all the latest updates. This post covers all the essential information for retail brands looking to get started with Shopify Collabs.

What is ‘Shopify Collabs’?

In short, Shopify’s new app - Shopify Collabs - is designed to help merchants find digital creators and scale their influencer marketing programme to drive sales.

Who is the Shopify Collabs app aimed at?

The app is suitable for merchants in all verticals, although some industries are more typically influencer-heavy (think fashion, cosmetics and jewellery).

However, we know from our diverse client base at blubolt that other verticals have fantastic (and often untapped) potential. With that in mind, it’s worth exploring options in verticals like furniture and homewards, food and drink, and outdoor (like bikes, scooters, and sports equipment).

How does it work?

Essentially, Shopify Collabs is a community management app. By downloading the app, you’re able to recruit and manage all your influencers and brand ambassadors in one place. Consequently, merchants will be able to:

• Search for brand-appropriate influencers. Merchants can search for potential partners using Shopify’s database of millions of creators. Importantly, searches can use keywords, hashtags, and follower counts to narrow down the options to creators that align with your brand.

• Send and track gifts. Merchants can send creators products and discounts directly from their Shopify store.

• Create affiliate links and discount codes. Merchants can incentivise creators by creating custom discount codes, referral links, and commission structures.

• Manage commissions. Merchants can automatically track and pay affiliate commissions through PayPal.

• Track progress on a dashboard. Merchants can monitor their progress - sales generated, redeemed gifts and affiliate commission - via dashboards and make changes if desired.

What are the benefits of the app?

Some of the potential top benefits of Shopify Collabs are that it:

• has the potential to take the hassle out of managing relationships with influencers,

• enables merchants to measure success in one place with easy-to-understand analytics,

• offers a seamless workflow as merchants access it directly in Shopify admin,

• is speed-tested and has no impact on merchants’ online stores,

• allows merchants to easily select creators that fit their brand, and finally

• enables merchants to create on-brand applications for their influencer programme, customising it and adding key information needed like social handles, emails, phone numbers, shipping addresses, and more.

Latest Winter Editions 2024 updates to Shopify Collabs.

As part of the latest product releases from Winter Editions 2024, Shopify Collabs now includes:

• Easier discovery. With new, intuitive location and audience filters and search, you can now quickly recruit creators across social platforms.

• Consolidated profiles. Now that all information is pooled into one consolidated profile, merchants can more easily learn, engage, and manage creators.

• Bulk application management. To save time, merchants can now search, sort, filter and manage applications (approve and decline) in bulk.

• Streamlined connections. Merchants can see and manage their creator list in one streamlined table that allows them to sort by affiliate tier, tags, and sales delivered.

• Customisable affiliate offers. Merchants create different commission rates by segment.

• Automatic commissions. Merchants can now automatically pay creators via commission through Shopify Billing.

• Sync with TikTok. Products can be synced with TikTok (US only).

Is Shopify Collabs available in the UK?

• For merchants. Shopify merchants in all locations can download it from the Shopify App Store here.

• For creators. The Shopify Collabs Admin is now available in the UK as well as North America.

Shopify Collabs: a match made in heaven.

So that’s our round-up of what you need to know about the new Shopify Collabs app. If you'd like to get started, you can find it in the Shopify App Store.

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