Brand
Shein Influencer Program: How to Become a Shein Ambassador
Discover how the Shein influencer program, along with serious social media advertising, has helped propel the brand to the top.
Shein started as a typical Chinese drop-shipping business in 2008. Today, it has become the largest fashion retailer in the world. The company’s 2022 valuation at $100B is a testament to its massive online success. And this did not come by accident.
Shein is where it is now because of its strategic marketing efforts, including its Shein Influencer program. Their influencer marketing strategy is key to driving brand awareness and interactions that lead to sales conversions. In this post, we’ll talk about this scheme’s nuts and bolts and figure out how the Shein brand ambassador program works.
Who are the Shein ambassadors?
The fashion retailer leverages its Shein brand ambassadors or influencers to boost its online presence on various popular social media platforms such as Tik Tok and Instagram. Using their social media accounts, these personalities post Shein-focused content, including fashion photos, product reviews, and Shein event reels. Here are a few Shein social media influencers who are at the top of their influencer game:
1. melolimparfaite on Instagram
Melolimparfaite is a lifestyle blogger from Paris. She promotes body positivity through the different figure-enhancing styles of Shein. She also invites people to visit Shein pop-ups and promotes their sale events.
2. mari_malibu on Instagram
Mari_malibu is an Italian fashion influencer who is also a Shein brand ambassador. She regularly posts pics of herself in Shein OOTDs and offers discount codes on Instagram.
3. jin_ _ _ jin on Tik Tok
The Kpop-loving star also showcases her fantastic Shein finds of beauty accessories on her Tik Tok account, such as fake bangs. She also shows her followers how to use them and does makeup tutorials, too.
@jin___jin Reply to @mini__won cushion recos! from cheapest to most expensive 💗 #cushion #kbeauty #shopee #shopeefinds #shopeebudol #shopeecheck #shopeemakeup #fyp ♬ pop pop pop – sun
What are the Shein influencer requirements?
If you want to get on board the Shein influencer bus, these are what it takes:
- An active blog on Activate (formerly “bloglovin'”) or Google Friends. This blog should have more than 1,000 followers.
- You have other social media accounts with at least 5,000 followers each.
- You have the “Promotion Icon” from Shein (which you can get from the official Shein site). The badge, which should be placed on your blog’s front page, is a link to the Shein site. If you’ve got these worked out, then congratulations! You can now review fashion as a Shein Fashion Expert.
- You can now promote Shein’s products on your social media accounts. In essence, you will influence your followers to purchase Shein through your posts. Don’t forget to share links to the Shein products you’re promoting.
- Next, send the company an email showing them the content you’ve published and the Shein links you’ve shared on your socials. You may want to figure out your country’s customs policies and how international shipments from Shein works.
- When you become a Shein influencer, you give them the right to use your social media posts. They can gather photos and comments from your post and use these for promotional purposes. If you don’t want them to use any of your content, you’ll need to advise them via email. However, doing so may not help your effectiveness as a Shein brand ambassador.
How to join Shein’s influencer program
Here’s the step-by-step process to bagging a collaboration with the brand:
1. Check out if Shein has a current influencer program.
Head over to the Shein website and find out if they have an existing influencer program. They will typically have information about influencer applications on their main menu. For example, one of the influencer programs they have right now is the SheGlam Influencer Collaboration. You’ll find the invite to join this program and the link to the application form on the site.
2. Reach out to the right person within the Shein Marketing department.
The Shein website will also supply the email address to connect with if you want to become a Shein influencer. This email will direct you to the influencer coordinator for the specific influencer program you’re interested in participating in.
3. Create a compelling pitch for your Shein collab application.
Don’t just send in the application form without a carefully crafted email. Remember that tons of people want to become a Shein influencer, so you’d naturally want your “cover letter” to stand out. Introduce yourself and highlight your strengths in a way that the Shein influencer coordinator will want to connect with you!
4. Forward your pitch and make the necessary follow-ups.
Don’t stress out if you don’t get a reply right away. More often than not, you’ll have to follow up a few more times before hearing from them. You may also want to send your pitch to other contact persons whose details you’ve managed to score. Get creative!
How can I become a brand ambassador for Shein?
Assuming that you’ve already met the influencer requirements, you’re now ready to roll up your sleeves and fast-track to become a Shein ambassador.
1. Define your brand image (if you haven’t already!).
The more consistent your branding is, the more quickly your audience can understand you. Your target audience will have a higher chance of relating to your identity and increasing their engagement with your blog.
2. Strategize about what content to create and post.
You’ll have to consider what you can do based on the features of your socials. For example, you can choose to come up with a one-minute Tik Tok video of a makeup tutorial. If it’s YouTube you’re using, you can post a slightly longer product review. On the other hand, if you’re going to post photos of yourself in clothes from your Shein haul, Instagram would be the perfect app.
3. Tag away!
Tag #sheinoffical and include the hashtags #shein and #sheingals in your social media post. All your efforts will be in vain if you don’t make that connection between your posts and Shein.
4. Allow your post to “simmer” before emailing Shein.
Wait a bit for your followers to notice, like, heart, or comment on your post. A higher level of engagement will increase your chances of getting accepted into the Shein Influencer Program.
5. Send the link to your post to blogservice@shein.com.
With #4 done, you have more confidence to share your post with Shein. Share personal information and express your interest to apply for the Shein ambassador program or collaborating with them.
If you’ve satisfied their requirements and are what they’re looking for, they will surely respond to you for the next steps in your influencer journey.
How to promote Shein products as an influencer and make money
Now, let’s discuss some marketing strategies to promote Shein merchandise and bring in the money!
1. Marketing via TikTok
Shein is extremely popular with the teenage demographic. So many TikTokers are leveraging this information to focus on this particular target market. Here are a few of the effective Tik Tok tactics:
- Do haul videos of Shein purchases under the hashtag #Shein.
- Encourage followers to visit Shein.com and make purchases and above-average affiliate commissions
- Drive traffic to the Shein website by offering discount codes on your social media accounts
Some handy information: Shein influencers get a flat-rate fee for creating and posting videos from Shein without signing on for a brand lock-in. That means Shein ambassadors can still work with and earn from other brands. Shein may also send freebies to Shein brand ambassadors who effectively promote their products.
2. Marketing via YouTube
Although Shein continues to have pop-ups, the chunk of its profits is from its online sales. Virtual shopping has made it possible for fashionistas everywhere to score complete outfits from the comfort of their own homes. And one way they do this is by checking out YouTube videos. Thus, influencers find it practical to market Shein products through the following means:
- Gamify shopping and make it an exciting challenge to score fabulous finds at the most affordable rates, especially since these aren’t always in stock.
- Share unpacking videos. Today, opening a box or a package and unveiling a bargain find can pique the curiosity of even the most chill fashion lovers. This adds fun to the shopping process.
- Model their finds. By wearing their Shein clothes or putting on Shein makeup, Shein ambassadors can give their followers an idea of how these will look on themselves, should they purchase Shein products.
3. Marketing via affiliate programs
Even customers can become Shein affiliates. An affiliate is someone who can earn a commission if their customer referrals make a purchase. Here are simple steps to follow so you can become one.
- Promote Shein on your preferred social platform
- Your customer clicks on the links you’ve shared
- Your customer is directed to the Shein website, where they can place their order.
- You then get a 10-20% commission from each sale.
How is Shein taking over social media advertising?
Shein is lording it over the social media advertising scene through paid social media campaigns. The Analytics platform BrandTotal discovered that Shein heavily invested in these. And it has paid off. In the first quarter of 2021, Shein came out on top of the ad war with a 94% share-of-voice of social media impressions based on data from 598 sponsored campaigns of multiple brands.
To stay ahead of its closest competitors like Pretty Little Things and Blushmark, the brand focused on investing heavily in more paid social media ads than the rest of the players in its category. In addition, it also expanded its reach by running its ads across a wider demographic spread, from the 18-24 age group (for the engagement) to older (and more moneyed) audiences. In contrast, their peers focus most of their ad spend on the younger demographic.
On top of the paid social media ads, Shein also considers sponsored influencer posts critical to their strategy. So, unsurprisingly, they have developed the Shein Influencer Program to include two affiliate link programs, a micro-influencer blogger scheme, and beauty-specific celebrity placements.
Wrap up
Shein is a company that doesn’t seem to be resting on the success of its past efforts. By the looks of it, the fashion giant will keep on looking for ways to outsmart, outpace, and outlast the competition.
