I feel good when the bad guys got caught. Similar to how Batman caught the Riddler. He feels like he caught him but is it solving the case? Maybe not.
I have no comment about the Binomo case. Let the police find the real culprit behind the scam. But I feel like the term “affiliator” doesn’t do justice to this case. Affiliator is from affiliate model business, which is a quite common business model on the internet. A lot of companies use that model to acquire users such as Tokopedia, Shopee, Bukalapak, etc.
So what is the affiliate model?
The affiliate model is basically a way to incentivize the promoter when they bring a conversion with their link. The mechanism behind it is that the link will contain some code specific to the promoter. Whenever someone clicks the link and does “something” to trigger the conversion, the promoter will get a commission. Common terms to count as conversion are:
- Cost per leads (CPL). Register to a platform and submit KYC (know your customer) data. This is usually for financial products like credit card, insurance, investment, etc. They need your data in order for the sales to contact you.
- Cost per sales (CPS) Buy something. This is for an e-commerce platform. Super straightforward.
- Cost per action (CPA). This is a broader term that explaining other activity counted as conversion. For example: download an application. For app-based business like games, etc.
I do have experience being an affiliator. No really. In 2015, Grab (back then it was Grabtaxi) just launch their taxi platform in Indonesia and they pay IDR 3,000 per install if you can help spread the word. I was spreading it to around 200k Line@ official account followers of mine. It was quite effective but the install rate was low.
Another example. If you see any influencers on Instagram or TikTok promoting a product and showing you some links to buy it, there’s a big chance that is an affiliate link. I have followed this BG Adi guy in TikTok. He’s like a god for finding stuff. Any random stuff on the internet, he can find it. At first, he was freely showing the brand name and letting people search it on google, but recently he got smarter. He sends the affiliate link. So every time someone discover and bought products with his link, he got a commission!
What’s wrong with the Binomo model?
Nothing wrong with the affiliate model. It’s just an old way of marketing but measurable. Imagine word of mouth with internet tracking.
Now the problem is the usual commission for the affiliate model is to make the user do “something”. Either that is purchase, download, or others. But in Binomo’s case, it was totally different.
Binomo’s affiliator are getting a mix of commission schemes:
- CPA for getting users installing Binomo
- CPL for asking them to register, maybe. I’m not sure
- 5% of the person who’s clicking your link’s profit
- And the last one, some media said that the affiliator will get 70% of the loss.
One link to rule them all. All types of schemes were provided and I wouldn’t be shocked if the number can be negotiated.
Why the number is so crazy? Maybe because it was a scam platform? OJK (Otoritas Jasa Keuangan) has been calling Binomo a scam a few times already in the past. Some said that the chart was broken and there’s an automatic system to make you lose the trading. Others say that Binomo can hack your camera and whenever you smile, they intentionally make you lose.
Who’s the winner?
Of course Binomo. If you notice, this is not the first time Binomo make viral news. They’ve been around us since 2017. They are successfully creating a buzz around forex trading and binary options while keeping themselves illegal.
The interesting thing about Binomo is they prove our government’s method of censorship is totally ineffective. The government already tried to block their website a couple of times, but like we always know, they always find a way. And what makes things worse, there’s always a market for a “get rich quick scheme”. This type of people will always find the new website because they really think they can get rich quickly.
I think the other winner is someone like the affiliator. Someone who knows the psychology of people wants to get rich quick, and intentionally use it for their own way. Binary options is just a case. But if there’s another product with a new name but a crazier scheme, I believe many people would fall for it. You can instantly fake your own rich and make others believe and be inspired by you, I mean IK already show us the blueprint.
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Salam hangat,
William Jakfar
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