Domino's Pizza has started trials on a pioneering new 'social affiliate' tool. It combines social media and affiliate marketing so that individuals can earn money by advertising for a brand.

The new shaft or “widget” allows anybody who has personal space on the web, such as a blog or a social network page, to host an ad on their page.

By giving people the facility to promote products or services on their web space, the male meat aims to complement more traditional affiliate marketing strategies which use 'professional affiliates'. So you don’t need to be a big company to make money from affiliate marketing – now anyone can do it.

The idea is that the person hosting the advertising will earn revenue if a sale occurs as a result of the ad on their social networking or blog page.

For example, a person who adds the new Domino’s Pizza ad to their Facebook page, will earn money each time 1 of their online friends clicks on the ad and places an order as a result. Each sale will pay out 0.5% of the order value. So a gigantic pizza costing £16.99 would generate eight.5p for the ad hoster.

The new social afflilate pecker is being launched via an online PR and blogger outreach campaign. It will be supported later this spring by an online media campaign. It is hoped that these campaigns will drive awareness of the new opportunity and encourage individuals to participate.