Affiliate marketing continues to rise in importance within many industries. It’s set to become a 6.8 billion dollar industry so it’s only fair to say that affiliate marketing has become a crucial method of marketing for many companies. As a Dubai social media agency , we understand the importance of educating brands and organizations on the vitality of affiliates – but how often do they actually work with influencers?
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliates are known to be social media bloggers/influencers who have follower bases that are the target customers of a specific company. When organizations reach out to these affiliates, they’re enabling themselves to have access to a newer set of customers that they may not have had before. However, for affiliate marketing to work, the three main components need to work together – the advertiser, the affiliate and the customer.
Companies or advertisers typically rely on partners to promote their products or services to followers in exchange for a commission on each sale, lead or website visitor that the partner reels in. When consumers purchase a product or service with a provided affiliate link, the affiliate earns a commission for that sale; it ends up being a win-win situation for the advertiser and affiliate as both are generating revenue at the same time.
“The future of affiliate marketing over the next 10-15 years will be dominated by the evolution of multi-touch attribution and its growth will be driven by the ongoing retail apocalypse. As marketing departments target more touch-points and analytics platforms provide more visibility into multi-touch attribution, affiliate advertisers will rethink their affiliate commission models and offer more variable commissions based on the weight of attribution. Additionally, as the retail apocalypse forces more companies to focus on their digital presence versus their physical one, the affiliate landscape will expand and grow thanks to the increased competition between these online brands and Amazon. In short, advertisers will be smarter about commissions and publishers will benefit from an ever-expanding list of advertisers vying for their attention.” – David Vogelpohl, VP of Web Strategy at WP Engine
There’s a strong demand for affiliate marketing, especially as the number of bloggers around the world continues to grow rapidly. Blogs, in general, are trending upward and affiliate marketing is one of the best methods for companies and organizations to monetize a blog.
Social media usage tends to play a huge role in the demand and popularity of affiliate marketing. Thanks to social media, it’s extremely easy to post promotional content with just one tap. There are plenty of platforms that cater to affiliate marketing as well, the more notable ones being Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Over recent years, mobile affiliate marketing has also become more important. As more customers have mobile phones and access to the internet almost always, advertisers tend to focus on targeting mobile users with optimized content and ads to promote their brands and products.
But is affiliate marketing in demand?
Companies have taken a huge financial hit across the world because of the recent Coronavirus pandemic. In general, consumers have a mistrust with many businesses and this has only become more enforced during the virus outbreak. As a result, we continue to see the downfall of traditional advertising methods as they aren’t performing as well as they used to and neither are brand-focused social media ads.
A report by the EY Future Consumer Index discovered that 42% of consumers believe that the way they shop will change as a result of the pandemic. This includes where they shop and what products they choose to buy. Additionally, 34% of consumers would pay more for local products, while 23% of consumers look for ethical products.
Keeping in mind the increasing mistrust between consumers and brands, it should be understood that affiliates are more than just social media influencers – they are partners. The affiliate marketing industry has evolved over the years and has helped brands and partners build stronger relationships.
Even today, customers still rely on product reviews before making a purchase, and there’s no sign of this trend slowing down. An affiliate product that has multiple exceptional reviews will be sought after; rather than products that have negative reviews, or none.
Today, affiliates deliver improved performance across partner networks, increased engagement as well as increased revenue. When you build a good relationship with an affiliate, you help build trust with your target demographic as they already trust your partner. Think about this way – if someone hears about your products or services from someone they follow and trust, they’re more likely to believe that your product is worth purchasing. Millennials specifically are more likely to be influenced by social media or blogs!
It’s clear that affiliate partnerships can help organizations generate and secure revenue – especially in times of worldwide crises. In an ever-changing world, it’s vital that businesses are able to adapt their digital strategies regularly and that includes having strategies thought out to include affiliates. This will allow you to exceed your goals when compared to other marketing channels or strategies.
“It is a booming opportunity, especially considering the rise of freelancers and ‘solopreneurs’ with online businesses. As we look ahead, the millennials and post-millennials, who are actively benefiting from the sharing economy, understand the power of passive income, and as businesses are formed, they are actively integrating affiliate marketing into their business models. Why? Simply because the numbers make sense. Ten voices vs. one voice actively sharing and promoting a product leads to accelerated awareness and profit.” – Cole Hernandez, Founder of Pink Graffiti.
Affiliate Marketing is here for the long haul!
Affiliate marketing can be beneficial and make your name visible, especially if you are a smaller business. If you have a product or service that you believe will benefit people, it’s crucial that you spread the word fast! Without spending a lot of money on a marketing team, you can collaborate with influencers and partners to increase your brand awareness, make your product public and increase your sales within no time.
“The future of affiliate marketing is without a doubt in the hands of micro-influencers. People love to share their favorite products or the most recent purchases on social media. This isn’t going to change. What will change is that big companies will try to cash in on every mention of their product, pushing the flow of traffic through affiliates back to their digital properties.
This means that affiliate links will become inherent to social media, giving everyone the chance to become an affiliate. Coupled with advancement in mobile tech, people will be working affiliate angles from every moment they share online. It will become hyper-localized with people integrating geo-localization. Purchases don’t need to be made online. If someone checks-in at a local shop, promotes it online, and others come in-store after interacting with that share, this will be the future of affiliate marketing.” – David Tile.
