Affiliate Idea Factory

Despite the sharp decline in ad spend as a result of COVID-19, affiliate publishers have continued “business as usual” throughout the pandemic with 57% seeing stronger performance despite the challenging circumstances.

Rakuten Advertising reached out to affiliate publishers across content, loyalty & rewards and shopping & comparison sites throughout APAC to understand the effects of COVID-19 on their business.

Nearly half (42%) of affiliate publishers reported an increase in site traffic over the past month and a further 34% said traffic had held steady.

61% of respondents stated that growth was organic, and 42% indicated traffic referral from social media had increased, corresponding with the large numbers of people at home increasing their digital interactions.

Promotional offers showing good signs

While investment levels from retailers have been affected during the pandemic across all channels, 58 per cent of affiliate publishers say they are seeing stronger performance from brands that are actively providing offers in the market and promoting these via their affiliate partnerships.

However, affiliate publishers haven’t been relying solely on their retail partners to innovate and appeal to sustain share and drive growth. 42% of those surveyed said they have made changes to their marketing and promotional messaging to adapt to new consumer demands and behaviours.

Steady on inventory

While overall the ad industry has experienced reduced demand and decreased inventory costs, affiliate publishers who traditionally work on performance models have largely kept costs the same, with brands continuing to see demand, conversion and effective ROI via the channel.

66% of respondents said that they have not made changes to the cost of inventory available to affiliate advertisers.

Budget cuts

Not all affiliates have been immune to COVID-19’s impact though with 30% of respondents saying they have been cutting business operation costs where possible, while 24% have reduced their own marketing spends and 19% have been forced to make staff and salary reductions.

Tracking significant and rapid shifts in consumer behaviour, many affiliate publishers have identified an opportunity to reimagine the way they meet customer’s needs, with 27% of affiliate publishers stating they have responded to the crisis with new inventory or campaigns.

In addition, 37% said that they are now providing new services and content to site visitors, while 24% of publishers have invested in different channels to meet new consumer activity.

“This survey shows that there remains clear resilience and opportunity with channels able to pivot nimbly to the changes in consumer behaviour induced by the Coronavirus crisis,” said Stuart McLennan, senior vice president, APAC at Rakuten Advertising.

“The fact that so many of the publishers surveyed have been able to maintain the cost of inventory on their sites is testament to both the strength of the channel and the ability of affiliate publishers to adapt to the increased role of social as consumers look for engagement, information and best deals on the web,” he concluded.

The post Affiliate Marketing Resilient as Ad Spend Drops, Study Finds appeared first on PerformanceIN.

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As many of us performance marketers will know, the growth of media publishers through affiliate marketing has been a much-discussed topic for the last few years. But precisely how can brands engage with media publishers, both large and small, that use affiliate marketing?

Looking at publishers such as Buzzfeed may lead affiliate marketers to believe Amazon dominates this content space. However, this does not mean Buzzfeed are not open to working with specific brands; H&M and Feel Unique have also benefited from their editorials. Brands who fall under the categories of fashion, beauty, household and even niche sites such as Wickeduncle and Prezzybox can benefit from their ability to highlight certain products with an innate credibility and longevity that cannot be matched.

Engaging with media publishers, large and small

Larger media sources such as Marie Claire and Hearst Magazine Group also work within the affiliate space, this is important to evaluate as part of any affiliate strategy as they have specific demographics which can be accessed via multiple mediums on a CPA model. Due to their size and scale, they are a very efficient way to promote content whilst also driving sales. It is possible to access their user-bases via their content-rich websites, newsletters and their social media outlets on a risk-free model encouraging both the brand and the media outlet to maximise ROI in a way that has never been possible before. Due to their level of brand recognition, the conversion rates are higher and the consumers are more trusting, for example Good Housekeeping can also provide their seal of approval to products. 

Using this to amplify any affiliate strategy will increase conversion rates significantly. Engagement, which is naturally hard to measure within affiliate tracking systems, is also a significant KPI. The life-time value is a key consideration when evaluating any campaign’s success with media publishers.

Don’t discount smaller media publishers which may usually be considered as content publishers as there is very little difference between media and content publishers once they get large enough. Getting in early will make all the difference when negotiating commissions and building up the relationship. These publishers work very well for specific audience targeting and have an engaged and high-quality user-base such as with Weather2Travel.com.

How brands can make the most of affiliate marketing

When working with media publishers, it is important to identify all those who work on an affiliate model and precisely how they go about doing this. Larger editorial sites will usually work directly with brands and sign-up to their affiliate tracking network. Some media publishers, however, have plugged in solutions such as Daily Mail’s solution with Global Savings Group. 

Incentives are also an important consideration, does the publisher have any minimum commissions or do they only promote best-in-market offers. Ensure incentives align with the overall objective and have a profitable ROI.

A clear objective is essential

Finally, as with any affiliate strategy, it is important to have a clear objective – such as obtaining new customers or driving sales of a specific category or product. It is essential that this objective is shared and agreed on with the publisher with measurable KPIs will ensure the best outcome is achieved. This, along with the points above, are all vitally important to consider to ensure your brand is making the most out of affiliate marketing.

The post The Growth of Media Publishers Using Affiliate Marketing – What You Need to Know appeared first on PerformanceIN.

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