Affiliate marketing has grown many folds in recent years due to the pandemic and its cost-effectiveness. It doesn’t require much investment upfront, and most of the time, the brands pay an affiliate only after they have managed to close the sales – which makes it a low-risk strategy. But the world of affiliate marketing is exploding, and only publishers who can keep up with the changing times will be able to create successful affiliate marketing campaigns. As consumer behavior is rapidly changing and innovations are coming to the forefront, affiliates must keep themselves ahead of the developments. This blog will talk about five trends that will shape the future of affiliate marketing in the coming times.
Artificial intelligence will be in focus
With artificial intelligence, affiliates can understand a large amount of shoppers’ available data and make decisions according to the findings, making the whole process efficient and less time-consuming. For example, AI programs collect buying patterns and insights from the information provided by customers on their websites to assume their future purchase patterns. Then, based on those insights, affiliate marketers can start reaching out to more likely buyers to purchase the products. AI can also help affiliates to retain their consumers who would generally not shop again with them after making their first purchases. With AI, they can suggest the most appropriate coupon at checkout, leading to better conversions. Moreover, publishers can optimize keywords for their content using AI.
Data privacy and safety
As data privacy and safety regulations became stricter and widespread, more and more companies have had to pay fines for violating them. Since GDPR came into force, companies operating under EU jurisdiction have paid more than $300 million in fines. In California, the maximum penalty for every unintentional violation is $2,500 while it is $7,500 for intentional violations. Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has already issued more than 80 fines since the new regulation came into force in 2020. Since the pandemic, many companies have significantly increased their focus on online channels to reach out to new shoppers. Therefore the risk of violating data privacy regulations has also increased manifold. On top of it, consumers have become more aware and cautious about how organizations handle their data.
So, future affiliate marketing campaigns will focus on first-party data to enable customers to shop in a trusted environment. In addition, affiliates will have to work hard to proactively deliver ads related to the content the user is searching for to present themselves as authentic and customer-centric rather than pushy and intruding.
Videos will rule
Video content has been making its presence felt for a few years and has seen a massive surge in popularity. With how video content is consumed on social media platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, experts believe that affiliate marketers must take advantage of this medium. Therefore, they will focus more on creating such posts to encash this trend in the coming year as users are more inclined towards video stories, video posts, or live streams rather than reading a post. Moreover, with 5G connectivity getting access to a broader audience in 2022, marketers will push for high-definition immersive video posts to increase customer engagement and enhance user experience. Additionally, with so much uncertainty and restrictions due to the pandemic, the demand for video content will only increase, and influencers and brands are taking note of it.
Cross-device tracking will become crucial
Affiliate marketers will need to put a great emphasis on managing mobile clients. M-commerce will continue to grow exponentially going into 2023 as more consumers use their smartphones to shop online. As a result, experts believe that m-commerce will take a significant share in the overall internet marketing pie in 2022, and affiliate marketers will have to keep improving the customer experience on mobiles because no reason suggests that mobile commerce will slow down in the coming years. Cross-device tracking will help publishers identify the potential customer base and serve them relevant ads and will also enable the affiliates to determine the best channels for converting the user to a customer.
Influencer Partnerships
Social media influencers have millions of followers who diligently track all their social media posts and follow them for tips and advice. What makes influencer marketing so successful is the connection between the influencer and their followers and the content they create, which is genuine and relatable. Hence, leveraging social media influencers for the affiliate marketing campaign is a great option that is gathering steam and will be instrumental in the success of affiliate marketers. Affiliate marketers usually rope in social media influencers, primarily nano, and micro-influencers and provide them with special coupon codes that they can share with their followers, increasing brand conversion rates. Working with micro and nano-influencers is cost-effective for affiliates, but the return on investment is far more significant because of the authenticity they bring to the table. Hence, more and more affiliates will collaborate with niche creators to scale their affiliate marketing campaigns in the coming time.
