According to eMarketer webinar, this is the year when digital advertisement spending would top television and print media ad spending in the USA. It is estimated that, over the next five years, the affiliate marketing industry would grow to approximately 6.8 billion dollars. This is because affiliate marketing is becoming a huge preference for businesses of all shapes and sizes.
If you are trying to get into it or already doing it, these five affiliate marketing trends will help you grow rapidly.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is when a famous person or influencer, who can be related to the brand, helps in promoting and selling a product.
Business marketers are very much keen to associate with influencers because influencers generate massive amount of revenues. In 2016, influencer marketing revenues were more than $570 million dollars, only from Instagram.
According to research conducted by eMarketer webinar, almost half of the marketers in the business were anticipating boosts in their influencer marketing budget during 2017. Therefore, it is going to be one of the most dominant trends of affiliate marketing in the coming year.
Exclusive Offers for In-Store Shoppers
There are still some people left in the world who like to shop in physical stores and see the product before they buy it. For these kinds of people, online marketers came up with an exclusive idea, which is drive in-store offers. Customers can link their credit cards to sites like Top Cashback and activate exclusive offers from selected retailers.
In 2017, ad publishers will link up more stores to provide more offers to customers, for both online and physical stores.
Going Mobile
This decade saw many brands prioritizing in building their own mobile apps. Having their own mobile app helps the customer to easily buy from anywhere, any place they want. But as mobile app purchase is a comparatively a new concept, what can a brand do to promote the app and sales? Businesses can hire ad publishers to endorse app downloads as well as in-app purchase. And this trend will continue to grow in 2017 as well.
Understanding the Collected Data Behavior
Analyzing and harnessing data about affiliation and consumers will also continue in 2017. Interpreting consumer data from previous years will help to understand and predict the shopping behavior of the consumer and drive the brands and publishers to act accordingly to increase sales.
Similarly, interpreting previous data and using new tools and technology, ad publishers will be able to present new relevant offers to consumers and enhance customer experience.
Saving Money
Consumers tend to try and save money while shopping. “Save Money” comes in the form of discounts, coupons, cash backs, and loyalties. Many brands provide customers with discounts and instant cash back offers. But for luxury brands, this is a bit tricky. Luxury brands don't offer discounts or coupons. Instead, they offer are wards program.
To get discounts or rewards, consumers tend to use loyalty and cashback affiliate sites. And this is a trend that will continue in full force during 2017 also.
So, these are the trends that dominate and capture affiliate marketing in 2017. As the marketing gets bigger and advanced, publishers and brands expect to provide the best service to its customers.
References:
http://marketingland.com/influencers-instore-shopping-affiliate-marketing-203473
https://www.emarketer.com/Article/Marketers-Boost-Influencer-Budgets-2017/1014845
https://academy.mobidea.com/affiliate-marketing/affiliate-marketing-trends-2017/
