Affiliate marketing is one of the oldest forms of online outreach and commerce—and in recent years, it has only grown in its prevalence and its legitimacy. Now more mainstream than ever, affiliate marketing holds many possible solutions for businesses of all kinds—but accessing those solutions requires you to leverage affiliate marketing effectively.
Part of that means having a clear sense of where this field is—and where it is headed. Certainly, 2017 promises to bring some exciting new trends and some big changes. Here are some of our predictions for where affiliate marketing will head in the coming months.
Predictions for Affiliate Marketing in 2017
Affiliate Marketing Will Become More Legitimate
Affiliate marketing has not always been looked on favorably by the general public, but that’s really starting to change. Our prediction is that, in the coming months, it will become more and more accepted within the mainstream. This will open more doors for marketers, but may also lead to more competition, with an influx of new affiliate marketers.
Influencer Marketing Will Boom
One of the big affiliate marketing trends of recent years has been the surge in influencer marketing. In 2017, that’s just going to continue. Building and sustaining relationships with influencers will continue to be a critical part of affiliate marketing—and efforts will be made to make it easy for influencers to spotlight products, services, and brands of all kinds.
Content Marketing Will Be a Big Focus
Content marketing has evolved into one of the most significant fields in digital marketing, yet many business owners still struggle to develop the high-quality content they need. No one knows more about building content around an existing brand than affiliate marketers, though. We predict that, this year, more and more companies will tap into this incredible potential, and bring in affiliate marketers as part of content expansions.
Globalization Will Continue
While affiliate marketing has always been fairly local in nature, there has been a steady tick toward globalization. Coming in 2017, expect to see an increased number of affiliates try to capture global interest, and more and more traffic being generated from beyond the local area.
Apps Will Be Big
These days, everyone wants their own app—and affiliate marketers are no exception. What we believe will happen throughout 2017 is that brands will develop their own apps and affiliates will encourage app downloads and in-app purchases. Of course, tracking and analytics will be critical for ensuring the success of these efforts.
Live Video Will Continue to Push Affiliate Marketing Forward
Both YouTube and Facebook provides avenues for broadcasting live video, and we’ve found that these channels can offer much value for affiliate marketers. It’s really a pretty simple formula, too: Provide value through your live stream, and include a link where people can click to learn more. Live video is the game changer in social media these days, and we think it has a place in affiliate marketing, as well.
Affiliate Marketing is Always Changing
The bottom line for companies that employ affiliate marketers is that this field is always evolving—and to succeed, you need to evolve with it. That means working with online marketing experts who know what’s going on in affiliate marketing, and where it’s headed in the near future.
Digital Advertiser fits that description, and we would love to put our affiliate marketing know-how to work on your behalf. Speak with us today about how affiliate marketing might impact your brand. Reach out to Digital Advertiser to ask us for our expertise, or to help you put a plan in place.