Have you recently seen these words: “If you buy something from our links, we may get a commission of the sale”? Well, that’s called affiliate marketing and it’s changing the marketing landscape!
At Aspen and Fort Lauderdale-based public relations agency Durée & Company, we employ results for our clients using customized PR strategies that reach audiences, create buzz and drive results. In order to generate these results, we utilize different mediums – one way is by integrating affiliate marketing into our strategy. Affiliate marketing is a category of performance-based marketing in which advertisers pay commissions to affiliates for promoting a company’s product and generating sales as a result of the affiliate’s marketing efforts.
The use of affiliate marketing can serve as an effective addition to a PR campaign. Affiliate marketing has become increasingly relevant as content creators are looking for new ways to generate revenue and as consumers turn to e-commerce. Affiliate marketing is implemented across a wide range of media publications, social media channels, blogs, YouTube and more. You probably see affiliate marketing put into practice every day and may not even notice it! For example, influencers often include affiliate links in their captions to highlight the products they are using.
According to Marketing Dive, a study conducted by Forrester Consulting and commissioned by Rakuten Marketing found that total affiliate marketing spend is expected to rise to $6.8B by 2020. The growth and importance of affiliate marketing is becoming undeniable and should be integrated into public relations strategies. Here are 4 steps that we take when approaching affiliates to work with a brand to promote a product.
- Identify your target market. It is always important to distinguish who the brand would like to target when creating an announcement or product launch. Identifying your target audience will help narrow down which affiliates you would like to work with for your campaign.
- Educate affiliates about the brand. Once you secure a group of affiliates who fit into your target demographic, educate your affiliates to best promote your brand for the campaign. Share relevant marketing materials and key messages that you would like to get across, so they have the best understanding of how to relay the message to their readers.
- Create content for affiliates. Once you select the affiliates you would like to work with, you should create the content that you would like affiliates to share, in order to best promote your messaging. If you are promoting a skincare line, an affiliate blogger could develop an article showcasing the best skincare products for their nightly routine. For their article, you would need to share creative copy, direct links to purchase, imagery and possibly even a customized discount code.
- Track and leverage the results. Once the campaign ends, our team can work with the affiliates to track and amplify results. For example, if an affiliate writes a story and mentions your brand’s products, you should repurpose the content to your pages. This will help leverage the affiliate who has built a large following and strong brand reputation in a particular market, and ultimately help endorse your product and drive sales.
Affiliate marketing can certainly be an investment, but when implemented strategically and effectively, it can help with brand awareness and an increase in sales. It can also supplement public relations efforts and potentially uncover additional media opportunities. If you are looking for assistance on how to integrate affiliate marketing into your strategy, give us a call 954-723-9350.
About Durée & Company
Durée & Company, Inc. is an award-winning, full-service public relations, marketing and special events firm founded in 1999. The firm has offices in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Aspen, Colorado. Durée & Company serves the corporate, agency and nonprofit arenas for local, national and international clients. Services include public relations, social media, marketing, content development, advertising, special events, branding, radio promotions and more. Durée & Company clients include well-known names in business, fashion, hospitality, travel, wellness and CBD, marine & yacht, art and culture, nonprofit organizations, legal and professional services and real estate. Durée & Company is a member of PR Boutiques International™ (PRBI), an international network of boutique PR firms. To learn more, go to https://dureeandcompany.com/, visit Durée & Company on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/DureeCoPR/, Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/dureecopr Twitter at https://twitter.com/dureecopr or YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/DureeAndCompany, or call 954-723-9350.