How to integrate content marketing with affiliate marketing

15% of e-commerce revenue comes from affiliate marketing. This contributes not only to an increase of interest in it, but also to the need for high-quality use of its tools. Therefore, we decided to talk about the cornerstone of affiliate marketing – content.

Many people create it. However, it becomes truly effective only after careful planning and strategy development. Integration of content marketing with an affiliate program allows you to make cooperation as productive as possible, and relationships with users – trust.

Why should you combine content and affiliate marketing?

The essence of affiliate marketing is the promotion of products / services by partners. In this case, earnings are a commission for the targeted action of the consumer. Therefore, affiliates are interested in increasing conversions. There are several benefits to using content marketing for this.

Increasing the level of trust. 87% of internet users bought a product on the recommendation of an influencer. This emphasizes the importance of building a relationship of trust between a partner and his followers. Content marketing allows you to plan your engagement with your audience. A well-thought-out strategy guides a person smoothly through the stages of the life cycle, ensuring the first purchase and repeat orders.
Raise awareness. It should be noted that this process is two-way. On the one hand, users will be able to learn more about the identity of the affiliate. On the other hand, the partner gets the opportunity to study followers. The better the understanding of the characteristics of the target audience, the more relevant offers an affiliate can make.
Increasing the organic traffic. Content marketing isn’t just about filling a website or blog. We are talking about a set of activities that ensure the creation of relevant, unique and interesting content for users. It leads to more audience engagement. This is highly regarded by search engines, so algorithms can help in bringing new users to your site.
Increase targeted traffic. A well-thought-out content creation strategy ensures a relevant content of the resource. It will fit your niche. Thus, content marketing allows you to attract a warm audience for which the promoted products are already relevant. This increases the likelihood of making a purchase or performing a targeted action.
Filling social networks. Quality content is a versatile tool. It can be posted not only on the blog on the website, but also on social networks. Thus, you can attract traffic. It also helps to increase user awareness.
Expansion of the mailing list. This point is especially relevant if email marketing is part of the strategy. High-quality content attracts new users. Moreover, those who are interested in the topic of a particular resource. Therefore, you can invite them to subscribe to the newsletter. To encourage people to do this, offer a bonus in return. For example, informational material.
SEO. Search engine algorithms rank sites according to a huge list of criteria, and it is impossible to predict the result unambiguously. However, there are things that they like. For example, the regularity of filling a resource. By developing and starting to implement a content strategy, you will post content systematically, which will help increase your site’s visibility.

Primary forms of media used within content strategy in 2021

Affiliate marketing: 5 Strategies to improve your content

SEO

Quality is a key requirement in affiliate marketing. It also determines the highest priority when ranking sites by search engines. In an effort to provide users with good content, algorithms prioritize authoritative resources. However, this does not mean that niche sites can be relaxed.

For SEO optimization, affiliates need to fill resources with exceptionally high-quality content. And users determine this. Therefore, finding a partner who knows his audience and is able to present the benefits of the product to the audience will double your benefits. First, the brand will be promoted by an influencer. Second, content SEO will provide wide audience coverage. Accordingly, it will increase traffic.

Voice search

It is becoming more and more popular. In 2018, 27% of Internet users used voice search. Its popularity is expected to continue to grow. Therefore, affiliate marketers should consider the trend by adapting their content strategy to it.

This can be done in several ways. First, add relevant keywords. Voice searches often use phrases containing “what”, “how” and “best”. Moreover, over the entire fifth of the queries in voice search contain about 25 keywords.

Second, consider the specifics of user behavior. With voice search, the queries are more human. First of all, because users are voicing a full-fledged question. Typing on the keyboard, a person will write: “Restaurants London”. However, turning to the voice assistant, he will not shorten and reformulate the request. Therefore, the same question will sound like this: “Where can you dine in London?” Optimizing content for voice search should include adding phrases that are common in spoken language.

To improve your skills, you need to constantly learn new things. For this, online courses, master classes and thematic meetings are suitable. This will help take affiliate marketing to the next level and achieve your goals.

Mobile devices

In 2017, the share of online purchases made from mobile devices was 34,5%. Experts predict that it will grow by another 19.5% by 2021. The increase in the frequency of using mobile devices leads to the need to adapt sites and web applications.

By ignoring this, the company deprives itself of half of its audience. Moreover, search algorithms take into account user behavior. Therefore, they increase the rating of multi-platform resources. Be sure to set aside time for this. Make sure the site displays and functions correctly in desktop and mobile versions.

More than 50% of the affiliate traffic comes from mobile devices

Content personalization

91% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands that make deals relevant to them. Therefore, it is important to know your audience. Effective affiliate marketing is able to provide a partner who understands the interests and desires of followers. In this case, the presentation of products occurs from a value perspective. A blogger can not only mention a product, but reveal the benefits of such for a client.

It is important that the company helps in this. If the goal is to create high-quality and useful content, then it is necessary to provide information about the product. It is recommended to create informational materials for partners. This will enable the company to educate influencers, assist in presenting benefits, and ensure that the product is positioned appropriately.

Remember, affiliate marketing is a tool. It is part of the brand promotion strategy and must be consistent with the goals, mission and positioning. Affiliates are also part of the company’s image.

Create localized content

Let’s imagine that there is a multilingual site. Each language version of the resource focuses on a specific market. For example the USA, Europe and Japan. These are three different markets, represented by the company’s unique target audience and, in fact, users. Values and priorities will differ. You can create one version of the content and simply translate it into the appropriate language. However, expecting high conversion rates is unwise.

In this case, we are talking about different markets. The segments of consumers, as well as the benefits of the product for them, are different. Among other things, the company should set different expectations. For example, delivery terms, discount percentage, conditions of loyalty programs, maximum delivery volumes, and so on.

Therefore, the specifics of the area must be taken into account. Moreover, it is important to be guided by it when creating content. This is true for affiliates as well. Its local content is necessarily aimed at users who are citizens of different countries of the world. Sometimes, simply by paying attention to the characteristics of the target audience of specific regions of the state, you can make the best offer. This creates relevant content for a specific segment. Consequently, he will receive a greater response.

How to effectively integrate content marketing with affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing: TOP content ideas

Product reviews

They are in demand among users. Today, a huge number of people are looking for reviews on the Internet before making a final purchase decision. What’s more, 88% of consumers trust them as much as they trust personal recommendations. The influence of authority figures is also affected. 6 out of 10 YouTube users rely on the advice of their favorite video bloggers, not celebrities, when deciding what to buy.

However, it is important that the product review is convincing. Otherwise, the blogger will not only fail to convince users to buy, but will completely lose the audience’s trust. To exclude this will help following a few rules:

Absolute honesty. There is no perfect product that every person in the world would like. This should be remembered and taken into account when creating a review. There should certainly be advantages in it. However, the review should also be supplemented with information about the cons of the product. Only in this case will the review be honest. This approach is good for both the affiliate and the company, and for several reasons at once. First, by talking about the cons, you will weed out some of the users. More precisely, those for which certain properties are definitely not suitable. Accordingly, eliminate negative experiences. Providing information on the pros and cons will also set realistic expectations. This is another way to avoid negative user experience. A perfect review contains true information about a product, including pros and cons, but they cancel each other out.
Visual presentation. It refers to videos, photographs and other ways of displaying a product. Show it to users. You can also add examples of product use. If it’s cosmetics, then use before / after images. The affiliate who advertises the program can attach screenshots of the application interface to the review. At the same time, users will understand how to work with it. Also, when coming up with ways to visually present a product, influencers should consider the formats they already use.

Half of participants considered a purchase after seeing an influencer's post

Video

Social media videos brought new customers for 93% of companies. Also, this format is popular among users. 96% of customers, trying to find out more about a product or service, watched training videos. Therefore, it is worth incorporating them into your content strategy.

The first thing that may scare you is the complexity of creation. However, the video requirements depend on the platform they are published on. YouTube really needs quality hardware, including sound hardware. However, there are social networks that do not require special training. For example, TikTok. This social network is for videos that were shot and edited on a smartphone. And even if YouTube is chosen, remember that the quality of the content will grow. The main thing is to start.

In this case, you can create videos of different formats:

Product comparisons. They are an improved version of the reviews. The blogger considers the pros and cons of each product, and then makes his own verdict, recommending one of the products. Of course, the decision should be reasoned.
Video instructions. First, this type of content is relevant for almost all types of products. Whether it’s clothing or software. These videos are instructions. It is necessary to describe step by step the procedure and features of using the product, and then present it in an accessible form. Screen sharing can be used. The advantage of such content is to provide users with valuable knowledge and practical experience.

Manuals

This refers to e-books that contain useful, unique and valuable information. It is not difficult for a person who understands a niche to write something like that. But the management will significantly increase the level of user confidence.

Also e-books are a great way to attract and retain potential customers. You can give guidance for a specific action. For example, subscribing to a newsletter. This is a trick often used by marketers to build a database of email addresses.

Text blogging

Most affiliate partners already have such resources. A blog helps build trust with your audience, maintain expert status, and provide people with useful content. All of this disposes users to an affiliate. In a marketing context, trusting an audience increases the likelihood that users will heed a partner’s recommendation.

Posting reviews on a blog is a normal practice. However, it is important to follow a number of rules:

Products should be relevant to the topic of the blog.
The quality and safety of the product is important.
It is necessary to describe, revealing the value of the product to the target audience.

Conclusion

Affiliate marketing is not difficult. In fact, it is the continuation of the influencer’s relationship with his followers. Just remember this fact. In an effort to maintain and strengthen the relationship, you are guaranteed to select the best affiliate products and be interesting to present them. And you can always see the ideas of formats in this article.

Share this article

Daniel Pisoň

Daniel is responsible for the marketing and communication strategy at LiveAgent. He is a member of the inner product circle and company topmanagement. During his previous professional career, he held various managerial positions in the field of marketing and client communication. Daniel is one of the experts on AI and its integration into the customer service environment.