9 Affiliate Marketing Trends That You Should Watch Out For In 2023
A new year is here and so are the new things to knock on the doors. Honestly, it’s not going to take much to impress us after having such trouble making sales go up. We get you.
WFH and the ‘new normal’ made us all believe that these two years have been nothing but lazy. However, it wasn’t just about sitting with laptops and PCs and binge-watching our favorite sitcoms to remind us of simpler times. There was actually A LOT happening in the digital world, somehow, it became a new normal.
While half of the world was sitting still, the internet was on fire bringing in millions of marketing strategies. Affiliate marketing was one of them that turned out to be a marketing bomb for companies like yours. Hence, to get the best out of this strategy, you would have to keep up with what’s going on and coming up next in the industry.
Here are the top affiliate marketing trends you would want to watch out for this year. Have a look.
Source: FinancesOnline
Trend 1: Data will be more important than ever before
Once Jeoffrey Moore said, “Without data analytics, companies are blind and deaf, wandering out onto the web like deer on a freeway.” Well, it’s time to get your company’s senses back and find the right way to turn to. That’s why there will be a big focus on using data for better marketing, even if it is via affiliates.
No wonder, companies are looking for marketing campaigns that could give better results, hence, data is the buzzword for 2023 marketing. Numbers will be a big help in understanding the real return on investment and sales that will indeed boost campaign results.
Yup, data is one important thing to pay attention to because then you get to come up with more strategic moves considering your partners (affiliates), campaigns, and much more. Hence, the industry understands that it is better to work with numbers and get your tried-and-tested move this year until you get the right blend to attract more deals.
Trend 2: There will be more investment in affiliate marketing programs.
Not many know this but the affiliate marketing industry is growing by 10% every year since 2015, especially during the pandemic when the internet was our only hope. Now, if the affiliate market is increasing every year at such a fast rate, what would that translate to? You guessed it right.
Take it from Statista’s records that show how affiliate marketing spending in the US will move up to $8.2 billion by the end of this year. In fact, more than half (65%) of the CEOs of renowned companies are looking forward to investing more in affiliate marketing ever since the pandemic hit the world.
You must be wondering why such a spike in the investment rates? One reason can be in-demand and highly admirable influencer marketing and how they are used as payment models on commission. Just like what your favorite Instagram influencer does. However, experts also view whole affiliate marketing as a major reason for this rise in spending. Whichever belief you go for, companies will invest more in affiliate marketing to welcome high revenue.
Source: Financial Express
Trend 3: Nano influencers will be the ideal choice
We just talked about influencer marketing, needless to say, that’s going to be a big hit in 2023 as well, however, with a twist. Where most brands usually go for big-followers influencers, this time companies will seek nano influencers. These influencers may not necessarily have millions of followers but must be someone who is an expert in the industry.
Nano influencer affiliate marketing is an ideal choice for companies who have a tight budget and, hence, don’t want to reach out to big influencers. Affiliate marketing can be a tricky concept for nano influencers but at least their expertise in the industry sets them apart. That being said, investing in micro-influencers is going to be a big trend for companies.
Source: Martechcube
Trend 4: Google’s third-party cookie update will change the dynamics of affiliate marketing
Sometimes it seems hard to imagine what affiliate marketing will look like without cookies on Chrome. Well, Google will soon block these cookies. Bummer, right? That’s what 2023 will have on the table.
To put it simply, Google chrome is responsible for almost 70% of the total search engine system and it is going to block third-party cookies by the end of 2023. This system is going to take its first step in 2022.
You may ask ‘How cookie blocks will change the way affiliate marketing works?’. The answer is – nothing. It will not change anything but there will still be repercussions to this decision. Factors like targeting, retargeting, and personalization through advertisement might have to take different turns this time.
From now, instead of cookie-based advertising, there will be anonymized signals that will work according to what the user’s browsing history and habit suggest.
Trend 5: AI and automation will transform the industry
Artificial intelligence and automation are everywhere then why not have them in affiliate marketing as well? Automation to ease up the work of brands as well as affiliates.
Shortlisting affiliate applications, managing marketers, and keeping a record of sales and commissions can be challenging for companies like yours. Especially when you have other important things going on in the organization.
When artificial intelligence comes in, there will be more advanced diversions coming from advertisers, aka affiliates. 2022 will be advanced both technically and psychologically giving affiliates open space to experiment and do anything that stands out.
Even if it is because of mobile apps, social media freedom, and employee support, affiliates will face the market change to have better audience land into their campaign. However, there will be company restrictions and limitations to work according to company norms, things will still flow differently.
Trend 6: Loyalty marketing will be a part of the affiliate mix
Do you remember Starbucks reward stars? That’s one great move by Starbucks that brought the customers closer and closer to the cafes for a free drink or treat. How about having this strategy in affiliate marketing? Hence, Loyalty marketing is going to be a big trend in 2023 affiliate marketing that would help companies attract customers by offering some incentives.
Do you find it confusing? Think of it this way, there will be some affiliate marketing software that would offer customers some incentive, like cash back, points, donations, etc. Other things will remain the same like promoting affiliate links and all but as soon as the customer purchases something directly from the company website, they will get a reward in return. That’s some kind of surprise package to attract more customer traffic.
Source: Livestream
Trend 7: Live shopping will become more mainstream
How many times have you come across influencers going live and talking about a product as paid promotion? That’s what live shopping is about where customers get to ask questions about your product directly and make a purchase on the go. This is going viral and so will become more and more popular this year. After all, companies like Aldo, Samsung, and Clarks are already generating high revenue through social media events and live stream shopping.
‘How will this make a difference?’, you may wonder. Here’s how:
- First, you will be using affiliate marketing to make sales using word-of-mouth via influencers,
- Second, this will encourage you to explore new sales in the marketing area, and
- Finally, you could even build your brand through these selling shows.
In fact, live streaming isn’t as expensive as hosting a live event in some seminar hall and you get to reach infinite people from your target.
We think it’s going to bring a big change in the affiliate marketing world. What do you think?
Trend 8: Comarketing will be a win-win for everyone
One priority of every marketer is to build relationships with other marketers, customers, and brands. On this belief, co-marketing will be a win-win situation for marketing partners. Just like Pillsbury and Nestle do with their brownie and chocolate. Once this strategy gets to affiliate marketing, it will open doors for better monetary opportunities for both marketers and brands.
Affiliate marketers are expert content creators and brands often reach out to them with plenty of opportunities. When they collaborate with other influencers and brands, it will definitely work out for everyone. Besides, this will work on the basis of a revenue-sharing agreement that would totally depend on the partnership and how each party takes its commission percentage.
Source: WebsiteSetup
Trend 9: More competition than ever before will welcome creativity
Do you know 80% of advertisers use affiliate marketing to reach out to their target customers? That’s what Rakuten Advertising shares in its recent info. Now, this number is increasing and so is the competition in the world of affiliate marketing. What is the way out? Simple, you need to think differently and that’s why 2023 affiliate marketing will be all about creativity and thinking out of the box.
When it comes to thinking differently, there are 2 platforms that grab the most attention – Quora and Reddit. These are some that have answers to almost everything Google can’t find. So, companies will hit the search button a million times until they figure out what customers want that is different from what competitors are using. Besides, for affiliates, it will be a harder job because they would need to come up with ideas that other million of affiliate marketers are not thinking about.
To Sum Up
There you have all the predictions about affiliate marketing in 2023. After looking at all these affiliate marketing trends, one thing becomes clear and that is affiliate marketing will be more about technically advanced marketing architecture in the future. Whatever will happen, get ready to welcome artificial intelligence, automation, more barriers, different thinking, and better work relations with advanced campaign management.
