Why affiliate marketing is right for SME’s
As a small or medium enterprise, navigating the digital advertising landscape can be daunting and budgets are likely tight. Small businesses do not always have a dedicated marketing team to promote their business. Affiliate marketing offers a cost-effective, low risk and efficient way to drive more traffic to your business and increase profits. However, while having a terrific affiliate marketing network is a huge advantage for small businesses, you still need to be selective in who you choose. Rather than accepting everyone into your program, it is best to have a vetting process in place. In the same way that an ecommerce search marketing strategy impacts your brand’s visibility, your affiliates also impact your brand image and reputation. This is often where a reputable affiliate network company can help. Not only will they assist in finding publishers relevant to your offer/product, but they will also do all the checks to eliminate illegitimate sites and potential fraudulent traffic. A network should also provide transparent, real-time reporting on your affiliate program, assist with uploading creatives and content, and deal with the invoicing and payment of publishers on your behalf. You can of course run your own inhouse affiliate program, but you will need to allocate resources towards this and make sure you do your homework. Much like the search engine strategies used in ecommerce, affiliate marketing will help increase your product exposure and increase sales. Here’s a rundown of its benefits: Boost brand awareness. Every business’s online goal is to be easily recognized by as many potential buyers as possible. As affiliates drive more traffic to your website, they increase awareness of your brand and its reach. Because affiliates earn a share of your revenue, they have a vested interest in your success, are loyal brand advocates, and help build trust with potential customers. Broaden your targeted audience. Small businesses can tap into the audience of their affiliates and, as a result, expand their brand’s reach. These new audiences might not have been easy to target and identify using other marketing and advertising methods. By selecting affiliates who resonate with your brand, you ensure that the traffic you receive through an affiliate’s link will be targeted to those who find your products or services useful. Up your conversion rates. The ability to track how your business performs enables you to make operational improvements in the future. By collecting data from affiliate marketing tracking, companies can gain essential insights into where their customers come from and why they are buying. Studying and analyzing the rich collection of data helps companies improve conversions by making changes to their website, offering more engaging visual creatives, and identifying which affiliates bring in the most revenue. Save money. When compared to the costs of advertising or other marketing initiatives, affiliate marketing is far more cost-effective. Because it is performance-based, affiliates are only paid when they generate a sale. Businesses set up the commission structure in advance and avoid wasting money on ineffective advertising campaigns. Increase ROI. The performance-based model of affiliate marketing is built for profitability. Businesses are not paying for potential buyers through impressions or clicks, only for closed sales. This is one of the primary reasons small businesses choose to utilize affiliates to promote and sell their products or services. By channeling your promotion efforts through an affiliate program, you are gaining influence and direct access to a receptive, highly targeted audience more likely to buy from your company. Happy selling! The Publisher Team
Two sides
There is a famous quote by American comedian, Daniel Tosh that goes: “No matter how flat you make your pancakes, they still have two sides”. This does indeed seem to be the case for the South African retail industry at the moment- if you believe the latest reports from experts and research houses. While the brick-and-mortar retail industry is predicted to basically show 0% growth in 2020, the e-commerce industry is expected to continue to grow at a a healthy rate. So, does this mean South Africans are finally catching on to the online shopping trend? Perhaps. It is generally believed that the busier your shopping malls are, the healthier your economy. This is probably true to some extent, but let’s not forget that many South Africans are heavily indebted, so while the malls may be filled with shoppers, it doesn’t necessarily spell good news for the economy. The growth in e-commerce is likely to be a result of shoppers moving their budgets from malls to online, as many buyers use the internet to search for discounts and deals – which will be even more apparent when the economy is slow. Personally I’m excited about 2020. When the economy is tough it forces digital marketers to be more focused and deliver tangible results for each Rand spent – which is after all AdMarula’s core strength. It is seldom that a client will actually cut a budget. In most cases it’s a matter of moving it around to find the channel mix that works best for their business or product. Our on-site remarketing and mobile traffic optimitsation products have been in high demand due to its transparent an performance-based nature, and I believe this trend will continue in the coming months. On a different note, we are currently looking for a Digital Account Manager and an SEO Marketing expert to join our team. If you think you fit either of those roles, feel free to send us your CV and a brief cover letter to careers@admarula.com. We’d love to hear from you. Onwards and upwards! Daniel Gross – CEO
