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Commerce Content: A Strategic Asset for Performance Marketers #46

I have said it before, and it bears repeating

Consumers don’t want ads.

They want recommendations, reviews, and entertainment from trusted sources.

In this week’s edition of the Flywheel newsletter, delve into

1. What is Commerce Content

2. Notable partners in the space and some visual examples

3. Why it matters

4. How to tap into it effectively

5. Where do we think it’s going

With a bit of help from some great movies and shows highlighting…the newspaper.

What Is Commerce Content?

Commerce content seamlessly blends editorial integrity with the practical goal of educating and guiding consumers about products and services.

This approach includes reviews, rankings, and informative content to drive informed purchasing decisions. A key monetization strategy for these platforms involves affiliate marketing, where publishers earn a commission on sales generated through their content.

Notable Partners in the Field:

• BuzzFeed

• CNET

• Forbes and Forbes Health

• Gear Patrol

• InsideHook

• Men’s Journal

• NerdWallet

• People

• PCMag

• Sports Illustrated

• The New York Times Wirecutter

• The Wall Street Journal BuySide

The Growing Importance of Commerce Content:

Over the last five years, there's been a notable shift towards commerce content as brands seek alternatives to traditional paid advertising channels like Google and Meta. This pivot reflects a strategic move to leverage the credibility of third-party publications to discuss their products, tapping into the trust these outlets have cultivated with their audiences. These publications produce quality, relevant, and often user-generated content that ranks well in search engine queries, enhancing visibility and consumer trust.

How much Commerce Content should I recruit into my program and invest in?

Content Commerce should comprise at least 30% of a healthy E-Commerce affiliate program.

Remember, your affiliate program can drive 10-20% of your revenue!

What kind of return should I expect?

Suppose this is managed well with close collaboration with partners and the execution of efficient pricing, a converting landing page, a compelling consumer offer, and a high-quality, high-traffic partner. Commerce content posts can drive not only awareness and consideration but conversion as well. ROI should be very high relative to your existing ROI and goals and enable affiliate marketing to be one of your most efficient paid performance marketing channels.

Strategies for Leveraging Commerce Content:

While direct outreach to these publications is a viable strategy, it requires nuanced understanding and negotiations to maximize the benefits of affiliate partnerships. This is where partnering with an experienced agency, such as RBL, can be invaluable. RBL's expertise in fostering relationships and navigating the intricacies of affiliate marketing can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your commerce content strategy, from negotiation and program integration to activation and ongoing optimization.

For most E-Commerce brands, if you are not utilizing Commerce Content, you need to do so ASAP.

Pro Tips:

1. 🔎 Use curated searches and SEO analysis to identify the top SERP content sites in your vertical, product, and competitive set.

2. 🤖 Utilize leading tools to identify the companies and email lists/contact info of their affiliate monetization team working directly with brands.

3. 🤑 Understand their ranking system and criteria for working with brands. It is important to note that commerce content sites can be selective with the brands they work with based on demand in their market.

4. 🤝 Negotiate with them based on gifting, commission rate/commission rate increases, flat fee placement, product quality, notoriety, and their editorial and content needs.

5. 📣 Brands do it best when they allow content creators and writers to speak from an authentic voice/review to add the most value to the reader and prospective customer. Set brand guidelines and parameters beforehand and let them craft content that engages and converts.

6. 🏡 Landing pages - ensure these are accurate and going to the correct product/product detail page.

7. 📊 Tracking - ensure that your UTM parameters are accurate, including various parameters that can be tracked within Google Analytics or your internal database. Ensure that you are utilizing a viable affiliate marketing SaaS tracking tool to ensure that you can log into your platform and see performance by partner. Ensure deep linking and exclusive or semi-exclusive coupon codes are available. Modern SaaS tracking tools allow you to generate one-time use codes or only assign credit to specific publishers to prevent leakage and false attribution.

Future Trends in Commerce Content:

Data from hundreds of clients and campaigns underline a clear consumer preference for content from trusted third-party sources over brand-generated messaging, in an era where consumer trust is increasingly scarce, leveraging the credibility and reach of established commerce content partners is beneficial and necessary.

The global affiliate marketing industry is on track to expand substantially, with forecasts suggesting a rise to $15.7 billion in global spending by 2024.

The United States is expected to contribute significantly to this growth, with affiliate marketing spending anticipated to reach $9 billion in 2024. We have discussed this a lot in this newsletter, but it bears repeating. Source

Since 2015, searches for the keyword “affiliate marketing” have increased by more than 300%, source: Google Trends.

MarTech Record founder Michael McNerney and I spoke about this topic recently, and he made a great point about some of the misconceptions about Commerce Content.

A hot 🔥 take, to say the least - discuss!

Affiliate marketing has grown by 72.5% since 2016. The boom in influencers and bloggers, paired with people’s interest in reviewing products before buying, has led to the growth in affiliate ventures and, thus, the rise in revenue.

This trend is expected to persist, making strategic partnerships with trusted publishers and influencers essential to successful marketing strategies.

The ability to diversify away from Google for monetization is another attractive feature of affiliate marketing monetization for publishers.

Key Takeaways:

• Commerce content educates and builds trust for consumers for thousands of brands

• It’s a blend of editorial and marketing, relying on affiliate revenue.

• Trusted publications in this space have become crucial allies for brands looking to diversify their marketing strategies beyond conventional paid advertising and the triopoly of Google, Meta, and Amazon.

• It’s demand is increasing along with affiliate marketing

• 30% of your affiliate partner mix in Commerce Content is a good barometer for a healthy E-Commerce brand

• It can deliver awareness, consideration, and conversion and, along with that, efficient Return on Investment (ROI)

• Effective utilization of commerce content requires strategic partnerships and expert navigation of the affiliate marketing landscape, taking a mutually beneficial approach.

• The trajectory of consumer engagement strongly favors trusted third-party content, signaling a continued need for brands to integrate these strategies into their marketing mix. The data supports this, with brands continuing to flock to affiliate marketing for distribution AND monetization.

Happy Commerce Contenting!

Bonus Material: