Newsletter

Montreal, Quebec, Canada, January 18, 2008 - What affiliate marketer wouldn’t want a crystal ball to reveal the online marketing trends that matter for 2008: will the social web shop socially? Will video ads trounce banners? Will mobile meander? What about widgets? And marketing mainstays such as search and email? Learn how 2008’s online marketing trends translate for affiliates with the help of Share Results affiliate network CEO Nicky Senyard.

"Social networking was definitely the biggest story in affiliate marketing in 2007, as merchants and affiliates tried to convert the huge surge in user traffic on sites such as Facebook and MySpace into a viable sales platform. As 2008 evolves, expect affiliates to exploit social media marketing (SMM) for SEO, controlling search engine rankings through links and growing fan bases on the sites above, plus destinations such as Digg, YouTube, Del.icio.us, and many more."

"New avenues for SMM monetization are also opening up. Facebook's social ads, for instance, despite initial consumer privacy concerns, can potentially compete with Google for affiliate PPC revenue."

"2008 should also see a boom in niche social media interest sites in areas such as travel and home & garden that affiliates can align their affiliate program verticals with."

Video should also prove a major marketing trend in 2008, states Nicky Senyard:

"Over 48% of internet users visited video sharing sites such as YouTube in 2007 [source: Pew], and advertising during video content is expected to spike by more than 70% [source: eMarketer]."

"We’re seeing affiliates in the Share Results network experiment with attaching their own pre-roll ads to video content on their properties, and especially affiliates who are using their personal identities to promote through blogs and social networking."

Mobile marketing may finally reach its long-promised potential in 2008 as generally accepted platforms, formats and business models unite, continues Nicky:

"Mobile use is now firmly established, with over 30% of Americans considered elite tech users relying on feature-packed cell phones to support voracious online habits [source: Pew]."

"With one in three mobile phone users in the U.S. (over 78 million people) having seen or heard ads on their phones in the last three months [source: Mobile Advertising Report], affiliates should use 2008 to develop an SMS strategy."

Behavioral targeting should also become more widespread in 2008:

"Affiliates will be pleased to learn that 2008 brings with it better targeted ad technology from affiliate programs as network, advertiser, and visitor data converges to build better consumer experiences. Share Results, for example, includes interactive creatives among its marketing tool capabilities."

Widget advertising should also take off, as affiliate networks introduce these powerful brand relationship building tools to their marketing creative line-ups.

"Widgets deliver a rich media experience compared to traditional banner ads, packaging everything from news feeds to video, games, music and more into one vehicle that users can drop on their desktops, blogs, social networking sites or start pages. Affiliates will find widgets an engaging, portable and trackable way to reach potential customers."

Despite spam fatigue, email will remain one of affiliate marketing’s biggest ROIs, as long as marketers remember that “relevance is key to successful email marketing campaigns. Focus on behaviorally-triggered mailings, dynamic content development schedules for newsletters and promotions, and personalization."

Search optimization will also remain a key concern for affiliates in 2008:

"Take the new year to review your 2007 SEO analytics and to research new technology to apply in 2008," counsels Nicky Senyard. "Treat optimization as an ongoing process, instead of applying it only during an affiliate site’s creation or major rebuild."

Finally, take the time in 2008 to review your affiliate network relationships, concludes Nicky:

"Affiliates and merchants need to expect more from their affiliate networks than competitive commissions in 2008. Test networks on their adaptability to your business model, open customer support, industry reputation and software analytics capacity to find the service that will maximize your affiliate marketing revenue."

To learn more about Share Results and its services, or to join as an affiliate, please visit www.shareresults.com. Alternatively, if you are attending Affiliate Summit 2008 West in Vegas, please drop by booth 305.

Share Results
www.shareresults.com

Share Results is an affiliate network,software provider and affiliate management company that provides a vibrant approach to Affiliate Marketing and relationships, Share Results builds personalized,mutually-rewarding partnerships with select online advertisers and quality publishers for long term profitability of affiliate progams. The Share Results network is powered by proprietary software built by affiliate marketing managers who use the affiliate program to successfully manage Real Networks, Photobucket, American Medical ID, The Cute Kid and Sitter City. Visit us at booth # 305 Affiliate Summit.