iGB Affiliate 62 Apr/May | Page 57

INSIGHT that allows them to in turn engage with their own community . They strive for expression and many will upload photos or social content specifically to influence others to purchase too , thus extending your brand reach at minimal cost .
How to curate your content There are five key ways to tailor your communications strategy to ensure that you are optimising your content when targeting Generation C customers : 1 ) Invest in creating organic social content – across multiple channels You ’ ve seen the stats and understand where these consumers will likely spend their time online . A big component of this time is spent socially networking and sharing content and information with
others . You need to understand how to use key social network channels such as Instagram , Facebook and Pinterest to drive traffic and engage this target audience to connect with your brand . This will be key to building a successful and engaging customer relationship . 2 ) Create content that will spread your brand voice by word-of-mouth ( WOM ) Some of the most successful brands never actually talk about their own products or services – they just speak to their audience about content that interests them . As an affiliate , there is no reason why you can ’ t build your own brand and tone of voice to discuss subjects that correspond with your target audience ’ s broader interests .
Think like Red Bull – it hardly ever talks about its energy drink , but it runs and hosts events that are all about the experience you ’ ll have when you drink Red Bull ( it “ gives you wings ”). This makes the product a wider sell for people wanting to affiliate with the brand and be awesome too . Content is about engaging your audience in a tone of voice that suits customers and their needs .
3 ) Think about viral contests for social engagement Social media channels ’ like and share buttons are incredibly easy to use , so spreading content virally has never been simpler . This helps to drive traffic like wildfire . Finding innovative tools that enable better content sharing and branding while saving you time is an effective way to grow your traffic sources using WOM content .
Bespoke social tools like Vyper . io enable you to run social-sharing contests that engage Gen C customers and encourage them to share your content with their wider social circle . As mentioned , two-thirds of Gen C consumers will share any content they find enjoyable and educational , or have already seen posted within their social networks . According to Google ’ s research ,
“ Gen C craves instant access to information , exactly when they want to consume it . Traditional paid media just doesn ’ t cut it for these guys ”
85 % of Gen C relies on peer approval for their buying decisions . This is a cheap , effective way to make use of your existing bespoke content , offers or promotions to engage and help build your broader brand . 5 ) Be more heroic than hygienic in your content curation ( entertain – don ’ t advertise ) Nobody wants to click on your affiliate banner any more , unless it ’ s telling them something they need to take up right now ( time-sensitive odds , for example , still work and remain highly effective for operators in terms of customer conversion ). In addition , today ’ s online reality is that most consumers already have ad-blocking software installed .
To stand out from the crowd , you must think about the audience and what , where and when they will be seeing your message . Then tailor your message to suit . It ’ s about hero content , which requires more effort to create but will deliver a stronger result when placed in front of a Gen C consumer .
Why ? Because it ’ s entertaining and engaging , and it speaks about an event , an action or a subject that brings real value to the target audience . It allows you to create content that makes people stop and stare , or have any kind of reaction rather than ignoring it , which is largely the reaction to standardised messages being pushed . Hero content speaks to the individual – not to the product or service with which you want them to engage . 6 ) KISS – keep it simple , stupid !
Make sure that what you want to convey can work in as short a sentence or phrase as possible .
Your target audience has only limited time to read long emails , articles and blogs these days – they are too busy socially networking and interacting with their peers . Keep your messages short and “ Tweet-able ”. Gen C consumers are consuming content on a mobile device the majority of the time . It ’ s therefore key that you don ’ t waffle on about information that might be secondary to your brand and call-to-action messaging .
If you understand your audience , you can better target them with content that converts . This will prove fundamental to growing your affiliate business to break through the noise , effectively communicating your promotional offers , increasing your revenue and , above all , driving better customer conversion .
With almost two decades ’ experience in digital marketing in a range of sectors , LEE-ANN JOHNSTONE oversees Income Access ’ marketing and business development teams . Previous roles at parent company Paysafe , Centrebet and PartyGaming honed her expertise in igaming-focused affiliate marketing and acquisition .
iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR / MAY 2017
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