As an NWM affiliate marketer you want to make the best use of your time and build your revenues as quickly as possible. The most efficient way of doing this is embracing a truly multi-channel affiliate marketing strategy.
With so many channels and platforms available these days, it is probably going to be unrealistic for most affiliates to make effective use of them all – but you can formulate a plan that uses several different channels to maximum effect.
Importantly, because iGaming and sports betting are industries that, though offering excellent potential affiliate income, can be adversely affected by rapidly changing national regulations, and individual corporate policy changes, it is prudent to develop a marketing strategy that spans different markets, platforms and channels. This way, if one channel suddenly gets cut-off, it won’t be a disaster for your business.
For example, Italy recently banned all gambling related adverts and marketing activities, after a coalition far-right government came to power. Of course, this controversial decision may be reversed in the future, but for now, affiliates who were solely concentrating on the Italian market are in a bad situation.
Similarly, both Facebook and YouTube recently tightened their rules on content related to gambling, so some affiliates may have encountered issues with their existing campaigns.
To best position yourself as an affiliate, it is a good idea to build-in a certain amount of redundancy to your marketing plans and campaigns. Targeting several markets, with a truly multi-channel approach may lead to some overlap, and may even feel somewhat wasteful at times, but it puts you in a much stronger long-term position.
Search Engines: Answering Search Intent
Affiliate marketing is all about providing a solution to search intent (giving answers or content that potential visitors are actively looking for), and then building a relationship with those visitors when they arrive at your site, blog or social media.
Answering search intent is crucial to getting your site or blog to rank well in Google and other search engines. Though there are a myriad of SEO (search engine optimisation) techniques to master, the golden rule is to provide quality content that addresses what people are already searching for.
There are many metrics and statistics services available to help you analyse and find keywords and key phrases – ranging from Google Analytics to ahrefs.com – providing a vast quantity of useful information to help your site and blog articles get found organically.
Making Different Social Media Work for You
As far as social media goes, adopting a truly multi-channel strategy is much easier than it may seem at first. Assuming you are producing content for a blog or site, it is very quick and simple to share the same content across several social media services.
Don’t just rely on using the social networks either; remember, though Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and Pinterest are dominant now, they could go the way of MySpace at any time, and having a presence on emerging networks early could put you in a very good position later.
When using any social media channels, it is extremely important that you post content that is optimised for the peculiarities of the particular service. For example, Twitter is still primarily a short text-centred platform, whereas Instagram has always been a more image and video centric service.
Engagement is key on social media – and most social media marketers still don’t appreciate this. Because of the way that the various social algorithms work, you will only find social media useful at generating real visitors, and hence revenue, if your posts engaging.
Simply posting spammy content or buying followers and likes will result in your future posts losing all effectiveness. Take Instagram for instance – when you publish a new post, it will only be displayed to a small sample of your existing followers. If they then engage with the post (like it, comment etc.), it will be shown to more, as will your next post. Obviously, if most of your followers are bots, fake, or don’t really care about you, no one will engage, and your efforts will fade into obscurity.
To further encourage engagement with your posts, it is important to be an active member of the community – whichever social network you are using. Follow others with similar interests, make coherent, real comments, like and share. But, always ensure you are following the latest usage policy guidelines – it is gutting to build a big social media following only to have your account blocked or deleted for non-compliance.
Different Platforms, Bigger Audience
Whenever you’re planning an affiliate strategy, think about the devices your potential visitors will be using. By 2018, considerably more than half of the visitors to most major sites were using mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.
If you’re running a website or blog you should ensure it’s dynamic and works seamlessly on popular devices.
When you’re creating content, try to keep in mind that various devices may display it in different layout and formats, and if something is too dependent on a layout being exact, it may lose its effectiveness if that is changed.
Managing Time and Resources
The real trick to managing a true multi-channel affiliate marketing strategy is managing your time and resources. Whilst you need to give each channel time before you can judge it, you need to constantly monitor performance and results across all channels – and not be afraid to allocate resources accordingly.
Flexibility and responsiveness really is the key. Try to avoid becoming too focused or obsessed with any one particular channel, but likewise, try to give each one a reasonable chance. Balance and the ability to constantly adapt are the hallmarks of successful multi-channel marketing campaigns.
The NWM Multi-Channel, Multi-Market Approach
Marketing the EnergyCasino, EnergyBet and LV BET brands, NWM utilises a wide range of channels, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, blogs, sites, email, SMS, and offline events. A particular focus is placed on providing original, relevant and absolutely compliant content at the right time.
For example, the social media posts for EnergyBet will consist of a mix of offers and informative non-selling content, giving followers, whether on Twitter or Facebook, real value and a genuine reason to follow. Original, exclusive content created at real world events, in the form of videos and photos is also plays an important role.
NWM has found that different platforms can appear to have different strengths, but an effort is made to work with as many as possible because it is always understood that a particular channel may become unviable at any time. This was illustrated recently when YouTube changed its rules regarding gambling related content, and some videos were removed.
Understanding that different markets required different content, NWM has worked with both the Energy and LV BET brands to ensure that tailored market-specific content is published across the various utilised channels, maximising the effectiveness of individual promotions.
At NWM we provide affiliates with personalised advice and extensive materials and resources suitable for creating a truly multi-channel, multi-market marketing strategy. From excellent banners and graphics, to specially-written content, to form the foundations of success, but it is up to the individual affiliate to motivate themselves to sustain a long-term effort.