Toro Advertising’s Business Developer Beatriz Gonzalez shares her tips and predictions for affiliate marketing in 2019.  

What offers do you think will be big in 2019?

Finance offers and Dating offers have seen great results in 2018, so I expect to see growth in 2019 for both of these verticals. But the big one for 2019 will be e-commerce. According to Statista, e-commerce will be responsible for $4.5 trillion in sales by 2021. E-commerce in the US already represents 10% of retail sales, and that number is expected to grow by around 15% each year. This growth is due to the fact that users’ buying and search habits are tracked, which means affiliates have a vast amount of data available to be able to optimize their ROI and personalize their targeting to potential customers.

Which social platform is seeing the most growth?

Instagram is becoming a key part of the social marketing mix. Publishers and affiliates are seeing great results with Instagram Stories because it is an interactive form of storytelling. The swipe up feature is working well for advertisers and publishers who want Instagram users to sign up for emailed newsletters, fill out a survey, live broadcasts or for downloading content apps. However, bear in mind that less content is better as many viewers want short content to consume and don’t want to click through a long story.

What other trends do you think are important for 2019?

Voice search

This Christmas, Amazon claimed that voice-activated orders placed via its virtual personal assistant Alexa were three times greater during the 2018 holiday season than they were in the previous year. This proves that sales through devices such as Amazon Echo and Google Home show that voice search will be a key driver for e-commerce in 2019.

Push notifications

Many affiliates using push notifications are also adding emojis to their messages which is proven to increase CTR and user engagement, so expect to see this format and emojis being used more widely in 2019.

Augmented Reality is a reality now!

Statistics indicate that reality and virtual reality markets will surpass $298 billion by 2023. Besides that, Snapchat is leading the new trend due to the recent launch of its Lens Creative Partners program. Therefore,  brands can create filters that overlay an image or text over what a user takes a picture or video of on the platform. The company calls this Branded Lenses. This should significantly lower the barrier for brands to create and run sponsored AR engagement within Snapchat.

Target the internet savvy Generation Z

This is the generation who were born into the internet age and today, the oldest Gen Zers are 24 years old. They are just beginning to enter the labor force with money to spend, and they will have increased buying power for some time.

Building a brand on social media that appeals to Gen Z means you have to engage with them by giving them what they are looking for. Research from Social Media Week states that Gen Z is mostly likely to engage with 4 content types: real stories, day in the life of videos, behind the scenes videos, and How To content. Generation Z appreciates entertainment, but they also really want to learn, so forget direct advertising. Your strategy shouldn’t be a hard sell, instead give them content to consume that provides real value. As a result, you ensure to earn their loyalty, trust and respect. So, there is no better form of marketing than peer to peer word of mouth.