Reality can change in an instant. Global crises, both past and present, have shown us just that. Whether it is a natural disaster that affects the supplies we rely on for life or a pandemic — such as the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak — that threatens the personal health of our communities, sudden occurrences can shift the way we live both now and in the future.
Your company might have had an affiliate marketing strategy in place from 2019 to 2020, but those plans were constructed with a specific idea for what the future held. The outbreak and spread of the novel Coronavirus have shifted the perspectives of everyone, from families planning vacations to full-time workers thinking they had job security, to companies who had an affiliate marketing strategy in place.
Whatever you once had in store for the coming quarters needs to change — political responses, both on state and national levels, and financial interactions have made that apparent. But where do you go from here? In a world that seems to be biting its nails each minute of the day, unsure of what is to come next, how do you make beneficial decisions regarding your affiliate marketing strategy? There are a number of ways your company’s affiliate marketing strategy is going to be affected, but there are ways it can bounce back, too.
How and Why Your Affiliate Marketing Strategy Will Look Different
As it stands, the unemployment rate is expected to drastically climb within the United States. People’s approach to spending money is going to have to change because of that. While a stimulus package offering a one-time payment will be offered to some Americans, citizens will still need to pay for food, rent, utilities, health insurance, and more.
Mandatory quarantines have led to people being closed away inside their homes, keeping a safe distance from other people. This has already been ongoing for some states, and it’s expected that it could continue for another few months. At a time when people are separated from their loved ones and friends, they want to feel evermore connected. This isn’t a time for selling products and services; it’s a time to provide people with solidarity.
Your affiliate marketing strategy should be centered around a strong brand identity that is authentic. While this has been essential for any other time in history, it’s especially important now. The last thing a person wants to deal with while in quarantine is to have an affiliate simply selling them a product or service. Not only will this approach feel tone-deaf, but it will feel simply insensitive. So, how do you make up for it? How does your approach change to keep your company both afloat and relevant?
Continue supporting your affiliates.
The gig economy, along with many other jobs, has been affected by this ongoing global crisis. There’s a chance that some of your affiliates have been financially hurt by what’s going on. Offer them support …
- Consider regularly reaching out with guidance both in life and with their platform.
- Offer a bonus to committed affiliates that have been with your business for some time.
- Provide them with a special discount code that’s likely to incentivize more people to engage with your website and convert into customers.
Pitch your products as useful for this time.
Whatever it is you’re providing to your audience, make it relevant and help your affiliates do the same. This is a time to support people. Remain true to your brand, but create messaging and platforming that seeks to alleviate stress from peoples’ lives. Your products and services can either offer them respite from whatever is going on, providing them with a glimpse of joy, or it can provide them with emotional, financial, or physical support.
Keep an eye on engagement, but consider empathy.
You still want your affiliate marketing strategy to be successful, but you shouldn’t stoop to shoddy marketing techniques to do so. Remain authentic and treat both your affiliates and their audience with respect. If that level of care and empathy can be shared, that just might be enough to remind people that they matter in this trying time. If your brand can position itself at that helm, that’s already serving a significant purpose.
If your company is having trouble finding ways to reinvigorate its strategy at this time, consider reaching out to one of our affiliate marketing professionals. They might be able to point out a part of our platform that can help you streamline your approach.
