The evolution of digital advertising is shifting towards investment optimisation for both advertisers and publishers. Advertisers want to control their costs and profitability as much as possible and the media must find growth levers by capitalising on their content to offset the decline in paper sales.
Historical levers such as display or sponsored links are seeing their effectiveness plummet and are no longer profitable for brands.
On the audience side, aggressive and intrusive advertising is less and less accepted by Internet users. Instead, users now want to see relevant and personalised content. They are looking for information about a product or brand themselves before making a purchase. In addition, they seek recommendations, ideas, inspiration, and advice.
In this context, the media are embracing Content Commerce as a new channel. It helps generate additional revenue and engage their audience. At the same time, it offers advertisers a performance-based advertising device.
What is Content Commerce?
Also known as Content to Commerce, this term refers to the recommendation of products or services integrated into content.
Content Commerce has a commercial objective to generate conversions.
The publishers offer advice, tips, good deals, comparisons or product analysis to their audience via articles, videos or shopping guides.
They know their readers well. They propose content that perfectly matches their expectations and needs. At the same time, they always respect the editorial line of the media.
Content Commerce: an essential part of an inbound marketing strategy
Adopting an inbound marketing strategy means implementing a set of methods to attract new customers, generate conversions and build customer loyalty.
Content marketing, which is the creation and distribution of content, is an integral part of an effective inbound strategy. Among the content marketing tools is Content Commerce, which is a win-win situation for all three parties: advertiser, publisher and user.
Advantages for the advertiser:
The advertiser benefits from quality content while controlling its costs with the pay-for-performance model. Its brand image is strengthened by demonstrating its expertise in its field. It also benefits from lower cost visibility and develops its reputation. Content Commerce brings him qualified traffic via the receptive audience of the media and the SEO editorial content, optimised for search engines.
Benefits for the publisher:
The publisher builds reader loyalty with relevant content, but above all, monetises his audience with an additional source of remuneration through affiliation. Remuneration is usually based on CPS (cost per sale), CPA (cost per action) or CPL (cost per lead).
All the traffic that was previously neither tracked nor exploited, will generate income and even passively in the long term when the content remains published.
Benefits for the user:
The user is satisfied to have found the relevant information that will trigger the purchase of the product that meets his needs. The user will have a feeling of belonging to a community because the media and the brand have been able to meet his expectations and offer him the appropriate product.
Key points:
Advertiser:
- Quality content & SEO
- Cost control
- Brand image
- Notoriety
- Qualified traffic
Publisher:
- Loyalty
- Monetisation
- Additional income
User:
- Relevant information
- Purchase
- Community membership
Content Commerce in practice
To implement a successful content commerce strategy, it is important to follow these recommendations.
Publisher type:
Large generalist media, specialised content sites, good tips sites, bloggers.
For example, choose a publisher whose audience corresponds to your personas to bring you sales. The volume of qualified traffic is also to be taken into account if you want to boost your visibility over a given period.
Content type:
Editorial content, product test, video, tutorial, live shopping, buying guide, product comparison, sponsored articles.
Choose the most appropriate medium according to your objectives and expected performance. A shopping guide will convert more in the short term than an article, which will have a long-term impact.
Advertiser type:
Fashion, beauty, travel, furniture, decoration, tech, gaming are some of the most popular themes for online shopping. Choose brands and themes that are appreciated by your audience to build loyalty and commitment.
The material
Complete briefs with current and detailed information on prices, promotions and products, visuals in the requested formats, product page urls are all elements to be provided to make the collaboration a success.
The advertiser must adapt to the needs of the publisher in order to be promoted in the best conditions.
KPI’s:
Click rate, number of sales, cost per impression, turnover, ROI. You should define them before the campaign. You adapt these KPIs according to the campaign objective, whether it focuses on branding or performance, and whether you want to generate traffic or sales/leads.
Focus on sponsored articles:
why they are a must A sponsored article can be part of the Content Commerce system, but it is an advertising contract between the advertiser and the publisher. It is written by the publisher in return for a fixed fee (to which CPA is often added).
Although it can have a negative and overly advertising image, the sponsored article, if well managed, can be integrated into an overall inbound marketing strategy. Here are some of its advantages:
- The topic corresponds to the interests of the media’s audience
- It is natively integrated
- It has an unlimited lifespan
- It benefits from the media’s search engine ranking
- It is SEO optimised by a team of specialised writers
- Control of the e-reputation. The advertiser controls the message and brand image and can review the content before publication.
- Long-term quality targeted traffic
- Presence at all stages of the buying process: awareness, consideration, decision
You can use the sponsored article to communicate a new product, an event, a promotional period, or highlight the brand’s expertise.
Daisycon can assist you in setting up performance-based Content Commerce campaigns with the publishers in its network that are most relevant to your brand. For example, this ranges from large generalist media such as Ladbible.com, Gentside, Marie France and Bunte.de to specialist media such as Sneakerjagers, Fashiola, Techradar, Chip.de and Expatica.
As a result, Content Commerce is therefore the result of a good mix between advertising and information. Delivering the right message to the right person at the right place triggers the purchase and ensures advertisers a performance-based advertising. In addition, Content commerce allows them to control their brand image and guarantees a presence at all stages of the customer journey on different touchpoints by multiplying affiliates.
Therefore, you should integrate content commerce into an acquisition strategy. More and more large generalist media are adopting it to generate revenue and are even dedicating a specialised division to develop offers adapted to customers.
Want to know more?
Contact me if you need help launching your affiliate program.
– Johanna Floris
Daisycon Senior Channel Manager France
