This is a live blog post from AMDays presented by Lisa Picarille.
Types of Trends
- Pop Culture – movies, music, fashion, technology, etc
- In the News – based on an events that take place or people that make headlines right now
- Celebrity, Personalities, people in the news – people the mean stream public are talking about
- Fads – these are more “out there” and not likely to last
- General – Design (Vintage, etc)
Spotting Trends
- Observing – TV, movies, music, magazines, language used in ads, people on the street, colours, behaviours, etc
- Personal Experience – what’s happening with your kids, friends, family
- Using Search – actively seeking trends and keywords
- Social media, Crowd sourcing
- Listening to your affiliates
Let Affiliates Help!
- Affiliates reach audiences you might not have access too
- Affiliates have loyal audiences
- Affiliates have built in trust and authority
- Affiliates are seeing things you might miss
- Affiliates specialize in niche topics
- Affiliates let you experiment without spending lots of money on campaigns
- Affiliates can expand your brand via social media.
Encouraging Affiliate Participation
- Include info in newsletter about subjects or trends you are looking into
- Making trend discussions part of the regular talks / communications with affiliates
- Don’t auto approve affiliates
- Create a calendar for affiliates about upcoming things that are trending or seasonal trends
- Ask affiliates to submit ideas news trends
- Offer special incentives for really cool ideas or base it on performance
- Run contests among affiliates to come up with ideas for quick campaigns based on trends or fads.
Monetizing Trends
- Content – Microsites vs niche sites, specific pages, blogs, etc
- Offers – where to find offers that are related to trends
- Using Search – how to get ranked for trends
Measuring for ROI
- Set expectations
- Determine what success is for your business (more likes, more fan, more revenue, larger order value)
- Select specific affiliates so you can more closely monitor them
- Know your numbers
Be aware of what’s happening in your industry but be aware what’s happening in the general public that you can spin sales around, such as the World Cup in Brazil or the birth of the new King in England, and how you can leverage those trends through affiliates.