INSIGHT
FOUR CONTENT STRATEGIES
FOR BUILDING AUTHORITY
AND TRUST WITH MILLENNIALS
Millennials give much more thought to buying choices than we give them credit for, says Corey Padveen
of t2 Marketing International. Foremost in their minds is trust — this is how you build it
MARKETERS OFTEN MAKE
the dangerous mistake of not giving
Millennial consumers enough credit.
They’re not given enough credit when
it comes to their willingness to spend,
their loyalty and, perhaps most of all,
their consumer intelligence. Despite
some superficial appearances, Millennials
don’t make decisions in a vacuum and
give much more thought to buying
choices than what we marketers tend
to believe. One factor that all too often
gets overlooked with regards to how
Millennials choose one option over
another is trust. Affiliate marketers in
particular focus a much more significant
portion of their efforts on search rankings
rather than content and value, and
although that might work for short-term
gains, longevity depends on a deeper
connection with Millennial players.
Authority and trust go hand in hand.
The path of least resistance one should
take to achieve the coveted status that
includes both these qualities is one that
relies heavily on your content. An initial
click or conversion may be the result of an
offer that players deem too good to pass
up, but to keep these individuals coming
back to your property time and time again,
you’ll need to rely on assets that go beyond
a one-time deal or bonus. Creating —
on an ongoing basis — content that your
players can’t live without will help you to
achieve that level of authority as well as
establish a relationship built on trust that
drives long-term engagement and loyalty.
This list of four strategies for content
development is by no means exhaustive.
There are always new tactics that can be
employed to help you evolve with your
audience and maintain your relationships
with players. What is outlined here is
merely a starting point from which you
can launch a new content initiative that
establishes your brand as a go-to for
Millennial players.
Provide consistent value
This is quite possibly the most important
point to remember when it comes t o the
content you create for your audience.
Players can go virtually anywhere for
scores, picks and offers. You need to give
them a reason — and a good one — to
keep coming back to you. Having a wide
selection of affiliate offers from a variety
of operators is a great start. Enhancing
that with value-added content makes your
position all the more strong.
“Whatever you decide to do, make sure it answers one
simple question: how is my audience made better off
by visiting my website and reading through my content?”
Affiliate times are a changing
Back when I joined the affiliate industry
I learnt my affiliate management skills
from others who had just a few years
experience in the job ahead of me.
Granted, the job of “affiliate manager”
has only been around a few years as part
of the online marketing function. It is less
than 20 years since the first referral link was
placed on a music site owned by Jeff Bezos,
which is why it’s still very much a work in
progress. Finding the skills required to fill
affiliate manager roles is still quite hard.
Affiliate marketing is still evolving and
therefore it makes sense that the role of
an affiliate account manager is changing
constantly too.
Value comes in many shapes and sizes.
Writing articles that provide expert insights
is perhaps the best way to both keep your
audience engaged and your authority
enhanced. Go in-depth with the reasons
for your picks. Create step-by-step guides
that can be used for poker, blackjack or
other casino games. Give people some
information about progressive slots and
how those bets work — that is something
that is certainly lacking when it comes to
slots online, and something that would
showcase your knowledge. Whatever
you decide to do, make sure it answers
one simple question: how is my audience
made better off by visiting my website and
reading through my content? If everything
iGB Affiliate Issue 65 OCT/NOV 2017
47