Social Media Is In Decline — Your Next Move? Partnership Marketing

While social media titans like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have each had long-standing reputations as the go-to platforms for digital marketing, their prominence is falling quickly. Though usage among consumers remains relatively flat, advertisers aren’t seeing the returns they expect from their marketing dollars. The ROI simply isn’t there. It’s time to stop investing in expensive paid advertising and allocate marketing dollars to outcomes-based partnership marketing.

Social media is so yesterday

While consumers still regularly use and engage with various social media apps, the platforms are all facing their own sets of challenges. For example, Meta (the corporation behind Facebook and Instagram) is battling declining user rates as younger consumers leave the platforms for other options like TikTok. To cope with the losses, Meta introduced higher advertising costs, driving many businesses away. Twitter has its own concerns. Elon Musk recently purchased the company and introduced various changes that are now scaring off some advertisers. Numerous companies, including GM, Pfizer, and Audi, have paused their advertising efforts until they know more about Twitter’s future direction. And finally, while TikTok is currently the darling of social media, it faces regulatory concerns. China’s ByteDance owns the company, and as a result, U.S. regulators are paying close attention to the service for evidence of Chinese government interference.

Why partnership marketing is the future

With steadily increasing prices and low returns for marketing efforts, online pay-per-click advertising simply isn’t the moneymaker it once was. The problems that existing social media platforms face do nothing but add to the issue. The time has come for an adjustment to digital marketing strategies. After all, it makes no sense to throw money away into advertising services that aren’t providing a return. It’s time to move to outcomes. Partnership marketing — including affiliate, influencer, brand-to-brand, and more — gives brands more control over advertising spending. With partnership marketing, payments come from outcomes, and less is left to chance. For example, let’s say you are a direct-to-consumer company that sells engagement and wedding rings. Through your partnership marketing program, you might partner with:

• Websites focused on having budget-friendly weddings
• Engagement/wedding ring review sites
• Affiliates who have the capability to promote sign-ups for your “free ring sizer kit,” thus driving high-value leads for you

The partner’s efforts focus on specific results (e.g., driving sales, leads, new customers), and the brand pays them after they’ve delivered that desired result. In other words, you’re paying for actual outcomes. Now, companies don’t have to throw thousands of dollars toward pay-per-click ads on Facebook or Instagram and wait for results that may not come. Instead, brands can invest in partnership marketing, which makes it possible to partner with individuals or companies (in the form of affiliates, publishers, and partners) to track and measure their performance — and do so in an efficient, scalable, and cost-effective way.

Moving to outcomes

Companies watching their marketing dollars disappear with pay-per-click ads on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter may want to shift tactics. Amid the current economy, brands can expect consumers to be cautious and intentional with their purchases, making partnership marketing the ideal investment channel. Its unique selling point is that it is measured by outcomes, offering brands a meaningful way to track the success of marketing activities. Partnership marketing offers potentially higher returns with less investment. You’ll grow your business with the right strategy while minimizing losses from inefficient pay-per-click campaigns. You won’t need to worry about spending your valuable budget on ineffective ads that don’t convert. Instead, you’ll only pay for the ones that do. Partnership marketing grants businesses access to audiences they don’t currently have. Organizations that form effective partnerships with other brands don’t have to build up their brand name with this new audience; the partner handles that for them. Further, audiences who are strong followers of the partner will trust their recommendations and likely consider them for purchase if they’re in the market for the product. Partnership marketing doesn’t only benefit businesses; it can also add value to existing customers. If the organization forms a relationship with a partner who offers a product that can help its audience, customers will likely appreciate it. For instance, a cruise company may benefit from partnering with an airline. Both companies can promote one another’s services to their customer base, and clients can benefit from potential discounts when they purchase a flight and a cruise from both organizations.  

Experience real returns with partnership marketing

While powerful, partnership marketing isn’t straightforward. As such, you’ll want to work with an experienced partnership marketing management agency specializing in the service to reap the rewards. Acceleration Partners is that agency.

Reach out to us today and learn more about how our partnership marketing services can positively benefit your organization

Author: Acceleration Partners