Luke Judge, CEO at Tapx, and Steve Cox, CEO and Founder of Planit, were the chairs for day two and kicked off the day by welcoming attendees back for another day of invaluable learning across two separate content tracks.
Now fully settled into the event, it was great to see so many conversations taking place across the Networking Village, impact.com’s Prosecco Lounge, Webgains’ Sports Bar, and for those wanting a quiet space to finalise those all-important deals, the Nookery Zone was the hot spot.
Myself and fellow journalist, Sol Wilkinson, were busy throughout the day conducting interviews with speakers and attendees. It was great to be able to sit down with speakers after their sessions to dig a little deep into the insight they hoped attendees would gain. We also did some digging and asked about trends and predictions for 2023. Keep your eyes peeled, as we will be reporting these findings on our brand new publication, Hello Partner, in the coming weeks.
Some of the sessions you missed
Influencers, Live Shopping & Social Commerce: Affiliate is the Ultimate Conversion Tactic
As we become more privy to the convergence between influencer, affiliate, and performance marketing, and with 74% of shoppers making buying decisions based on social recommendations and this kind of behaviour is not to be ignored, the discussions that took place during this panel were a real sign of the times.
If influencer marketing is something that piques your interest, our sister event, the Influencer Marketing Show, will be hosted at Old Billingsgate tomorrow – and it’s not too late to grab a ticket!
Until then, here are some of the top learnings from the session:
- If you’re considering implementing influencer marketing into your social shopping strategy, do it! But make sure you track each and every process, don’t wait until the end of the campaign to draw your reports.
- When looking at influencers to partner with, don’t automatically go for the macros with millions of followers. Mid-tier and micro influencers who target niche areas are often going to drive the best results and engagement.
- There are risks when working with humans rather than technology, you can’t treat an influencer like a billboard. But to ensure that you achieve what you want to achieve by allowing the influencer a sense of freedom, make sure those contracts are in place at the beginning, and thoroughly understood.
Fireside Chat with Boohoo: The Value of Unlocking the App for Affiliates
Some of the key takeaways from the session included:
- Apps can benefit different brands in different ways. An e-commerce brand like Boohoo may make an app that has the same functionality as its website but with a more seamless process to conversion, whereas a fintech brand may develop an app as a companion to its web platform.
- Excellent tracking is essential to nail when developing an app for your brand. When you can rave about your app’s tracking capabilities to your affiliates, this is what will keep them coming back.
- If there is a tech provider that can train and advise you to develop the best app possible, take all the help and advice you can get!
Lessons from 2008: What’s Next for the Recession-Era Affiliate Marketing Industry
Each year, PI LIVE is the ultimate hub for forward-thinking and discussions about the industry’s future. In order to future-proof your strategies, sometimes it’s helpful to look back in time. In this panel featuring professionals brimming with knowledge, we took a look at how we can apply lessons from 2008’s rescission to the current economic climate.
I was able to grab speaker Ben Helyar, from NetRev after the panel to dig a little deeper into the learnings, so stay tuned for our interview. If you can’t wait until then, here are some of the session key takeaways:
- We can expect to see an emphasis on the ‘lipstick effect’ as the recession looms. Consumers will still want to treat themselves to luxuries, but instead of investing in a Chanel bag, for example, they may instead go for a Chanel lipstick. So brands, make sure it’s the lipstick that you’re promoting.
- Even though it may seem like the most natural reaction to a decline in the economy, what you SHOULDN’T do is cut your investment in marketing. Those that keep on investing during testing times are those who remain strong and achieve lifelong brand value.
- Making sure that you’re aware of, and present on review sites will encourage consumers to trust your brand. Just be sure that you have a plan in place to avoid fake reviews and bots.
Join us in Miami
PI LIVE London may be over, but open your diary and grab a pen, as we will be headed to the US for the first edition of PI LIVE Miami in Q1 next year! The show will take place from 2nd-4th April 2023, with the US Partnership Awards ceremony taking place post-show on the 3rd (you can now explore the entry kit to get ahead of the game).
If you can’t wait until then, we would love for you to join us tomorrow at the Influencer Marketing Show, where there will be not two, but THREE stages with content covering all things influencer marketing and creator economy.
Influencers and brands being our top two demographics in attendance, so you’ll be sure to find heaps of potential partners and countless opportunities to forge new relationships and nurture existing ones.
PI LIVE London attendees are entitled to a 15% discount on IMS London tickets, just use the code PI LIVE at checkout.
