[ad_1]
Driving online traffic and converting prospects into customers is a surefire way for brands to boost their business in a digital-first world. There are multiple digital marketing channels that can help increase brand awareness. However, businesses seeking cost-effective and targeted marketing to achieve the highest return on advertising spend (ROAS) often find such promotional costs to be disproportionately high.
If your brand is looking to increase its visibility on search engines or social media, or pays a lot of money to use celebrity influencers, you can be sure your campaign will reach your target audience and increase sales. There are no guarantees.
One way out of this “ask for it” cost trap is affiliate marketing, where marketers earn a commission on every sale/conversion. This means brands only pay for actual sales through affiliate partners, allowing them to more closely align marketing efforts with performance-based outcomes and reduce bloated budgets. can.
Sales and marketing experts Saurabh Singh and Rahul Jain understood this situation inside out. But they also understood the need to integrate the technological leaps of the digital age into their marketing solutions to increase their brand presence.
Together with AI/ML expert Nagender Sangra, the two founded the AI-driven affiliate marketing startup Flickstree. Flickstree uses SMART AI to automatically generate content that acts as an attention-grabbing enabler.
Flickstree currently works with over 500 publisher partners and receives commissions for traffic generation (including lead generation and sales conversion) to branded affiliate links. In addition to this, Flickstree’s AI also allows publishers to create AI-generated landing pages that embed affiliate links. The startup also leverages its in-house data management platform (DMP), which serves 85 million users, to account for key data points (purchase history, location, brand loyalty, etc.) to deliver targeted reach. Identify prospects.
Flickstree was founded in 2016, when the impact of generative AI (GenAI) across industry segments was yet to take root. Nevertheless, the founders were confident in their business model, given the rise of content consumption and affiliate marketing around the world.
“What we saw was $36 billion global marketis growing at a 7% CAGR and we decided it was worth innovating in this space,” said Nagender Sangra, co-founder and CTO of Flickstree. Currently, Flickstree has partnered with over 200 of his travel, e-commerce, SaaS, fashion and other brands across India, US, UK, EU, Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Flickstree patented its SMART AI video creator (more on that later) and raised $8 million from Venture Catalyst++ and a number of investors including 9Unicorns, Samsung Ventures, FbStart, and more.
Inside Flickstree’s suite of services
Before starting his own business, Singh was a marketing professional at Asian Paints. Jain was a digital he marketing expert who ran the 2012 Olympic campaign for YouTube India, and Sangra was her AI/ML expert with multiple patents.
So, the AI-driven affiliate marketing space sounded appealing and as the hottest medium, content was the way to go. Flickstree is up and running after three years of experimentation and iteration, and is ready for partners to run campaigns for his brand to increase awareness, strengthen engagement, and drive sales. Partner brands are only charged a portion of the revenue from successful conversions.
To drive traffic to these brands, Flickstree has partnered with a variety of publishers, allowing each to offer unique affiliate links. But unlike other players, the startup is enabling publishers to offer research-based, content-rich videos for free at scale.
Additionally, publishers can also create AI-generated web pages where they can embed their own affiliate links, such as sales pages, blogs, no-scroll landing pages, video web pages, and more.
The startup tracks affiliate marketing efforts through effective performance metrics. “We have implemented a robust system that allows a user to create his profile based on geographic location, content preferences, brand affinity and propensity for his online shopping,” he said. I am.
“This allows us to create the right content strategy and tailor marketing efforts seamlessly to a brand’s target audience. In essence, it optimizes the performance of Flick Street campaigns.” Sangra said.
Flickstree gives publishers access to a single dashboard that provides complete transparency into user engagement, conversions, and revenue share. Current campaigns will be displayed, so transaction data and more, allowing publishers to track product sales and calculate commissions in real-time.
Considering startup revenue, Revenue for FY23 will be $7.5 million, up 150% from $3 million in the previous fiscal year, and the company is targeting $12 million, a 60% increase over the current fiscal year. This elaborate tracking and analysis system has proven to be an important part of our affiliate marketing toolkit.
It further claims that it had sales worth $15 million in FY22, which increased to $80 million in FY23.
“Our significant year-over-year revenue growth demonstrates our market responsiveness,” said Sangra.
How Flickstree ups the game with patented technology SMART AI
In an era of increasing automation, GenAI can reduce the time and cost of video production (think saving on expensive software and highly paid editors) once the relevant data is fed into the system.
Building on that principle, Flickstree inputs minimal brand details into its patented video maker SMART AI to create SEO-friendly video scripts and titles based on trends and brand-specific keywords.
Its advanced features also allow it to provide optimal AI-generated narration, brand logos, thumbnails, and color schemes. All in all, the unique script is smoothly integrated with transaction-focused video clips that help drive sales and user engagement.
The startup also expanded its services in August 2023 by allowing publishers to create landing pages with one click. Publishers can leverage AI to automatically create template designs and colors based on user input or the publisher’s website design language.
You can also create your landing page manually, as Flickstree offers multiple templates that you can edit in the same dashboard. Once your landing page is created, it will be available for download from the same dashboard. Once the landing page is ready, the publisher can host it for free on his Flickstree provided servers.
Singh said publishers will soon be able to promote campaigns from the same dashboard without having to log into a separate ad network to promote those pages.
Then comes the most important part, data-driven targeting, which builds strong connections with your brand’s target audience/potential customers. Flickstree’s smart data management platform leverages the data of his 85 million users divided into various categories based on purchase behavior, marketing demographics, content selection, and loyalty factors.
Marketers obtain user data through browser cookies. This is a procedure that is fully compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation as approved by the EU. We also employ robust security measures to protect all data stored on our platform.
“Flickstree ensures that user consent is obtained before data is collected and that robust security measures are in place to protect this data,” Sangra said.
Essentially, Flickstree is building a “OneClick Suite” to provide affiliate marketing publishers with a full range of tools to enhance affiliate income, Singh said. “To make this proposition even stronger, the startup is using Gen AI to create the assets needed for affiliate marketing success in one click,” he added.
Aiming for global growth with support from investors
Flickstree’s innovative approach has resonated with prominent investors. Some of them include Venture Catalyst++/9Unicorns, Samsung Ventures, SOSV, FbStart and former cricketer Sourav Ganguly.
According to Singh, Venture Catalyst++ did more than provide funding. It provided much-needed mentorship to help the startup grow. “The VCats mentors helped shape our business model and provided valuable guidance throughout our journey. Additionally, they connected us with startup founders from different sectors. , which expanded our learning horizons.”
The startup also expanded globally after securing funding. $5 million pre-Series B “After raising funding, Flickstree entered the US, UK, Middle East, and Southeast Asia and strengthened its technology, talent, and marketing efforts,” Singh said.
With the support of VCats, Flickstree aims to become one of the top 0.1% affiliate marketing platforms, the CEO said.
By way of background, Venture Catalysts++ has been at the forefront of AI investors in India. In addition to Flickstree, we have supported AI startups in various fields, including Callify, AI Health Highway, ClanConnect, and Easy To Pitch.
The path forward for Flickstree
GenAI is committed to bringing about rapid and innovative change to develop capability building across sales, marketing, commerce, and services.
Recent the study It is also clear that this technology could increase global productivity by $4.4 trillion over the next few decades, while increasing sales productivity by 3-5% and marketing spending by 5-15%. I’m doing it.
Naturally, this is a powerful growth driver, requiring companies like Flickstree to improve and leverage their cutting-edge AI assets and data models for diverse uses.
However, despite Flickstree’s pioneering position, the field will be highly competitive. Several platforms such as Rephrase.ai, Detect Technologies, and Navikenz are already up and running with AI-driven marketing, and the partnership is driving efficiency and results to enhance their marketing.. “And then there are global affiliate marketing platforms like Commission Junction and Awin, who want to protect their territory,” Singh said of global competitors.
Over the next three to five years, Sangra plans to improve Flickstree’s tracking and analytics capabilities and expand its network of publisher and brand partnerships to keep up with the rapidly growing market. Without revealing much, Frickstreet said: Two other features (Research Suite and Promotions Suite) are in development. We’re also working on a training academy to help publishers work more efficiently.
The founders are in discussions with potential and existing investors to achieve these goals. “We are considering raising a Series B round to explore new markets and introduce more advanced technology,” Singh said.
Regarding future trends, Singh said generative AI will revolutionize marketing by automating content creation and enabling personalized campaigns. Leverage AI to analyze your data for valuable insights, optimize your SEO strategy, and speed up your A/B testing to efficiently execute your marketing campaigns. “The next three years will see the implementation of his AI-driven marketing model based on the human touch,” he said.
Meanwhile, GenAI will spark the next wave of technology disruption, enabling brands and publishers to delight their customers. With its dynamic capabilities and adaptability, the affiliate marketing environment will continue to thrive.
When it comes to Flickstree and its ilk, staying informed and being proactive will help you maximize the potential of GenAI and pave the way for long-term growth.
Note: We at Inc42 take ethics very seriously. Learn more about.
[ad_2]
Source link
