eMarketer was pleased to moderate a Tech-Talk Webinar featuring Brightcove's Lauren McHugh, senior product marketing manager. She discussed how video has proven to be one of the most effective ways to not only increase pipeline, but drive more leads.

The dominant digital path to purchase begins with a product search—often unbranded—during which the consumer demonstrates intent. They are subsequently delivered paid and organic results for relevant brands and retailers, steering them in the direction of a conversion event. But what about all those times when a consumer doesn’t know what they want? That’s the opportunity for discovery, and where social commerce platforms are beginning to fill the void.

Though the resulting conversions still mostly happen on retailer or brand sites, some publishers are now enabling transactions directly on their properties.

Conversion Strategy. The holy grail of social commerce—highly coveted but often elusive—is conversion. Motivating consumers from inspiration to action in a single session represents an almost impossibly short path to purchase in the broader context of social media. When social commerce conversion occurs, it’s usually due to impulse shopping.

Though the resulting conversions still mostly happen on retailer or brand sites, some publishers are now enabling transactions directly on their properties.

Conversion rates for emails are higher than social media, direct traffic, and search. In fact, according to the Data & Marketing Association, ROI on email is 42:1—making it a powerful outreach channel. But only when it’s set up for success.

December 2020 data from Omnisend showed that SMS conversion rates went up dramatically in 2020’s holiday season versus that of the year prior, including jumping from 0.8% in the first 21 days of November in 2019, to 2.5% in the same period in 2020.

Even if content publishers may not be the biggest source of retail conversions in the affiliate channel, they’re certainly a high-quality one. For advertisers seeking brand-safe, transparent partners, reputable publishers deliver exposure and qualified customers from among their audiences.

The development lets crypto providers bypass the fiat currency conversion process and instead route USDC payments directly to Visa. Payment providers are stepping up their crypto game as digital currencies heat up in the consumer market. Other card networks are jostling to establish themselves in the crypto space.