With only a few months to go until the next Finance Magnates London Summit (FMLS), we sat down with Jonathan Elkin, Sales Director at Rightlander. Mr. Elkin gave his perspective on the summit, as well as diving into the particulars of Rightlander and affiliates.
How was FMLS in November last year?
We were really impressed by how well-organised the event was, with various informative education sessions catering to different interests and expertise levels. It provided an excellent opportunity to meet clients, strengthen existing relationships, and forge new connections.
What did you learn?
One particularly interesting topic was the marketing compliance developments that have impacted regulated retail brokers. It was highlighted that affiliate marketing is now seen as a recession-proof acquisition channel, as it only requires payment based on performance.
This approach has allowed companies to capitalise on the increased number of traders brought on by the rise of crypto. We discussed imminent plans with FCA-regulated brokers like InterTrader and Advanced Markets to invest in their retail brokerage, offering affordable trading options driven by partnership models.
Additionally, the summit shed light on how different marketing channels are used to generate traffic by affiliates in different countries. For example, instant messaging platforms like Telegram are popular in Brazil, LINE is widely used in Thailand, and LinkedIn has a strong presence across Africa.
Furthermore, following CySEC's announcement in March 2022 about investing in surveillance tools, CIFs are now exercising increased caution when it comes to governing influencer activity across social media. This heightened awareness, and vigilance will ensure that brokers focus on developing their marketing compliance processes in line with the evolving regulatory landscape.
Was anything missing from the event?
Perhaps not “missing”, but it was unfortunate that the FCA’s CEO letter to CFD brokers was published the week after FMLS! Discussing the contents of that letter with the regulated firms present would have been incredibly valuable.
Recently after this letter was published, we were made aware of instances where customers had claimed compensation for being misled by affiliate marketing. This underscores the importance of firms being vigilant and proactive in managing their affiliate relationships. If the letter had been published earlier, we could have engaged in deeper conversations regarding how firms can (a) maintain awareness of their affiliates' content, (b) assess live examples against the FCA's Handbook, and (c) discuss robust mechanisms for ongoing monitoring and remediation.
"All firms should consider their use of affiliates and must have robust due diligence for their onboarding and ongoing monitoring"
The summit would have been an excellent platform for sharing best practices, discussing potential challenges, and exploring innovative solutions to ensure compliance with the FCA's guidelines.
In a sentence, what would your message be to retail brokers thinking about investing in an affiliate program?
Affiliate marketing is a cost effective, credible and effective way of acquiring new customers if you partner with ethical affiliates who are transparent and follow regulatory and partnership guidelines.
How can brokers reduce the risk of working with untrustworthy affiliates?
Since anyone can become an affiliate, and not everyone prioritises the company's reputation over making money, it's crucial to grow an affiliate program carefully.
Firstly, brokers should thoroughly screen potential new affiliates by examining their historical content for suitability. This includes assessing their past performance, credibility, and alignment with the company's values and regulations. By doing so, they can gain an understanding of the affiliate's approach to marketing and ensure that they adhere to the required standards.
Secondly, brokers need to establish adequate controls for overseeing their affiliates’ online content. This may involve adopting dedicated compliance technology like Rightlander.com to regularly audit affiliates’ advertising across key acquisition channels - such as SEO, PPC, social media and instant messaging - and create a centralised workflow to quickly update any live infractions found. Establishing clear communication channels with affiliates and providing them with guidelines, training, and support can also help to mitigate the risk of non-compliance.
Finally, what's on the horizon for Rightlander in 2023?
As we look ahead to 2023, Rightlander has several exciting developments on the horizon that will further enhance our offerings and services.
Firstly, we plan to expand our video streamer monitoring capabilities by adding TikTok and Twitch to our roster alongside YouTube. This addition will complement our existing coverage across Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, providing a more comprehensive monitoring solution across popular social media platforms.
Secondly, we will continue to enhance the workflows in our customer portal. Our focus will be on streamlining the process of reviewing and remediating active risks, helping clients to manage their affiliate relationships more effectively and reduce time spent maintaining compliance.
Lastly, Rightlander is committed to providing teams with relevant insights that help to optimise their affiliate programs. We will imminently be launching a new service helping advertisers, agencies, networks and B2B platforms to identify high quality affiliates that present new traffic opportunities.
Rightlander will also be exhibiting at FMLS 2023 in November and is already looking forward to seeing everyone there!
