Craft Your Cross-Device Strategy

Since launch on May 24, we’ve shared a lot about what Cross-Device is, how it works, and why it’s valuable to you. But now that you’re informed on these topics, you may be wondering, “What’s next?” 

Once you enable Cross-Device, there are a few key ways you can make the most of this solution. For those of you who already enabled Cross-Device, we’ve got a simple, three-step approach to crafting a strategy for effectively using this solution.

*NOTE: If CJ Cross-Device is new to you, watch our overview video. You can also find it hosted on the Cross-Device article within the CJ Support Center.

Update Program & Communication

As publishers are now making a lot of decisions based on Cross-Device behavior, give them every chance to know that you’re Cross-Device enabled. Once you are enabled for Cross-Device, here are the key areas of your program to make sure are covered:

• Program Description: Highlight here that you’re enabled. Navigate to the Account > Network Profile page to find this, as well as your setup for your CJ Branded Sign-Up page.
• Branded Sign-Up Page: Mention Cross-Device here to inform publishers from outside the CJ network that you’re enabled.
• New Publisher Email: Include a note here to remind every publisher who joins your program, right in their inbox.
• Mobile Optimized Ad Sizes: Make sure you’re offering mobile banner sizes. Here’s what’s recommended by the Mobile Marketing Association:
  • 120x20 MMA Small Leaderboard
  • 168x28 MMA Medium Leaderboard
  • 200x200 Small Square
  • 216x36 MMA Large Leaderboard
  • 250x250 Square
  • 300x50 MMA X-Large Leaderboard
  • 300x250 Medium Rectangle
  • 320x50 MMA XX-Large Leaderboard
• Send a Newsletter: Announce that you’re enabled, so your joined publishers will know to make new opportunities available to you, and to improve their site algorithms.

Review Reporting & Data Insights

In Commission Detail Reporting, you’ll notice a new column called “Is Cross Device”. Transparency into Cross-Device transactions adds a powerful new frame of context to this report. There’s a lot of fields in this report, so focus on:

• Publisher & Website: Learn which partners are driving in Cross-Device customers.
• Device & Operating System: Take note of the devices consumers finish their transactions on, and the operating systems they use.
• Link ID: Examine which links are driving Cross-Device behavior, the offers or products tied to them, and the landing pages you’ve set as their Destination URLs.

Then, start asking big questions. Dig in to drive more sophisticated decisions around the offers, publishers, and customer experiences tied to your affiliate program. Here are some sample questions to get you started:

• How much time is passing between the Click Date and Event Date, for Cross-Device and non-Cross-Device transactions? Does it differ from publisher to publisher? Are there patterns you can see?
• Which publishers are driving more Cross-Device transactions than others? What’s unique about their Time to Conversion, product focus, or business model? Are you working as close as you could be together?
• Is Cross-Device driving different Average Order Values than non-Cross-Device transactions? Certain products? Why is that?

Optimize Publisher Relationships

Consider which publisher business models are driving you Cross-Device consumers, and then engage with them to find new growth. Publishers with Content and Social classifications are seeing the biggest impact from Cross-Device, which makes sense since so much of their content, and many of their experiences often target mobile readers and users. This is the time to pick up the phone and explore all the publisher opportunities that Cross-Device has opened up for the affiliate channel.

This checklist offers a simple, yet comprehensive approach to maximize the benefits of the Cross-Device solution. When used to its full capacity, Cross-Device allows you to learn more than ever about how consumers engage with affiliate, and to build stronger and more transparent relationships with the publishers you’ve been looking to grow with.