The world has an attention crisis.
Every day, consumers are bombarded by emails, WhatsApps, Slack notifications, social media updates, and breaking news alerts. It’s little wonder that the average period of sustained attention on a single screen has fallen from around 150 seconds in 2004 to less than 50 seconds today.
For affiliates, this presents a challenge. Many of the formats that once drove engagement are no longer guaranteed to deliver results. Long-form reviews and comparison pages now compete with TikTok videos, short-form content, live streams, online communities, and creators who seamlessly blend entertainment with recommendations.
The challenge isn’t simply producing more content. It’s producing content that audiences actually choose to engage with.
Fortunately, affiliates are far from powerless. Understanding what captures attention, builds trust, and keeps audiences coming back will be a major theme of this year’s Affiliate Leaders Summit agenda and the focus of the panel Content That Still Cuts Through: What Audiences Actually Engage With Now.
The session will explore four key questions facing affiliates today:
- Why are some content formats losing engagement?
- What can affiliates learn from creators and influencers?
- Which channels are still capable of building loyal audiences?
- What content actually earns attention in 2026?
In this blog, we’ll examine the forces reshaping content discovery, explore why creators are winning audience attention, and highlight the strategies affiliates can use to remain visible in an increasingly competitive digital landscape.
Why Traditional Content Is Losing Ground
Affiliate marketing was built in the age of search.
For years, the formula was relatively simple. Consumers searched Google for terms such as “best betting sites” or “best casino bonuses”, and affiliates competed to ensure their content appeared first.
The model worked because search was the dominant way people discovered new brands online.
Today, however, audience behaviour is changing.
Reports suggest 67% of Gen Z consumers use Instagram to discover content, while 62% use TikTok. Google, once the undisputed starting point for online discovery, was used by 61% of respondents. The message is clear: search is no longer the only place where attention is won or lost.
So how do affiliates adapt?
The answer is not to abandon traditional content, but to rethink how it is created and distributed. This means meeting audiences where they spend their time, whether that’s on social media, YouTube, podcasts, newsletters, or online communities, and creating content that feels native to those platforms, from short-form video to creator-led storytelling.
Affiliates also need to think beyond traditional SEO. As AI becomes increasingly embedded into search, content must be optimised not only for search engines, but also for the systems helping users discover information. The future belongs to affiliates that can combine strong SEO foundations with emerging Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) principles.
Why Creators Are Winning Attention
One of the biggest beneficiaries of the shift in how audiences find content is the creator economy.
As audiences spend more time on social media platforms, they are increasingly discovering new products, services, and brands through creators rather than traditional websites.
The reason is simple. Creators often succeed where brands struggle because they combine information with entertainment.
A traditional affiliate review might tell a user which betting site offers the best odds. A creator can deliver the same information while telling a story, sharing an experience, or building a community around it.
Just as importantly, creators feel human. Audiences follow them over time, become familiar with their personalities, and develop a level of trust that can be difficult for a standalone website to replicate.
The stats back this up, with 83% of social media users saying they follow an influencer, and a further 35% said they were likely to buy a product based on a recommendation by an influencer.
For affiliates, this doesn’t mean abandoning traditional content. It means understanding why creators are proving so effective and applying those lessons to their own strategies. The affiliates seeing the greatest success today are often those combining strong editorial content with video, social media, community building, and creator-led storytelling.
How Affiliates Can Use This to Their Advantage
It’s easy to assume that the solution to declining engagement is simply producing more content.
In reality, many affiliates are already publishing more articles, videos, social posts, and promotional materials than ever before. The challenge is that audiences now have more choice than ever before too.
The opportunity lies not in producing more content, but in producing content that stands for something.
The affiliates gaining traction are often those that have moved beyond generic comparison pages and broad keyword targeting. Instead, they are building recognisable brands, developing expertise within specific niches, and creating content that audiences actively seek out and trust.
In an increasingly crowded market, trust has become a competitive advantage. The affiliates best positioned for long-term success are those building communities, developing a clear editorial voice, and giving audiences a reason to return beyond a single search query.
Panel: Content That Still Cuts Through: What Audiences Actually Engage With Now
The Affiliate Leaders Summit is all about providing solutions for how the affiliate industry is changing.
That’s why the event’s conference will feature the session Content That Still Cuts Through: What Audiences Actually Engage With Now, dedicated to helping affiliates understand what modern audiences actually engage with and why.
Taking place on Wednesday, 30 September, the panel will bring together affiliate leaders to examine how audience behaviour is changing and what that means for content strategies going forward.
The discussion will focus on how affiliates can attract attention, build trust, and create lasting audience relationships in an increasingly competitive digital landscape. As audiences spend more time engaging with creators, communities, and short-form content, the session will explore how successful businesses are adapting their strategies to remain relevant.
During the session, attendees will discover:
- Which content formats are generating the strongest engagement in 2026
- What affiliates can learn from creators, influencers, and community-led brands
- How leading affiliates are adapting their tone, format, and distribution strategies
- What separates content that builds loyalty from content that simply generates traffic
Meet the Experts
The conversation will be guided by experts from both the affiliate and operator side of the equation, with expertise in creating content that audiences actively engage with.
- Jamil Qanai, Director of Commercial, LiveScore: Few businesses understand audience retention better than LiveScore. In his role as Director of Commercial, Qanai has helped grow and monetise one of the world’s most engaged sports audiences, with more than 50 million monthly active users relying on the platform for scores, statistics, and live updates. His experience offers a valuable case study in how utility, trust, and habit-forming content can create lasting audience relationships and open the door to wider commercial opportunities, including the launch of LiveScore Bet.
- James Connelley, Chief International Officer, Virgin Bet: Connelley brings insight into how Virgin uses marketing, partnerships, and brand-building to capture audience attention in competitive markets. With customer acquisition becoming increasingly challenging, his perspective offers valuable lessons on creating campaigns and experiences that cut through the noise and build lasting engagement.
- Greg Lacan, Co-Founder, UniK SEO: With decades of experience in SEO, Lacan will offer insight into how content strategies are adapting as search behaviour changes. His perspective is particularly relevant as affiliates look to balance traditional SEO with social discovery, creator-led content, and emerging AI-driven search experiences.
- Javier Rodríguez, Head of Affiliation & Digital Marketing Manager, Afiliapub: Rodríguez works at the intersection of affiliate partnerships and digital marketing, providing a practical perspective on the content formats, channels, and strategies helping affiliates attract and retain audiences in an increasingly crowded market.
- Sue Dawson, Operations Director, FTD Digital: Dawson brings extensive experience from the affiliate side of the industry, offering insight into how businesses can build stronger brands, create more engaging content, and develop long-term audience relationships rather than relying solely on short-term traffic gains.
Final Thoughts
The challenge facing affiliates is no longer simply getting found. It’s earning attention in a world where audiences have more choice than ever before. That’s what makes Content That Still Cuts Through: What Audiences Actually Engage With Now such an important discussion. Bringing together experts from affiliate, operator, media, and SEO backgrounds, the session will explore how businesses can attract attention, build trust, and create lasting audience relationships in an increasingly competitive digital landscape.
Secure Your Place at Affiliate Leaders Summit
The session, Content That Still Cuts Through: What Audiences Actually Engage With Now, forms part of the Affiliate Leaders Summit conference programme, taking place from 29 September to 1 October at the Feira Internacional de Lisboa and MEO Arena in Lisbon.
Secure your Affiliate Leaders Summit VIP Pass today for €599 and gain access to the Affiliate Leaders Summit conference, exhibition, and networking events, as well as every conference stage, exhibition floor, and networking opportunity across the wider SBC Summit.
