Editor’s Note: Originally published on Aug. 8, 2023, last updated on May 28, 2024.
You’ve probably heard of influencer marketing on Amazon. But is it right for you? Find out how to leverage social influence in your Amazon product promotions to boost brand awareness and engagement for free.
Influencer marketing on Amazon is a powerful way to promote your products. When you partner up with influencers who have a large following in your target market, it can grow your business in a variety of ways. It can expand your audience, boost Amazon engagement, generate more sales, and enhance your Amazon brand awareness. Here’s why…
What is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing is a partnership between brands and influencers. These are individuals with extensive social influence in their field. They can use it to reach vast audiences across social media platforms and generate interest and sales. The object of this partnership is to promote products or services.
Amazon Influencers Vs. Affiliates
Terms like “influencer” and “affiliate” are used interchangeably. But they refer to very different business models that target and convert different types of customers. Here’s what sets Amazon influencers and affiliates (a.k.a. associates) apart:
- Amazon Associates are product users and reviewers with their own blogs or websites. They share unique, geo-located affiliate links from one or several Amazon marketplaces on their pages. Also, they can access aStores. These are shopping widgets that recreate the Amazon experience on the affiliate’s website or social media page. Anyone with an active website can join, regardless of readership. When they do, they earn referral fees from the sale of products globally.
Amazon Influencers have their own Amazon storefront or vanity page (one per marketplace). On it, they have custom URLs, headers and profile photos. They can add live streams, Idea Lists, Bounties, and shoppable photos or videos. To qualify, they must have a large following and high engagement rates via active business accounts on social media (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube). They earn a commission from orders placed by local buyers only. Also, they don’t need to review items.
How Amazon Influencer Marketing Works
Amazon has a million-strong army of influencers. According to Source Approach, it’s responsible for over 37% of traffic. Amazon doesn’t edit or monitor their content. But they offer training and various benefits to help boost their sales, as seen below.
Influencers come in all shapes and sizes- from nano-influencers with 1,000 followers, to mega-influencers with millions. It’s not just Gen Z-ers with a YouTube channel, either. Media outlets and large publications are also turning into Amazon influencers as print media weakens.
Whatever the flavor, they produce new content all the time. Some of it’s evergreen (blogs, YouTube tutorials). Most of it is time-limited (social media posts and ads). Finally, some of it is streamed live with real-time chat and interactive emoji, as seen below.
Anyone who applies to the influencer program on Amazon and is accepted must register with the Amazon Associates Program using the dedicated Influencer field. They can then create their Store, add products, and share links on social media.
They only get paid when somebody views their ad on their socials, clicks on the link, gets redirected to the Store, and places an order. This is a category-based commission of 1% -20% from Amazon. But not just for that specific product. They’re paid for anything else the buyer orders in the next 24 hours.
Benefits of Influencer Marketing on Amazon
There are many benefits to influencer marketing on Amazon, including:
- Increased brand awareness. Influencers can have a substantial following that may not even use Amazon yet. Take, for example, pre-teens without buyer accounts, pet owners who enjoy in-store shopping, outdoor enthusiasts who only buy gear vetted by specialists, etc.
- Increased sales. With influencer marketing on Amazon, you can tap into people’s FOMO and impulse buying behavior, for example. So, you benefit from new revenue streams.
- Improved search engine ranking. Viral products with branded search terms can take up a lot of space on Amazon search results, sometimes even above the fold. That’s just how the A10 algorithm works.
- More customer engagement. Influencers are trusted digital trendsetters. They have a shortcut to their followers’ minds. So, they are best placed to create the kind of content they can engage with.
- Trackable results. Affiliates can use tracking IDs to see which links generated a sale. But influencers have the earnings report with the “Link Type Performance tab” built in.
Cost-effective marketing. Amazon covers the marketing costs. This brings your ACoS down and it saves you time. So, influencer marketing can be a low-cost alternative to PPC campaigns and other forms of paid advertising.
Ways to Reach Amazon Influencers
- Try influencer marketing platforms that connect brands to influencers using ‘finder’, ‘discovery’ or search tools like Heepsy and Storyclash.
- Look at the influencers your competitors are using, as well as their own competitors on the influencer market.
- Search Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to collaborate directly with influencers. Go through all their text (i.e., click More or expand the post) to see if they share their Amazon storefront links.
- Look them up on Amazon. Simply replace the green section of this URL with their own social media handle: https://www.amazon.com/shop/oursodakfarmhouse?ref=prof_o_infl
- On the homepage, click the All tab to the far left. Select Shop by Interest from the drop-down menu. Browse through categories for posts from an influencer (who “earns commission”).
- Look up hashtags like #FoundItOnAmazon, #AmazonFinds, and #AmazonInfluencer. To narrow it down, add a year, the target user, the type of product, etc.
- Look up Amazon influencers in your niche on Google.
- Browse the Amazon Live gallery of shoppable videos.
- Once you pinpoint an influencer, follow them for a few days to see what they post on all their channels, socials, and blogs.
- Engage with them on their platforms to see how responsive they are.
- Reach out to them directly and ask if they can include your products in their content on blogs, buying guides, livestream, and social media posts.
- Check that they can provide reviews, giveaways, and viral marketing, as well as display your products on their Amazon storefronts.
- Keep in touch and offer their viewership freebies and coupons every now and then.
How to Choose the Right Influencers
Every influencer has an established brand voice that may or may not gel with yours. When choosing influencers for your Amazon product promotion, you should check that they are a good fit for your business, brand, and product range by looking at factors like:
- Follower count. The size of an influencer’s following can be a good indicator for page views.
- Engagement rate. This is a good indicator for the sales volume you can expect to have.
- Niche. Influencer marketing on Amazon won’t make much of a difference to your bottom line if the influencer doesn’t have a following, clout, and expertise in products like yours.
- Personal flair. Influencers can carry out an Amazon product promotion in a variety of ways. They can try to convince people with style match guides, “behind the scenes” videos, and real-time demos. But viewers will only engage if they can relate and they want to emulate the influencer.
Influencer Marketing Campaigns on Amazon
Once you’ve made up your mind about which influencer you want to headline your Amazon product promotion and you’ve got them on board, it’s time to set up a campaign. Here’s how you go about bringing your ideas for influencer marketing on Amazon to life:
- Select the content. Prepare the logos, images, certifications, testimonials, and any other branded content you want the influencer to use. Before you share your intellectual property with an influencer, put some rules in place to ensure that they are discreet and careful with it.
- Sponsored posts. Ask an influencer to create posts about your product in their own style. Go over their drafts, checking that their approach, tone, and phrasing matches your brand.
- Giveaways. Set aside some freebies and think of the channels likely to generate the highest level of engagement. Think about your requirements for the winners (e.g., liking, following, sharing photos of your freebies in real-life situations).
- Bespoke discount codes. Everyone enjoys a nice promo code, especially when it makes them feel special. Think of ways to show that this is an exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
- Brand ambassadors. Come up with a list of existing users that love your products and would appreciate being connected to the influencer through tags and photos.
- Influencer briefs. Draft your briefs so that influencers, brand ambassadors, and giveaway winners know what’s expected of them and how they can make the most of this opportunity to showcase your brand.
- Result tracking. Depending on the type of relationship the influencer has with Amazon and with the brand, you may be able to measure estimated monthly clicks and views on social media, as well as attribution through tracking IDs, earning reports, and Amazon Attribution analytics.
Influencer marketing on Amazon is a powerful tool. It’s not just for brand owners, either. Sellers can wield it too. With the right kind of Amazon product promotion, they can magnify their reach, brand awareness, engagement, and sales. Also, with the right influencer, they can deliver more relevant promotions and more meaningful content that truly resonates with their customer base.
Melanie takes an active interest in all things Amazon. She keeps an eye on the latest developments and keeps Amazon sellers up to speed.