You’re 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.
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Influencer marketing on Amazon is a powerful way to promote your products. Partnering with influencers who have a large following in your target market 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 with the object of promoting products or services. Influencers are individuals with extensive social influence in their field. They can use this influence to reach vast audiences across social media platforms, generating interest and sales.
Amazon Influencers Vs. Affiliates
Even though terms like “influencer” and “affiliate” are used interchangeably, they refer to entirely different business models. You can be both, but your eligibility, reach, customer base, and monetization options are different. Here’s how Amazon influencers and affiliates (aka associates) differ:
- Amazon Associates are product users and reviewers with their own blogs or websites. They share unique, geo-located affiliate links provided by 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, earning 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. Only people with active business accounts on social media (Facebook/ Instagram/ YouTube), a substantial following, and high engagement rates can qualify. They earn a commission from orders placed by local buyers only. Also, they don’t need to review items.
How Amazon Influencer Marketing Works
Individuals who apply to the influencer program on Amazon and are accepted must then 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.
When somebody views their ad on social media, clicks on the link, gets redirected to the Store, and places an order, the influencer gets a category-based commission of 1%-10% 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 using influencer marketing on Amazon, including:
- Increased brand awareness. Influencers can have a substantial following that may otherwise not use Amazon, such as 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 benefit from new revenue streams, tapping into people’s FOMO and impulse buying behavior.
- 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.
- Increased customer engagement. Influencers are trusted digital trendsetters with shortcuts 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, while influencers have the earnings report with the “Link Type Performance tab” built in.
- Cost-effective marketing. Since Amazon covers the marketing costs, 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 influencer ‘finder’, ‘discovery’ or search tools.
- Search Instagram and TikTok to collaborate directly with influencers who can provide reviews, giveaways, and viral marketing, as well as display your products on their Amazon storefronts.
- Look them up on Amazon by replacing the bold section of this URL with their 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, and browse through categories for posts from an influencer (who “earns commission”).
- Look up hashtags like #FoundItOnAmazon, #AmazonFinds, #AmazonInfluencer, and #AmazonMustHaves. To narrow it down, add a year, the target user, the type of product, etc.
- Simply Google Amazon influencers in your niche.
- Browse the Amazon Live gallery of shoppable videos.
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:
- 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. - ROI analysis. Ever since Tap Influence’s research came out, the consensus in the world of advertising is that influencer marketing generates 11 times more ROI than conventional marketing. Though not all campaigns are alike, there’s no denying that influencer marketing on Amazon can be even more lucrative for sellers, since Amazon pays the influencer, not them.
As you can see, influencer marketing on Amazon is a powerful tool. With the right kind of Amazon product promotion, it can help sellers magnify reach, brand awareness, engagement, and sales. Also, with the right influencer, it can help brands deliver more relevant promotions, with 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.