Could Amazon influencers help you grow your business? Social media influencers have completely changed the way that customers engage with, browse and consume products. Research tells us that 71% of consumers trust the opinions of influencers over brand ads, with 74% of people having bought a product because they saw their favourite influencer using it on their channel.
The power of influencers applies to Amazon too, with more and more sellers reaping the benefits of a dedicated Amazon influencer program. But how does it all work and how do you get started with outreach?
Instead of relying on shoppers to find your products organically or through paid ads, Amazon influencer marketing places your products right in front of them, creating an element of social proof. Here, we deep dive into the inner workings of an influencer program on Amazon, and how best to use this type of marketing to your advantage.
First, it’s important to understand what influencers are and how they differ from affiliates. The Amazon affiliate or Amazon associate program connects sellers with content creators, publishers and bloggers to send traffic to your listings. This is usually done in written form, such as articles and blog posts, with product links in exchange for a small commission on any sales.
Influencers, on the other hand, create engaging video content to bring your product to life. This can be in the form of a product review video, a tutorial, or a product reveal/unboxing. Your product is being used and presented in a much more authentic way, usually with real thoughts from the influencer. This not only develops a sense of trust for customers interested in your product or brand, but it also counts as social proof.
For consistent traffic, affiliate marketing can be done without great effort. But if you want to increase awareness, build trust and drive sales, an influencer program on Amazon could be a huge opportunity for you.
So how does influencer marketing for Amazon sellers work? All partnerships vary and can be dependent on a lot of different things – including how established you are as a brand, how big the influencer is, the size of their platforms, the value of the product you are giving away, your marketing budget, and what content you expect in return.
The first step is finding influencers that match your brand and business. It’s also important to note that not all influencers will automatically want to work with you. Your product may not appeal to them or their audience, and it’s possible that your company may not align with their personal brand or their set of brand ethics.
Once you manage to secure an influencer, you will need to agree on the details of the collaboration – such as what kind of content they will create, where they will share this content, and how they will be compensated for their work.
Some different content formats include:
Quality influencers pride themselves on doing honest reviews to ensure total authenticity when sharing content. It is also against Amazon’s policies to pay for positive reviews, so never try to sway how your product is going to be reviewed or rated by the collaborator.
These are ideal for products that require explanation, or any products that benefit from showing a full demonstration (such as makeup, skincare, styling products, gadgets and electronic goods, DIY tools, etc.)
Haul videos garner a lot of attention because they are seen as authentic by viewers, giving brands a great way to increase awareness for your brand. Your product will be featured alongside other products, appealing to a wide audience.
Unboxing content allows viewers to take part in an influencer’s whole shopping experience. These videos work particularly well with high-end or highly coveted items.
In terms of compensation, some influencers will charge a flat fee, while others may be happy to receive commission. Depending on the value or popularity of your product, some influencers may be happy to receive the free product as full compensation.
The key is to remember that all Amazon influencers will be different, and the cost of collaborating may vary a lot. So when it comes to creating an Amazon influencer program budget, you’ll need to factor that in.
When an influencer program for Amazon is done right, brands will likely see an uptick in sales. According to a survey by Morning Consult, over half (54%) of Gen Z spend at least four hours a day on social media, with 38% claiming to spend even more time than that across different social sites.
This means any exposure on social channels is going to be highly effective for growing your reach. If you want to know how to use influencers to increase sales on Amazon, the key is to collaborate with well-known, trusted influencers with established audiences. It’s also important to ensure any content created is completely genuine. This is because the higher the trust and engagement, the higher the conversion rate.
The positive impact of influencer marketing for Amazon sellers goes beyond traffic and sales too. Driving off-site traffic and sales to Amazon gives you extra ranking “juice,” helping boost your product’s visibility and organic search position. As a result, your listing will become more visible when people conduct relevant searches while shopping on the marketplace.
If you already have some influencers in mind, this is usually a good place to start. You can begin your search on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and you can even search for specific hashtags that may be relevant (such as #amazonfinds, #amazonmusthaves or product-related hashtags).
There are also influencer marketing agencies and consultants who can help. But one of the easiest ways to get started is to take advantage of today’s available outreach tools.
Here are some tools that you may find handy when searching for Amazon influencers:
This tool is perfect for small businesses looking to save time. It uses a special matching tool that links you up with influencers who have interests that align with your brand. It even features an AI assistant that helps you send outreach messages automatically, so less pressure on your in-house team. Everything from payments and product gifting to promo code creation is made simple, so you can manage every stage of your Amazon influencer program in one place.
Use this platform if you want a seamless way of finding, managing and keeping track of influencers while also tracking your campaigns. Everything can be done through this tool, from connecting with creators and handling contracts to delivering payments. Sellers also love the built-in analytics so you can measure the success of collaborations against other social efforts.
With a huge database of over 30 million influencers and content creators, Brandwatch is a tool that we highly recommend to all types of businesses. The choice and selection means that there should be influencers who fit your brand perfectly. The platform lets you manage multiple partnerships in one place, with report generation so you can analyse performance.
At Seller Presto, we have a database of trusted influencers across a broad range of niches and categories, covering all audience sizes from micro-influencers to major personalities, allowing us to match the perfect creator to your brand.
But in order to make an Amazon influencer program successful, it’s important to know how to choose the right collaborators. Just because a social media star has a million followers and is hugely popular across several platforms, doesn’t mean they are suitable for your brand. So it’s important to consider the following when choosing who to work with:
The first thing to think about is whether an influencer lines up with your niche. Do they share the same ethics and values? For instance, if you sell cruelty-free beauty products, it may be in your interest to reach out to beauty influencers with the same standards. Doing this ensures that their audience is going to be interested in what you’re trying to sell.
You should also look at the follower demographics of Amazon influencers. Are they in the right age group or geographical location? Don’t be won over by big follower counts either. Sometimes, a smaller yet highly engaged audience is better.
Do you like the style and quality of content being produced by the influencer? If their aesthetics or approach don’t match yours, the partnership may seem forced and audiences will notice. For an idea of what they could create, take a look at their past collaborations.
Another thing you’ll want to do is to vet any influencer you’re about to work with. Watch out for fake follower numbers (including sudden spikes in follows), low engagement for their size, and spammy comments.
Finally, understand exactly what their compensation model looks like, and be sure that it works within your budget. Set clear expectations from the start and draw up a contract so that everyone knows what is expected of them.
Running an influencer program on Amazon isn’t always easy. Because social content creators are all individuals, which means each collaboration may come with its own set of challenges. But if you want your Amazon influencer program to be successful and boost sales, here are some good guidelines to follow:
While an Amazon influencer program can boost traffic, increase awareness and drive sales, it’s also good to consider the long-term impact of campaigns. There are plenty of opportunities to grow your business with Amazon influencers. Not only does the uptick in traffic improve search rankings on Amazon, but partnering with content creators can actually help to build trust with audiences, turning followers into fans.
This is why long-term influencer relationships matter. A one-off collab is fine for driving a few extra sales, but when someone talks about your brand, not once, not twice, but multiple times, the audience starts to remember you. The continuous mentions act as a reminder and also indicates to them that your brand is trustworthy. You can also use Amazon Advertising attribution to accurately measure the effectiveness of your campaigns.
So when measuring success, be sure to have a long-term approach to partnerships, not just one-time posts that are easily forgotten a few months down the line.
Do you need advice on your Amazon influencer strategy? At Seller Presto, we have years of experience helping sellers raise their brand profile and boost their revenue.
We offer Amazon consultation, full-service account management, ads management, and more. Want to get the ball rolling? Let’s start with a quick chat about your requirements. Get in touch via our online contact form, call us on 01642 054694, or email our team on info@sellerpresto.com
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