Influencers have become a common vocabulary term over the past several years. You see them on social media platforms, such as Instagram, promoting various products as well as their platform. Their audience is often made up of hundreds of thousands of followers, sometimes over a million. Influencers have the power to influence others to make purchases based on their expertise and social position.
As an Amazon seller, there are ways to take advantage of the Amazon Influencer Program without being an influencer. The Amazon Influencer Program is a hub for those with a qualifying Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube account to create a storefront, promoting products that they love, and encouraging others to buy them.
Partnering with an Amazon influencer is a way to reach new customers and increase your sales. Below, we’ll go over what the program is and ways to partner with a qualifying influencer.
Guide to Amazon Influencer Program
In the last quarter of 2020, Amazon’s total net sales were 125.56 billion dollars. That increased from 87.44 billion dollars from the same quarter in 2019. With the sales on Amazon only increasing, taking advantage of the Amazon Influencer Program is a great way to earn money as a seller.
1. What is an Amazon Influencer?
Being an Amazon Influencer allows people to create their own presence and storefront on the digital store, curating a selection of products that they recommend. In turn, influencers will talk about these products on their social media platforms, encouraging their followers to visit their storefront and purchase the products.
2. How Do TheyQualify?
Amazon doesn’t specify that an influencer needs a certain number of followers to qualify but it is required that they have a large following on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube. They look for influencers across a variety of categories and specifically review how often potential influencers engage with their followers on posts. Amazon wants to see that a person has a strong social media presence and that they’re interacting with their community in a positive way.
3. How Exactly Does It Work?
To become an influencer, they will need to go through Amazon’s application process with a social media account that has the biggest following. Amazon can take up to five days to review their application. Once they are approved, they’ll receive a custom URL and their own personal storefront. They can customize their storefront with pictures and a bio.
The Benefits of Partnering With an Amazon Influencer
Influencer marketing utilizes leaders in different industries to share your company’s products and messaging with a specific audience. 17% of businesses spend over half of their marketing budgets for the year on influencers, so it’s not an insignificant market to tap.
Shoppers on Instagram and other social media platforms follow influencers and look to them for product recommendations. Partnering with an influencer and getting featured on their social media feed is great for your brand.
There are a few tips you should keep in mind when figuring out what influencers to partner with:
1. Check the Rating of Your Store
If you don’t have a positive seller reputation and great reviews, an influencer isn’t going to want to risk their reputation by promoting a product that is slow to ship, low quality, or hard to return. You need to show that you’re a reliable seller. If you’re not at this point yet, work hard at improving your ratings and review scores. Once you’ve built that up, you can look at what influencers to target.
2. Research Influencers
If you sell fitness products, you don’t want to target an influencer that is solely focused on travel. There can be some crossover between niches, but you want to make sure that the influencer’s audience will be interested in the products you sell. You don’t want to waste time and money on an influencer that isn’t a good fit for your brand.
Identify who your audience is and who they look to for product recommendations. If you see the same influencer name popping up, you’ve found someone that is relevant. Look to see if they talk about products and if they have an Amazon page. If they’re already a member of the Amazon Influencer Program, that makes the process even easier.
3. Target Micro-Influencers
Micro-influencers are super specific influencers that may have lower follower counts (think less than 25,000), but their audience is very engaged. Micro-influencers usually have a humble background, making them more relatable and accessible to their followers. They tend to interact with their audience through likes, messages, and comments. Their followers will pay attention to whatever product they recommend and be more likely to make a purchase.
Influencers with a higher number of followers, like celebrities, may have a lower engagement rate and will also be extremely expensive to partner with. You don’t need an influencer with millions of followers to get more awareness. Engagement is key.
4. Send Them Your Pitch
Think about why the influencer would want to promote your products and what benefit their brand will receive. You can send them some of your products for free so they can speak authentically about what you want them to promote. Some influencers may require additional payment for the partnership. If they have the right audience and high engagement, it can be worth the investment.
No matter who you partner with, you want the influencer to say yes because they genuinely like your product. People on Instagram and Facebook can tell when a post or video is inauthentic, and an influencer is doing it just because they got paid.
Partner with an Amazon Influencer Program Today
Doing your proper research on relevant influencers that will authentically promote your product is vital to ensuring you’re partnering with the right person. Look at their engagement and don’t be dissuaded if they don’t have millions of followers. An influencer that actively engages with their audience and continually provides them with trustworthy advice can be worth a lot. Working with the Amazon Influencer Program is a great way to become a more competitive seller and reach new customers.
If you are on your social media accounts while researching the Amazon Influencer Program, be sure to give us a follow as well.
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