Influencer integration programs include much more than traditional YouTube ads or Instagram sponsored posts. There are also more complex collaboration schemes, particularly the Amazon Influencer Program.
This material will be useful primarily for influencers, but if you want to expand your knowledge of that type of marketing, then it is worth reading to the end. So, let’s go.
We all know that Amazon is a place where you can buy almost everything. In 2021, the company improved its position in the American market, strengthening its leadership role. According to Insider Intelligence, Amazon took over 40% of the US e-commerce market in 2021.
Why does it matter? These figures show consumer confidence in the company, which means that cooperation within the Amazon Influencer Program will not negatively affect creators.
For Amazon, marketing inflation development is one of the mechanisms for promoting goods to the audience. It may not replace advertising in traditional media but will take influencers’ advice into account. The fact that such a giant as Amazon singles out cooperation with creators confirms the importance of marketing inflation for the entire e-commerce industry.
The Amazon Influencer Program allows bloggers to create their own trade showcases. This is one of Amazon’s projects made specifically to promote its services through creators. A feature of this program is that influencers receive a unique URL for their stores on Amazon, and through their social networks, they can distribute a link to enter the products they recommended. There is no need to sell their products; they can just put a recommendation on something, and after the product is sold, a creator will receive a small commission from Amazon.
To illustrate the potential income with some real numbers, let’s look at this example. Amazon’s typical payout averages 4%. To make $100K, you must refer customers, ideally your followers, to purchase items worth a total of $2.5 million.
But even this is not the main perk that the Amazon Influencer Program gives. Each member of the program gets access to their followers’ choice statistics. This means that using Amazon’s power, an influencer can find out which products are most attractive to the audience and then launch their own brand!
Of course, a potential customer has many options for how to shop on Amazon. The Amazon Influencer Program is one of the entry doors to the marketplace. In this case, it is done through social media and through the influencer profile that the follower trusts.
We will not bend your ear with details about setting up your store on Amazon and so on. Let’s focus on the main point. The main criterion for Amazon is good organic traffic from an influencer.
Some articles say that you must have half a million subscribers to participate in the program. Here’s what they write on one of the websites, “To become an Amazon influencer, personalities need to have a large (between 100,000 and 500,000) organic and active following on at least one social platform and be ready to engage with that audience to bring them value while promoting Amazon’s platform.”
But in fact, the rules of the program are slightly different. Оf course, Amazon is interested in a large amount of traffic. But at the same time, the company understands the full force of micro and nano influencers — creators with a small number of subscribers and strong communities, which allow them to count on a high-engagement rate ER. Ultimately ER determines the effectiveness of the advertising message, and a thousand followers are enough. You can learn more about the program here.
Influencers who promote themselves through YouTube and Twitter receive real-time approval, meanwhile Facebook and Instagram approval can take up to five days.
Calls for purchasing on Instagram or TikTok have already become a new standard. According to Hypeauditor’s research, The Instagram influencer market is set to grow 15% in 2021 — reaching a market cap of $5.8 billion by the end of the year.
TikTok, which is rapidly gaining popularity, is also becoming an important marketing tool. It drives social commerce: 67.9% of content creators state that they have purchased a product after viewing a post from someone they follow on TikTok.
By the way, over the past year, TikTok has tested and deployed social commerce functions, including a process that turns video creators into feed ads. It has a call to action, “Buy It Now,” where advertising revenue is shared between TikTok and a creator. In some way, it’s a competitive service for the Amazon Influencer Program.
Thus, if you have Instagram or TikTok, we can say that half the battle is already done to become Amazon partners in the program for influencers.
However, influencers who develop their profiles on other social networks can also try to earn their first million dollars with Amazon.
