Amazon Is Taking Social Media to the Next Level and Ramping Up Its Influencer Program
We all know that Amazon is one of the business success stories of our time. Growing from a tiny online bookseller operating out of founder Jeff Bezos’ garage, to a globe spanning ecommerce behemoth which was one of only a handful of brands to survive the dotcom crash, Amazon is now the largest business in the world by revenue having recently overtaken Walmart.
Whatever your feelings about Amazon as a company, there are always lessons which can be learned from the retail titan. Those who have been following us for a while may remember an article we wrote which looked at how Amazon masters social media to inspire shoppers.
Well, we thought, with all the changes the world has been going through over the last couple of years, now would be an ideal time to return to the subject and catch up on how Amazon’s use of social media has developed since then.
Influencers
Perhaps the most significant development in Amazon’s social media program since our original piece has been the introduction of its highly successful influencer program.
Love them or hate them, social media celebrities are an incredibly powerful marketing tool these days and can command the attention and respect of thousands, if not millions, of customers each. When these people talk, customers listen, and this is what has led Amazon to leverage their influence to help promote its products to new and wider audiences.
According to Statista, global influencer marketing market is valued at $16.4 billion in 2022. 38% of businesses are allocating 10-20% of their marketing budgets to influencer marketing, 19% are allocating 20-30%, 10% allocating 30-40%, and 11% allocating over 40%, resulting in 3.8 million sponsored posts on Instagram [the most popular platform by far for influencer marketing] alone in a single year.
It's no wonder therefore, that Amazon has been pouring resources into attracting the attention of social media’s biggest influencers and has recently pushed this even further with a special Mexico retreat designed to bring even more social stars into the fold of its program.
Mexico
In May 2022, Amazon flew more than a dozen social media stars out to the coastal town of Todos Santos, Mexico where it treated them to three days of luxurious lifestyle such as sunset dinners, spa sessions, and more.
Amazon wanted to bring these influencers to this amazing resort to inspire them to join up with its marketing program and use their considerable online reach to promote products through their social media channels on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok in return for financial reward.
Raye Boyce boasts more than a million followers on her YouTube and Instagram accounts and has turned what started out as a hobby into a full-time job. She signed up for the Amazon Influencer Program a little over a year ago after hosting makeup tutorials on Amazon Live.
Speaking at the event, Boyce said, "Now there’s Amazon, which is a way of making commissions from products you would normally buy on your own. You can make money off of that on top of your brand deals, and YouTube and TikTok and everything else.”
Aside from the wining and dining at the resort, Amazon also provided its guests with a workshop which set out to help them set up their own Amazon storefront where they can post shoppable videos and further promote products and earn more commission. Attendees could also stroll through a curated pop-up shop of "internet famous” items for sale on Amazon, visit the "Kindle Beach Oasis” and hang out at a Prime Video movie night.
Amazon pays out a commission to influencers any time a customer buys an item that it recommended. Payouts vary depending on the product type, but influencers stand to earn the most if they promote titles from Amazon Games and luxury beauty items, which earn commissions of 20% and 10%, respectively.
"Creators today really are decentralized media companies,” said Ryan Detert, CEO of influencer marketing start-up Influential speaking to CNBC. "These channels that exist on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, you name it. They can drive traffic to wherever they want their audience to go.”
Final Thoughts
Influencers are uniquely positioned in the marketing space as decentralized media channels. The modern shopper is far more likely to hear about a product through social media these days than through legacy media channels such as radio or television.
Ecommerce brands looking to succeed in the digital space would do well to consider influencer marketing – ensuring all paid promotion is properly declared by the social media stars of course.
Influencer marketing is sure to be a hot topic at eTail West 2023, being held in February and March at the JW Marriott Desert Springs, Palm Springs, CA.
Download the agenda today for more information and insights.