Amazon Prime is the hottest online retail platform, with more than 200 million users worldwide. Even more impressive, 48% of Amazon Prime members use TikTok at least once a week.
Amazon even implemented an entire “Internet Famous” page featuring viral products and a TikTok-like feed in its app, further blurring the lines between social media and e-commerce.
- To stay competitive in the digital age, savvy businesses should look to social media for relevant e-commerce marketing strategies that send consumers right through the sales funnel and straight to their Amazon brand page or product listing page. Rather than create a confusing pipeline that sends some clients to your website and others to your Amazon page depending on which link they click, you should take time to ensure the journey is smooth and personalized for each customer.
- Fortunately, Amazon rewards its sellers for bringing traffic to the e-commerce site, and setting up your social media to do just that can save an average of 10% of the product sales price driven by your non-Amazon marketing efforts! It’s part of Amazon’s Brand Referral Bonus program for eligible sellers enrolled in the Amazon Brand Registry. By utilizing this feature, you might be able to save more and make more than if you relied on a private website or even social media alone. The key is to combine the reach of social media with the e-commerce benefits of Amazon.
E-Commerce Marketing Trends to Consider
The power of social media channels such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook is immense. Looking to these giants for trending marketing strategies can help you remain relevant in a fast-changing e-commerce landscape.
Here are just three trends a brand should consider when forming an e-commerce social media strategy:
1- Amazon Influencers
Influencer marketing first gained traction in the late 2010s and continues to prove its value in the 2020s. Spending on influencer marketing grew from $1.7 billion in 2016 to $13.8 billion in 2021, with projected growth expected to reach $16.4 billion by year-end.
And Amazon isn’t waiting to catch the train; the company has a prominent on-platform influencer marketing program that could boost your e-commerce social media strategy.
Amazon Influencers incentivizes creators to build followings by recommending products that are relevant to their unique audiences. Unlike Amazon Associates, which rewards the affiliate for referring traffic from across the internet, Amazon Influencers is specifically geared toward social media creators on platforms including YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.
Working with these influencers leverages their popularity and built-in sales funnel to increase your business’s reach, revenue, and following.
2- Video Marketing
Over 90% of consumers report that video is an important aspect of advertising when deciding whether to buy a product, and 73% of consumers say they’d rather learn about a product or service through a short video. What’s more, pre-produced and live-stream videos are two of the most popular marketing tactics.
Leveraging video across both social media and Amazon gives your brand a vibrant and modern look and feel. Video is more likely to grab a consumer’s attention and lead to a conversion than still images or a wall of text alone.
Customers often feel more engaged with videos and can even form a stronger emotional tie to your brand that can encourage them to remain loyal and spread positive word of mouth.
3- Amazon Posts (Beta)
Amazon has also implemented Amazon Posts (beta). This feature allows sellers to share lifestyle photos and other product-related images in a “feed” that looks much like Instagram and other such social media platforms.
These posts have no associated costs (besides internal production costs) and can show your product in action and provide a more visually appealing presentation.
Amazon even allows you to review metrics including reach, follow clicks, product clicks, impressions, and engagement rates on the back end. This analytics tool can be a great way to organically grow your online retail presence without spending a lot on pay-per-click advertising.
The Final Word on 2023 E-Commerce Marketing Trends
The pandemic forever changed how we do business, and e-commerce is becoming more important than ever. In fact, eMarketer predicted a 16.8% increase in online sales in 2021, and Amazon remains one of the top e-commerce platforms for brands both large and small.
But the old way of doing things won’t work anymore. Today’s e-commerce marketing trends involve blurring the lines between social media and sales, leveraging influencers, and creating professional videos to promote your products.
Both on-platform and off-platform social media are important, and succeeding at both will ensure you have strong sales moving forward.
Author and Creator by Dean Masalta
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