Priceless Amazon Marketing Strategies to Boost your Sales

Ecommerce has been capturing a rising share of total retail sales since 2010, as online sales doubled as a percentage of total sales excluding that of restaurants, gasoline, and motor vehicle sales.

Amazon – the Celestial Throne of the E-Commerce World

Amazon.com, in many ways is perhaps the company that is most closely tied to the phenomenon of E-Commerce. This Seattle, WA based company started as a book seller and has now grown to a Virtual Wal-Mart.

Mentioning his success Jeff Bezos said that

“We’ve had three big ideas at Amazon, that we’ve stuck with for 18 years, and they are the reason we’re successful. Put the customer first, invent and be patient”

The growth of the company is evident from its tremendously growing total revenue trend over the years – from $150 millions in 1997 to $469,822 millions in 2021.

Background 

The story of the formation of Amazon.com is now an urban legend. Jeff Bezos, a Computer Science and Electrical Engineer from Princeton University, moved to Seattle after resigning at D.E.Shaw as the Senior Vice-President. He did not know much about the Internet. But, as he came across a statistic that the Internet is growing at 2300% , he was convinced that this was a large growth opportunity. Thus, not knowing much, he plunged into the world of E-Commerce, and became a pioneer to many revolutionary phenomena.

The company went online in July 1995 and went public in May 1997. As a symbol of the company’s frugality, Jeff and the first team built desks out of doors, and the company started in a garage, with its initial meetings held at a local Barnes and Noble store.

For his contributions, Jeff Bezos was picked as the 1999 Time person of the year at the age of 35. Time magazine said, 

“Bezos’ vision of the online retailing universe is so complete, his Amazon.com site so elegant and appealing that it became from day one the point of reference for anyone who had anything to sell online.” 

Amazon as the Pioneer of Associate Programs

Amazon pioneered the concept of the associate program – what is now also referred to as affiliate programs. The fundamental idea here was:

• Smaller sites would act as a traffic generator for the company.
• These smaller sites will post content on their site with a link to Amazon.
• Each site would receive a commission of 15% for any referred purchase and 5% for any other purchase made by that customer.
• The company would not only benefit by traffic generation, but also by brand generation. Since the small sites would carry an Amazon logo, it would enhance the online presence of the company.
• The company paid for the customer traffic after the fact as opposed to traditional advertising where companies pay ahead of time without knowing the level of traffic that will take place.

Tactics for Amazon Marketing Strategy

Amazon is one of the best online selling platforms for retailers. However, to be successful you must know certain marketing strategies to win the race

1. Amazon PPC Advertisement

A recent report shows that most brands advertising on Amazon see an ROI of 400%, which is remarkable.

Amazon ads work similar to Google ads. They appear when a user searches something on Amazon using specific keywords that the advertiser is targeting.

Following are a few tips for getting started with Amazon PPC advertisement:

1. You will need a seller or vendor account to advertise. You are considered a third party seller when you sell using Amazon Seller Central. Choose the products that are already selling well or the ones you believe will have a break through.
2. The keynote here is that Amazon Self Serve Ads work similar to Google Search Ads. On the other hand, Amazon Premium Ads function like Google Display Ads. As a novice, you should start with Amazon Self Serve Ads.
3. Structure your campaign by product category. Create Amazon ad groups for each specific product and select 20 – 30 target keywords.
4. Write relevant and captivating ad copy. 
5. Make sure to add creativity and appropriate humor to your ads to make them stick out.
6. Experiment with all three types of ads (Amazon Sponsored Product Ads, Headline Search Ads, and Display Ads), and select the one that delivers best results for your product.
7. Include all product specifications, such as quality, size, weight, color, material packaging etc.

2. SEO as an Amazon Marketing Strategy

It is crucial to optimize your product listing so that people searching for products similar to yours can find your product easily. Buyers hunt products using different attributes such as size, type and material. Or they might search using a specific product name like “table lamps”. In both cases, an all-inclusive description will help you.

1. The title of your product is the most important factor. Use the most relevant keywords in your title, along with a brief description including important product attributes such as color, size, quality (if applicable)
2. Avoid stuffing keywords in your title as a stuffy title appears to be spammy and adversely affect the Click Through rate (CTR).
3. Pay attention to Amazon backend keywords. These are hidden keywords that only appear on the back end section of your seller account.
4. Be persuasive and very detailed in your product description. Make the copy compelling, readable and natural from a sales point of view.
5. Use high quality images of your product.

3. Instagram Digital Marketing for Amazon Sellers

For brand building, you have to step out of the Amazon world and expand your presence in other digital channels. And the first channel can not be any other than Instagram.

Here is what you need to do:

1. Set up a dedicated page for your Amazon brand.
2. Insert a link to your website, storefront, or product page in the header of your instagram page. 
3. Add an interesting and compelling description with each image you share along with at least 25 – 30 hashtags. Look for the most popular and related hashtags.
4. Share high quality photos of your product. The best image sizes for Instagram are 1080×1080 pixels for square, 1080×1350 pixels for portrait, and 1080×608 pixels for landscape.
5. Follow other people, influencers and brands to get follow backs and user engagement.

4. Facebook Digital Marketing for Amazon Sellers

If you have a page and followers on Facebook, you can also leverage the world’s biggest social media network and drive customers to your Amazon product pages. Your Amazon products can now be shared on Facebook for digital marketing, as well as information about your business, product reviews, and ways to interact with existing and potential customers. 

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Set up a Facebook page for your Amazon brand. Complete all required steps and invite friends and business associates to like your page.
2. Set your logo as your profile image and by being creative, try to stand out from all other similar existing pages.
3. Customize the CTA button on your page. As an Amazon seller, display a “Shop Now” button and connect it to your Amazon shop front. 
4. Use high quality images and share on a daily basis to engage your followers and attract new ones.
5. Join relevant facebook groups and participate in discussions related to your product category.
6. Use facebook advertising to promote your products.

5. Amazon Digital Marketing through Influencers

Influencers are media personalities who direct significant influence in their specific industries.  A representative example is Kylie Jenner, a top fashion influencer, or Ariana Grande, a leading music influencer. Top influencers with a following of several hundred million are the ones you possibly can not afford. But, smaller influencers, with a following of a few thousands, can also lead to a great boost to your Amazon product sales.

Influencers include bloggers, social media figures, celebrities, industry experts, lifestyle brands, and thought leaders.

Many free and paid tools are available to help find influencers in your niche. Some of them include Captiv8, Helixa, Izea, Klear, Upfluence, and AspireIQ.

Prior to reaching out to influencers, determine your campaign’s goals. Choose the channels best suited for reaching your audience and collaborate with influencers who have followers on those channels.

Conclusion

While most of the brick and mortar stores are facing a decline in sales, especially during these years of pandemic, Amazon.com has reported 37% sales growth. Thus, for every business, ranging from ones selling industrial and scientific products to the ones selling daily household products,it is necessary to have an online store front. And there is no better storefront that on Amazon.com.

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