What is an Amazon Influencer?
What is an Amazon influencer? What is an influencer? An influencer is a person who uses their social media platform to market brands, products and services to their following. Rather than publishing or broadcasting traditional advertisements, they create content and engage with their followers while either directly or indirectly promoting their clientele.
An Amazon influencer is a person who promotes products sold on Amazon to their followers on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. Popular Amazon influencer include Felicia Day, Yesteryears actress who uses who social media influence to promote baby products and books andis a part of the Amazon Influencer Program’s hall of fame, and YouTube personality Justin Braun who’s Amazon storefront OvertimeGarage markets construction tools and off-road supplies. While the influencers don’t sell products themselves, they earn small commissions each time one of their followers makes a purchase based on their recommendations.
What is Amazon Influencer Marketing?
With the growing trend of influencer marketing now amounting to billions in sales each year, it only made sense for Amazon to get in on the game. Why shouldn’t brands selling on Amazon be able to leverage the power of social media influence to sell more products?
Somewhat like its Amazon Affiliates program, the influencer program allows Amazon users to promote products and services while receiving a commission on the sales. But instead of placing advertisements for products, Amazon influencers direct their social media followers to their own personalized Amazon storefronts, where they directly promote the products and services they love. When a customer purchases one of those items from the seller, the influencer gets a commission of the sale.
How the Amazon Influencer Program Works
Influencers can earn money through the Amazon Influencer Program in a variety of ways. They can create a storefront where they promote products and share the URL on their social media platforms. They can also share affiliate links on social media, and Amazon might even promote their storefront, further increasing their influence and social media following.
Brands can work with influencers to recommend their products and services on their social media platforms and on their Amazon Influencer storefronts. Brands also can create their own storefronts to further boost interest in their wares using their own social media influence.
The program is mutually beneficial to both brands and influencers. Amazon influencers get an opportunity to further expand their followings while earing a commission on product recommendations and bounties on services. They also often can acquire free products and services to sample and recommend.
Meanwhile, brands gain an opportunity to harness ready-made social media followings to increase awareness and boost sales. The Amazon Infuencer Program was started in 2017 as an extension of its successful affiliate program, but they are separate programs, and an influencer does not have to be an affiliate to get started. While anyone can sign up to be an affiliate, influencers must apply, and approval isn’t always easy.