The term “amazon influencer” appeared after The Amazon company run an affiliate program to help people to make money. This affiliate program run by Amazon for two years, allowing social media influencers to get a commission on products that are sold and earn a cut of prices generated from Amazon links within Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and Twitter.
This is a cost-effective way for sellers to reach potential customers
Amazon’s Affiliate program became so popular that, the company decided to slightly take it several steps further and in 2017, Amazon Influencer Program was created. Unlike Amazon’s affiliate program this new program is more exclusive as it lets anyone link to products for the small number of commissions. The program is open to qualifying consumers who have YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts.
Creators say that revenue from the Amazon Influencer Program can vary from a few dollars to $1,500 a month. Commission rates range from 10% for Amazon’s private-label fashion line to 1% for video games and consoles.
Why Amazon started this program?
Amazon realized that social media influencers with large audiences could broaden its reach by promoting products. They also realized influencers were searching for better ways to partner with brands to monetize their fame.
At first, Amazon took a risk by knowing that influencers would take advantage of the program, giving misleading reviews to products just to make money. But, that’s not how today’s young influencers work. Influencers don’t necessarily promote products because they know followers trust their opinions and crave discovering relevant brands. Influencers are also keenly aware of how Amazon bans fraudulent reviewers. And those young, rising stars don’t want to make it onto that list.
How does the program work?
It’s pretty similar to how Amazon Affiliate works. Users can build links and shopping ads, and then integrate them onto their own websites or blogs. When people click on that link and buy a product, the affiliate gets a commission on the product. The amount of commission depends on what type of product was sold.
The main difference between Affiliate and Influencer programs is that, with Amazon’s Influencer Program, people have to apply to be “using the social media account in which they’ll have the most influence on their followers, while on Affiliate program anyone can sign up and get started.
There’s no guarantee they’ll get into the program. If you don’t qualify right away, Amazon encourages you to come back in the future as the eligibility requirements may change over time.
Here are some of the eligibility requirements:
- Broad audience. However, there’s no precise number that has been stated by Amazon.
- How much they engage with fans with posts, and how many/which social media platforms they engage on. Again, there are no exact numbers, but rather that Amazon wants to see you have a noticeable presence.
- Your content is of a high standard. Amazon’s looking for influencers who post quality material, and not just trolling comments to get a reaction out of people.
- Lastly, they also want to see that there’s relevance for themselves. Amazon needs to see that the influencer chosen will also benefit themselves.
.
How successful the program is?
The program is a win-win for both influencer and Amazon. The company gives you countless social sharing tips on all platforms, including podcasts and Snapchat, plus examples of real-life influencer campaigns.
As the program is relatively new, it is a little difficult to quantify the success of the program for brands. There are some gray areas at this point when collaborating with influencers. If a brand decides to work with an influencer, will the influencer feature that brands on his or her storefront? Even with the complexities, studies show that influencers have generated billions of dollars of revenues for brands. Other surveys say that most marketers are trying to assess the ROI of working with influencers.
