The retail giant is taking a page from TikTok’s playbook and using influencers and short-form videos to promote its products.
Key Details
- Amazon announced Thursday that it would be using its content creators more frequently to promote videos through TikTok-like videos on the Amazon app.
- The new video portion of Amazon’s app is called “Inspire” and features photos and videos from influencers and companies showcasing particular brands and products.
- Since the pandemic high, Amazon has been looking for new ways to boost its sales, and this new advertising method could be one way to accomplish that.
Why it’s news
Big Tech has been searching for new ways to implement social shopping on their platforms. Instagram features storefronts that direct users from an ad to a retail site and YouTube hosts live shopping events. These strategies have varying degrees of success, Axios’ Hope King reports.
TikTok itself has struggled to effectively reach audiences through its e-commerce platform.
Difficulty in tapping into the social-media market poses a problem for advertisers as more consumers learn about new products through social media.
Amazon’s Inspire will be directed toward younger customers who better respond to the short-form video format.
The new feature will be available to select users in the U.S. this month. When in the Amazon app, users can access Inspire by selecting the lightbulb in the bar at the bottom of the app. In the next several months, the feature will be available nationwide.
Backing up a bit
Amazon isn’t the only company looking to shake up the way it promotes advertisements. Since changes to Apple’s privacy policy have affected advertising success on platforms like Facebook, advertisers have been looking for new ways to directly reach consumers.
Advertisers are responding to the changes by looking to other methods of advertising such as streaming services, YouTube, TikTok, and traditional TV.
Shoppable advertisements on TV are nothing new—in fact they’re old school, but it seems that Apple’s privacy changes are driving advertisers back to tried and true methods.
Ad buyers are using methods like programs built directly into certain devices and QR codes.
“For the 2022 holiday season, there’s a lot of testing and learning and adapting as it relates to shoppable ads,” says shoppable digital-ad firm Infillion president Christa Carone.