Take Customer Engagement To New Heights with Amazon Live

Video marketing is at its prime. It’s personal, it’s dynamic, it’s informal and hands down, the most effective form of advertising.

The engagement, response and sales brands get through video marketing are astronomical, yet brands are hesitant to give it a try. Many brands don’t want to go beyond the traditional forms of advertising, while others find making a video a hassle.

Sellers who are on the lookout for new ways to amplify their brand message and make their presence felt in the highly saturated Amazon marketplace must include Amazon Live in their marketing strategy.

Find out what Amazon Live is and is it right for your brand? In this blog post, we’ll answer some of the most common questions about Amazon Live.

What is Amazon Live?

Amazon Live is an interactive streaming platform that gives shoppers a new way to shop and sellers a new way to market their products. It allows brands to inform, educate and inspire customers helping them better understand your products.

Amazon Live is similar to livestreaming on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or TikTok, except that the audience watching Amazon livestreams is there with purchase intent, so the chances of them converting to customers are very high.

Brands can use their pre-recorded (not recommended) or live video content of their products and shoppers can interact with the video in real-time by leaving a comment, sharing the video, or using the “star reaction button.”

With Amazon Live, you can:

• Host live product demonstration videos
• Educate the audience about the features and benefits of the product
• Help shoppers make an informed buying decision
• Promote special offers in a creative way
• Answer common customer questions in real-time
• Interact with your paying customers and know the feedback on your product
• Build awareness for your brand

Here’s what you need to know:

• As customers watch the live videos, they can browse and purchase the featured product, thanks to the ever-visible “buy it now” button

• Brand owners can either host themselves, use in-house talent, or partner with an influencer to broadcast live on Amazon.
• Customers who “follow” your brand will also receive notifications when you go live, so they never miss a stream.

 

• Although Amazon has denied giving any numbers on how many brands are using Amazon Live, they did say that on Prime Day 2020, around 1200 live streams were running on the page.
• Videos can be saved for viewing later, beyond the “live” period.

Brands also have the option to boost their livestream. As stated by Amazon, “Livestream boosting allows you to pay to help expand the reach of your livestream on Amazon, driving discoverability of your content to a broader audience across the site. To leverage paid boosting, you choose a budget for the livestream and a CPM bid.” Amazon livestreams appeals to the shoppers in the consideration phase of their buying journey as it encourages them to know more about your products and helps you out-edge your competitors.

The history of Amazon Live

Amazon’s first attempt to launch a live streaming platform was in 2016 when they launched “Style Code Live,” a streaming platform where Amazon employees used to host each segment of products. If you don’t recall Style Code Live, it’s probably because the feature was canned in 2017.

In 2019, Amazon created the Live Creator app, which lets shoppers view live videos from their phones. In July 2020, Amazon Live was open to influencers that were enrolled in Amazon’s Influencer’s program.

Who is eligible to use Amazon Live?

Amazon Live is available to all sellers enrolled in the brand registry program, Amazon marketing agency and Amazon Influencers with an active influencer storefront.

Important:

• Amazon Live is only currently available in the US.
• Vendors (using Vendor Central) are not allowed to use Amazon Live.
• Live streaming from China is not allowed.
• The Amazon Live Creator app is currently only available and optimized for the iPhone.

Where can shoppers watch live streams?

Shoppers will be able to view your live streams on:

1. Amazon.com/Live

2. Detail pages of the products belonging to the brand that is livestreaming

3. Amazon seller storefront

Three levels of Amazon Live

Broadcasting brands can unlock new benefits as they reach new levels in Amazon live.

Level 1: Rising Star 

• As a Rising Star, brands can livestream as often and whenever you want using the Amazon Live Creator app.
• At this level, your streams are eligible to automatically appear in the product category rows on the Amazon Live homepage, as well as in the ‘Live Now’ row at the top of the page.
• When a shopper clicks on your live stream, it will play at the top of the page video player.

Level 2: Insider 

• At this level, you continue to get all the benefits of the Rising Star level, but your streams become eligible to automatically play in the top of page placement on the Amazon Live homepage when shoppers visit the page.
• Brands must stream for at least 90 minutes in 30 days to reach this level.

Level 3: A-List

• Brands continue to get all Rising Star and Insider benefits.
• To reach this level, brands must stream for 1000 minutes in 30 days, drive $5000 sales, or sell 100 units in 30 days.
• Brands get special access to Amazon Live events and priority support from the Amazon Live Creator team.
• Your livestreams are eligible to automatically appear on all Rising Star and Insider placements and the Amazon.com home page.

A few reasons to give Amazon Live a try

Live streaming is one of the most easily overlooked marketing strategies. Most brands are either skeptical about doing live streams or are completely unaware of Amazon Live. If you have the time, resources and an enthusiastic face to host and create meaningful content for your potential shoppers, Amazon Live is definitely worth it. Here’s why:

#1: It’s a new way to get noticed’

Amazon Live is not “just another way” to market your product. If you get a desirable time slot, the chances are that you will be able to showcase your product in front of hundreds and thousands of potential shoppers. Just like PPC and Amazon SEO, Amazon Live can help you reach untapped audiences effectively because we are wired to prioritize visual content before text.

#2: Capture shopper’s attention on tent pole events

Shoppers often use Amazon Live to find out about new products and ongoing deals using Amazon Live. Start using Amazon Live a few days before big seller days like Prime Day & Black Friday to let customers know about the deals running on your store.

According to Amazon, a beauty brand featured on Amazon Live “saw a 103% sales lift during the hours they were featured on Amazon Live compared to their average unit sales per hour over Prime Day.”

During the live stream, you can promote deals exclusively for the viewers. This will drive urgency since the deals will run only for a limited period of time. By awarding discounts, you’re also providing value to shoppers who join, encouraging them to watch your live videos more often.

#3: It makes your brand looks more human

Text and static images simply can’t beat the multi-sensory engagement that a video provides. Amazon Live especially appeals to shoppers who like to learn about the ingredients or want to see a dress worn on someone else prior to purchasing.

Someone demonstrating the product and seeing the product in action fills the void of not being able to touch or experience the product before making a purchase decision.

#4: You can directly interact with the shoppers

Since Amazon disabled comments on reviews, Amazon Live is probably the only way to directly interact with the shoppers. You can ask them feedback about your product, let them ask you questions, or sell the features and benefits in a convincing way.

Your live stream will also appear on your product detail page, giving confused visitors more information to make a confident purchase decision.

#5: It’s more effective than social media lives

Shoppers browsing on Amazon are already there with purchase intent, so your videos and livestreams are more likely to be converted into sales.

#6: It’s free

Amazon Live is completely free to use and technical barriers to entry are low, so brands with a limited budget and technical knowledge can jump in and run awesome broadcasts in front of hundreds of shoppers.

How to measure the success of your live stream?

You’ll find performance metrics from within the app. Although the sales lift because of livestream is not disclosed by Amazon, you can still get to know the organic reach of your broadcast and a breakdown of paid boosting (if any).

The only con

Measuring success can be challenging. Brands do not have access to the percentage of sales uplift because of Amazon Live. We can never know how many shoppers who visited your live video actually decided to go to your product detail page and make a purchase.

But despite the challenge in measuring success, Amazon Live is worth investing your time and efforts in. It’s a prime space to tap into a broader customer base, educate about your product and increase reach.

Amazon Live best practices

1. Live stream for at least 45 minutes.
2. Create promotions and coupon codes exclusively for live viewers to promote repeat viewership.
3. Encourage your viewers to follow your brand. The follow button works similar to the subscribe button on YouTube, making it easy for customers to stay updated about ongoing discounts and new product launches.
4. Don’t just go on and on about your product. Show live demonstration of how your product can solve shopper’s problems.
5. If you are not confident enough to host, ask someone else to do it for you.
6. If budget allows, partner with an influencer because shoppers are more likely to interact with a face they are familiar with.
7. Your videos do not need to be overproduced to be engaging. All you need is a little bit of confidence and a lot of enthusiasm. The only goal of livestream is to get shoppers excited about your product and tell your product features in a compelling way.
8. Livestream during major events like Prime Day & Black Friday to capitalize on the increased traffic on the detail page.
9. Don’t stop just because your first few live streams didn’t yield any results. Stay consistent.
10. Shoppers, just like our furry friends, need constant attention; make sure to keep them engaged via Q&A, callouts, and more. 
11. Make announcements on social media channels and your website to get the word out.
12. Hire Amazon listing optimization experts to make sure your detail page is ready for the traffic. 

To set up Amazon Live, brands can either:

1) Create videos themselves

Because a brand owner or someone from the in-house team understands the nuances of the product really well, the videos produced will be more effective and appealing. And it’s affordable too!

The only downside is if you aren’t very comfortable in front of the camera, you may not be able to effectively sell the product, despite knowing all the features and benefits.

2) Partner with an influencer

Influencers create content day in and out, so the videos created by them look professional, more engaging and creative. By partnering with established influencers, you can leverage their loyal audience of followers who may be looking for a product like yours.

The only con is that the cost of hiring influencers can quickly eat up the profits you earned from livestreams.

3) Let Amazon promote your products on Amazon Live

Brands can integrate into “carefully curated, often themed and always inspirational with a purpose” Amazon-produced live shows. Amazon hosts provide authentic testimonials and demonstrations to educate shoppers on products available on the Amazon store.

Amazon-produced livestreams typically require a minimum spend of $50,000 (US).

How to get started?

Step 1: Download the Amazon Live Creator app.

Step 2: Select a date and time. Brands can choose to live stream whenever they want. Amazon recommends live streaming later into the day and evening and on Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

Step 3: Decide upon the products that will be featured in the livestream. You even have the ability to load promo details and price in your product carousel.

Step 4: Develop a script for broadcast. Make sure it aligns with Amazon community guidelines. Before the broadcast, rehearse the script and check for any potential technical problems.

Step 5: During the broadcast, ensure that you have a team member with you to answer customer questions and troubleshoot the issues.

When you’re live, Amazon will put your video in from every shopper who might be interested in your product.

What not to do in the live stream?

Probably you already know the answer. Don’t attempt to steal Amazon customers and lure them to your website, social media channels, or anywhere outside Amazon.

We don’t know if there is a sophisticated system in place to police thousands of videos every day, but we are sure the thought of Amazon customers being stolen away by smart sellers must have occurred to them.

It’s always better to be safe than to be suspended.

Lights, camera, ACTION!!

Amazon Live is a highly lucrative marketing tool that drives discovery and valuable traffic to your detail page for absolutely FREE. There’s no reason not to give it a try. A little exposure never hurt anyone.

Need help adding Amazon Live stream to your marketing mix? Having a partner like eStore Factory who can offer you a full suite of technical and creative Amazon services can make it easy for you to represent your brand through tools like Amazon Live. Hire our best Amazon consultants today!