During Accelerate 2021, Amazon’s virtual event for seller success, the company announced that more than 100,000 brands have started selling in the Amazon U.S marketplace so far this year. What’s even more exciting is that brand sales on Amazon have increased by 60% year over year. From Brand Metrics and A+ Story Cards to Amazon Customer Engagement, the eCommerce powerhouse has continued to add new features to help brands establish long-term customer relationships and achieve profitable growth. With Brand Follow, Amazon has launched a new way for shoppers to connect with brands.
Here’s everything you need to know about Brand Follow to build and sustain customer relationships that translate to effective demand.
What is Amazon Brand Follow?
Brand Follow is a feature that provides brands with an opportunity to connect and engage with shoppers who like and enjoy their products. With this feature, shoppers can follow their favorite brands on Amazon by simply hitting the ‘Follow’ button across Brand Stores, Posts, and Amazon Live.
What are the Benefits of Brand Follow?
There are currently more than 20 million ‘Follow’ relationships between brands and Amazon shoppers. The main goal of the feature is to allow brands to develop and sustain long-term customer relationships and engage repeat shoppers.
Brand Follow enables shoppers to connect with the brands they love during their shopping journey on Amazon. The feature helps shoppers curate the ads, products, and deals that they see on the homepage. Another advantage of the feature is that it creates tailored shopping experiences for customers. For example, by allowing them to receive mobile notifications when their favorite brand starts streaming on Amazon Live.
Highlighting Amazon’s commitment towards helping brands grow profitability on the platform, Ian Simpson, Vice President of Selling Partner Tools and Services said:
“We want Amazon to be the best place for brands of all types and sizes to succeed, and we’re dedicated to helping them share their story and products to customers around the globe”
Types of Brand Follow
Brand Follow for Stores
Amazon has placed immense focus on carving immersive user experiences for shoppers by improving the functionality of the eCommerce platform.
Creating an easy-to-navigate and visually attractive Brand Store will increase the likelihood of boosting your follower count. Making potential customers hit that ‘Follow’ button on the upper right-hand corner will also generate opportunities for future sales.
Brand Follow for Posts
Think of Amazon Posts like your Instagram Feed. The feature is built to highlight similar brands and products within the categories defined by Amazon in a swipeable carousel. When you gain a new follower, that customer will see more of your posts.
Secondly, if you have an Amazon Post that appears in the feed of a shopper who is not following you yet, they will be able to see a ‘+ Follow’ button right above the selected image. Clicking on the button will allow them to see and connect with more of your brand content.
Brand Follow for Amazon Live
Amazon Live educates and engages shoppers through a live-streaming format and builds customer confidence in newly launched products and brands. It is a mode of infotainment to garner effective demand. Potential customers can catch live streams on Product Display Pages, Brand Stores as well as the Amazon Live homepage.
Amazon has now integrated the ‘Follow’ button with Amazon Live to help transform shoppers into followers. The feature is another proof of how video content has the power to convert the right customers.
If there was ever a right time to harness the power of video advertising on Amazon – it is now.
What are the Metrics for Brand Follow?
Amazon Brand Follow insights are similar to the metrics tracked by different social media platforms. These include follower count, views, engagement, and impressions. Brand Stores that are not making use of Amazon Posts can view their follower count in the Brand Store insights dashboard. Moreover, brands that are using Amazon Posts can track their follower count through the Posts Publisher.
Who is Eligible for Brand Follow?
At present, the feature is only available in the United States. Amazon will automatically allow all Brand Stores to benefit from Brand Follow.
Closing Thoughts on Amazon Brand Follow
Recent tools and features announcements by Amazon are proof that the company is constantly innovating for brands. If you own a brand on Amazon, you must start integrating these new tools and features as part of your strategy for brand growth and awareness. This will help you gain a competitive advantage in your category and drive demand for profitable long-term growth