In today’s digital age, online shopping is more popular than ever. Consumer reliance on eCommerce grows every year, and in the wake of COVID-19, growth has been exponential. It is more important now than ever for businesses to take their products online and make footprints on popular digital marketplaces. Out of every marketplace, there is none more popular and important on which to establish a presence than Amazon. Because of COVID-19, competition on Amazon is fiercer than ever. Luckily, content agencies, like Tulfa, are here to help businesses act now. This blog highlights a few tips we recommend for to sellers succeed on Amazon, as well as on any online marketplace. 

Understand the Current State of Amazon

The first thing sellers need to address is Amazon’s prioritization of essential products. The sudden spike in online shoppers during the current pandemic was unexpected for every business, including Amazon. Understandably, the company is having trouble meeting this incredible demand and has decided to ship essential products before others to help struggling customers. 

So, what makes a product “essential?” According to Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos, essential items include “household staples, sanitizers, baby formula, and medical supplies.” This broad description makes sense on paper, but in practice, whether a product is deemed “essential” seems to be somewhat subjective. 

Fortunately, products that you believe are vital and incorrectly classified as nonessential may be reclassified by your vendor manager. The process is as simple as contacting them with a list of products for review and reasons why each are essential. 

Now that essential and nonessential products are clarified, businesses can act knowing that Amazon currently prioritizes certain products over others. With this out of the way, let’s move on to specific tips to help your products stand out from the rest. 

Utilize Essential Advertising Tools

After understanding the current state of Amazon, the next step is to create your product listings. While doing so, take advantage of Amazon’s wealth of advertising tools to get ahead of the competition.

The first step is to choose an ad campaign. There are three types of campaigns—auto, manual, and sponsored brand—each with unique advantages to consider. For best results, we recommend that Amazon sellers at least try all three, as they complement each other’s strengths. Doing so will allow you to gather better keyword data, have better ad placement, and maintain a strong brand image at the top of the page. 

Once you set up your ad campaign, you have access to one of the best tools on Amazon: product marketing. Located under manual campaign options, this tool allows you to display your ads on competing product pages, giving you a much higher chance to steal sales. It should be noted that this kind of ad placement is a bit pricier, so research should be used to determined worthwhile targets. 

Another popular advertising tool is Sponsored Brands video. This feature allows you to place a video ad up to 45 seconds at the top of any keyword search you desire. Your selected keywords are targeted as exact keywords and can be added or removed at any time. The only potential negative is cost; Amazon requires an insertion order of $35,000. However, the cost is not required up front. If you aren’t satisfied after the first week, you can cancel your ad without having to pay the fee. Even with the price, this tool is a great way to set your ads apart on any keyword search you desire. 

Create Content That Connects to Consumers

Getting consumers to click on your product is only half the battle. Once they are on your product page, most people will not open their wallets unless your content emotionally connects them to your product or brand in some way. Offering a product that meets their needs is not enough; they must be convinced by your content. Creating quality content that connects to consumers is our final tip to succeed on Amazon.

Words are important, but using the right ones is key to conversion. Creative, concise, and catchy A+ content provides relevant and accurate product information to your customers. When creating your product page, include only the necessary details that your customer needs without wasting their time. Nobody wants to read a wall of text when shopping. 

Just as important as product content is eye-catching product imagery. For some people, it can be the primary deciding factor. Quality pack shots, hero images, lifestyle images, and product videos build your customers’ trust in both your products and brand. These kinds of imagery are industry standard, but that can be a problem; if you’re using the same imagery that every other seller is, how do you make your pages stand out? 

To take your product pages to the next level, using cutting–edge imagery like 360-degree spin photography and 3D models. Both formats are quickly gaining traction for their advantages over traditional product imagery, particularly 3D models. Using CGI technology, products can be presented in the virtual space like never before, enhancing product pages in a variety of ways. 

Replacing the need for traditional product photography, 3D models are fully interactive, allowing customers to view products from all angles at their own pace. They are also used to create detailed virtual product videos that eliminate the need to use studio space, ship and store products, and hire photographers or videographers. 

While 3D models are commonly used to replace traditional methods of product imagery, its potential is just beginning to be explored with virtual and augmented reality. Using existing 3D models, Amazon sellers can bring customers into immersive worlds that are tailored to specific products. With augmented reality, customers can bring these experiences into their own homes. This technology is gaining popularity and is already being integrated by Amazon, as well as other leading marketplaces. The company now offers View in Your Room, a service that lets customers use their phones to view products in their homes before they buy them. This service is beneficial to both buyers and sellers, reducing returns for products that did not meet customers’ expectations. 

A Brighter Future

COVID-19 has accelerated the inevitable growth of the eCommerce industry. We all knew shoppers would eventually move online, but we had no idea it would happen so soon. While many people will likely return to brick-and-mortar shopping once the pandemic ends, many who have found comfort in contactless shopping will likely stay online.  

Before 2020, it was already important for sellers to build a presence on Amazon, but with eCommerce numbers that were previously predicted in five years occurring in three months, the time to act is now. More people shop on Amazon than any other marketplace on Earth, so use our tips from this blog to ensure a brighter future for your brand. 

Need Help Getting Started?

We’re here to help new Amazon sellers. Shoot us an email or reach out to us on social media. As one of eCommerce’s leading content agencies, we make sure customers notice your products. Check out our services for more information and a free sample of our work.