Unitix Advertising Agency
5 steps to building a fully functional marketing strategy on Amazon
Why is full-service marketing important?
Each month, more than 215 million customers visit Amazon.com to find and purchase new products. Although Amazon is originally a retail store, it has now become something much bigger for customers. Customers rely on Amazon to browse product reviews, listen to podcasts and music, watch movies, stream video games and read their favorite books.
Customers listen to Amazon Music during their morning runs and commutes to work, count on Alexa to create shopping lists for dinner, and at the end of the day they relax by listening to the streaming Fire TV show.
As a result, Amazon Ads has the unique ability to create full-funnel marketing strategies that reach audiences throughout their daily lives.
At the same time, this broad coverage can make it difficult to understand where to start when building a full-funnel strategy, so we've split the process into 5 simple steps.
Customers listen to Amazon Music during their morning runs and commutes to work, count on Alexa to create shopping lists for dinner, and at the end of the day they relax by listening to the streaming Fire TV show.
As a result, Amazon Ads has the unique ability to create full-funnel marketing strategies that reach audiences throughout their daily lives.
At the same time, this broad coverage can make it difficult to understand where to start when building a full-funnel strategy, so we've split the process into 5 simple steps.
1. Make sure your products are ready to be sold
We always recommend starting from the bottom of the funnel and working your way up when building a full-funnel strategy. For example, before you pay to promote a product, make sure your listing has no spelling errors, has enough images, at least 15 reviews, and your score is pretty high.
Hint. Another quick (and free) way to get your products ready for retail is to use the free branded content Amazon Ads offers, such as Posts and Stores. The store is a place to extend your brand. Posts are an opportunity to tell customers about your products with eye-catching lifestyle images.
We always recommend starting from the bottom of the funnel and working your way up when building a full-funnel strategy. For example, before you pay to promote a product, make sure your listing has no spelling errors, has enough images, at least 15 reviews, and your score is pretty high.
Hint. Another quick (and free) way to get your products ready for retail is to use the free branded content Amazon Ads offers, such as Posts and Stores. The store is a place to extend your brand. Posts are an opportunity to tell customers about your products with eye-catching lifestyle images.
2. Approach customers who will be most likely to make a purchase
Once you've optimized your listings to increase conversions, start experimenting with tactics to boost purchases. For example, we recommend sponsored product ads that reach shoppers with branded search queries that indicate high intent (e.g., "BabyOne baby soap") or remarketing to an audience that viewed your product information page with a sponsored display.
Hint. Remarketing ads appear on and beyond Amazon, making this tactic a great way to stay in the loop. Since your total potential remarketing audience depends on the size of the audience that viewed your product detail page, consider remarketing after key shopping periods such as Prime Day and the holiday season, when your product detail pages may have had more page views.
Once you've optimized your listings to increase conversions, start experimenting with tactics to boost purchases. For example, we recommend sponsored product ads that reach shoppers with branded search queries that indicate high intent (e.g., "BabyOne baby soap") or remarketing to an audience that viewed your product information page with a sponsored display.
Hint. Remarketing ads appear on and beyond Amazon, making this tactic a great way to stay in the loop. Since your total potential remarketing audience depends on the size of the audience that viewed your product detail page, consider remarketing after key shopping periods such as Prime Day and the holiday season, when your product detail pages may have had more page views.
3. Differentiate yourself in your category
Once your products are ready to retail and optimized for conversion, we recommend investing in the types of ads that will help you stand out in your category and differentiate your brand from your peers. For example, a soap company might use sponsored display targeting to reach customers browsing relevant categories (like soap), similar products (like homogeneous soap bars), or additional products (like shampoo).
Hint. If you have a recently launched product, you can even use product targeting to place ads on your own product pages to let customers know about your new releases. Placing product-targeted placements on your own product details page also limits the chance that other placements will show up on your product details pages.
Once your products are ready to retail and optimized for conversion, we recommend investing in the types of ads that will help you stand out in your category and differentiate your brand from your peers. For example, a soap company might use sponsored display targeting to reach customers browsing relevant categories (like soap), similar products (like homogeneous soap bars), or additional products (like shampoo).
Hint. If you have a recently launched product, you can even use product targeting to place ads on your own product pages to let customers know about your new releases. Placing product-targeted placements on your own product details page also limits the chance that other placements will show up on your product details pages.
4. Build your brand
Once you're confident that you own your Sponsored product results, we recommend focusing more on products such as video and media advertising, through Amazon DSPs and Sponsored Brands. At this point, consider bidding on broader search queries (e.g., "shampoo") and reaching an audience of interested buyers. An audience of interested shoppers is an audience who's buying patterns indicate that they might be interested in your product.
Hint. Consider using sponsored brands to drive traffic to your store page to inform customers about your brand's history and products during the consideration phase.
Once you're confident that you own your Sponsored product results, we recommend focusing more on products such as video and media advertising, through Amazon DSPs and Sponsored Brands. At this point, consider bidding on broader search queries (e.g., "shampoo") and reaching an audience of interested buyers. An audience of interested shoppers is an audience who's buying patterns indicate that they might be interested in your product.
Hint. Consider using sponsored brands to drive traffic to your store page to inform customers about your brand's history and products during the consideration phase.
5. Expand your audience.
The last step to a full-scale campaign is to build awareness. Amazon DSP can help you to scale your outreach across multiple channels (including media ads, audio, and broadcast video). Using, Amazon Ads audience builder, you can define audiences based on lifestyle (e.g., athletes), streaming preferences, and similar audiences.
Hint. Consider combining audio ads and streaming TV to reach audiences beyond the screen and home.
A full-funnel strategy can help you to improve the effectiveness of your entire funnel. When you implement a full-funnel marketing strategy, you are likely to see complex effects that will lead to stronger results at every stage of the funnel, from increased ROAS to increased sales and increased awareness and intention to make a purchase.
The last step to a full-scale campaign is to build awareness. Amazon DSP can help you to scale your outreach across multiple channels (including media ads, audio, and broadcast video). Using, Amazon Ads audience builder, you can define audiences based on lifestyle (e.g., athletes), streaming preferences, and similar audiences.
Hint. Consider combining audio ads and streaming TV to reach audiences beyond the screen and home.
A full-funnel strategy can help you to improve the effectiveness of your entire funnel. When you implement a full-funnel marketing strategy, you are likely to see complex effects that will lead to stronger results at every stage of the funnel, from increased ROAS to increased sales and increased awareness and intention to make a purchase.
No two ways are the same for the customer.
Alex Tkach
CEO & Co-Founder Unitix