CEO & Founder of AMZ One Step | Amazon Creatives Agency | Helping Amazon Sellers Succeed.
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It’s no surprise that the competition on Amazon is fierce—after all, it’s the world’s largest marketplace. Just to get seen, retailers have to pour money into PPC campaigns and Buy Box bids, and the high-traffic keywords are already dominated by big brands with bigger wallets. Luckily, there’s a little-known shortcut to getting traffic without the cost, and it’s been right under our noses this whole time.
Amazon Posts first launched in 2019, but as of this writing, it’s still in beta. Amazon is still working out the kinks of this hybrid between social-style content and on-site advertising, so they’re holding off on the publicity for now. That means you can still get in on the ground floor (as long as you meet the criteria).
Below, I’ll outline what online retailers need to know about this potentially game-changing feature: what it is, how it works, and whether or not you meet the requirements. If all goes well, you could be looking at a whole new avenue for Amazon traffic, and for free.
At AMZ One Step, we have created over 80,000 images for Amazon Posts. Most of our clients are taking advantage of this feature and are generating free traffic to their listings. We have seen up to a 15% increase in traffic if Amazon Posts are utilized frequently.
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What Are Amazon Posts?
Amazon Posts allow sellers to share content about their products in the same style as social media, such as images with captions. Shoppers can simply click on your Post and a link takes them directly to the product page. This allows retailers to increase both visibility and traffic (and sales, by extension) without having to bid or buy ad space.
Posts are uploaded just like social media posts, although the user doesn’t get to choose where or when they appear. Amazon’s algorithm automatically assigns Posts to pages that are most relevant, typically by product category.
How Do Amazon Posts Work?
At the moment, Posts appear in four separate locations:
• Your product detail pages.
• Product detail pages of related brands.
• Category feeds.
• Your own brand feed.
At the bottom of product detail pages for you and related brands, a picture carousel displays your Posts with interactive swiping so that shoppers can scroll through them horizontally. If your Posts are enticing enough, you’ll be able to attract customers from competitors’ pages or inspire shoppers to buy more of your products.
Based on what you’re selling, Amazon also assigns your Posts auto-tags like “baby playmats” or “cutlery and knives.” Shoppers can click on these tags to bring up an entire feed of Posts for that category, allowing shoppers to browse new products and brands. Similarly, each brand has its own feed with all its Posts. Loyal customers will want to keep an eye on your brand to see what’s new.
Each Post consists of five parts:
• Brand information: The top of your Posts shows your brand name and an icon for your logo.
• Image: Your photo fills up the majority of your Post so shoppers can easily see it.
• Caption: Write a caption of up to 2,200 characters to describe your product; the finished Post shows the first two lines by default.
• ‘Show product’ tab: Clicking on this tab reveals product information like its full title, rating and price. Clicking on this information takes the shopper to your product page.
• Tags: The Post’s category tags are listed at the bottom and take shoppers to the category feeds when clicked.
Aside from the tags, sellers are free to set all these parts how they like. The image, in particular, can be used strategically; savvy sellers can upload attention-grabbing visuals to ensure they get noticed whenever they pop up.
Who Can Use Amazon Posts?
Unlike Amazon’s other invite-only programs, Posts are comparatively much more open. To be able to use Posts, you must be one of the following:
• Enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry.
• A member of the Vendor programs.
• An agency representing a Vendor.
Considering the emphasis on branding, it makes sense that only registered brands can participate. This allows you to group all your products and Posts together under the same banner to encourage customer loyalty.
However, because it’s still in beta, Amazon Posts are only available in the U.S. Based on how Amazon’s other features have rolled out, it’s safe to assume that once Posts gets further along, it will become accessible to other countries and their marketplaces.
Better Visuals Make Better Visibility
Because Posts are reliant on visuals, the images you post are going to make all the difference. Amazon is a competitive marketplace, so I would recommend doing proper research before working on your creatives. This research must include reading reviews and commonly asked questions on your existing listing and/or your top competitor’s listings. Amazon Posts could be white background, infographics or lifestyle images. Invest in a high-quality camera and work with a professional editor.
If you’re not confident in your product pictures or want to leverage the touch of an expert, a lot of sellers rely on Amazon product photography services.
Amazon Posts are still a very underutilized feature of your storefront. If you are not posting frequently, you are missing out. It increases your brand awareness and free traffic, which will potentially increase your sales on Amazon.
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Author: Kamaljit Singh, Forbes Councils Member
