Remember this – social media has become an indispensable tool in kickstarting your Amazon New Product Launch for profitability and success.
As compared to previous years, one thing that I realized as a long-term Amazon seller is that finding new products to sell in Amazon has become increasingly difficult due to the high number of sellers, the increasing saturation of products, and the stringent regulation (and ‘over competitiveness’) of Amazon itself. Nevertheless, as the Marketing and Brand Executive of a company specializing in launching FBA products, one thing is for sure – Creating a brand helps you stand out from the rest.
In this article, I would like to talk about how you can leverage social media platforms for your Amazon New Product Launch. This includes pre-launch testing and advertisement, on-launch reviews, and even client research to make a calculated risk about the product you are trying to sell.
So, if you are looking to succeed in the Amazon marketplace today, tune in and read until the end.
[lwptoc]
Top Three Social Media Strategies for your Amazon New Product Launch
1. Establish your Social media Presence (duh)
If you are reading this right now, you might be thinking, “Of course you have to create a page; nobody ever fails to do that, duh.”
Now, I know what you are thinking, but this essential step is what most Amazon sellers forget, based on my experience. Most amateur (and even veteran) sellers believe that doing strategic and proper product research is sufficient for them to succeed in the marketplace. Little did they know that the power of social media can be leveraged even before you actually start a product in Amazon to make sure that you will have a good customer base when you have sent your products to Amazon’s fulfillment centers.
Let me tell you one of the success stories of an Amazon brand, generating $30,000 per month, that we launched ourselves. We did this experiment after we were done doing our product research, client research, and keyword research.
Before launching Shellics, we first created a test page on Facebook and posted short ‘video teasers’ similar to those that you can watch from Kickstarter to increase consumer awareness. Of course, we made sure that we are yet to launch that actual product and asked some of them to sign up to be notified when we have already launched it.
This benefited us in two ways; (1) it showed us that we are creating a viable product that would not simply ‘stagnate’ in Amazon’s fulfillment centers and do more cost than damage, and (2) it helped us build that “warm audience,” which we can further contact via email so that they can buy either through our future Amazon listing or through our independent online eCommerce Store.
Note that the Amazon FBA social media sales funnel below is just an example of the successful ones we have used. If you want to learn more about using this Social media sales funnel, whether for your Amazon brand or your Online (i.e., Shopify) store, click here.
Surprisingly, we were able to generate more than $20,000 in just the first month of selling, most of which were generated through the email offerings that we sent from that ‘warm audience’ After conducting this several times, we noticed that our clients who utilized these social media strategies (or had us implement these strategies for them) had 25% – 30% more than what we generated for other products that we launched in the same category.
Although there could be numerous factors that could affect this, my experience in managing Amazon One Step and launching products for dozens of clients has shown that those who try to create an Amazon FBA brand, even before launch, have a higher success rate than those who don’t. Thus, moving forward from 2017, I also encourage my clients not to launch a product but create a lasting and emotionally appealing brand.
Creating a pre-launch page increases our client’s actual sales (all platforms) by around 25% to 30% compared to products of similar categories.
-John Louis Aguila, Marketing and Brand Executive, Amazon One Step
2. Use Test Surveys
Do you know that you can use test surveys for your Amazon New Product Launch? Yes, you can! Surveys are good ways to gauge your possible profits and ROI over the long run and a way to know whether there is an actual demand for your product.
However, take note that surveys are not too efficient if you are only planning to sell on Amazon. Based on my experience in launching new products through Amazon One Step, surveys are best if you are looking to build a strong brand on multiple platforms like Amazon, eBay, and Shopify.
In fact, in one of the studies that we made, we found out that the ROI and profits are faster and higher when surveys are used to establish stores with an independent online presence (both social media and Shopify stores). We did not include any product and keyword research, and we merely implemented it on four different products that we launched in each of the eCommerce marketplaces to prevent any effect on our profits and Return-on-Investments.
However, you have to note that similar to any other kind of advertisement, surveys may increase your costs if not done correctly. Doing this in tandem with a strategic product, client, and keyword research could significantly improve your sales and revenues, especially in highly competitive product categories in the Amazon marketplace.
If you are interested in doing surveys, you can try adding them to your Amazon product launching strategy through Social Media platforms (especially YouTube) or ask your Product Launch Services provider.
3. Use Social Media Influencers
One way that you can kickstart your Amazon FBA brand is through the use of social media influencers. This works better with unique and visually appealing brands (i.e., jewelry and cometic categories) since it helps establish both recognition and hype for your products.
In several cosmetic products that we launched, we asked social media influencers to create ‘short teaser videos’ even before placing the product in the marketplace. Accordingly, we utilize our regular social media sales funnel and provided a 15% discount for pre-orders for Amazon buyers and a 20% discount for those who would purchase through our client’s website.
Surprisingly, we were able to generate more than $16,000 in sales within a month (more than $230,000 after a year) after launch for a product that only costs $54 per unit. Starting then, we started recommending using the same method for our clients for a successful Amazon product launch, especially for similarly related categories or services.
Creating a Successful and Profitable Pre-launch Social Media Strategy
Always remember that social media is an indispensable tool for your business in more ways than one. Even before you send your product to Amazon fulfillment centers, proper and strategic social media can get you a step ahead of your competitors (present and future).
Nonetheless, always remember that the use of any marketing platform without a strategic and well-researched plan could generate more risks than benefits.
