2022年深秋,布魯克·茱琳從家庭主婦轉(zhuǎn)型為全職網(wǎng)紅,。
不過茱琳經(jīng)常發(fā)布視頻的平臺并不是YouTube,、TikTok或者Instagram。她的網(wǎng)紅事業(yè)選在了在線零售巨頭亞馬遜(Amazon),。
如果想理解茱琳的決定,,就可以看看最近她在Amazon Inspire上,也就是亞馬遜版TikTok平臺發(fā)布的一段視頻,。視頻中她在向粉絲展示遛狗時(shí)的穿著,。
41歲金發(fā)的茱琳將智能手機(jī)攝像頭對準(zhǔn)淺褐色的新百倫(New Balance)運(yùn)動(dòng)鞋,穿上白色的耐克(Nike)中筒襪,白色是中性色調(diào),,正好能夠中和桃紅色的運(yùn)動(dòng)內(nèi)衣和自行車短褲,。這套搭配很完美,而且只要在Inspire上點(diǎn)擊三下,,用戶就可以在亞馬遜輕松購買推薦商品,。
“亞馬遜比Pinterest和Instagram等平臺購物更方便?!避锪諏Α敦?cái)富》雜志表示,,“有了[Amazon Inspire],所有商品都能夠匯集在一起,,直接在平臺上購物,。”
Inspire嵌在Amazon Shopping應(yīng)用程序里,,充分體現(xiàn)了該公司向創(chuàng)作者經(jīng)濟(jì)轉(zhuǎn)型的最新舉措,。盡管5月Amazon Inspire才在全美推出,茱琳等一眾網(wǎng)紅對這款移動(dòng)優(yōu)先平臺滿意度很高,。茱琳表示,,她通過亞馬遜傭金、創(chuàng)作者工具和品牌交易,,月收入在5,000美元至50,000美元之間,,收入上限遠(yuǎn)高于亞馬遜高級產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理的月薪(不過《財(cái)富》雜志并未核實(shí)收入數(shù)字),。
內(nèi)容和商業(yè)的強(qiáng)有力結(jié)合是亞馬遜吸引創(chuàng)作者和網(wǎng)紅加入平臺的核心。再加上其他舉措,,尤其是亞馬遜賣家聯(lián)盟(Amazon Affiliates)和直播購物渠道亞馬遜直播(Amazon Live),,這家電商巨頭已經(jīng)成為創(chuàng)作者經(jīng)濟(jì)的重要一員,而且越發(fā)積極地跟社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)巨頭競爭吸引人才,。
在社交媒體上,,購物的價(jià)值并沒有消失。上周,,YouTube為旗下的YouTube Partners啟動(dòng)了全國購物聯(lián)盟計(jì)劃,,合作方包括諾德斯特龍(Nordstrom)和絲芙蘭(Sephora)等50個(gè)品牌,。據(jù)Business Insider報(bào)道,自2022年11月以來,,字節(jié)跳動(dòng)旗下的TikTok也在不斷調(diào)整,規(guī)定傭金率由各個(gè)品牌自行設(shè)定。
但亞馬遜旗下有龐大的零售產(chǎn)品,,幾乎涵蓋了所有可以想象的品類,,所以在創(chuàng)作者經(jīng)濟(jì)領(lǐng)域的優(yōu)勢可能讓其他社交公司難望其項(xiàng)背。
“亞馬遜正在成為零售版YouTube,?!比瞬殴芾砉綪RJT Z的首席執(zhí)行官杜克·麥肯奇表示。該公司旗下頂級創(chuàng)作者包括美國最受歡迎的TikTok網(wǎng)紅卡比·萊姆等,?!八袃?nèi)容里都能夠添加亞馬遜聯(lián)盟鏈接和各種應(yīng)用,所以可以成為最強(qiáng)大的專門收入來源之一,,就像YouTube一樣,。”
從名人開店到類電視購物
亞馬遜社交產(chǎn)品的核心是為購物決策提供信息,,而茱琳之類的網(wǎng)紅主要扮演迷人又淵博的銷售角色,。
亞馬遜創(chuàng)作者計(jì)劃里時(shí)間最久也最重要的是名為亞馬遜紅人(Amazon Influencers)的聯(lián)盟網(wǎng)絡(luò)。據(jù)知情人士透露,,通過這項(xiàng)最早于2017年推出的計(jì)劃,,從小鎮(zhèn)媽媽到網(wǎng)紅查莉·達(dá)梅利奧等創(chuàng)作者都能夠在自己的亞馬遜“小店”中管理喜歡的產(chǎn)品,并獲得3%的傭金,。傭金看起來不高,,但對創(chuàng)作者來說這是少量提升,也是結(jié)合購物習(xí)慣將日常內(nèi)容變現(xiàn)的簡單方法,。創(chuàng)作者只需要在自我介紹頁面里鏈接亞馬遜店面,,推薦觀眾前往介紹頁里的鏈接購買產(chǎn)品就可以。
人才管理公司UnderCurrent的首席執(zhí)行官及創(chuàng)始人埃里克·博加德是亞馬遜頂級產(chǎn)品評審員,,他深知小額傭金加起來可能很高,。他說,公司里的一些頭部網(wǎng)紅每年通過亞馬遜傭金獲得的收入能夠超過100萬美元,。
Meta和TikTok上不少創(chuàng)作者因?yàn)槿狈?lì)很生氣,,所以不少人轉(zhuǎn)而做亞馬遜店非常容易理解?!皝嗰R遜店做得很好,,因?yàn)橐粋€(gè)地方可以買到所有的東西,從房屋到衣服再到美妝產(chǎn)品,,點(diǎn)兩下交易就完成了,。”Digital Brand Architects負(fù)責(zé)人才管理的執(zhí)行副總裁克里斯蒂娜·瓊斯表示,,目前該公司管理的創(chuàng)作者達(dá)到200多名,。
另一項(xiàng)重要舉措是直播購物平臺亞馬遜直播。直播節(jié)目約100個(gè),有Try Tech Live,,小主播現(xiàn)場測試SkyMall風(fēng)格的商品,,比如49.99美元看起來像火炬的藍(lán)牙音箱,也有跟奧利維亞·庫爾普等大牌創(chuàng)作者合作的季度節(jié)目,。亞馬遜從未討論過相關(guān)內(nèi)容的表現(xiàn),,沒有透露在該平臺上投資多少,在《財(cái)富》雜志截稿前也沒有發(fā)表評論,。
在社交平臺上購物很普遍,,然而在美國,直播購物往往讓人聯(lián)想到花里胡哨的網(wǎng)絡(luò)電視購物頻道HSN和QVC,。亞馬遜希望網(wǎng)紅把直播變得有趣也更現(xiàn)代,,讓直播購物變成主流,就像在中國一樣,。舉個(gè)例子,,中國頭部帶貨主播李佳琦兩小時(shí)直播中吸引到6,300萬觀眾。[《財(cái)富》雜志參加了美東時(shí)間6月15日下午5點(diǎn)奧利維亞·庫爾普的夏日美容秀直播(My Summer Beauty Routine With Olivia Culpo),,相比之下,,這檔一小時(shí)的直播僅吸引到750名觀眾。]
“(直播)趨勢正在增長,?!奔t人營銷和社交智能平臺Tagger的創(chuàng)始人及總裁彼得·肯尼迪在談到美國社交媒體的直播購物時(shí)表示?!爸辈ベ徫锬J竭€沒有完全成熟,,但能夠看到很多品牌在向這一方向努力。在我看來,,直播最終是否會(huì)超過主流社交商業(yè)模式尚未可知,。”
亞馬遜能夠把購物者變成觀眾嗎,?
盡管亞馬遜在電商方面擁有強(qiáng)大的領(lǐng)先優(yōu)勢,,在社交媒體方面還在努力追趕。創(chuàng)作者和網(wǎng)紅當(dāng)然都渴望獲得新的收入來源,,不過受眾廣大的社交平臺至關(guān)重要,。
亞馬遜開拓社交方面的問題之一,,便是不具備獨(dú)立的社交平臺;創(chuàng)作者直播推廣的所有活動(dòng)都是亞馬遜網(wǎng)站和Amazon Shopping鏈接,。這樣一來從內(nèi)容到購物的渠道確實(shí)很順暢,,但需要培養(yǎng)用戶去亞馬遜網(wǎng)站觀看創(chuàng)作者內(nèi)容的習(xí)慣。
“這一點(diǎn)很困難,,因?yàn)槿藗円话悴粫?huì)去亞馬遜看內(nèi)容或推薦,,而是去TikTok、YouTube或者Instagram,?!盪nderCurrent的首席執(zhí)行官博加德表示,。“亞馬遜在人們眼里主要還是購物平臺,,當(dāng)然我知道他們也在努力改變這一印象,。”
亞馬遜的合作基礎(chǔ)非常強(qiáng)大,,Prime用戶就有2億,,很多人在亞馬遜觀看長內(nèi)容,聽音樂,。憑借新推出的類似TikTok產(chǎn)品Amazon Inspire,,亞馬遜正在努力讓商業(yè)應(yīng)用程序上的購物者體驗(yàn)社交內(nèi)容。
如果亞馬遜上的購物者喜歡在Inspire上觀看網(wǎng)紅的帶貨視頻,,那么這一機(jī)會(huì)可能就非常不錯(cuò)。從貓咪視頻到懸崖放鷹,,社交媒體公司主要通過分析用戶已經(jīng)觀看的內(nèi)容來辨別用戶的興趣,,而亞馬遜可以根據(jù)用戶的購買記錄向用戶推薦創(chuàng)作者內(nèi)容。由于亞馬遜Inspire上的視頻目標(biāo)都是推動(dòng)銷售,,創(chuàng)作者更容易觸達(dá)目標(biāo)受眾。
“亞馬遜在電商領(lǐng)域經(jīng)驗(yàn)豐富,,在幫助(創(chuàng)作者帶貨)迅速起量方面(比TikTok)機(jī)會(huì)更大,。”卡比·萊姆在美國的管理者麥肯奇表示,?!拔覀兏鷦?chuàng)作者聊時(shí),,如果有人想利用(聯(lián)盟)優(yōu)勢,,我們就會(huì)推薦亞馬遜?!保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:梁宇
審校:夏林
2022年深秋,,布魯克·茱琳從家庭主婦轉(zhuǎn)型為全職網(wǎng)紅。
不過茱琳經(jīng)常發(fā)布視頻的平臺并不是YouTube,、TikTok或者Instagram,。她的網(wǎng)紅事業(yè)選在了在線零售巨頭亞馬遜(Amazon)。
如果想理解茱琳的決定,,就可以看看最近她在Amazon Inspire上,,也就是亞馬遜版TikTok平臺發(fā)布的一段視頻。視頻中她在向粉絲展示遛狗時(shí)的穿著,。
41歲金發(fā)的茱琳將智能手機(jī)攝像頭對準(zhǔn)淺褐色的新百倫(New Balance)運(yùn)動(dòng)鞋,,穿上白色的耐克(Nike)中筒襪,白色是中性色調(diào),,正好能夠中和桃紅色的運(yùn)動(dòng)內(nèi)衣和自行車短褲,。這套搭配很完美,而且只要在Inspire上點(diǎn)擊三下,,用戶就可以在亞馬遜輕松購買推薦商品,。
“亞馬遜比Pinterest和Instagram等平臺購物更方便?!避锪諏Α敦?cái)富》雜志表示,,“有了[Amazon Inspire],所有商品都能夠匯集在一起,,直接在平臺上購物,。”
Inspire嵌在Amazon Shopping應(yīng)用程序里,,充分體現(xiàn)了該公司向創(chuàng)作者經(jīng)濟(jì)轉(zhuǎn)型的最新舉措,。盡管5月Amazon Inspire才在全美推出,茱琳等一眾網(wǎng)紅對這款移動(dòng)優(yōu)先平臺滿意度很高,。茱琳表示,,她通過亞馬遜傭金、創(chuàng)作者工具和品牌交易,,月收入在5,000美元至50,000美元之間,,收入上限遠(yuǎn)高于亞馬遜高級產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理的月薪(不過《財(cái)富》雜志并未核實(shí)收入數(shù)字)。
內(nèi)容和商業(yè)的強(qiáng)有力結(jié)合是亞馬遜吸引創(chuàng)作者和網(wǎng)紅加入平臺的核心,。再加上其他舉措,,尤其是亞馬遜賣家聯(lián)盟(Amazon Affiliates)和直播購物渠道亞馬遜直播(Amazon Live),這家電商巨頭已經(jīng)成為創(chuàng)作者經(jīng)濟(jì)的重要一員,,而且越發(fā)積極地跟社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)巨頭競爭吸引人才,。
在社交媒體上,,購物的價(jià)值并沒有消失。上周,,YouTube為旗下的YouTube Partners啟動(dòng)了全國購物聯(lián)盟計(jì)劃,,合作方包括諾德斯特龍(Nordstrom)和絲芙蘭(Sephora)等50個(gè)品牌。據(jù)Business Insider報(bào)道,,自2022年11月以來,,字節(jié)跳動(dòng)旗下的TikTok也在不斷調(diào)整,,規(guī)定傭金率由各個(gè)品牌自行設(shè)定,。
但亞馬遜旗下有龐大的零售產(chǎn)品,幾乎涵蓋了所有可以想象的品類,,所以在創(chuàng)作者經(jīng)濟(jì)領(lǐng)域的優(yōu)勢可能讓其他社交公司難望其項(xiàng)背,。
“亞馬遜正在成為零售版YouTube?!比瞬殴芾砉綪RJT Z的首席執(zhí)行官杜克·麥肯奇表示,。該公司旗下頂級創(chuàng)作者包括美國最受歡迎的TikTok網(wǎng)紅卡比·萊姆等?!八袃?nèi)容里都能夠添加亞馬遜聯(lián)盟鏈接和各種應(yīng)用,,所以可以成為最強(qiáng)大的專門收入來源之一,就像YouTube一樣,?!?/p>
從名人開店到類電視購物
亞馬遜社交產(chǎn)品的核心是為購物決策提供信息,而茱琳之類的網(wǎng)紅主要扮演迷人又淵博的銷售角色,。
亞馬遜創(chuàng)作者計(jì)劃里時(shí)間最久也最重要的是名為亞馬遜紅人(Amazon Influencers)的聯(lián)盟網(wǎng)絡(luò),。據(jù)知情人士透露,通過這項(xiàng)最早于2017年推出的計(jì)劃,,從小鎮(zhèn)媽媽到網(wǎng)紅查莉·達(dá)梅利奧等創(chuàng)作者都能夠在自己的亞馬遜“小店”中管理喜歡的產(chǎn)品,,并獲得3%的傭金。傭金看起來不高,,但對創(chuàng)作者來說這是少量提升,,也是結(jié)合購物習(xí)慣將日常內(nèi)容變現(xiàn)的簡單方法。創(chuàng)作者只需要在自我介紹頁面里鏈接亞馬遜店面,,推薦觀眾前往介紹頁里的鏈接購買產(chǎn)品就可以,。
人才管理公司UnderCurrent的首席執(zhí)行官及創(chuàng)始人埃里克·博加德是亞馬遜頂級產(chǎn)品評審員,他深知小額傭金加起來可能很高,。他說,,公司里的一些頭部網(wǎng)紅每年通過亞馬遜傭金獲得的收入能夠超過100萬美元。
Meta和TikTok上不少創(chuàng)作者因?yàn)槿狈?lì)很生氣,,所以不少人轉(zhuǎn)而做亞馬遜店非常容易理解,?!皝嗰R遜店做得很好,因?yàn)橐粋€(gè)地方可以買到所有的東西,,從房屋到衣服再到美妝產(chǎn)品,,點(diǎn)兩下交易就完成了?!盌igital Brand Architects負(fù)責(zé)人才管理的執(zhí)行副總裁克里斯蒂娜·瓊斯表示,,目前該公司管理的創(chuàng)作者達(dá)到200多名。
另一項(xiàng)重要舉措是直播購物平臺亞馬遜直播,。直播節(jié)目約100個(gè),,有Try Tech Live,小主播現(xiàn)場測試SkyMall風(fēng)格的商品,,比如49.99美元看起來像火炬的藍(lán)牙音箱,,也有跟奧利維亞·庫爾普等大牌創(chuàng)作者合作的季度節(jié)目。亞馬遜從未討論過相關(guān)內(nèi)容的表現(xiàn),,沒有透露在該平臺上投資多少,,在《財(cái)富》雜志截稿前也沒有發(fā)表評論。
在社交平臺上購物很普遍,,然而在美國,,直播購物往往讓人聯(lián)想到花里胡哨的網(wǎng)絡(luò)電視購物頻道HSN和QVC。亞馬遜希望網(wǎng)紅把直播變得有趣也更現(xiàn)代,,讓直播購物變成主流,,就像在中國一樣。舉個(gè)例子,,中國頭部帶貨主播李佳琦兩小時(shí)直播中吸引到6,300萬觀眾,。[《財(cái)富》雜志參加了美東時(shí)間6月15日下午5點(diǎn)奧利維亞·庫爾普的夏日美容秀直播(My Summer Beauty Routine With Olivia Culpo),相比之下,,這檔一小時(shí)的直播僅吸引到750名觀眾,。]
“(直播)趨勢正在增長?!奔t人營銷和社交智能平臺Tagger的創(chuàng)始人及總裁彼得·肯尼迪在談到美國社交媒體的直播購物時(shí)表示,。“直播購物模式還沒有完全成熟,,但能夠看到很多品牌在向這一方向努力,。在我看來,直播最終是否會(huì)超過主流社交商業(yè)模式尚未可知,?!?/p>
亞馬遜能夠把購物者變成觀眾嗎?
盡管亞馬遜在電商方面擁有強(qiáng)大的領(lǐng)先優(yōu)勢,,在社交媒體方面還在努力追趕,。創(chuàng)作者和網(wǎng)紅當(dāng)然都渴望獲得新的收入來源,,不過受眾廣大的社交平臺至關(guān)重要。
亞馬遜開拓社交方面的問題之一,,便是不具備獨(dú)立的社交平臺,;創(chuàng)作者直播推廣的所有活動(dòng)都是亞馬遜網(wǎng)站和Amazon Shopping鏈接。這樣一來從內(nèi)容到購物的渠道確實(shí)很順暢,,但需要培養(yǎng)用戶去亞馬遜網(wǎng)站觀看創(chuàng)作者內(nèi)容的習(xí)慣,。
“這一點(diǎn)很困難,因?yàn)槿藗円话悴粫?huì)去亞馬遜看內(nèi)容或推薦,,而是去TikTok,、YouTube或者Instagram?!盪nderCurrent的首席執(zhí)行官博加德表示,?!皝嗰R遜在人們眼里主要還是購物平臺,,當(dāng)然我知道他們也在努力改變這一印象?!?/p>
亞馬遜的合作基礎(chǔ)非常強(qiáng)大,,Prime用戶就有2億,很多人在亞馬遜觀看長內(nèi)容,,聽音樂,。憑借新推出的類似TikTok產(chǎn)品Amazon Inspire,亞馬遜正在努力讓商業(yè)應(yīng)用程序上的購物者體驗(yàn)社交內(nèi)容,。
如果亞馬遜上的購物者喜歡在Inspire上觀看網(wǎng)紅的帶貨視頻,,那么這一機(jī)會(huì)可能就非常不錯(cuò)。從貓咪視頻到懸崖放鷹,,社交媒體公司主要通過分析用戶已經(jīng)觀看的內(nèi)容來辨別用戶的興趣,,而亞馬遜可以根據(jù)用戶的購買記錄向用戶推薦創(chuàng)作者內(nèi)容。由于亞馬遜Inspire上的視頻目標(biāo)都是推動(dòng)銷售,,創(chuàng)作者更容易觸達(dá)目標(biāo)受眾,。
“亞馬遜在電商領(lǐng)域經(jīng)驗(yàn)豐富,在幫助(創(chuàng)作者帶貨)迅速起量方面(比TikTok)機(jī)會(huì)更大,?!笨ū取とR姆在美國的管理者麥肯奇表示?!拔覀兏鷦?chuàng)作者聊時(shí),,如果有人想利用(聯(lián)盟)優(yōu)勢,我們就會(huì)推薦亞馬遜,?!保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:梁宇
審校:夏林
In late fall of 2022, Brooke JuLyn transitioned from stay-at-home mom to full-time influencer.
But the primary platform where JuLyn posts her frequent videos isn’t YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram. Instead, JuLyn is building her career as an internet celebrity on a site known less for likes than shopping carts: Amazon.
To understand JuLyn’s decision one need look no further than a recent clip she posted to Amazon Inspire, the internet giant’s version of TikTok, showing fans what she wears to walk her dog.
The 41-year-old blonde thrusts beige New Balance sneakers at her smartphone camera before lacing them up over white Nike mid-calf socks—neutrals that satisfyingly offset her matching hot-pink sports bra and bike shorts. It’s a perfect outfit, and with just three taps on Inspire, users can purchase any of these items on Amazon.
“Amazon is just so much easier to shop than platforms like Pinterest and Instagram,” JuLyn tells Fortune. “With [Amazon Inspire], everything is rolled into one where you can just shop right from it.”
Inspire, which is embedded in the Amazon Shopping app, represents the company’s latest push into the creator economy. Though Amazon Inspire only launched nationwide in May, influencers like JuLyn report high degrees of satisfaction with the mobile-first platform. JuLyn says her monthly earnings from Amazon commissions, creator tools and brand deals can range between $5,000 to as much as $50,000 —far more, at the high end, than the monthly earnings of a senior product manager at Amazon (though Fortune did not verify the earnings figures).
The powerful combination of content and commerce is at the heart of Amazon’s campaign to woo creators and influencers to its platform. Coupled with its other initiatives—notably Amazon Affiliates and live shopping network Amazon Live—the internet e-commerce giant has emerged as an important player in the creator economy; and one that is increasingly competing with the big social networks to attract talent.
The value of shopping hasn’t been lost on social media networks. Last week, YouTube launched a nationwide shopping affiliate program for YouTube Partners with 50 brands ranging from Nordstrom to Sephora. And ByteDance-owned TikTok has been tinkering with its version since November, where commission rates are set by the individual brands, according to Insider.
But with its massive catalog of retail products, in virtually every category imaginable, Amazon has an advantage in this corner of the creator economy that other social companies may struggle to match.
“Amazon is becoming the retail version of YouTube,” says Duke McKenzie, CEO of talent management firm PRJT Z, whose top creators include the world’s most popular TikToker, Khaby Lame, in the U.S. “You are able to put Amazon affiliate links and all their programs in everything you do, making it one of your strongest sources of endemic revenue—like how YouTube is.”
From celebrity storefronts to TV-like shopping
Amazon’s social products are, at their core, content to inform shopping decisions, with influencers like JuLyn acting as charming and deeply knowledgeable sales associates.
The oldest and most significant aspect of Amazon’s creator initiatives is its affiliate network called Amazon Influencers. Through this program, originally launched in 2017, creators ranging from small-town moms to Charli D’Amelio curate their favorite products on their own Amazon “storefront” and earn a commission of 3%, according to a source familiar with the program. This may seem low, but it’s a relatively low lift for creators and an easy way to monetize daily content by stitching it to shopping habits. Creators do so by simply linking their Amazon storefronts in bios, and calling on viewers to visit the link in bios to purchase products.
Eric Bogard, CEO and founder of talent management firm UnderCurrent, represents top Amazon product reviewers and knows these small commissions can add up. He says that some of the top influencers on his roster can generate over $1 million per year from Amazon commissions.
Given the frustration of creators on Meta and TikTok over lack of compensation, many of them see promoting Amazon storefronts as a no-brainer. “Amazon storefronts are doing really well because you can buy everything in one place—from your home to your clothes to your beauty; it’s two clicks and you’re done,” says Christina Jones, executive vice president of talent management at Digital Brand Architects, which manages 200-plus creators.
Another significant initiative is the company’s live shopping platform, Amazon Live. Live hosts around 100 livestream shows that range from Try Tech Live, where minor celebrities test SkyMall-esque objects like a $49.99 Bluetooth speaker that resembles a fire torch, to seasonally appropriate episodes with big-time creators like Olivia Culpo. Amazon has never discussed how well this content performs nor how much it has invested in the platform, and did not provide a comment by Fortune’s deadline.
Where affiliate shopping is common across social platforms, live shopping in the U.S. has been relegated to kitschy network TV channels HSN and QVC. Amazon is banking on the fact that influencers could make live commerce fun and modern, propelling the medium to the mainstream popularity it enjoys in China where, for example, influencer Li Jiaqi amassed 63 million viewers in a two-hour livestream. (Fortune attended My Summer Beauty Routine With Olivia Culpo, which aired at 5 p.m. ET on June 15 and amassed a paltry 750 concurrent viewers for the one-hour show for comparison.)
“The [live] trend is growing,” says Peter Kennedy, founder and president of influencer marketing and social intelligence platform Tagger about live shopping on U.S. social media networks. “I don’t think it’s completely there from the live shopping standpoint, but we’re seeing brands put a lot of effort towards it. For me, it’s still unknown whether or not it will overtake the majority of social commerce.”
Can Amazon turn shoppers into an audience?
While Amazon has a formidable head start in e-commerce, it’s still playing catch-up when it comes to social media savvy. Of course creators and influencers are eager to tap into new revenue streams, but having a social platform with an audience is vital.
One problem in Amazon’s social ambitions is that it doesn’t have separate social platforms; all of its creator-driven initiatives live in URLs of Amazon.com and Amazon Shopping. This makes the content-to-commerce pipeline smoother, but requires training users to go to amazon.com for creator-made content.
“It’s difficult because people don’t go to Amazon for content or recommendations; they go to TikTok or YouTube or Instagram for that,” says Bogard, the UnderCurrent CEO. “And Amazon is very much viewed as a platform for shopping, but I know they’re trying to change that.”
Amazon has a nice base to work with, including its 200 million Prime users, who watch long-form content and listen to music through Amazon. With Amazon Inspire, the recently launched TikTok-like product, the company is giving shoppers on its commerce app a taste of social content.
If Amazon shoppers decide they like watching videos by influencers on Inspire, the opportunity could be especially lucrative. Whereas social media companies try to discern their users’ interests by analyzing the content they’ve watched, from cat videos to cliff hawking, Amazon can recommend creator-made content to users based on their past purchases. And since the videos on Amazon Inspire are designed to drive sales, creators are reaching an ideal audience.
“Amazon has a better chance [than TikTok] of having [creator-led shopping] be effective in the short-term because of their experience with e-commerce,” says Khaby Lame U.S. manager McKenzie. “When we talk to creators, if they want to leverage [an affiliate] strategy, we push them towards Amazon.”