Amazon Sponsored Video – how to get the most of it?
Amazon Sponsored Video - is it worth using?
Amazon is one of the most popular marketplaces in the world today, which means its potential for growth is increasing every year, resulting in new features for sellers. If you have begun your adventure with sponsored ads then this next path to expanding your reach is the one for you.
What are video ads on Amazon?
This form of advertising was introduced in early 2020 and is available to merchants who are registered with the Brand Registry program. It is one of the most interesting methods to stand out from the competition, primarily due to its engaging presentation, which is entirely up to you.
Create videos for your products, showcase your brand and attract your potential customers. Be aware that some of your competitors may not yet have a registered brand, which gives you a competitive advantage over them and allows you to be perceived by consumers as a premium brand.
Video ads typically appear halfway down the first page of Amazon when a specific product group is specified. When compared to regular ads, these ads cover a larger area of the webpage, which involves focusing the customer’s attention more on the advertised product.
Why video ads?
According to bitable.com if we were to name a winner for 2020 it would be video ads. Due to the pandemic, most of us were online at the time, and with these changes, video has become even more important to marketing and communications than ever before, plus this trend is apparently here to stay.
Statistically, viewers retain about 95% of the information when watching videos, while they retain 10% when reading it in text, as you can see this is a huge difference that you can leverage.
Even Mark Zuckerberg believes that video is a key part of our future. As these statistics show, online video content is growing steadily:
- 86% of companies use video as a marketing tool – up from 63% in 2019. (Hubspot)
- 6 out of 10 people prefer watching online videos over TV. (Google)
- By 2022, online videos will account for more than 82% of all online consumer traffic – 15 times more than in 2017. (Cisco)
- One million minutes of video content flows across the internet every second. (Cisco)
How does Amazon Sponsored Video work?
In the same way as product ads and display ads, which are based on PPC (pay per click) or specific keyword bids, so that your product can appear higher in the Amazon search engine results, based on generating views and clicks from potential customers. Remember, you still compete with other sellers in your product category.
Amazon Sponsored Videos must be short and on point, this means a format no longer than 30 seconds. Well done video ad is the key to attracting new and willing customers. However, keep in mind that Amazon will not always accept your ad, despite your best efforts, so be sure to read the guidelines for publishing videos on this marketplace beforehand.
Key principles for good video ads
Preferably the video should focus on the most important features of your product and present your brand in a short, less descriptive but informative way. In the first few seconds of the video, demonstrate exactly what the advertised product is and what its advantages are. By doing so, you are more likely to get a potential customer to jump to your product listing, which leads to an interest in the product or category.
Short videos
Pay attention to the length of the videos, according to the recommendations of the Amazon platform, the suggested length of such ads should be between 15-30 seconds. It is quite a challenge to include the most important information and keep the customer’s interest.
Introduction
The introduction to the video should not be overly complicated, you can place your logo there but remember that it should be displayed for a maximum of 2 seconds so that the consumer remembers the brand but can also see the features of the product they were searching for.
Audio
Shoppers automatically play your video on mute, you can even notice it in the above example embedded in this article to show the difference in display ads that the sound is off. That’s why you shouldn’t focus on music, it’s the video that has to be the thing that draws attention.
Instead, why don’t you concentrate on optimizing your video with on-screen text that is easy to read, avoid extensive descriptive forms.Remember to provide as much information as possible to support the purchase. Music really isn’t important here, but be sure not to abandon it entirely.
Mobile customers
Consider how many of your consumers are those who do their shopping via mobile devices. Especially when it comes to:
- The size of your product, logo and on-screen texts
- The amount of information you include in your video, and remember that the more text you include, the more difficult it is for mobile shoppers to get through it
The question is - is this way of advertising worth considering?
We believe it is, but remember that each new feature needs to be tested first. Look at your product category, do your competitors use video ads? Wouldn’t you like to stand out from your competition? Is increasing your brand reach an opportunity for you to generate better sales? These are questions you need to answer yourself.
Should you need any advice, strategy guidance, help with registering your brand, creating video ads or simply a consultation, please feel free to contact the Honne Consulting team. Our experts are available to answer your questions.
