We built awareness around our client’s nutrition supplements brand combining Amazon PPC, website SEO, and Social Media Ads
The importance of branding can’t be overstated. It impacts everything from how your company is perceived to how much customers will pay for your product. Branding is how you present your company to the world. When you think about branding, you may think about logos and images that are printed on t-shirts and coffee mugs, but branding goes well beyond advertising and marketing.
Thinking about how to build a brand on Amazon? This article explores how building a brand on Amazon impacts the company’s bottom line and uncovers some most important tactics in brand building. The best part is that we asked several industry experts to provide a few tips for our readers on what it means to be a brand and how to create one.
Table of content:
Why Building a Brand on Amazon is Essential
The internet created a market where everyone is a buyer, and today it’s too easy to be just a seller. The power of Amazon branding can be overwhelming and very rewarding when done correctly.
A brand is what inspires and motivates your customers each time they see your name. A brand makes you special. It sets you apart from everyone else.
It can be an obvious opinion or a subtle nuance, but either way, first impressions – which are usually the way you present your brand – can make a big difference in your success or failure. This is especially true when you are starting a business. You need to create a solid brand platform that effectively communicates your values, which can help in your company’s needs in both early and later stages of growth.
Being an Amazon seller is not enough anymore. In a while-defying trend, companies are relying on brand awareness to sell their goods in addition to building their customer base with content marketing. The brand awareness is then turned into conversion as customers purchase the company’s goods and services.
When asked whether building a brand on Amazon is crucial for businesses in 2022, Ben Leonard, Co-founder of EcomBrokers.co.uk, had this to say on this matter:
“Yes. It’s all about the brand. Sellers need to move away from the idea of being an ‘Amazon seller. They are brand builders, and their brand utilizes Amazon as a sales channel. Amazon is now prioritizing brands and giving brands the tools to market their brand. With no brand, your business lacks identity. Customers want to connect with a brand that understands their problem, provides a solution, and stands for something. In addition, when it comes to an exit, no one wants to buy an Amazon account selling stuff. To be valuable and sellable, the business needs to be a brand.”
And this is what Victor Dwyer, Public Speaker, Marketing Strategist, and Founder of Dwyer Enterprises, had to express:
“A brand is the only differentiator of what makes your business unique. When people become Amazon sellers, there are always going to be those Chinese companies, for example, that come in and reduce the price, and then you are screwed at that point. But if you have a brand, you’ll be able to keep that presence on Amazon. And that is why it is so vital, going into 2022, that you have a strong brand because that’s what is going to differentiate you for your customers.”
It’s not just about the name that you register; it’s about the name of your company, the logo, the colors you choose, the iconography you use, and the tone of the messages you send out. The brand is the public face of your company, and you want your logos and content to show up everywhere. If you want people to understand who you are, what you mean to your customers, and how you want them to feel when they see your product or logo, you need to build a brand on Amazon by elaborating on your message carefully.
Another argument that brands are major in 2022 is that Amazon itself provides and pushes sellers to build brands with the help of its tools. With its extremely broad range of services, Amazon can help brands of all types and sizes build, grow, and protect their business. Also, if you decide to sell your business one day, being a brand will help you sell it more profitably.
Amazon branding must be an integral, significant, and overarching element of an organization’s culture to offer a competitive product or service. And it is vital to do everything in your power to retain consumers and prevent them from switching to another brand. According to McKinsey&Compay, these are the number of reasons why consumers are switching brands.
Tomer David, Amazon FBA Expert & Consultant at Sourcing Monster had this to say on why sellers need to start a brand on Amazon:
“I didn’t come into Amazon to build a brand from day one because I mainly wanted to see if I could find success selling on Amazon! I did launch my own products in several different categories, but the idea of creating an actual brand came later on. Looking back, I wish I understood the benefits of launching a full brand, so that is one thing I would change if I could go back in time.”
How to Build a Brand on Amazon
Building a brand on Amazon is not an easy task. It’s a good thing that Amazon provides a myriad of tools for brand building. All you need to do is elaborate on your strategy and employ the tools correctly. Consider the following mindset:
- You’re not just promoting your products – you’re building identity: each and every content piece you deliver is a chance for you to strengthen your brand position on the market;
- External traffic is a powerful catalyst: Amazon PPC ads help you attract off-Amazon traffic and build a brand outside Amazon. At this step, remember about brand consistency (we’ll talk about that later);
- Community building is your way out to the top: having a loyal customer base can be your safety net during hard times (not that we’re saying you’re going to have it, but it doesn’t always depend on you). And the only right way to build a loyal community around your brand is through constant communication (emailing clients about special offers, promotions, and bonuses).
We want to stress the community building part one more time: you’re not a brand until you have fans. Use social media to grow an audience: Pinterest, Tik-Tok, Facebook, Google ads, Instagram. No seller can imagine his business without these critical channels.
Amazon PPC is a great place to start experimenting with marketing your brand on Amazon. Brands are flocking to the platform to grow their customer base and revenue. Finding the best angle for your brand’s campaign can help you capitalize on the competitive nature of Amazon and your target audience. Amazon PPC technology is affordable, flexible, and enables you to track the success of your campaigns.
Build a Brand Outside Amazon
Think of Amazon as a marketing tool that sits at the intersection of the Buy Box and the Amazon Brand Registry, offering buyers and sellers the opportunity to make and scale a real, sustainable brand on and off Amazon. Amazon is also a place to further develop the brand’s reputation by communicating with influencers, becoming thought leaders, or building a solid and loyal community of followers.
But that’s not it. The marketplace itself encourages sellers to ring traffic from external sources: to use the content on your social media channels to attract traffic to your Amazon store. It’s a win-win strategy for the Amazon platform and sellers who use it. Social media is a great way to build a following and share your best content with people.
Tomer David, Amazon FBA Expert & Consultant at Sourcing Monster
“When it comes to building a brand on Amazon, I like to be customer-obsessed. That kind of mindset opened the path for growth for me. I recommend that anyone who wants to start their own brand also puts the customer first. Even with existing products, I listen to customer feedback and make the necessary changes if it makes sense! Once you have your brand established on Amazon, expanding to other e-commerce platforms and creating your own Shopify store becomes much easier because your Amazon operations are already stable.”
People can’t resist the urge to scroll through their Facebook or Instagram feeds. Thinking about how to build your brand on Amazon, you want to capitalize on our social media presence and combine it with strategic posts in niche areas. You also need to find out what your competitors are doing and try to outrun them. Try not to overdose on social media, as this way you might miss the more targeted niche communities that might actually be interested in your product. Create content that is true to your brand identity but with the targeted audience in mind.
Grow Your Audience
Social media is the easiest and fastest way to grow your audience, which will provide an opportunity to present your brand to a larger group of consumers. It’s the most cost-effective, the most visible, and the best return on investment across all marketing channels. It’s about writing catchy headlines, infographics, and blog posts that get millions of likes or shares. There are other tactics you need to focus on, like QAs, webinars, videos, and podcasts.
Social media is most effective as a means of communication. It has a unique capacity for two-way contact and, for the same reason, it can be used differently by each company to talk to a diverse audience.
Eric Suddarth, General Manager at Seller Rocket, considers that affiliate marketing can also be very effective at brand building.
“Find a company that actually knows how to get you into media. Cold outreach to publishers/influencers rarely ever works. There are companies and affiliate networks that can help you get the exposure you’re looking for but you need to know what you’re looking for. Our company gets products into recommendations that live on Amazon search pages and on large publisher sites like NYTimes’ Wirecutter – this is different from getting, say 50 micro-influencers to cover your product. You need to decide who you want your audience to be, how large you want your publishers to be, and then find a company that can execute.”
If you want to take your brand even further to an international level, be ready to do some extra work:
Ben Leonard, Co-founder of EcomBrokers.co.uk
“Going international requires you to understand the customers in the country you’re selling in. Italian customers are not the same as French. German customers are not the same as British. So, do not just ‘translate’ your listings and website but have a native-speaking copywriter to ensure the copy makes sense for the target audience.
Above and beyond customers are the legal, logistical, and financial aspects. So make sure you take advice from experts regarding product certification in each country, trademarks, import and export, and of course, tax. Do not be scared by this. Jump through these hoops; your competitors won’t bother, and you will emerge into a less competitive landscape.”
Maintain Brand Consistency Across Channels
Companies are now incorporating social media marketing into their digital marketing efforts as a way for customers to engage with their brand. If you wonder how to build a brand on Amazon and stay on top, you’ll have to switch gears and alter your marketing strategy across separate channels, simultaneously maintaining brand consistency on each of them. That being said, you want to stick to the brand voice in your content and visuals.
Ben Leonard, Co-founder of EcomBrokers.co.uk
“Buyers can spot a brand very easily. Brands make people feel something, and their marketing efforts tell the world about it. A ‘logo’ is not enough. A brand is a suite of products that solve related problems for a particular group of people.
A brand makes that group of people feel a sense of affinity towards the brand and against a common enemy. Think Apple vs. stuffy-tech; Tesla vs. polluting cars; Patagonia vs. environmental degradation.
Brands with longevity go beyond slapping a logo on an off-the-shelf me-too product. They innovate, they tell a story, and they build community. THIS is what serious buyers want to see.”
Victor Dwyer, Public Speaker, Marketing Strategist, and Founder of Dwyer Enterprises, had to express:
“You should start posting content immediately. Find out where the customers are at and post content there. I would say focus on TikTok because right now, it is the biggest opportunity for brands to explore and really have long-term success. The first step of a strategy to be a successful brand would definitely be to go on TikTok.”
Wonder how to build your brand on Amazon? We, at Profit Whales, consider that every piece of content you publish is a chance to build your brand. Taking care of your online identity, follow these simple tips:
- ensure your brand is represented across your website and social media
- make sure each form of branding and content is consistent
- deliver content that can appeal to the different audiences
- write content that fits the aesthetic of your brand
- sharpen your brand voice across a variety of channels
Each company’s brand is different, but there are still ways to put a framework for consistency in place. By creating and adhering to a corporate identity strategy and guidelines, your brand will find it easier to be consistent across all your company’s communications.
Final Word
To sum up, think brand first, then product. Brand awareness is the number one goal of any business. Without it, if your business survives at all, it will struggle. It’s not just about presenting your value, but about creating the personality of your company and the values and way of working that best support that personality.
The truth is that in today’s competitive world only the strongest brands can thrive. The weaker brands languish in obscurity and disappear when faced with stiffer competition from the likes of well-funded, savvy upstarts. So if you’re still in search of how to build a brand on Amazon, contact Profit Whales, and we’ll help you with your brand-building endeavor.
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