PPB September 2018

1 2 3 4 5 AD-ITIVES Welcome ToThe Jungle Ready to advertise on Amazon? Build your battle plan with these tips from veteran brands. As the leading e-retailer, Amazon attracts virtually every type of customer—including the promotional products buyer. If your distributor company is ready to make the leap to selling on Amazon, Jeff Cohen, Amazon advertising expert and CMO of Seller Labs, offers these tips based on the habits of successful Amazon merchants. Create a site-specific strategy. Successful merchants treat Amazon like the unicorn it is, tailoring their approach to advertising in order to attract the unique type of customer that Amazon attracts. Build a library of targeted keywords, consumer reviews and on-point product descriptions. Amazon shoppers can compare thousands of similar products, and the more precise you are in describing features and benefits, the more likely you are to attract customers. Optimize your listings first. Consumers will gravitate toward listings before they click on ads, so perfect this element; use high-quality images and write feature-rich descriptions. Dig into data. Research the keywords you think most effectively relate to your products. What pops up when you search? Are the products similar to what you offer? Are they attracting the type of customer that you want? Play up the customer experience. Successful brands on Amazon build campaigns on a customer-first policy. Emphasize the experience that consumers can have with your brand and your products, summing them up as key features. BRANDABLE Best Of BothWorlds Make sure your online and offline branding deliver the same message. If you’re a brick-and-mortar business with a digital presence, branding becomes twice as important. Consumers process online content and information differently than what they receive in person, often giving more weight to what they’re hearing and seeing when you are right in front of them. To get the most out of both branding channels and create a consistent message and image, weigh your current strategy against these points from Adrian Fisher, founder and CEO of real estate property company propertysimple.com . Use the same language in online and in-person copy. Write or speak with an authentic voice, and tailor the style of delivery to the platform, while keeping the message the same. Your online personality should match what you present in person. Streamline your design style—with a twist. Audiences consume online and offline content differently, but all the content you design should contain unifying elements. Use the same graphics and images online and offline in your marketing and advertising pieces to create continuity with audiences and prospective clients, but create custom layouts that work for each type of medium. Incorporate user-generated content. Letting customers speak to prospects about your products and services is a great way to build business. Build online reviews, user testimonials and customer videos or photos into your branding messages. Extend online relationships with offline engagement. Active online engagement is a boon to businesses, but if these connections only exist online, your customers aren’t getting to fully experience your brand. Take online conversations with qualified leads even further by setting up phone calls, video conferences or meetings at the local coffee shop. 78 | SEPTEMBER 2018 | THINK Jen Alexander is associate editor of PPB .