What Is Amazon's New Social Media Platform & Why Does It Matter?

 

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How "Spark" May - Or May Not - Change Social Media & Online Shopping

Amazon recently introduced their new social media platform that incorporates Amazon shoppers' purchasing habits into a social media sharing site. Similar to Pinterest but far more involved, Spark may just change the way we shop AND use social media.

Which is what marketers are seeking, as evidenced by influencer marketing and brands who are eager to try to make direct response advertising work. In this blog, Hollywood Branded takes a look at Spark, Amazon's new social media platform and what it means for both consumers and brand marketers.


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What Is Spark?

Spark, in short, is a social media page for those who purchase items through Amazon to share what they buy. Accessible through your Amazon account or the Amazon app, users simply pick 5 or more interests with their Amazon account and they enter the world of Spark.

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As you scroll through, you see other users who share and post things with interests similar to yours, be it travel, fashion, music or any other general interest. Users post pictures in which they tag Amazon products, and when these tags are clicked on, they bring you to that product's Amazon page where, of course, you can purchase that item yourself. 

Based on your interests, Spark will show you users who tag products you may be interested in. For their version of the Facebook "like," you can "smile" at other's posts as well as comment. While it may seem at first like simply reducing people to the products they buy, as many early reviews have pointed out, it may end up being extremely lucrative for the e-commerce giant.

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What Does This Mean For Brand Marketers?

If your brand sells products via Amazon, this could be big news for your company. Social influencers are already being tapped by Amazon and the brands they carry to tout their products loudly and proudly.

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If this platform actually takes off (looking at you, Google+), social influencers will be vital for brand marketers. This will be the first platform that has set out from the beginning to do what other platforms like Instagram and Snapchat have slowly worked their way into doing. 

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Jeff Bezos was recently named the richest man in the world, and it makes sense for their company to be delving into the realm of social media. In fact, we would be very surprised if we didn't see similar online giants like Netflix and Hulu to jump on the train soon. This is good news for brands who want to get in on this platform on the ground level.

However it is important for brands to remember how vital it is to remain as organic as possible. This new platform has the potential to devolve quickly into an ad-heavy site no one uses, so it's important to take precautions. Check out our infographic and podcast about 10 Social Media Marketing Ideas To Make Your Brand Stand Out for some tips on making your brand stand out without coming off as an ad.


Want To Get Your Brand Involved With A Social Influencer?

Are you interested in learning more on how your brand can work with social media influencers?   Download our infographic that provides case studies, rates and strategies for success when creating a social media influencer program.

social influencer infographic guide