Podcast transcript
Introduction
Hi, and welcome to a live episode of Marketplace Masters, sponsored by MerchantSpring, your go-to marketplace analytics platform. We dive deep into the agencies and the world of e-commerce addressing the challenge that agencies face in improving client performance.
Paul Sonneveld
I'm Paul Sonneveld and today we're exploring Amazon Inspire, where inspiration meets the shopping on Amazon's fast platform. Joining us today is Sarra Maatallah, an esteemed e-commerce Growth Strategist and Amazon Expert. As the founding CEO of eCommense, Sarra boast a decade of experience helping global brands thrive on Amazon. Fluent in English, French, and Arabic and with an in-depth knowledge of Amazon systems. Sarra crafts strategies that cater to brands, and distinct needs across Europe, North America, and the Middle East. Her dedication and hands-on strategy make Sarra an invaluable resource for brands aiming for Amazon's success. Sarra, welcome to the show. It's absolutely fantastic to have you today.
Sarra Maatallah
Thank you a lot, Paul, for this introduction and thank you for inviting me and having me today. I'm really happy to join you and especially to discuss this exciting topic and to share my knowledge with the audience.
Paul Sonneveld
Yeah, it is a very exciting topic indeed. Especially given I know literally nothing about Amazon Inspire. It doesn't happen a lot where I come onto a show and I have very little information about a particular topic or program. But I'm super, super curious. So, let's take it from the top. Let's get right into it and start with the basics. A basic question, what is Amazon Inspire?
Sarra Maatallah
That's actually a great question. So Amazon Inspire. It's a new feature added to the shopping app of Amazon. So once you're connected to the shopping app, now instead of having like four icons at the bottom of the page, now you have a fifth one, which is a sort of a light bulb sign. So once you are in there, you're going to explore, what is it? Amazon Inspire, and you're going to fall into the feed of Amazon Inspire.
So what Amazon gives you as a customer, first of all, is a big list of interests, more than 20, let's say topics where you can choose your favourite topics and later on you will be having all the content falling related products in those categories and topics falling into your feed. So it's kind of a customized feed for your shopping experience. So simply this is what is Amazon Inspire.
Paul Sonneveld
Thank you for that comprehensive explanation. So how does it work?
Sarra Maatallah
Well, that's also a great question. How does it work? So in fact, once you're connected, as I said to the Amazon shopping app, You will have that let's say icon, the light bulb. You connect, you choose your list, and based on that, your topics, you will be falling into all the products, videos, and content related to your topics let's say of interest. And the good thing about Amazon Inspire whatever piece of content is in front of you, an image, or a video, you will find all the products targeted there which products actually fall into your category of interest.
So the good thing is just with a matter of click, you will see all the details, all the images. You will also be able to put it into your basket and purchase it directly without even going and visiting the Amazon page, the product detail page. So this is something Amazon is creating Amazon inspire to make the shopping experience, very simple, very interactive engaging that you go from a piece of content, a dynamic video with a lifestyle showing someone using that product that you actually put it in your list of interest to directly go to, into your basket. So it's easier and it's more interactive.
Paul Sonneveld
I see, I see. And can I just clarify?
Sarra Maatallah
Yeah.
Paul Sonneveld
Is it only available on the Amazon shopping app or is it more broadly available on some of the other versions of their site or so?
Sarra Maatallah
Yeah, for the time being, just in the shopping app. Later on, if it will be available in other places, Amazon will be enrolled in that. But for the time being, just in the shopping app. Yeah.
Paul Sonneveld
So tell me who can actually post content onto this new media or channel within the Amazon shopping app?
Sarra Maatallah
Yeah, exactly. For the time being, we only know that there are three, let's say, how to call it like, only customers, only brands and only influencers. So it's only three types of let's say, people or organizations or whatever who can actually post into there. So when we talk about customers, and how customers can post there, I am an end consumer. I have my shopping app. I clicked on the light bulb. I fell into my feed because I already chose my list.
Let's say I chose apparel, makeup, hiking, and running. So whatever I'm interested into shopping for this next season, let's say. So I will be seeing actually some content. So I will be wondering how customers can shop in there like me, actually by purchasing any product, and you are a verified perch, you created a verified purchase, you can actually put a review on the product detail page.
It could be through an image, you post, could be through a video where you can actually test in or showcase on the product you bought. So magically Amazon can put that review now into the feed of Amazon Inspire. This is just how an end consumer or a customer can contribute into the content that will be spread on Amazon Inspire the second
Paul Sonneveld
Yeah, but you need to be a verified purchaser of the product, so you need to have bought the product before.
Sarra Maatallah
Yeah, I think mostly yes, but in general, Amazon really didn't verify or didn't insist or say exactly if it would be a verified purchase or not. But as much as its customer review. with a piece of content, image or video, it'll fall into that category of that product in the Amazon Inspire feed.
Paul Sonneveld
Yeah.
Sarra Maatallah
The second, let's say, who can actually post in there or their content can be in there are Amazon influencers or what we call Amazon affiliates. The people who are registered in the affiliate program. People like us or people like creators or whoever would be interested and have a storefront in Amazon. These people, wherever they post their reviews through a video or image into their storefront, it'll be automatically uploaded or linked to the Amazon Inspire feed. So again, based on your interest, you can fall into those videos of Amazon associates or affiliates into your feed.
The third is actually brands. So even brands and sellers owning their own brand, registered brands can have actually also some of their pieces of content falling into the Amazon Inspire feed. And here we talk about mainly and only Amazon posts. So if you are a brand and you're already regularly posting, Amazon posts, which is a very like tool for the now, for the time being, is only available in the US. Unfortunately, it's not yet available in Europe or everywhere, anywhere else in the world.
But the good thing about Amazon Post is you can post images, videos related to your product and for free. So it'll fall into the product detailed pages of your own product or of competitor products. So the best practice of using Amazon posts is just regularly posting. And then again, Amazon will take those posts into the feed of Inspire. So, as I said, to summarize customers, brands and influencers are the people who can post now.
Paul Sonneveld
And maybe this gets very nitty gritty or technical.
Sarra Maatallah
Yes.
Paul Sonneveld
But how does Amazon link that content into the feed? Is it based on keywords? Is it based on your previous browsing history? Do you have any insight into that?
Sarra Maatallah
What I really believe based on how we know how actually SEO and traffic, especially organic traffic work in Amazon, it's mainly by where the category is actually listed, under which category is listed or subcategory. So based on that, this link will automatically go to the list or interest that you've already chosen.
Paul Sonneveld
Yeah.
Paul Sonneveld
And also tags. So once an influencer or Amazon post or a customer put a review, there will be some keywords in there and tags. So also based on that, that all can customize the experience of having the post.
Paul Sonneveld
I see, I see. So, look, I understand this is a fairly new concept within Amazon, and as you say, some of at least the inputs into the feed are not available globally yet.
Sarra Maatallah
Yeah.
Paul Sonneveld
But this is really interesting from certainly from an agency point of view working with brands, the like. How do you see brands benefiting from this or maybe even more specifically?
Sarra Maatallah
Yeah.
Paul Sonneveld
How are you working with the brands that you look after to take advantage of this new opportunity?
Sarra Maatallah
Sure. So as a brand or how to help a brand directly is of course to encourage and to help them with Amazon posts because this is the only way that brands can contribute directly to posting content and it falls into Amazon Inspire feeds. So it's about choosing your best seller products and posting them regularly with high-quality images, captivating titles, and great keywords related and relevant to your product and just keep in posting regularly in Amazon Post. So with that, you are actually as a brand contributing into or adding your content into Amazon Inspire. This is how brands can leverage this tool into bringing more traffic and reach into their products, and of course eventually into improving and increasing their conversion rates.
The other indirect ways is to encourage actually customers after purchasing your products to put reviews. So this is by using three tools that Amazon actually provides for brands into their let's say Seller Central account, to create an email automation of any email. So after some while, as a customer, both a product, receive an email to remind them of putting or posting a review. So of course, as much as frequently you send those emails, reminders, and you get a high let's say, probability of customers reviews, you will get that content, images, videos, they post about your products falling into Amazon Inspire. So this is indirect way of encouraging customers to put reviews.
The third option through Amazon influencers. And this is, as you know, influencers are already registered into the Amazon affiliate program. So it's either you having some people that you're in contact with, that you can encourage and send some samples of your product where they can eventually put some content about it after using them and honest review. So of course, based on that, you will be encouraging of having more content about your products spread and displayed into Amazon Inspire.
Paul Sonneveld
Yeah, that makes sense. So just labouring on the point that the Amazon posts are only available in North America, meaning, is there a workaround for brands in Europe to tap into that? I mean, if you list the same ASIN for sale in the US, does that content flow back to European audiences or is there no shortcuts at this point?
Sarra Maatallah
For the time being, no shortcuts. No shortcuts. Unfortunately, it's about when Amazon enrolled that service into your account. So for the time being, it's still North America only.
Paul Sonneveld
Yeah, I'm assuming there's no timelines yet in terms of when a global rollout might be on the horizon.
Sarra Maatallah
Exactly. Well even though Amazon Post, it's been here since many years, and it's still the case. So we really like waiting because it's a very great additional tool for free where you just keep posting content without even paying for that. And it takes some placement in product pages on Amazon just for free. So, Let's see. Yeah, let's wait and see.
Paul Sonneveld
I see, Let me just give you like a big picture question here, which is, you know, this is kind of really quite interesting and some would argue that Amazon's been a little bit late to the game in terms of this type of feature. But when you look at it, what does the launch of Amazon Inspire really suggest to you about kind of where the future of online shopping is going? Obviously in general, but specifically most interestingly on the Amazon platform.
Sarra Maatallah
Well, I believe Amazon now it's kind of adapting to the way we are seeing actually the e-commerce and the shopping experience changing from a traditional transaction way where you just go and buy a product into an interactive engaging way. Like what's happening currently with TikTok, let's say. So by actually, launching Amazon Inspire, Amazon is kind of trying to grab the attention and drift the attention from platforms like TikTok into Amazon itself.
So instead of going there, seeing and watching some piece of content like videos and buying especially TikTok launched recently a TikTok shop, where you can actually have your own store there and buy directly from TikTok. Now, Amazon is taking the same experience by launching their own version of TikTok, let's say, which is Inspire and keeping the customer just engaged in one app where they can see content, interact with content, engage with content based on their interest, with a personalized, but also directly put it on their basket and buy.
So what I see from this move, starting with TikTok, then adapted by also YouTube, where you have now the short videos and now in Amazon with Amazon Inspire. It's kind of we're taking the shopping experience into the social actually shopping experience where it's more about building decisions of purchase and actually shaping the purchase behaviour of customers based on influencers, based on users, based on creating a community.
So this is what Amazon is doing. And this is I think, where we're heading. So, let's see. This is Amazon now as a giant e-commerce platform, maybe, soon will be Walmart, maybe soon will be a big other platforms. So I feel like maybe one day will fall into just buying product by watching videos, seeing quickly like the images, details and seeing how many rates and reviews. Seeing the video and it's a use with the influencer, with someone using it, I don't know, a running shoes.
Just running in the forest with your dog and putting there all those products you would like to tag, I don't know, the harness or the leash of the dog, the running shoes from that X brand and tagging all of those and you are just want to leave that experience you saw in front of you and put all of those in basket and buy. So, it's more about dynamic engagement where you actually feel the experience, see the experience, and want to try the experience. So, yeah.
Paul Sonneveld
Yeah. That's super, super interesting and it sort of makes me wonder, what's your take here? Why do you think sort of creative content here, like you were describing, the dog running through the forest as you were jogging along. You know, why is creative content like really vital for influencing customer purchases? How do you see that? And how do Amazon's free tools like Inspire we can really enhance a brand's content strategy? There's probably two questions there, but love to get your take on that.
Sarra Maatallah
Yeah. I think what Amazon is doing and what we are actually also not only like Amazon experts or e-commerce experts also as customers are doing are, we are adapting to the change. You know, now a lot of things that influence in our kind of choices, our, not really interest, but maybe our taste of things when we see a different experience and we want to try.
So, that's why I think by adapting your strategy as a brand into following these trends and trying to be the first in trying them and putting them in place to create your reach and to improve your traffic. And to increase your conversion is by adapting your strategy into following these trends and adapting to them. And this is very, very important as a brand in order to be always in the top tier of that category and be the first who tries, all of these tools and the first to apply them, and especially to grab the attention of customers.
So creative content, it's a way now of changing or influencing the purchase experience of customers and taking it from as I said earlier, from a traditional way of buying into now a social experience where you feel that what you're doing or what you're seeing, it's not your own experience, but actually, it’s a kind of a community experience. So, people, that's a human nature in a way. You know, a lot of people now they buy not just because they need, but also because they like it, something they would like to leave the same experience. So, well, it has some pros and cons of course, but this is the reality we cannot actually, avoid. So that's what's happening.
So brands need really to adapt their strategy into following these trends and be the first to try. And as Amazon posts, we said it's only available in North America. Amazon inspired for the time being is also available only in North America as well. So, looking forward actually to see it overall in the rest of the world, in Europe, Middle East, Asia. Because plenty of marketplaces will benefit from such tool. And plenty of creators and influencers are here and there and this will be also great, opportunity for them to post more content and to promote more, more products and, and yeah.
Paul Sonneveld
Yeah, absolutely. So, I guess my last question here is, what's your take on this, right? So how does Amazon inspire really then embody that shoppertainment concept? You know, how do you talk to that?
Sarra Maatallah
Yeah, I mean, this could be actually a related answer to what I was answering to the previous question. The shoppertainment, concept. It's a concept has existed since this while now this a long time everywhere. But it was mainly emphasized and was mainly actually showcase it by TikTok. Once since the launch of TikTok and since the growth of TikTok, short videos version of actually promoting products or howcasing some lifestyles through some items.
So, how we talk about Amazon Inspire related to shoppertainment is the same about like, adapting into the new social experience of shopping, where actually as a customer, you are shopping a product that you need or you would like to try, but at the same time you live in an entertainment experience where you've seen everything in front of you in the same type of feed personalizeed it to your own choices. And actually it makes the experience of shopping in a way entertaining and exciting that you would like to leave what you're seeing in a way or another. So I think this is where the shoppertainment concept is implied by Amazon into this new three tool launch by them. Yeah.
Paul Sonneveld
Yes. Thank you. Thank you. As you wrap up, I always like to ask, kind of if there's any advice or practical tips you can share. So for particularly for brands, based in North America, or at least selling on Amazon and North America, and they're thinking about using this, I mean, what practical tips do you have for them, whether
Sarra Maatallah
Yeah.
Paul Sonneveld
You know, categories where you've seen success or pitfalls to avoid. Anything, what would be on your kind of top two or top three, pieces of advice?
Sarra Maatallah
Sure. Yeah. Well, Again, like what brands can use really to leverage this tool is Amazon Post. So it's really, all the brands are selling now in North America, in the US. They're really lucky and I think it's very like a great opportunity for them to leverage this tool and to keep posting. So by posting, high-quality images into the Amazon Post tool they would lead actually and take all of that piece of content and images into Amazon Inspire.
So I would really encourage to create a kind of schedule where they post around five to 10 posts a day for their especially bestsellers, for the their folks products with the high quality images. So investing into great graphics, it's really important here. Because Amazon itself, there are some conditions that requirements for images,
And also another tip, by posting into Amazon Posts, which will actually can be led to the Amazon Inspire feed, you cannot actually post the same image again into the Amazon posts. So, try to always make some change or smaller change, even though you don't have a lot of high quality images, at least to keep the consistency in posting. So do some small changes into your top products. Images with lifestyle, with a captivating title with great keywords and tags and keep just posting.
So with that, you will encourage your content falling into Amazon Inspire. And with that, you will get more clicks, more reach, more conversion from customers who are actually customize their own feed to fall into your product. So imagine how it's great actually for brands. So once you create all of this great piece of content, put it there. It'll be linked to Inspire and it'll be falling just to the customer who's looking for that.
So, the engagement and the conversion will be high. So it's just about here consistency. So I really advise about being consistent in posting and also about sending those emails through Amazon tools or other tools like FeedbackFive or others to encourage reviews. So once you keep encouraging customers to put reviews, they'll write and post more reviews about your product. And with that, all of that content that comes from honest customers with their verified purchase fallen into Amazon Inspire feed of other customers in the category of your product. And now we are talking about, like, Amazon posts falling into there just from the brands.
But what I believe from my own, let's say assumption about Amazon, we might see in the future maybe some brands store images falling into Amazon Inspire Feed. We might see Amazon live into Amazon Inspire feed. We never know because Amazon is full of surprises and we need really to leverage anything happening to be the first brand using it in that category, and to actually create momentum of reach and traffic, into your category to grab more customers and especially loyal, engaging customers because they've been already chosen that those lists of interest and they will always fall into your content as much as you post.
Paul Sonneveld
Great. Yeah, that's fantastic. I love those practical tips there, particularly around the images, you know, just change a little bit. Keep trying.
Sarra Maatallah
Exactly.
Paul Sonneveld
That's fantastic. And also just your point around consistency there. That's, really, really great. We are going to have to wrap up here, Sarra, we're out of time. But this is a super interesting topic and I'm sure there's people that are watching now or watching this on-demand later that would love to have a follow-up conversation with you, exploring possibilities and maybe going a little bit deeper.
Sarra Maatallah
Sure.
Paul Sonneveld
What is the best way to get hold of you?
Sarra Maatallah
Yeah, well you can contact me directly on LinkedIn. So I'm available on LinkedIn as my name showing there, or also through our contact form on our website. It's ecommense.com/contact. And also I'm providing free first consultations with brands that would be interested in our service. Either it's Amazon Post or how to improve their presence in Amazon Inspire or any kind of other services. So we have also a form for a free consultation. It's also on our website, so ecommense.com/free-consultation. And I'm happy here to help always with any questions.
Paul Sonneveld
Excellent. Thank you so much, Sarra. You're very, very generous. Thank you so much for agreeing to be a guest on the show today.
Sarra Maatallah
My pleasure.
Paul Sonneveld
Thank you for educating me and our audience about Amazon Inspire and giving us some fantastic tips, and tricks along the way.
Sarra Maatallah
Yeah.
Paul Sonneveld
So, thank you so much.
Sarra Maatallah
Thank you again, Paul.
Paul Sonneveld
Until our next episode, thanks again and we'll see you soon. Take care.
Sarra Maatallah
Thanks so much. Thanks. Have a nice day. Bye.
Paul Sonneveld
All right everyone. That is it for today's episode. I hope you've been inspired by Amazon Inspire, part of the pardon. But yeah, thank you for watching and I look forward to seeing you at our next show. Take care. Bye.
