Over 48 million people listen to Amazon Music.
That’s a massive crowd right there, making Amazon Music one of the most-sought-after streaming platforms on the planet.
Do you know what this means for business? Well, it implies that you can advertise your products to these subscribers and make money while you’re at it.
The good news is, you can actually do so through Amazon ads.
By leveraging Amazon’s free, ad-supported tier, you can create clear-cut, super-engaging audio ads targeting the new market.
In this post, we’ll tell you how you can use Amazon audio ads to grow your business.
Let’s get to it.
What Are Amazon Audio Ads?
Amazon audio ads are more or less like radio ads.
More specifically, they’re commercials lasting ten to thirty seconds. You can use these ads to power your marketing campaign, promote brand awareness or launch a new product.
And the beauty of it is that you don’t need to be an Amazon seller to use these ads, which means that any business can use them.
Amazon audio ads play between songs. While you can’t decide where you place your ad within a song, the reach is enough to generate a positive impact irrespective of your ad’s placement.
Your target customers can hear your ads via their Echo devices or when using the Amazon Music app on FireTV, Android, or iOS.
You must be thinking, aren’t Amazon audio ads expensive?
The fact is, Amazon will charge you for audio on a cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM) basis. Put differently, you’ll pay each time your ads reach a thousand people.
In order to experience a positive ROI, you’ll need to have a $15,000 monthly budget. Still, Amazon says you need an average of about $25,000. It is important to keep this in mind before starting an Amazon audio ads campaign.
Why Should You Leverage Amazon Audio Ads?
Sure, audio ads aren’t a new phenomenon. However, there are two reasons you’d want to try Amazon audio ads.
First of all, their reach is incredible. Forget about the 48+ million subscribers for a second. Did you know that Amazon Echo is the number one smart speaker in the United States? That increases the chance of your ads reaching the right audience quickly.
In addition, Amazon audio ads are here to stay. Think about it. A staggering 68 percent of Americans use free streaming subscriptions, which means that you’ll always have an audience ready to listen to your ads.
On top of that, Amazon ads allow you to engage your audience creatively and innovatively. Besides, in a marketplace with cut-throat competition such as Amazon, audio ads may give you a competitive edge.
Who Should Use Amazon Audio Ads?
As stated, any business can use Amazon audio ads.
However, these ads don’t work for every type of business.
You see, a significant number of businesses cannot afford the $15,000 average monthly budget for Amazon audio ads. Essentially, this means that Amazon audio ads may not be suitable for bootstrapped businesses.
Furthermore, your marketing plan may determine if you can use these ads or not. For instance, are you planning on using any other Amazon advertising product?
Amazon audio ads tend to give positive results when run together with other Amazon marketing tools. That way, you can create a more robust, consistent presence in the marketplace.
You may also want to think about your brand before using these ads. While you don’t need to be an Amazon seller to use their audio ads, you may find that using the ads is more viable if you’re selling on Amazon and want to generate traffic to your products.
How to Set Up Amazon Audio Ads
Now that you know what Amazon audio ads are, it is time to learn how to set them up. Here’s what you need to do to get started.
Determine Your Goals
You’ll need to understand your goals before signing up for Amazon audio ads. Knowing what you want to achieve with your ads makes it easier to write an excellent script and develop stunning visuals to help drive your message.
Get in Touch with an Amazon Ad Consultant
The next step is to contact an Amazon ad consultant. The idea is to ensure that you get expert advice on the planning, optimization, and launching of your audio ad campaigns in line with your budget and marketing goals,
To reach out to an Amazon ad consultant, all you need to do is hit the “Get Started” button on the audio ads page.
Choose the country you want to advertise in and select your monthly budget. Remember that Amazon doesn’t offer a tailored made campaign if your budget is below $15,000 per month.
If you can meet the minimum budget requirements, be sure to key on your contact details and attach a summary of your marketing goals. Wait for a consult to get back to you for an in-depth discussion about your audio marketing campaign.
Sure, the Amazon audio ads budget requirements may be too steep for most businesses, but you may want to stay on the lookout just in case this changes in the future.
Submit Your Audio File and Banner
Your Amazon audio ad must contain an audio file and an accompanying banner. Let’s talk about these two for a second.
The Audio File
The audio file carries the ad. The audio should be ten to thirty seconds. Also, the file shouldn’t be more than 1MB in size.
You can provide the file in MP3, OGG, and WAV format. Further, the volume needs to be at least 192 kbps to ensure the audio is reasonably audible.
What’s more, your audio should use offensive, provocative or suggestive language.
The Accompanying Banner
The banner appears when your ad is playing. It should have the following elements:
- JPEG format 1024 x 1024 pixels in size
- Less than 750 KB
- The headline should be 19 characters or less
Other visual requirements to keep in mind include:
- You should use tools to make any section of the ad appear as though it’s clickable
- While you can include your URL in the ad, it should be reasonably small to avoid overshadowing the graphics
- Your text should be legible and clear
You can also ask the consultant to help you get started. Once everything is in order, submit your ad and wait for three days for it to go live.
How to Add a CTA to Your Amazon Audio Ads
Your Amazon audio ads must have a call to action (CTA). That way, you can encourage your audience to listen to your ad and, by extension, buy your merchandise.
So, where should place your CTA, and what should it entail? Let’s break it down.
- Since your CTA’s primary purpose is to entice listeners to buy, it makes perfect sense to place the CTA at the end of your ad. Of course, you’ll want to include your brand name and a specific action for listeners to take.
- Make sure that your CTA is short and straight to the point. You shouldn’t leave your listeners guessing about what they should do and how to go about it.
- As a rule of thumb, do not include sound effects. You want your target audience to take your ad for what it is and any other jingle.
Some examples of CTAs you can include in your Amazon audio ads include:
- To buy (insert your product name), go to (insert your eCommerce store)
- To start shopping, ask your device to search for (insert your eCommerce store)
The point is, your ad should direct the audience to do something specific.
Tips to Create Compelling Amazon Audio Ads
Since Amazon audio ads shouldn’t be more than 30 seconds long, it would be best to make every second count. That said, here are tips to help you create great Amazon audio ads.
Create an Incredible Script
Writing an excellent script is an art. Still, it isn’t hard to write a compelling script. Some things you can do include:
- Use simple, short statements to drive your point.
- Use a language that your target can associate with. For instance, if you’re targeting the youth, you may want to drop the formal language.
- Concentrate on one idea at a time to avoid confusing your audience.
Highlight What Makes Your Product Stand Out
What gives your product an edge? Why should your target customers buy it? These are the two points you should focus on in your Amazon audio ad. Also, don’t forget to mention any exclusive offers and promotions.
Still, be sure not to include testimonials. The last thing that you want to do is include too many voices since it may make your ad mess and deviate from the core message.
Provide Top-Notch Recording
Your ad is audio-based, so the sound quality should be high-quality. Some ways you can use to achieve this include:
- Make sure that your voice is crisp and clear.
- Remove any interference before recording.
- Make sure that your talking speed is moderately reasonable to enable you to connect to your audience.
Keep Off Sound Effects
Will your audience want to listen to an ad with dramatic sound effects? Maybe not.
Sound effects can be a turn-off, and that’s not good for business, especially when you’re trying to close sales.
Sure, you can use sound effects, but keep them to the minimum amount possible. Even then, make sure the effect’s only purpose is to make your message more concrete.
Leverage Sound Transitions
As stated, your ad will play in between songs or other ads. So, when creating your ad, make sure that you don’t start with a long pause.
Also, you shouldn’t “apologize” for interfering with someone’s song. After all, you don’t know when and where your ad will play. Furthermore, avoid unnecessarily long fade out periods. Focus on making your CTA as appealing as possible.
Keep Your Brand Message Consistent
Consistency is crucial to growing your brand. In fact, according to Forbes, you can increase your revenue by up to 23 perfect if you maintain cross-platform consistency.
So, make sure that your language, brand messaging, and visuals remain consistent across your marketing campaigns. If your Amazon audio ad isn’t consistent with your brand, it can harm the conversion rate.
How Can You Track Your Amazon Audio Ad’s Success?
Once you have launched your campaign, you need to keep an eye on the following Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to tell if everything’s working:
- Impressions – the number of times your ad plays or people listen to it
- Listen through rate (LTR) – the number of times your audience listens your ad to the end
- Reach – how many people listen to your ad
- Purchase intent – the likelihood of customers buying your product after listening to the ad
While Amazon offers tools to check these analytics, you can also use your tools.
Examples for Amazon Audio Ads
Here are some examples of great Amazon audio ads to inspire your own.
- Samsung – The giant phone manufacturer used Amazon ads to increase impressions by 64% for their Galaxy S10 Lite handset.
- Berocca – A popular vitamin company, Berocca leveraged an Amazon audio ads campaign to help it spread to a diverse audience base for their Berocca Boost tablets.
Increase Reach and Boost Sales Through the Sound Waves
Amazon audio ads offer a way to increase your reach, boost sales, and, by extension, grow your business.
The best part? You can have everything up and running in three days. So, if these ads are within your marketing budget estimates, they’re worth trying.
If you aren’t sure if Amazon audios ads are suitable for your business or need help with your overall audio campaign, we can help you.