Amazon has become such a massive brand presence in all our lives—claiming the mantle of the largest retailer in the US, raking in $386 billion in net sales in 2020 alone—that they’ve more or less created informal holidays for the rest of us. Ergo “Prime Day,” an annual event that Amazon rolled out in July 2015 to celebrate its own 20th anniversary.
Prime Day took a two-year hiatus between 2020–21 because of supply chain shortages, but it’ll return this year, most likely on a Tuesday in the back half of this month. So how will sales stack up in 2022? Hard to tell, given the volatility in the market—what with COVID lingering around, the war in Ukraine destabilizing Amazon’s logistics network (and impacting fuel prices), and Amazon’s underwhelming performance in Q1.
Still, US eCommerce has hit nearly $1 billion in sales, and our brand partners have continued to be successful during Prime Day year-over-year with the support of our team. In this post, we’ll share our Prime Day knowledge so you can boost sales this year.
Prepping for the Big Day
The deadline to sign up for Prime Day 2022 has passed, but those who submitted applications are likely wondering, “What’s the next step?” Let’s walk through what you should be doing up until that whirlwind Tuesday in July.
Leverage Resources ASAP
Especially if you’re a smaller business, you should leverage all of your resources to drive awareness to your site. Consider using some of these options in the coming weeks:
- Amazon Live – To increase detail page traffic, run an Amazon Live on the products that you’re highlighting.
- Amazon Posts – Posts are an easy way to repurpose your social content on Amazon. They appear on your product display pages (PDPs) and on comparable competitor products.
Plan Your Inventory
With the war in Ukraine sending commodity shock waves through markets—on top of the supply chain log-jammed around the globe—figuring out your inventory is more complex than it was even a few months ago. With that said, these strategies may help you plan more efficiently:
- Order sooner rather than later.
- Think tactically when you forecast.
- Time your supplier orders properly.
- Choose an advertising strategy in advance.
- Track changes to shopping habits from year to year.
- Use email marketing to direct customers to your site.
- Take non-Amazon inventory into account and order accordingly.
Advertising Strategies
Get familiar with all the ways you can advertise on Prime Day, and pick the strategy—or combination of strategies—that’s right for your brand.
- Sponsored Brand – Drives to a brand store subpage or custom landing page.
- Sponsored Product – An always-on approach helps your relevance post Prime Day.
- Sponsored Brands Video – An eye-catching ad that uses video and cuts through the clutter of search results.
If you have a limited budget:
- Focus on higher-converting, more refined keywords that minimize cost.
If you have a high budget:
- Sponsored Product – High-converting ad type.
- Sponsored Brand – Use all three options with standard images, lifestyle images, and video.
- Sponsored Brands Video – Test multiple videos for multiple products across more ad placements.
- Demand-Side Platform (DSP) – Craft a full-funnel strategy before, during, and after Prime Day to capitalize on the spike of traffic and sales.
- Before Prime Day – In the weeks leading up to Prime Day, customers start window-shopping and learning about brands, so shift your focus into upper-funnel audiences and placements with an emphasis on consideration. Once you drum up interest with target shoppers, entice them with lower-funnel DSP or remarketing segments.
- During Prime Day – To be competitive, invest in upper- and lower-funnel strategies. Keeping customers engaged costs more, but high-traffic events like Prime Day generate higher conversions.
- After Prime Day – Once Prime Day is over, keep investing in lower-funnel remarketing tactics. You’ll likely attract higher audience numbers during this period, allowing you to speak to consumers who have not yet converted and encourage them to purchase from you in the future.
And if you’re prioritizing long-term goals:
- Upper Funnel DSP – Ideal for brand exposure and retargeting.
Prime Day 2022 Paid Search Timeline
Consider following this timeline in the weeks leading up to Prime Day to inform your paid search strategy and speak to the countless shoppers hunting for deals:
2 Weeks Before Prime Day
Let any Sponsored Product, Sponsored Brand, or Sponsored Brands Video campaign that you’re launching run for at least two weeks before the event to make your ads more competitive within the ad auctions.
1 Week Before Prime Day
As you increase your branded keyword bids, your competitors will also ramp up their bids, so defending your branded ad placements on Amazon is key. Keep an eye out on some of the branded keywords that will increase $1 to $2 higher than the usual CPC.
A Few Days Before
Increase your campaign budgets a few days before Prime Day. The volume of shoppers on Amazon during the event is huge, so be tenacious about capitalizing on all that traffic.
Before, During, and After
Run a branded-keyword Sponsored Brand ad before, during, and after Prime Day—a key top-of-search placement that you should use to protect your branded ad placements on Amazon (especially when your competitors are also ramping up their ad spend).
Content Strategy
You know your Amazon presence better than anyone else—but are you using that space as effectively as you could? Here are a few of the facets of your Amazon store that you should pay attention to in the coming weeks:
- Product Display Page – Few things drive prospective customers away faster than a poorly designed PDP. To make your display page appear as polished as possible, focus on these design aspects:
- Copy – In the post-COVID world, the old keywords that you’ve been using may no longer be indexing like they used to. Redefine your keyword strategy—without keyword stuffing—and optimize the title for Amazon SEO. For tips on efficient copy uploading, check out Macarta’s guide to updating content.
- Posts & Follows – Posts are the perfect opportunity to tease a new Prime Day exclusive product release or remind shoppers that you sell products that align with their values and needs. As you expand your digital presence, sustain that momentum once Prime Day is over and give your audience a reason to keep following you.
Conclusion
Prepping for Prime Day can be overwhelming, but we have a team of Amazon experts on standby who have driven earnings for our partners for years. Reach out to us and let’s get your business on the road to success.
