Video Marketing

How to boost your Amazon sales with sponsored video ads

Posted September 27, 2021
Written by Mark Coleman

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Are you selling a unique, useful, and reasonably priced product on Amazon but not getting the views or sales you deserve?

With over 12 million different products sold on Amazon, it’s understandable not every seller’s product will appear on the search results page immediately. But with the help of Amazon’s sponsored brand video ads, your product has the potential to be seen by millions of people, straight away. 

Ranking as the most popular shopping app in the United States with over 150.6 million mobile Amazon users, 89% of consumers are more likely to buy a product from Amazon than any other e-commerce site. 

So, how can your small business receive more views on your Amazon listings? Keep reading to find out our tips and tricks to increase your revenue through sponsored brand video ads on Amazon. 

What is a sponsored Amazon video ad?

Sponsored brand video ads on Amazon are a fairly new ad format that allows sellers to incorporate video ads into search results on Amazon. These ads will appear on Amazon's iOS, Android, and desktop platforms. 

When users type in a keyword to the search bar, Amazon will show sponsored posts as top results. They will always be noted as “Sponsored” or “Ad”. It's similar to how Google search ads work.

What is a sponsored Amazon video ad?

Source: Amazon Advertising 

How do sponsored video ads work on Amazon?

A particularly unique feature that Amazon offers sponsored video ad creators is that they will only allow one video ad per page of search results. The video ad will automatically start playing as soon as the viewer is looking at the page. The video will be muted, and the viewer will have to unmute it if they want to listen. Once the video starts playing, it will repeat on loop, with no progress bar displayed to avoid skipping. 

How do sponsored video ads work on Amazon?

Source: Amazon Advertising 

Make engaging Amazon video ads with Clipchamp

Amazon video ads are a rare opportunity for sellers to present their products to be more memorable.. Only one video ad is displayed per Amazon search page, so advertisers should be making top-quality videos to impress buyers and catch their attention straight away. This is also a great tactic to stay ahead of your product's competition. 

Whether you’re selling tech products, home decor, pet accessories, or delicious treats, Clipchamp’s free online video editor has all the editing tools you’ll need to create fast and engaging Amazon video ads. 

If you’re not too sure how to make your first video ad, Clipchamp takes the stress out of editing with ready-to-use promotional video ad templates. All you have to do is pick a creative template, drag, drop and add in your branding. 

Box integration-Make a commercial video- Clipchamp landing page

Personalize the template with an abundance of filters, transitions, free stock media, multi-track audio, and special effects like text-to-speech. Take advantage of Clipchamp’s easy-to-use caption generator as your Amazon video ad will automatically be muted until the viewer decides to play the sound. Amazon recommends adding on-screen text to videos, with the text in white on top of a black bounding box set to 80% opacity. 

Make engaging video ads with Clipchamp

Source: Amazon Advertising 

Once you have finished creating your video ad campaign, save it in a 16:9 aspect ratio which is suitable with Amazon Advertising specifications. Share your video ad directly to your files or save via one of Clipchamp’s many integrations like Google Drive, OneDrive, Box, DropBox, or the cloud.

Check out these templates

What video specs does Amazon accept?

Amazon has very specific video and audio specifications users must follow. You can find the requirements in the Campaign creation window when creating your new video ad. We have also listed them below. 

Video specifications (as of 2021)

  • Aspect ratio: 16:9 aspect ratio, 

  • Video dimensions: 1280 x 720px, 1920 x 1080px or 3840 x 2160px, 

  • Frame rate: 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97, 29.98, or 30 fps, 

  • Video bit rate: 1 Mbps or higher bit rate, 

  • Video codec:  High-efficiency video coding (h.265), 

  • File size: 500MB or less, 

  • Video format: .MP4 or .MOV, 

  • Video duration: 6 - 45 seconds long, 

  • Video profile: Main or baseline profile, 

  • Video scan type: Progressive scan, 

  • 1 video stream only. 

Audio specifications

  • Audio sample rate: 44.1kHz or higher, 

  • Audio codec: PCM, AAC or MP3, 

  • Audio bitrate: 96kbps or higher, 

  • Audio format: Stereo or mono format, 

  • No more than 1 audio stream. 

How to create an Amazon-sponsored video campaign

If created correctly, sponsored video ads can boost your sales in no time. Follow this tutorial on how to set up an Amazon-sponsored video campaign. 

How to create an Amazon-sponsored video campaign

Source: Amazon Advertising 

Step 1. Select video ad

Once you have signed in to your Amazon Advertising account, click on the Video ad format option. 

Step 1. Select video ad

Source: Amazon Advertising 

Step 2. Select the product you want to advertise

Next, select the product you would like to make into a sponsored video ad. You can only select a single product. The product will be displayed, along with the price, rating, description, and video. 

Step 3. Upload your promotional video

Upload your promotional video to your sponsored ad. Make sure to meet the Amazon video requirements before uploading. 

Step 3. Upload your promotional video

Step 4. Select your target audience

Before submitting your video ad, you need to select a particular target audience. You have the option of selecting automatic targeting or creating a target audience yourself. 

Tip: Ad groups aren’t assigned to these types of campaigns. For example, if you would like to create a campaign with three ad groups with different match types, you have to create three different campaigns. 

Two standard options will appear. Keyword targeting and product targeting. Both options work in the same way they do with sponsored products. 

Select from the three-match types: Exact, Phrase, and Broad. The product targeting options are also the same.

Step 4. Select your target audience

There's also a negative targeting option. This means you can "exclude shoppers’ search terms, brands or products from displaying ads in shopping results or detail pages."

Step 5. Download separate files

There are separate reports for sponsored video ads. If you would like to access them, you will need to make sure to download the proper separate file when you compete in ad maintenance. 

How much do Amazon video ads cost?

Amazon advertisers pay per click, with an average cost of $0.81 for every click. This cost isn't the same for every advertiser, as it'll depend on your competition and budget. 

If you’re competing for highly competitive keywords, expect to pay more for your Amazon video ads. 

Tips to maximize your sponsored video ads

1. Experiment with different video ad styles

If you’re new to the video ad game, there are lots of different style video ads to choose from. Each video tells a different story. Advertisers can choose to display a product demo video, sale promotion, 3D video, screen-recording, and many more. Whichever video you choose is completely up to what you are selling and what videos your current audience enjoys watching. 

If one video ad isn’t performing well, you can always easily create a different style ad with Clipchamp’s free online video editor. 

2. Use star product ratings

93% of customers read online reviews and check on star ratings before purchasing a product. If your product has been rated 4 - 5 stars, display this information on your video ad. Consumers are more likely to trust other buyers’ experiences and opinions than a marketing campaign. 

Obtaining video ad space is a battle for dominance since there can only be one ad displayed at a time. Focus on promoting the most profitable products. When a potential customer clicks on a video ad, you want them to find a listing with the highest rating with the most reviews to persuade them to make a purchase. 

2. Use star product ratings

3. Keep your video ads short and focused

You don’t want to leave your prospects feeling bored after watching your video ad, or even clicking away before it finishes. We recommend creating a video ad between the length of 15-30 seconds long to optimize your video views. Relay your message and hold your customers’ attention with shorter, more powerful video ads. 

Try to avoid overloading your viewers with too many product features. Aim to focus on a few key selling points to make sure your message is well received. 

4. Add an end card

As Amazon-sponsored video ads automatically loop, we recommend adding an end card to your video to allow some breathing room for your audience. You can easily add in a creative end card using Clipchamp’s many text options. 

4. Add an end card

Create your Amazon video ad today with Clipchamp

Amazon sellers now have the opportunity to use their creativity and emotionally connect with their buyers through video ads. With Amazon video ad space being quite competitive, make memorable and engaging ads that are worth the cost per click. 

Start creating video ads to generate more views and potential sales with Clipchamp’s free online video editor. 

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