Dive Brief:

• Amazon is reportedly expanding its influencer marketing program, with several microinfluencers being accepted into Amazon's Influencer Program, Business Insider reported. Amazon has also been running ads on Instagram to target influencers. 
• Influencer marketing platform Influence.co created a tool specifically for Amazon in October to match brands with its influencers. The program has attracted "thousands" of influencers, and Amazon wants them to recommend products, write reviews and create curated groups. 
• Amazon is paying influencers a commission, depending on the type of product, according to terms of the deals, obtained by Business Insider. The company's private-label fashion line is the highest-paying category at 10%, followed by furniture at 8%, and non-Amazon apparel, jewelry, shoes, Amazon Echo, Amazon Fire and Amazon Smart TV devices pay 7%. Amazon Fresh and toys pay a 3% commission, and video games and consoles pay 1%. Influencers are able to earn revenue for up to 24 hours after someone clicks on an affiliate link and later makes a purchase. 

Dive Insight:

By growing its influencer program, Amazon is hoping to expand its reach to new audiences and leverage microinfluencers' followings, which range from hundreds to thousands of followers. The effort could help increase traffic to storefronts and drive sales. Amazon has run an influencer marketing program for the past two years, but it has maintained a low profile, despite have big names like Mark Cuban, Jillian Michaels and YouTube star iJustine on board, according to Business Insider. Influencers have Amazon landing pages, referred to as stores, where they can promote products.

The news underscores how Amazon is beefing up its advertising business and working to attract advertisers by providing an array of marketing services. At the same time, Amazon is using influencer marketing to compete with other brand marketers, which has consistently been an issue for brands when deciding whether to pay Amazon for marketing services. Some marketers are shifting 50% to 60% of their search budgets usually allocated to Google toward Amazon, attracted by the ability to target consumers at various stages of their shopping sessions, including purchase. Forty-three percent of advertisers said they plan to increase their spending on influencer marketing in the next 12 months, according to an Association of National Advertising survey.

Offering the highest commissions for its private fashion line shows that Amazon is hoping to compete with other fashion brands, who often embrace influencers to reach younger audiences. The 10% commission is in line with what other brands, like Levi's and Glossier, offer through influencer platform RewardStyle, and more than others, like Target and Etsy, which pay around 5%, according to Business Insider. Influencers can also make money on Amazon via bounties, displayed as buttons on their storefronts to promote Amazon services, like Amazon Fresh or Prime. When someone signs up, Amazon pays a flat fee, ranging from $3 to $15 depending on the service.

Amazon is also granting more creative freedom to influencers, unlike other influencer programs where brands pay influencers to create custom content. Amazon requires posts to include accurate information, not infringe on intellectual property rights, disclose how data is used and not contain any violent, illegal or sexually explicit content.