Social media influencers are known to promote lavish lifestyles, whether it’s modeling designer clothing, unboxing free items they were gifted, or documenting tropical vacations.
TikTok via Lauren Wolfe
But there’s always a catch, of course, and the essence of the influencer marketing industry is that these free items get posted to social media channels with a large base of followers. These tactics have helped businesses large and small, and even Amazon is no exception.
Last month, the company flew its top Amazon Influencers to a private retreat in Mexico aptly dubbed the Amazon Resort.
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The e-commerce giant took over the Paradero luxury resort in Todos Santos for a three-day, all-expenses-paid trip where even the most inexpensive suites range from $400 to $800 per night.
On the trip, influencers were treated to spa treatments, gourmet dinners, and cocktail hours; they took leisurely dips in the pool, shot content from the ocean (cheekily called the “Kindle Beach Oasis”), and took advantage of complimentary surf lessons and farming activities.
Amazon also set up a pop-up shop with sections such as “Internet‘s Most Famous” and “Most Loved” where guests could pick and choose their favorite items and take them home for free.
“They gave us all the free stuff in this bag, we didn’t have to ask for it,” one influencer, Kirsten Titus, said during her vlog of the experience on her YouTube channel.
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Titus, who boasts 6.8 million followers on her Hawaii-based TikTok account, documented the three-day trip with her sister in tow and featured other popular Amazon Influencers like Lauren Wolfe (768K followers on TikTok) and Hannah Harrell (3.3M followers.)
“I’ve never touched water in a foreign country in my entire life,” Titus told her viewers on the second day of the trip. “Anyway, I know I always say this because I always mean it, especially when I’m doing things that I literally would have never done without you guys … it’s just really awesome that I have the opportunity to do these things because of you guys so thank you.”
Through Amazon’s Influencer Program, content creators can earn commission by building out an Amazon Storefront and linking their URL and affiliate links to their respective social media pages.
“As an Amazon Influencer, we give you the tools you need to select the best of Amazon’s products and services, easily recommend them to your followers, and earn commissions on qualifying purchases,” the company states. “You can also inspire customers to shop Amazon’s millions of products by curating your personalized page on Amazon where you can publish your livestreams, shoppable photos, and videos. As a selected member of the program, you may also qualify to be featured across the Amazon site.”
@laurenwolfe There was a beach! #todossantos ♬ original sound – Lauren Wolfe
The Amazon Resort trip took place in mid-May, just days after the retail giant reported its less-than-stellar Q1 2022 earnings and saw a single-day 12% plummet in valuation. The company also reported a $3.8 billion quarterly profit loss, compared with an $8.1 billion profit gain in Q1 of 2021.
Entrepreneur reached out to Amazon to confirm whether or not influencers were required to post content during the Amazon Resort trip and to clarify whether influencers would be earning commission for that content.
Amazon was down just over 39% year over year as of late Tuesday morning.