If you’re a business owner who’s attempting to sell a product or serve through the Internet, then you’ve probably already heard a lot about how strategy and content marketing are essential aspects of your e-commerce marketing plan. That being said, content marketing can boost your e-commerce site, and by creating valuable content and building trust in your brand, you keep people informed, and it gives you something to share on social media. Furthermore, content marketing will help you rank highly in search engines, and can assist you in attracting and converting potential buyers into long-term and repeat customers. In order to make your e-commerce site yield you the profits you’re looking for, refer to the following for tips and tricks regarding your e-commerce marketing strategy:
Post a Video
Videos are a great way to market your e-commerce site, and if you know of relevant videos, put them up. Even more effective, though, is creating your own how-to video regarding your product. A how-to video is not only a great way to explain to the customer why they need your product and how it will improve their life, but it also provides your site with relevant and interesting content. Videos can make SEO rankings soar which can be incredibly beneficial in driving web traffic to your page.
Use Pictures
You’ve heard it time and time again, but listen one more time: pictures are essential to content marketing, and to your e-commerce marketing strategy. If you’re not already using plenty of photos, now’s the time to start. When posting your photos, make sure they have great titles, title tags, and descriptions that are rich in your keywords to help them get recognized on search engine rankings.
Share, Share, and Share Some More
Sharing your website is key to a great e-commerce marketing plan. As such, share, share, and share some more at every opportunity you have. Share by word of mouth by telling friends and family about your e-commerce site; share through social media sites by posting about your product and web page on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube, Twitter, and more; share through email, by reaching out to your current customer base; and encourage others to share too, by placing “share” buttons on your website. The more you share, the more people you’ll reach, and the more potential customers you’ll touch.
Make it Easy
Have you ever loved a product but hated the website? If so, you know that even the best of products can become a letdown when you can’t easily purchase them online. Therefore, as good as your product is, make sure that your e-commerce site is just as good if not better. If you’re not confident in the user-friendliness of your website, it’s time to call in the professionals. A great e-commerce site should be easy to navigate, have clear and interesting descriptions, have great headers and sub headers that provide the user with information, and have relevant links that direct the user to where he or she needs to go. Plus, having great headers, links, and content will all help with your e-commerce marketing plan, too, as it’ll make it easier for search engines to find you.
Review Your Reviews
Part of an effective e-commerce marketing strategy involves putting yourself out there and letting the public judge you as they’d like—bad reviews included. While no one likes bad reviews, it’s important that you respond to all customer feedback, both positive and negative, to show that you’re interested in your audience and care about your customer. Ask for reviews through email, through your site itself, through Yelp or Google+, and through social media sites. The more reviews you get, the better chances you’ll have of having your e-commerce site recognized. And, the more you respond to those reviews, the better your chances of building a loyal customer base are.
Be Interactive
A website that isn’t interactive is boring, and a boring e-commerce site doesn’t lead to sales. In fact, in one study conducted by students from the University of Singapore, the research group involved concluded that interactivity is key to increasing sales. You can be interactive with your e-commerce audience by hosting contests or raffles; using games, points, or rewards to attract users; asking site visitors to do something, like share, repost, or fill out a contact form; conducting surveys and polls on your website; asking for ratings and reviews, and enabling blog comments.
Use Blogs to Explain Your Product
Like the how-to videos mentioned above, blogs that explain how to use your product are a great way to market your e-commerce site. Not only will a blog that explains your product automatically utilize keywords and therefore increases your search engine ranking, but it will also provide relevant information to the user and promote your product all at the same time. Blogs can be in number form, paragraph form, or use bullet points to explain, step-by-step, why your product’s beneficial and how to make use of it. Try to make this explanation as fun and simple as possible. If you’re a running shoe company, for example, your steps may look something like this:
Open your box of new shoes. Sigh, and admire just how good looking they are, and how great you’re going to look wearing them.
Place your feet into them, wiggling your toes as you go, relishing that feeling of a perfect fit.
Tie the laces, stand up, and glance down at them, daydreaming about how great hitting the trail’s going to feel….
…you get the point. The more creative, and the more detailed, the better, more engaging, and more interesting your how-to blog will be.
Marketing E-commerce – Keep Content in Mind
Great content is extremely valuable in the online world, and we’ll be the first to tell you that when it comes to marketing e-commerce, content is vital. That being said, we’ll also be the first to tell you that content alone isn’t enough because just using content keeps your audience passive.
You want an active audience, and that means using tools and communities to create interactive experiences for your visitors whenever possible.
As such, posting videos, using pictures, sharing content and updates, keeping your site simple, asking for reviews and responding to them, being interactive, using blogs, and keeping content in mind, but not relying on it, are all important aspects of a successful marketing strategy. In the modern age, an overwhelming amount of companies are using content marketing. According to research conducted by MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute, 90% of B2C marketers are using content marketing, so it is incredibly important not just to use it, but to differentiate yourself from the pack with amazing and interesting content.