Having a killer website is not enough to stand out in the overcrowded ecommerce landscape. You need to develop a solid marketing strategy to back you up.
If you have already invested in ecommerce website development and SEO, here are a few proven digital marketing tactics to apply right now.
1. Understand Your Target Customers
For ecommerce startups, it may be tempting to jump right into creating blog articles and Instagram ads. However, your marketing campaigns should drive the right traffic to your online store and boost sales.
You can do that only when you know who your customers are.
Start by analyzing your ecommerce website, newsletter lists, and social networks. Who are your current customers?
Next, pay attention to competitors to understand which customer groups they target.
To gain better insights into your target audiences, analyze customer reviews, create online and offline surveys, and measure their brand sentiment.
Based on customers’ demographic and psychographic data, create buyer personas. Include their age, gender, location, family status, education, income, as well as their needs, problems, and frustrations.
Detailed buyer personas will help you create marketing campaigns that resonate with your target customers.
2. Optimize your Online Store
Just because your Facebook ads or referral campaigns are impressive, it does not mean they will convert. If your ecommerce website is not user-friendly, visitors will ditch it without making a purchase.
That is why you need to optimize your website performance and provide exceptional user experiences at every touchpoint.
Clean up your website.
In ecommerce web design, minimalism still rules.
Simplify the website architecture and make it easier to navigate.
Create an easy-to-follow navigation menu.
Add search boxes and filtering options for users that already know what to purchase.
Use professional photography
Remember that online customers cannot see and feel your products in person. To build trust with them, you need to serve them with high-quality product photos.
Add product photos taken from multiple angles. Also, consider using VR technologies and videos to boost user experiences.
Have an About Us page.
An About Us page makes your brand trustworthy and legitimate.
Tell your brand’s story and explain how it has grown over time.
Make the content authentic, personal, and emotional. Include various formats, such as your team’s photos, behind-the-scenes videos, and employee testimonials.
If you land on CPR Savers, an online store selling CPR manikins, you will notice that their About Us page takes a prominent place. It explains the company’s history and provides a list of their most renowned customers. The page also emphasizes that they are a highly purpose-driven company that gives back to the community and is ready to help in emergencies.
Use live chat tools to provide exceptional customer support
Savvy customers expect brands to provide omnichannel customer service and be available 24/7. Email and phone customer support are not enough to please them.
Adding live chat to your website helps you offer immediate customer service. Above all, it is a more natural way to communicate with prospects and humanize your brand presence.
3. Boost your Organic Social Media Presence
With the rise of smartphones, the number of social media users has also grown. To appeal to them and attract them to your online store, you need to build a memorable organic social media presence.
Instagram is one of the most valuable social networks for ecommerce brands.
For example, you can use it to showcase gorgeous product photos. Combine them with engaging descriptions and use relevant hashtags to increase the visibility of your posts.
You can also use this social channel to team up with industry influencers and host giveaways. Collaborations with social media influencers increase the popularity of your ecommerce brand and gain customer trust. According to statistics, 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations.
Finally, Instagram is a perfect customer service channel, allowing you to communicate with followers more naturally. You can also use social media monitoring tools to track your brand and hashtag mentions and deliver faster support.
4. Invest in Social Media Advertising
Organic social media marketing helps you build stronger relationships with customers, boost engagement, and encourage brand loyalty in the long run. However, it takes time. To gain the exposure of your new ecommerce website and increase brand awareness, invest in social media advertising.
For example, Facebook is still the most popular social media channel. Therefore, by investing in Facebook Ads, you can maximize brand visibility. Most importantly, you will drive relevant traffic to your website.
Most importantly, Facebook Ads offers impressive targeting options. Namely, you can decide who sees your ads using various criteria, such as customer geolocation, age, gender, brand preferences, income, etc. That is an opportunity to drive more relevant website traffic and increase social media advertising ROI.
When creating Facebook Ads, make sure you include engaging product descriptions, quality photos, and videos to stand out and engage audiences.
5. Use Retargeting
Research studies show that only 2% of all visitors end up purchasing from online stores. Your goal is to reach out to the other 98% and entice them to come back and finalize the purchase. That is where retargeting shines.
Most digital advertising platforms, including Google, Pinterest, and Facebook, allow you to create retargeting marketing campaigns. When someone lands on your site, browses through your content or puts items into the shopping cart without converting, they will see your ads on search engines and social networks.
Over to You
The ecommerce landscape is very crowded. To stand out, you need to use digital marketing strategically. From ecommerce website optimization to social media ads, you can apply various marketing tactics.
I hope these tips and insights will help you!
About the author :
Eve Anderson is a marketing specialist turned blogger. Interested in sports and exciting travel destinations. Love to share content that can inform people.
